We all got excited when Sega announced their Game Gear Micro series, but it seems that the gaming giants have got another surprise up their sleeves – the Astro City Mini!
Sega has made a lot of headway in the classic mini console range. The Sega Mega Drive Mini was a roaring success, with many fans believing that the Dreamcast Mini was the machine that Sega would be dropping next.
They’re dropping so many new products it’s going to be hard to keep up soon!
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Meet The Astro City Mini – A Desktop Arcade Console
The phrase ‘desktop console’ makes you think of an old-school Windows 98 PC. This thing is nowhere near as big or bulky and can be played either using the small screen on the device or by hooking it up to your TV.
I guess there’s one question a lot of you might be asking, and that’s…
What Is The Astro City Mini?
The Astro City was one of the most iconic arcade cabinets in Japanese gaming arcades. It’s one of Sega’s most proudest achievements and can still be found running in arcades today. They’re a big hit with collectors, and the Astro City Mini is sure to follow in its footsteps.
Like the Neo Geo, the Astro City was known for hosting incredible titles that you could only play in the arcade. The Astro City mini comes with lots of titles pre-installed, just like the other consoles in the classic mini range. And there are even some exclusives too!
What Games Can You Play?
The Astro City Mini has loads of fan-favourite games, including some that never made it out of arcades back in the day.
Dark Edge, an addictive 3D fighting game that makes use of 2D colour sprites, has never been seen on any console outside of arcades. Another exciting title to make it onto the Astro City Mini is Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder. This title has never been ported to a Sega home console before now, so it’s a bit of a big deal!
This tiny arcade cab will have 36 games in total, giving it one of the biggest games lists in the classic mini series. You’ll be able to choose from titles such as Alien Syndrome, Columns II, Virtua Fighter, Altered Beast, Alien Storm, and many more!
How Does The Astro City Mini Work?
The Astro City Mini will incorporate a joystick that uses microswitches, and the arcade-cab buttons are perfectly spaced for right-hand button-mashing action.
Players can play on the small screen built-in to the device, or they can hook it up to a TV or external monitor using the HDMI-out on the back of the console. There are also a couple of USB-A ports if you want to plug in additional controllers for playing along with friends.
Even though the Astro City Mini has a small screen, there’s still no word as to whether you’ll be able to charge it up for remote use or whether you’ll be tethered to a power cable.
There is a micro-USB port on the back of the device, so that would point to there being a battery in the product. If there is a built-in Lithium-Ion battery or space for AAs (see the compartment on the back), then this would instantly set it apart from the other classic mini consoles on the market. There is a battery pack shown in the final pic in this article, so I guess it’s still anyone’s guess at this stage.
How Much Will The Astro City Mini Cost?
As with the Sega Game Gear Micro, the console will be released in Japan first. It’s set to come out later this year (2020) with a price tag of around 12,800 yen. If we see this console in other parts of the world, then we’d be looking to pay around $120 / £93 for it.
Are you mad about arcade games? Will you be ordering this new Sega mini console?
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Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 33 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
