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SEGA has been on quite the miniature kick lately, releasing their Genesis Mini system last year, and following upon that idea with the reveal of the Game Gear Micro, announced earlier this year. They're not done yet, though, as they have plans to bring back nostalgic memories of old-school arcades. Called the Astro City Mini, this latest project was first revealed in a news article on Game Watch Japan, and was swiftly deleted, presumably having accidentally been posted a bit too early, though not before pictures were backed up from the article. The Astro City Mini is a mini tabletop-sized arcade cabinet, with six buttons, a joystick, and a small screen. 36 games will be available on the system, with ten of them revealed thus far, including the likes of Virtua Fighter, Golden Axe, and Altered Beast. Also included are the following:

• Alien Syndrome
• Alien Storm
• Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder
• Columns II
• Dark Edge
• Puzzle & Action: TantR
• Fantasy Zone

SEGA will be releasing the Astro City Mini later this year in Japan, where it will retail for 12,800 yen (~$120). The mini cabinet will also feature a headphone jack, two USB ports, a micro USB input for power, and an HDMI out, used for playing the games on a TV or monitor.

Source

 

[Stealphie]

I need a gameboy micro mini

What about the Game Gear Micro Micro?

 

[zoogie]

Whare Game Boy Mini, Nintendo. What are you dooooing.

 

[NaTaS69]

I'm guessing is 6 games per device.
Like the GameGear Micro.

 

[duwen]

IDK, I just don't see the appeal of devices in this form factor. The Genesis Mini was neat because you could connect it to a TV and it was essentially a smaller Genesis. Not this weird, mini-arcade thing that looks like it was only meant for kids, and can't be played with two players from the looks of things.

It's got hdmi output and two usb inputs for external controllers, so it's got equal functionality to the MD/Gen mini with the added feature of being a self contained, all-in-one device.
I'm most intrigued by the 6-button configuration as I can't think of any Sega arcade IP's that used that many buttons... perhaps it's hinting at third party titles.

I'm guessing is 6 games per device.
Like the GameGear Micro.

It's confirmed to have 36 games installed.

 

[HulkWogan]

Nomad mini would be an interesting prospect, especially once hacked. It would be much better than a Game Gear mini.

 

[nashismo]

you're on gbatemp, we're all 'that guy'
ALSO YES, A PS2 CLASSIC WOULD BE AMAZING
then i can bust it wide open like the ps1 classic and finally experience ps2 games
plus there's a hella lot more people who are more nostalgic for the ps2 than the ps1
(sorry ps1 fans)

I have been saying this for YEARS. A PS2 HD would be an amazing thing! If only 720p, even then it would be MILES better than what we have. PS2 games are like 512x384, not kidding they are really low res, and on an HD TV they look hideous. Even on my Sony CRT they look a bit bad!

But sure, the only way to achieve this, would be to actually have the PS2 chips, entangled with some GPU doing the 3D scaling to make it native 720p.

This would be glorious, because you could even play PS1 games

Sony would NEVER do this though, they SUCK these days.

 

[duwen]

I have been saying this for YEARS. A PS2 HD would be an amazing thing! If only 720p, even then it would be MILES better than what we have. PS2 games are like 512x384, not kidding they are really low res, and on an HD TV they look hideous. Even on my Sony CRT they look a bit bad!

But sure, the only way to achieve this, would be to actually have the PS2 chips, entangled with some GPU doing the 3D scaling to make it native 720p.

This would be glorious, because you could even play PS1 games

Sony would NEVER do this though, they SUCK these days.

No.
My PS2 looks fantastic on my 4k tv, outputting via component at resolutions between 480p and 576i. It honestly looks just as good (and in some cases, better) than my Gamecube connected via GCHDMI.
There's zero reason for a "mini console" for anything more recent than the 32bit systems of the mid 90's - and even those are debatable.

 

[AmandaRose]

I'm most intrigued by the 6-button configuration as I can't think of any Sega arcade IP's that used that many buttons... perhaps it's hinting at third party titles.

My guess would be Street Fighter 2 or some other capcom fighting game as they realesed a number of their games on Sega's Astro City arcade machines.

 

[pedro702]

No.
My PS2 looks fantastic on my 4k tv, outputting via component at resolutions between 480p and 576i. It honestly looks just as good (and in some cases, better) than my Gamecube connected via GCHDMI.
There's zero reason for a "mini console" for anything more recent than the 32bit systems of the mid 90's - and even those are debatable.

n64 is basicaly the only really bad looking original console on hd tvs even with s video it looks preety blurry, we need a n64 hd clone of mini imo.

 

[duwen]

My guess would be Street Fighter 2 or some other capcom fighting game as they realesed a number of their games on Sega's Astro City arcade machines.

View attachment 216577

Not sure you could say they were 'released' on Astro City hardware (certainly the earlier CPS1/2 boards never were), but the boards often ended up in the Astro/Blast cabs due to their awesome versatility... although that's fairly true of the JAMMA standard as a whole.

I'd like to think that Sega might also incorporate games for later hardware... such as Atomiswave! The Sega/Sammy/Arcsys "Hokuto No Ken" would be an awesome addition!

 

[SuperDan]

Just Meh Really ....................... Time for the N64 Mini Or Dreamcast Mini

 

[nashismo]

No.
My PS2 looks fantastic on my 4k tv, outputting via component at resolutions between 480p and 576i. It honestly looks just as good (and in some cases, better) than my Gamecube connected via GCHDMI.
There's zero reason for a "mini console" for anything more recent than the 32bit systems of the mid 90's - and even those are debatable.

