Amazon Releases Genesis Mini 2 – Sega Immediately Confirms October 27 Launch

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Amazon Releases Genesis Mini 2 - Sega Immediately Confirms October 27 Launch

Like the previously announced Japanese "mega drive mini 2," This "Genesis Mini 2" is modeled after the system "model 2" Variant - and has the same box design as the old one "core system" Mid 90's look.
Enlarge / Like the previously announced Japanese “Mega Drive Mini 2”, this “Genesis Mini 2” will be modeled after the “Model 2” variant of the system – and will share the same box design as the old “Core System” look of the mid-’90s Years .

Amazon / Sega

Though you might have your eyes on Amazon this week due to Prime Day promotions, the site made news for a select segment of retro gamers on Wednesday by releasing a new Sega product: the Genesis Mini 2. About an hour ago later, Sega made it official by launching a dedicated Sega Genesis Mini 2 website.

If this mini-console concept sounds familiar, that’s because earlier this year Sega of Japan announced their own version of this product, the Mega Drive Mini 2, which is set to launch overseas in October. The newly announced Genesis-themed version today has a firmer release date of October 27th and will also include “50+” classic games from Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Arcade. As Sega representatives have already explained, both the Mega Drive Mini 2 and the Genesis Mini 2 are powered by an all-new System-on-Ship (SoC) compared to the original 2019 Genesis Mini, which means it has a larger Flash memory and improved processing are required to properly emulate the Sega CD console.

Speaking of upgraded hardware, the box art confirms that Sega is including a six-button Genesis controller this time around, albeit just one, not a pair. Sega has confirmed that all three and six button pads made for the original Genesis Mini will work on this hardware.

Deflated yen rebate somewhat dampened by additional shipping

  • A striking angle of the Genesis Mini 2.

  • Another striking angle of the Genesis Mini 2.

  • This purely decorative case of a Sega CD Mini is sold in Japan. No word on whether a similar product will come to the United States.

  • The same question about American availability applies to this all-analog joystick system, which will start selling in Japan in October for 18,000 yen. It will be compatible with at least three games in both the Mega Drive Mini 2 and the Genesis Mini 2.

As originally discovered by journalist Alex Donaldson, the Genesis Mini 2 appeared on Wednesday in a listing that may have been generated by Sega’s Japanese Amazon account, as it limits orders to American addresses but requires buyers to pay for shipping from Japan. At press time, Sega of America is officially linked to this Amazon listing as the exclusive retailer of the miniaturized console and still requires a hefty shipping fee from Japan to the United States. For example, the order I placed was charged $21.99 for shipping—that’s over 20% of the listed retail price of $103.80.

Sega of Japan could be running the show on this Western release as the Genesis Mini 2 official website is hosted at a sega.co.jp address. At press time, Sega of America representatives had not yet answered Ars Technica’s questions about orders and shipments from Japan.

How many western classics will fill the empty boxes this time?
Enlarge / How many western classics will fill the empty boxes this time?

Sega

Sega releases new game announcements every three weeks, so we’re still left wondering which games will fill out the Western version of the system – and how many of the games will be derived from Japanese-only versions. This week’s Genesis Mini 2 premiere includes some boxes taken from the Japanese Mega Drive and Mega CD versions of certain games, although for the games in question much of the text is already in English.

The 23 games announced for Western Genesis Mini 2 so far:

  • After Brenner II
  • alien soldier #
  • Bonanza Bros.
  • fantasy zone (Arcade port to Genesis specification)
  • lightning power
  • Manor of Hidden Souls **
  • night striker ** #
  • The ninja warriors ** #
  • The mud
  • OutRun
  • OutRunner
  • Rainbow Islands extra
  • Rolling Thunder 2
  • Shining Force CD **
  • Glowing in the dark
  • silpheed **
  • Sonic 3D explosion
  • Sound CD **
  • spray house 2
  • Starmobile (previously unreleased)
  • Great hang on
  • vector man 2
  • Virtual Racing

**: Sega CD
#: Japanese version

As a reminder, this list does not include games that have already launched on the Sega Genesis Mini 2019. Four of the games in the list above have not yet been announced for the Japanese Mega Drive Mini 2: The mud, outrunner, Great hang onand Sonic 3D explosion. Sega of Japan will be hosting another game announcement event for its miniaturized system variant on Friday July 15th, so these games will be coming this side of the Pacific soon enough.

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