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Author Topic: Sega announces Genesis mini  (Read 7405 times)

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opt2not

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Sega announces Genesis mini
« on: March 30, 2019, 07:33:55 pm »
https://twitter.com/SEGA/status/1111968820208513024?s=20

$79.99

40 games, 10 games announced today:

- Ecco the Dolphin
- Castlevania: Bloodlines
- Space Harrier II
- Shining Force
- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
- ToeJam & Earl
- Comix Zone
- Sonic The Hedgehog
- Altered Beast
- Gunstar Heroes

First official Sega hardware since the DC!

pbj

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2019, 07:43:13 pm »
But I already have one?

 :dizzy:

Osirus23

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #2 on: March 30, 2019, 08:12:58 pm »
Could've swore there have been 2 or 3 Genesis minis in recent years already.

Edit: Looks like this is the first first-party one, previous iterations were licensed to ---smurfy--- AliExpress types.

Direct link so people don't have to go through Shitter: http://genesismini.sega.com/

3 button pads, not 6. Not familiar enough with Genesis to know how this will effect the selection of games.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2019, 08:16:21 pm by Osirus23 »

Howard_Casto

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2019, 11:42:39 pm »
Well in general, most games use 3 button pads because, well, that's what the system came with BUT, it is a mid-90s console and 3 button gamepads mean all fighters are out.  I hope they don't phone it in like sony did because those digital only pads on the ps classic were my first clue that maybe they were going to cheap out.  The genesis has a great line of games so it'd be nice if this turned out to be a quality product. 

pbj

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2019, 12:34:59 am »
The six button pad was a huge comfort upgrade even for games that didn’t need it.  Most games that supported it were reasonably playable with 3 buttons.  Kind of fractured the library but what else were they gonna do.

The AtGames version is decent, has a cartridge slot, and supports original controllers.  It shipped with a nice library and more can be added.  The wireless controllers work great.  I just leave mine on 24/7 on a secondary hdmi input on my tv.  I even like the odd menu system.  So..... I dunno. 

Wish they would have done Saturn or Dreamcast.


Grasshopper

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2019, 10:34:59 am »
Yeah, it's a bit weird that the European and North American versions will be supplied with 3 button controllers. But apparently, the Japanese version is going to be supplied with 6 button controllers.  :dunno

However, from what I gather, the controller ports will be standard USB. So, I suppose you could just buy a 6 button Retro-Bit Genesis controller (which is apparently high-quality and looks/feels identical to the real thing) if you want to play fighters.

Obviously, I'm assuming they won't deliberately block 3rd party controllers from being used on the console. That would be a pretty dumb move that would alienate potential customers. But sometimes big companies do make dumb decisions. So who knows.
"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson

Howard_Casto

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2019, 01:11:00 pm »
Yeah good on retro-bit for making versions that work on the original consoles too.  I want to pickup some controllers for my Saturn as the og gamepad I'm using is wore out. 

Osirus23

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2019, 11:48:34 am »
So, I suppose you could just buy a 6 button Retro-Bit Genesis controller (which is apparently high-quality and looks/feels identical to the real thing) if you want to play fighters.

They must be good enough - Retro-bit is making "official" Genesis and Saturn controllers licensed by Sega.

http://retro-bit.com/sega-collaboration

pbj

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2019, 12:32:42 pm »
That repro Saturn pad is twitching my wallet.  I recall that thing being an exceptional controller for 2D games.


Howard_Casto

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2019, 03:22:05 pm »
It's no snes gamepad, but it's pretty darn close.  The two rows of three make it really good for street fighter as well.  It would probably make an excellent gamepad for casual mame for the exact same reasons, but I've got a handful of 360 gamepads lying around for that. 

On the genesis mini front, I just noticed that this is going to retail for $80.....lol nope.  Mind you it's not psx classic over-priced, but considering we most likely won't get all the third party favorites and they cheaped out on the gamepads it's still a bit steep.  I think the sweet spot for these things is 40-60, depending upon the console and the build quality.  I felt a bit dirty paying 80 for the snes classic, but it included a game that will most likely never get another physical release, so I justified the added cost a little. 

