The Mega Drive Mini: absolutely awesome.
The Game Gear Micro: okay, I guess that makes sense...
The Astro City Mini: umm... what?
SEGA continues to ride the mini retro console bandwagon with its latest announcement: the Astro City Mini. This will be all but unknown to the majority of readers in the west, but in Japan this could be a big deal.
For those of us unaware, the Astro City is a sitdown arcade unit that was originally released in Japan back in early 1993. It could be loaded with one of a wide range of game boards, and can still be found in arcades today.
The Astro City Mini is, as you've no doubt guessed, a dedicated microconsole based on the popular arcade unit. It comes pre-loaded with 36 games and will be released at the end of this year in Japan.
Read on for all the info we know so far about this curious gaming machine...
SEGA Astro City Mini specs
Right now, all we know about the Astro City Mini comes from an interview mistakenly published early by Japanese website GAME Watch, which has since been taken down. As such, info on the unit's specs are a mystery.
What we know from the pictures is that it'll be small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. The display looks to be roughly 3 inches (around 7.5 cm) in size.
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SEGA Astro City Mini features
What we do know so far is that the mini arcade cabinet will feature a total of 36 built-in games. Confirmed so far are Alien Storm, Alien Syndrome, Altered Beast, Columns II, Dark Edge, Fantasy Zone, Golden Axe, Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder, Puzzle & Action: Tant-R and Virtua Fighter.
As pointed out by SEGAbits, this would mark the first home releases of futuristic fighter Dark Edge and legendary beat 'em up Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder.
In terms of connectivity, the mini arcade unit is said to feature an HDMI-out slot, two USB-A ports, a Micro-USB port and a headphone jack. The joystick features classic microswitches, making it feel like a real arcade controller. Apparnetly you'll be able to use external controllers, too.
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SEGA Astro City Mini release date
So far, the only indication of a release in Japan is that it will come out some time in 2020. As the original Astro City arcade unit was only released in Japan, it would be surprising if it made its way over to Western territories like the US or the UK at all.
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SEGA Astro City Mini price
The MSRP quoted on the mini arcade unit is 12,800 yen. If it does release outside of Japan, that works out at roughly £95 in the UK, $119 in the US or €105 in Europe.