Yukio Sugino, Sega’s president, has commented on the possibility of a miniature console based on the classic Sega Saturn. Over the last few years, many gaming companies have been looking into new ways for gamers to play retro games, leading to the production of miniature consoles preloaded with classic games.
So far, we’ve seen Nintendo’s NES and SNES consoles revived in miniature format and the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mini. Sega originally released their miniature consoles in 2022 across two waves, with the first iteration coming with 42 emulated games built in and the second wave overlapping with Sega CD’s library.
Almost as soon as Sega released the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mini, they asked gamers which hat mini console they’d like to see next via an online questionnaire sent to them if they purchased one of these consoles.
The questionnaire included the possibility of a Sega Saturn and Dreamcast mini, two of the most recognisable and beloved consoles in all of Sega’s history. However, when Yukio Sugino was asked about this materialising, he stated how difficult it might be.
In an interview, Yukio Sugino said that the hardware is the main issue in adapting the Sega Saturn to a mini console. The Sega Saturn was a high-performance machine with more raw power than the PlayStation 1.
A core hesitation comes down to the high cost of producing a miniature version of the hardware being too expensive. But despite the difficulties associated with making this incredibly complex hardware mini, Yukio Sugino said this is something that Sega would consider once they were in a position to openly develop it together with gamers who loved the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast.
At the moment it seems unlikely that a Sega Saturn mini console will be coming out anytime soon, which means many hidden gems of games are trapped on the machine and will likely be lost to time.
If you want to read more about games being lost to time, you can read our coverage of this sad state of affairs here.
Would you be willing to pay for a re-release of the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast? Let us know in the comments.
