The Japanese hardware and video game developer, Sega, is set to make a great comeback this year by bringing back its classic gaming console. The multinational company has recently announced that the miniature version of the original Mega Drive, more popularly known as the Sega Genesis in North America, will be released later in 2018.
Sega has revealed this week at the Sega FES 2018 that the Mega Drive Mini is currently underway. The launch of this mini console is part of the company's commemoration of its upcoming 30th anniversary. To note, the original Sega Genesis or Mega Drive was first released as a 16-bit gaming platform, and it can be expected that the new Mega Drive Mini will include the necessary hardware upgrades and features to match the modern gaming. However, there are no details yet regarding the Mega Drive Mini's possible features, and it appears that its current name is still tentative.
It was reported that the upcoming Mega Drive Mini will have a number of classic game titles released by Sega. According to Polygon, the 2018 console is expected to incorporate retro hardware, which was also used in the previous Mega Drive clones such as the Sega Genesis Flashback. AtGames is Sega's chosen manufacturer to provide the retro hardware for the Mega Drive Mini.
Sega already gave hints that it would go back to manufacturing new gaming hardware soon, taking inspiration from Nintendo's successful return with the NES Classic and SNES Classic devices.
With the announcement of the Sega Mega Drive Mini, the miniature console appears to follow the design of Nintendo's console reissues, having its own wide selection of pre-loaded video games. The last hardware venture of Sega was in 2001 when it released the Sega Dreamcast, which got a disappointing reception from the public.
Sega first launched the original Mega Drive in Japan on Oct. 29, 1988, then in North America on Aug. 14, 1989 as the Sega Genesis. There is no exact release date specified yet for the Mega Drive Mini, although it is expected to be released first in Japan, then followed by the launch in United States and other parts of the globe later this year.
