Photo: SEGA
By: Nick Gambino
The Sega Genesis Mini 2 is set to be released on October 27th, but we’re now getting word that there will be a limited supply available for North America.
The follow-up to the popular Genesis Mini 1 suffers from what a lot of electronic releases have contended with over the last couple of years – lack of availability due to the worldwide semiconductor shortage.
The Mini 2 will feature over 50 preinstalled Genesis and Sega CD games, one of which has never been released (no word on what that is). The retro console will include titles like Super Street Fighter II, OutRun, Virtua Racing, Shining Force CD, and Sonic CD. This is a step-up from the previous Mini 1 which only included 42 games.
Originally, they only planned on releasing the new console in Japan due to the semiconductor shortage, but they found a workaround that would allow them to sell to consumers in North America and Europe through Amazon. Now technically you’d be buying through Amazon Japan, but you’ll still get it.
Sega told Polygon, “by using Amazon’s ‘Japan Store’ system, we found that at least a small number of units could be sold via Amazon.com, so a portion was allocated to make the North American version.” The thing is, it’s only going to be about one-tenth of the supply we saw with the original Genesis Mini.
This whole series of Minis was a response to a fumble back in 2017 when AtGames attempted to cash in on the retro console craze by making the Sega Genesis Flashback HD. That mini console was not well received, forcing Sega to right the wrong with some extra effort put into making the Genesis Mini.
After the success of Nintendo’s NES and Super NES mini consoles, Sega really couldn’t afford to mess up the opportunity. It was all too reminiscent of the 90s. Luckily, they redeemed themselves. Despite the limited supply of the Genesis Mini 2, It looks like it’s going to be well-received by us 90s kids that grew up on the jet-black console.
You can preorder the Mini 2 right now through Amazon Japan for $106.65 plus $21.99 shipping. Expect it to ship on October 27th.
