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If the classic Genesis/Mega Drive offerings from Atgames weren't up your alley, there soon will be another alternative on the market for SEGA fans to get their retro fix from. Analogue, known for creating the Super NT, will be manufacturing a system that can play Genesis/Mega Drive and Master System cartridges. Called the Mega Sg, it'll house an Altera Cyclone V FPGA chip, which means every game will be "100% compatible" with the hardware, and though it isn't the chipset found in Sega's original console, it's close, and this one allows games to be played through an HDMI connection while still looking good, and promising little to no input lag. And yes, the Yamaha YM2612 soundcard is included, so that all your Genesis games will sound just like they used to. The Mega Sg will cost $189.99, and for $10 more, Analogue will also have extra cartridge adapters that lets players use Game Gear, Mark III, MyCard, SG-1000, and SG-3000 games on the system.

For those that still have their original Sega CD adapter, you can plug it right into the Mega Sg, as it has official support for the add-on, though due to hardware problems, it will not support the 32X. Games from all regions will be supported, as the hardware is region free, and multiple visual options are available, such as adding scanlines, scaling options, and more. The Mega Sg can be pre-ordered as of today, and will launch sometime in March 2019.

Analogue has uploaded a video showing off the quality of games played on the Mega Sg, which you can check out below.

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[the_randomizer]

I thought AtGames were doing the next one? I'd actually consider buying one if it was half as good as the SNES Classic, but AtGames' ones just aren't.

Nope, they were sacked, a Japanese developer has taken over. There was totally a Tweet about it.

 

[FateForWindows]

I thought AtGames were doing the next one? I'd actually consider buying one if it was half as good as the SNES Classic, but AtGames' ones just aren't.

They were (presumably) fired when the console was delayed.

 

[the_randomizer]

They were (presumably) fired when the console was delayed.

Any developer would have done a better job

 

[CeeDee]

Nope, they were sacked, a Japanese developer has taken over. There was totally a Tweet about it.

They were (presumably) fired when the console was delayed.

Rad, that's good news. Gives me hope for something that's a quality product.

 

[the_randomizer]

Rad, that's good news. Gives me hope for something that's a quality product.

Maybe M2 or D3T (actually, scratch that, they kinda botched the one on Steam).

 

[invaderyoyo]

This sounds great! I absolutely love my Super NT. Paired with an SD2SNES, it's perfect.

Gonna have to get a Mega Everdrive.

 

[dAVID_]

Another mini console, another cash grab.

 

[Minox]

Another mini console, another cash grab.

Huh? You didn't even read this news piece did you? It's a hardware emulation clone, it's not official in any way and it would require original cartridges or a flashcart to play.

 

[dAVID_]

Huh? You didn't even read this news piece did you? It's a hardware emulation clone, it's not official in any way and it would require original cartridges or a flashcart to play.

I'm pretty sure that fits the definition of mini console.

 

[Minox]

I'm pretty sure that fits the definition of mini console.

Except hardware emulation clones are much more expensive to manufacture making it hard to make them into huge cash grabs like the NES & SNES Classic which are produced fairly cheaply running on ARM SOCs. I'll give it to you that size-wise they might be smaller than the originals though.

 

[dAVID_]

Except hardware emulation clones are much more expensive to manufacture making it hard to make them into huge cash grabs like the NES & SNES Classic which are produced fairly cheaply running on ARM SOCs. I'll give it to you that size-wise they might be smaller than the originals though.

That does explain the price tag.

 

[the_randomizer]

Except hardware emulation clones are much more expensive to manufacture making it hard to make them into huge cash grabs like the NES & SNES Classic which are produced fairly cheaply running on ARM SOCs. I'll give it to you that size-wise they might be smaller than the originals though.

Hardware emulation tends to be way more accurate than the Mini consoles could ever be.

 

[Minox]

Hardware emulation tends to be way more accurate than the Mini consoles could ever be.

Like someone mentioned above when linking to a Higan article - that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.

 

[the_randomizer]

Like someone mentioned above when linking to a Higan article - that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.

I'd say that Higan and the Super NT are identical in terms of accuracy, even getting that dot-based rendering shadow correct, and the S-SMP emulation is spot on. Analog tends to go for
as accurate as possible. Snes Mini still gets a lot of games' sound incorrectly emulated.

 

[Minox]

I'd say that Higan and the Super NT are identical in terms of accuracy, even getting that dot-based rendering shadow correct, and the S-SMP emulation is spot on. Analog tends to go for
as accurate as possible. Snes Mini still gets a lot of games' sound incorrectly emulated.

Higan should be more accurate as far as emulation goes, but the point it proves is that software emulation can be more accurate than hardware emulation with the key word being can. Often though the software emulation used in these mini consoles are made to be just good enough for most people to not care.

 

[Hanafuda]

For 200$ I can pick up a used Genesis and a Everdrive and still have left over money.

If you're using an old CRT television, sure. With a modern LCD TV, without an upscaler the original console's display's gonna look like shit.

 

[Jackson Ferrell]

Does releasing "Classic" versions of retro consoles decrease the value of the original consoles?

 

[the_randomizer]

Higan should be more accurate as far as emulation goes, but the point it proves is that software emulation can be more accurate than hardware emulation with the key word being can. Often though the software emulation used in these mini consoles are made to be just good enough for most people to not care.

Snes mini can't even emulate Earthworm Jim 2 without major audio issues, *shrug* I'd rather use the Super NT than Higan though, there's literally no distinguishable difference between the two.

 

[Minox]

Snes mini can't even emulate Earthworm Jim 2 without major audio issues, *shrug* I'd rather use the Super NT than Higan though, there's literally no distinguishable difference between the two.

Don't get me wrong. I'm also looking to get a Super NT myself - I just want to make it clear that just because something is software emulation doesn't mean it has to be any worse than hardware emulation if a well enough done job has been done.

 

[Rahkeesh]

Eh as awesome as Higan is, isn't it ever so slightly worse on the latency front. In a way that you can't even approximate without custom hardware for all your inputs and outputs. And running the thing on any kind of multitasking OS seems like the other half of the problem.