It’s the early 90’s all over again.
Nintendo announced earlier this month the release of a mini Nintendo Entertainment System titled the Classic NES. The console comes with 30 mostly classic games built-in. People loved the concept, and now the company’s old rival, Sega, is trying to get in on the action.
AtGames, is re-releasing their version of the Sega built-in console. The model has been on the market for a while and hasn’t picked up nearly the publicity the Nintendo’s mini-console has. But, with people hyped about the Classic NES, AtGames decided to beef up its Sega Mega Drive Classic Game Console.
So what’s different from the original model? Well, it’s entirely games. The system comes with 80 games, 20 newer ones from its previous iteration. Additions include the excellent platformer Sonic 3D Blast and the popular RPG’s Phantasy Star 2 and 3. The console will play Sega cartridges.
It’s not all positive, as the system doesn’t port to HDMI. It’s a massive oversight. Playing old games with updated, smoother graphics is part of the appeal of The Classic NES. Besides the built-in games, there’s not much here to differentiate the console from the original Sega Genesis.
It will be sweet to play Ristar or Sonic the Hedgehog, but AtGames’ attempt to swoop in and take some of the Classic NES nostalgia won’t work unless they seriously upgrade the console. If the Sega Mega Drive Classic Game Console had HDMI, I’d be all for it, but it doesn’t, so it’s not worth buying.
[Polygon]
