While it was all but assured that Sega planned to create a North American Genesis Mini 2 given their announcement of the Japanese Mega Drive 2, it looks like we have a leak on Amazon to thank for prompting Sega to make it official.
The American Genesis 2 will be launching on October 27th, 2022 and, like the foreign Mega Drive incarnation, will include 50 fresh classic titles (23 of which have been announced so far) and will include both original Genesis games as well as some from the Sega CD catalog.
Differentiating 2019’s Genesis Mini from the Mini 2 at a glance will be a non-affair given that the latter is shaped like a miniature Model 2 console and will come standard with the 6-button controller rather than the original package’s 3-button. Note, however, that the Genesis 2 will only include a single controller compared to the original package’s pair.
Sega says that both controllers will be compatible with either system.
In addition, Sega has said that the Genesis Mini 2 will be powered by an entirely new system-on-ship (SoC); one which will include additional flash storage and greater processing power needed to properly emulate the Sega CD hardware.
The 23 games announced for the Western Genesis Mini 2 thus far:
- After Burner II
- Alien Soldier (Japanese)
- Bonanza Bros.
- Fantasy Zone
- Lightening Force
- Mansion of Hidden Sls. (CD)
- Night Striker (CD/ Japanese)
- The Ninjawarriors (CD/ Japanese)
- The Ooze
- OutRun
- OutRunners
- Rainbow Islands Extra
- Rolling Thunder 2
- Shining Force CD (CD)
- Shining in the Darkness
- Silpheed (CD)
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Sonic CD (CD)
- Splatterhouse 2
- Star Mobile (previously unreleased)
- Super Hang-On
- Vectorman 2
- Virtua Racing
While Amazon is taking preorders for the North American unit already, strangely an international shipping charge of nearly $22 takes the $80 system to just over $100 total. Whether or not Amazon USA will begin taking preorders for the console without the international transportation rate tacked on is yet to be determined.
To learn more, Sega of Japan now has an official North American Genesis Mini 2 site.
