Sega of Japan opens votes for Genesis Mini

It’s time to play favorites, folks.

For those not keeping score at home, following the success of both Nintendo’s NES Mini and SNES Mini, Sega announced the Genesis Mini quite some time ago with AtGames heading the project. Historically, AtGames does not have a sterling record for this kind of stuff — they’ve been releasing miniaturized Sega Genesis consoles for many more years than Nintendo’s efforts, and speaking from first hand experience, most of them were marred by extremely poor sound quality and muddy video output.

Hearing this, Sega reconsidered the project, breaking the deal with AtGames and delaying the console considerably while they found a more reputable partner to handle things. That was September, and Sega has not commented further on the quality of the hardware being used or the accuracy of the emulation. In October, Sega of Japan confirmed that the selection of games on the Genesis Mini would be limited, possibly conforming to only a single game per series.

Minutes ago, the @SEGA_OFFICIAL twitter account began running a series of polls to decide which games in some of their most popular franchises will make the cut.

「メガドライブ ミニ（仮称）収録タイトル国民投票」開催！次に続くツイートにて投票してください！

国民投票で収録タイトルが決定するのは、次の3つのシリーズ！
・「ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ」シリーズ
・「ぷよぷよ」シリーズ
・「シャイニング・フォース」シリーズ#メガドラミニ国民投票 pic.twitter.com/gi6A763jvl

— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) February 25, 2019

“Mega Drive Mini (tentative name) title referendum” Held! Please vote in the next tweet! The following three series of titles will be decided by the national referendum!

– [Sonic the Hedgehog] series
– [Puyo Puyo] series
– [Shining Force] Series

Following that tweet, the polls then ask you to choose between Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, Puyo Puyo and Puyo Puyo 2, and, finally, Shining Force and Shining Force 2. Even in Japan, fans were not happy.

ご期待に添えず申し訳ありません。国内版『メガドライブ ミニ』（仮称）は１シリーズ１タイトルのみの収録を予定しております。

— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) February 25, 2019

@40888 (replying to @SEGA_OFFICIAL)
Both, no choice…

 

@SEGA_OFFICIAL (replying to @40888)
We are sorry for your expectation. The domestic version “Mega Drive Mini” (tentative name) is scheduled to be recorded only 1 Series 1 title.

This practice is contrary to nearly all Sega Genesis collections released in the last decade, which generally include most of Sega’s popular first-party titles. Consider Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, which included more than 40 classic Sega Genesis titles and even some Arcade originals.

Recently released for the Nintendo Switch, the “Sega Genesis Classics” collection includes as many as 54 games, including all three Streets of Rage games, both Shining Force titles, plus Phantasy Star 2, 3 and 4. According to what we know, a lot of those games may not appear on the Genesis Mini.

Sega has been no stranger to re-releasing massive collections of Sega Genesis games in every format under the sun, a practice that will be difficult to walk back.

It’s hard to say whether or not these polls will reflect the state of the Genesis Mini in the United States. A running theme with these Mini consoles has been region-exclusive games. Where as America got Final Fantasy 1 on the NES Mini, Japan got Final Fantasy 3. America got Earthbound on the SNES Mini, and but Japan got Legend of the Mystical Ninja. The Playstation Classic gave Americans Siphon Filter, whereas Japan got Parasite Eve. You get the picture. These polls may not necessarily reflect the games we get.

But, at the same time, it’s hard to believe we’ll get a larger quantity of games versus Japan. It may amount to a difference of Comix Zone for English-speaking territories and Puyo Puyo 2 for Japan. Either way, it seems we’ll be missing out.