This is not up for discussion. The PS2 is 512x384 and it looks hideous on HD TV's. If you have a good TV with a good upscaler then that's great, but it objectively is low res, there is no discussion. I enjoy the PS2 on my Wega CRT, but I cannot be blind to "reality".

Also, is not about "clarity". I have the original PS2 component expensive cables and is just bad, add to that the fact that NO PS2 game had any sort of anti aliasing and you end up with a fucking mess. Component cables or not.

Also, I could not resist to tell you, but you sound like a fucking asshole. That is subjective though, not objective as the PS2 low as hell resolution.

 

[cvskid]

This is a big deal for golden axe fans as this is the first time that golden axe the revenge of death adder is getting an official home release.

 

[Glyptofane]

No mention of M2 handling the emulation. Makes me wonder if they don't think it's important enough to mention or they outsourced to a different company. Still hoping for a Saturn or Dreamcast mini but chances are they probably find it cheaper to just release another Genesis compilation pack on the PS5.

M2 is not involved with Astro City Mini.

long-time Sega Ages producer/supervisor Yosuke Okunari: "the Astro City Mini is being made and released by Sega Toys, an affiliated company, and not Sega itself; additionally, neither myself nor M2 are involved. thx for your continued support of the Game Gear Micro!"🇯🇵 https://t.co/ozqneIj63o

— GSK | https://cohost.org/gosokkyu (@gosokkyu) July 8, 2020

 

[duwen]

This is not up for discussion. The PS2 is 512x384 and it looks hideous on HD TV's. If you have a good TV with a good upscaler then that's great, but it objectively is low res, there is no discussion. I enjoy the PS2 on my Wega CRT, but I cannot be blind to "reality".

Also, is not about "clarity". I have the original PS2 component expensive cables and is just bad, add to that the fact that NO PS2 game had any sort of anti aliasing and you end up with a fucking mess. Component cables or not.

Also, I could not resist to tell you, but you sound like a fucking asshole. That is subjective though, not objective as the PS2 low as hell resolution.

Do some research...

The PlayStation 2 may natively output video resolutions on SDTV and HDTV from 480i to 480p while other games, such as Gran Turismo 4 and Tourist Trophy are known to support up-scaled 1080i resolution[41] using any of the following standards: composite video (480i), S-Video (480i), RGB (480i/p), VGA (for progressive scan games and PS2 Linux only), YPBPR component video (which display most original PlayStation games in their native 240p mode which most HDTV sets do not support), and D-Terminal. Cables are available for all of these signal types; these cables also output analog stereo audio.
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Further reading that may help you out - https://www.retrorgb.com/playstation2.html

Yes, I have a good tv that does a really good job upscaling lower resolutions and even making interlaced signals look really good, but the fact that an upscale can look good means that the source signal is good to begin with (certainly not the trash you're implying ALL PS2's output).
Your problem isn't the PS2, it's your inability to get the best out of it and just blame it on an invented resolution issue. Taking the time, and spending some money, to get the best out of my systems on modern hardware doesn't make me a "fucking asshole" - if I came on a forum and spewed shit about false resolutions and implied that anyone that has good reason to disagree is a "fucking asshole", that would make me a "fucking asshole".

 

[Harsky]

M2 is not involved with Astro City Mini.

https://twitter.com/gosokkyu/status/1280784025808809984

Leaving it to a division who only had video game experience working with the Pico education device. Pretty bold move there Sega.

 

[pedro702]

Do some research...

The PlayStation 2 may natively output video resolutions on SDTV and HDTV from 480i to 480p while other games, such as Gran Turismo 4 and Tourist Trophy are known to support up-scaled 1080i resolution[41] using any of the following standards: composite video (480i), S-Video (480i), RGB (480i/p), VGA (for progressive scan games and PS2 Linux only), YPBPR component video (which display most original PlayStation games in their native 240p mode which most HDTV sets do not support), and D-Terminal. Cables are available for all of these signal types; these cables also output analog stereo audio.
​

Further reading that may help you out - https://www.retrorgb.com/playstation2.html

Yes, I have a good tv that does a really good job upscaling lower resolutions and even making interlaced signals look really good, but the fact that an upscale can look good means that the source signal is good to begin with (certainly not the trash you're implying ALL PS2's output).
Your problem isn't the PS2, it's your inability to get the best out of it and just blame it on an invented resolution issue. Taking the time, and spending some money, to get the best out of my systems on modern hardware doesn't make me a "fucking asshole" - if I came on a forum and spewed shit about false resolutions and implied that anyone that has good reason to disagree is a "fucking asshole", that would make me a "fucking asshole".

the sole reason we dont need a ps2 mini is becuase we have phat ps3 that read ps2 disc and upscale the games to hd, that is good enough for me, but yeah n64 is the one that really needs a hd clone or some sort of mini device.

 

[Retinal_FAILURE]

It largely depends on the quality of one's hardware. PS2 looks great on my WEGA CRT even through composite. Component YPbPr looks even better, and honestly, on my Samsung UN32EH5300 that supports 240P for PS1 and select PS2 titles it looks good enough without a separate upscaler device. Using GSM can easily output many games at 480P. which is an awesome improvement for the vast majority of PS2 games. The best part about the PS2, and please don't laugh, however is the recently made progress in getting the DVD player in the PS2 to output RGB in 480i over component cables. Movies look excellent even on a HDTV and looks 'professional' quality using a CRT for a DVD. Of course using a PVM/ BVM yields even nicer results, but the quality of cables do matter, too.