Sega’s history with consoles has been….iffy, to say the least. While they found some success with their initial releases, like the Genesis or the Game Gear, after the release of the Saturn it seemed Sega was finished with consoles. However, as of late they’ve had a sort of res surgence in rereleasing pocket versions of old classics. The Genesis Mini, released to celebrate the console’s 30th anniversary, found success as portable plug-and-play system for experiencing old Genesis classics, while the newly announced Japan-exclusive Game Gear Micro (coming in October) will be a portable medium for your – you guessed it – Game Gear games.
Capitalizing on this trend, Sega has recently announced their new Astro City Mini – a miniaturized version of their popular 1993 arcade cabinet, packing a tiny screen, joystick, and microswitch controls. It also includes 36 titles readily available for play, featuring classics like Fantasy Zone, Virtua Fighter, and Dark Edge. Contrary to a normal cabinet, the Astro City Mini will allow you to save your game progress. It will include Micro USB and USB-A ports for separate control pads, a headphone jack, and an HDMI port if you’d prefer your arcade titles on a bigger screen. There’s currently no word on whether the system will come with a battery.
While Sega itself not having any direct involvement with the mini cabinet may turn off some, there’s no denying the tiny cabinet packs a big punch for those looking to play through some arcade classics.
The Astro City Mini is set to be released in Japan for 12,800 yen (about $117), and buyers will also have the option to purchase an Astro City gamepad for 2,780 yen (about $26). There’s no info about an official Western release of the console, but it will most likely be purchasable in the West on virtual marketplaces such as eBay.