Grasshopper

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2019, 07:57:13 am »
I dunno. $80 still seems pretty cheap to me. Bear in mind the controllers alone will be worth about $20 each. So that leaves $40 for a neat little device capable (once hacked) of playing pretty much every game from the 2D era, and a lot of 3D games as well. It will also come bundled with 40 officially licenced games, if you care about that sort of thing.

The bigger question for me is whether it’s worth continuing to buy these devices over and over again when they’re all essentially the same under the skin (i.e. ARM based SOCs running Linux), and given that they all eventually become hackable.

If I was starting from scratch, this would potentially be of more interest to me than the SNES Mini because it comes bundled with twice the number of games, and because I prefer Genesis/Megadrive controllers. It also uses standard USB ports, so it’s more hacker friendly.

The problem is that I’m not starting from scratch. I already own a SNES Mini and a Raspberry Pi......
"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson

pbj

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2019, 10:40:07 am »
I dunno, man, the 2017 Genesis Mini hacking went basically nowhere.  One guy came up with a nice setup but he won't release it.  Another guy managed to get a few other emulators on it, but it is some barebones list of text style interface that was stale 10 years ago. 

It's fine if you just want to add additional Genesis/SMS games to it.  But there's no "mode" button on the included controllers so that breaks a few of the older games.  I grew up playing Forgotten Worlds on the Genesis, and that rom is a no-go with the AtGames controllers. 

Ah well, we'll see.




Howard_Casto

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2019, 12:56:25 pm »
The bigger question for me is whether it’s worth continuing to buy these devices over and over again when they’re all essentially the same under the skin (i.e. ARM based SOCs running Linux), and given that they all eventually become hackable.

See that's where you are wrong.  They all have similar hardware... and that's about it.  The NES and SNES classic were worth the money because Nintendo took the time to write a good emulator and make a fantastic, flexible, gui as well as adding all the features we need (multiple save states ect.)  Thus far absolutely no one else has hit that high quality mark.  The reason I say it's too highly priced is because Nintendo isn't making it.  The guys that have whored themselves out to @games for 20 years are.... long story short, they can't be trusted.  Even assuming the hacking community could fix a sub-standard interface and/or emulator do you really think it's worth the money when the fan community are essentially the ones making the thing and you are paying the idgits that screwed it up?

pbj

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #13 on: April 03, 2019, 02:25:12 pm »
I wouldn't call the GUI on the S/NES Minis too fantastic or flexible.  You can't get enough icons on the screen at once and are limited to 30 games per folder.  Backing out of the folder basically locks it for 5 seconds.  Going into another folder locks it again.  It's clean and idiot proof, but doesn't lend itself to large game lists.



Howard_Casto

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #14 on: April 03, 2019, 03:29:30 pm »
What I meant by flexible is that hackers were able to actually use the gui to launch other emulators and you can easily add games and art in a way that looks good despite what game/console/ect that's featured in the list.  I haven't ran into the large delays you are talking about except in certain circumstances... it might be your folder structure as that tends to make a difference. 

It's fantastic in that Nintendo "get's it".  I don't want a generic game list on a console like that, even if it's themed appropriately.... I want it to look and work like something that Nintendo would have designed back in the day if they had the tech and it does that in the way the menus work... the little animations and ect.  The other consoles' menus just feel kind of lifeless in comparison. 

Regardless of if you feel that positive about the Nintendo offerings you've got the admit that the gui's/emulators of the other consoles thus far have kind of been wet dog turds.  You get serviceable at best (c64 mini, psx classic) to barely working (@games genesis and 2600).  I just need to see some actual effort put forth towards the new genesis before I can say that $80 is a fair price and considering thus far only two out of 5 retro consoles have been really good, it makes sense to stay optimistic yet cautious. 

Ginsu Victim

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #15 on: April 04, 2019, 09:39:11 am »
Backing out of the folder basically locks it for 5 seconds.  Going into another folder locks it again.
Weird...my SNES Classic is full of games and doesn't have this issue.

Osirus23

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #16 on: April 04, 2019, 11:22:58 am »
It's April 4 and those controllers still aren't available.  :angry:

pbj

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #17 on: April 04, 2019, 11:30:24 am »
Backing out of the folder basically locks it for 5 seconds.  Going into another folder locks it again.
Weird...my SNES Classic is full of games and doesn't have this issue.

