Mini consoles

Sega Genesis Mini: Carrying Case 2019-12-26

As I mentioned previously, the Genesis Mini has no official carrying case, but there are plenty of unofficial solutions online. I picked one up from Amazon on account of it looking fairly close in style to the official cases of Nintendo’s Mini cases. Indeed, it does look the part, and it (mostly) gets its job done, but once you see it in person it becomes obvious that it lacks that certain level of quality that you get with licensed products of this nature.

First off, here is what it looks like:

Sega Genesis Mini 2019-12-26

The explosive success of the NES Classic in late 2016 led to a surge of miniature, plug-and-play retro console replicas, courtesy of rights holders who were interested in cashing in on the fad and making a buck. We of course saw the SNES classic, but also the Playstation Classic, the Turbografix Mini, the Neo Geo Mini, and even the Commodore 64 Mini. There might even be more that I forgot about.

That is a pretty substantial list of pre-HD video game platforms, but it is missing one crucial (and sadly, former) hardware manufacturer - Sega. To be fair, Sega has been licensing out the rights to make plug-and-play Genesis replicas for years, but these third-party devices have generally been cheap and low quality. The NES Classic added a level of quality and care that changed the game for these mini systems, and a lot of people wanted to see the same treatment be given to Sega hardware. It took Sega until 2019, three years after the NES Classic, to finally release their own Genesis Mini, just in time for the console’s 30th birthday.

Segaaaaaaaaaaa

So, is it any good? Did the quality in prove by bringing the design and development in house? Let’s find out.

Review - NES Classic 2017-04-21

I wanted an NES Classic as soon as it was announced back in the Summer of 2016. Unfortunately, I struggled like so many other gamers just to find one on a store shelf when it finally launched in November. When it was officially discontinued earlier this month, I decided I wasn’t going to give up without a fight. I would check inventory websites every day until the end of the month, just in case by some miracle a local store received a shipment. I didn’t have to search for long. The very morning after the sad news, I learned that a nearby Target had three in stock. When I arrived I was number three in line, and with that an NES Classic was finally mine.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have one of these, especially when so many other gamers I know never will. As such, I think it is only right that I fully document the system, and give it a fair assessment. Please do not mistake this for bragging in any way shape or form. I simply hope to treat it with a level of respect that it hasn’t received from all the scalpers and wallflower fans.

NES Classic Discontinued 2017-04-14

On April 13th, Nintendo discontinued the NES Classic Edition in North America. The only explanation that they gave is that they always intended for it to be a limited edition release, and that they have in fact produced more than they originally expected to.

Understandably, the Internet erupted in reaction. There are still a lot of people who wanted one, and now never will. My heart goes out to each and every one of them. Just searching Twitter alone is a gut wrenching experience.

The news also brought out all the assholes and opportunists that dwell online. I’m not just talking about the scalpers (who immediately jacked up the prices on their own stock), but the tech writers and pundits who used the news as a chance to come up with a clickbait articles with titles like “The TRUE reason Nintendo killed the Classic”, in which they simply offer wild, often illogical speculation.

And unfortunately, speculation is all we have, which is why everyone remains in a state of confusion and disbelief. Let’s try and cut through some of that confusion by putting some of the speculation to rest.