Really?  It doesn't go to a black screen and reset the music every time you back out of a folder?  I have a hard time believing that.  I only hacked like 2 dozen of the damn things and always used the latest version of Hakchi and every single one of them exhibited the same behavior.  Maybe you and Howard got magical consoles.

 :dunno


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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #18 on: April 04, 2019, 01:54:00 pm »
Or maybe you setup the folders differently on all of them?  I've got the original games left alone in their own folder and roughly one folder per alphabet letter.  I can fire up hakchi later and get the exact structure if you want.  Yes there is a delay when you enter and exit folders but it isn't 5 whole seconds... that's a frikkin long time. 

wp34

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #19 on: April 04, 2019, 02:15:58 pm »
I have an SNES Classic I need to hack this weekend.  Any recommendations on the best method?

Ginsu Victim

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #20 on: April 04, 2019, 02:20:57 pm »
Yes there is a delay when you enter and exit folders but it isn't 5 whole seconds... that's a frikkin long time. 

This is what I meant, pbj. I'm guessing 5 seconds was an exaggeration on your part, but mine doesn't blank out for that long.

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #21 on: April 04, 2019, 03:32:07 pm »
It's April 4 and those controllers still aren't available.  :angry:

Are you talking about the Retro-Bit reproductions? If so, I'm bummed that they aren't available yet either. I really would like to pick one up soon from Amazon.

Osirus23

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #22 on: April 04, 2019, 06:03:48 pm »
It's April 4 and those controllers still aren't available.  :angry:

Are you talking about the Retro-Bit reproductions? If so, I'm bummed that they aren't available yet either. I really would like to pick one up soon from Amazon.

Yeah

Howard_Casto

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #23 on: April 04, 2019, 11:57:56 pm »
Ditto... I've got amazon credit burning a hole in my pocket and I've been waiting.  Honestly didn't think other people would be excited about reproduction gamepads. 

gamepimp

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #24 on: April 05, 2019, 10:19:56 am »
Ditto... I've got amazon credit burning a hole in my pocket and I've been waiting.  Honestly didn't think other people would be excited about reproduction gamepads.

Apparently these are so close to the real thing (and relatively cheap) that people are replacing their old pads. I have the 8Bitdo DIY bluetooth PCB and I actually just want a new controller so that I can have a clean outer shell and new D-Pad/buttons. There’s a guy selling NOS Genesis controllers on eBay for $30. If these repro controllers are identical inside, I’ll get an authentic looking controller for half the price.

JimmyU

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #25 on: April 06, 2019, 09:42:16 pm »
I have an SNES Classic I need to hack this weekend.  Any recommendations on the best method?
Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNESmods/

wp34

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #26 on: April 06, 2019, 10:42:42 pm »
I have an SNES Classic I need to hack this weekend.  Any recommendations on the best method?
Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNESmods/

 :cheers:

Osirus23

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #27 on: April 16, 2019, 01:18:15 pm »
The Retro-bit Genesis controllers appear to be back in stock at Castlemania.

https://castlemaniagames.com/shop?keywords=sega&olsPage=products%2Fsega-genesis-6-button-arcade-pad

gamepimp

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #28 on: April 19, 2019, 09:23:37 am »
The Retro-bit Genesis controllers appear to be back in stock at Castlemania.

https://castlemaniagames.com/shop?keywords=sega&olsPage=products%2Fsega-genesis-6-button-arcade-pad

They’ve got these at Amazon now too. $14.99 with free Prime shipping. It turns out the 8BitDo DIY Bluetooth kits fit in these for anyone that wants to do a wireless conversion.

Osirus23

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #29 on: April 19, 2019, 01:41:52 pm »
I've got the Genesis and Saturn controllers. They seem pretty good. I don't think I've ever used a real Saturn controller and I haven't touched a Genesis controller for probably 20 years, but nothing about them feels off. I bought the non-USB versions to use with my Bliss-Box.

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Re: Sega announces Genesis mini
« Reply #30 on: April 19, 2019, 07:07:03 pm »
What about the "old skool" pads also on amazon?  It's not enough price difference for me to get it over the retro bit but I'm just curious.