Sega has reportedly considered releasing a Dreamcast Mini version but decided against it due to concerns over quality and cost.
At least, that’s what YouTuber and Retro gaming guru Adam Koralik has said in a new YouTube video about a mini version of the console and the Sega Saturn Mini. As most of you will know, there was a trend of releasing mini versions of retro consoles some years ago with Nintendo releasing the NES and SNES Mini, Sega releasing the Genesis (Mega Drive) Mini, and Sony releasing a mini version of its original PlayStation – the PlayStation Classic. Unlike Nintendo and Sony, Sega didn’t stop there, however, and revealed a definitive version of the Sega Genesis Mini last year – the Genesis Mini 2. So what prevented Sega from releasing a mini version of its console that got out with a bang, and one considered Sega’s best console – the Sega Dreamcast? Shortly put, technology.
In Koralik’s video, the YouTuber talks about Sega’s consoles, and how he worked with Sega during the re-release of Shenmue. He likely refers to the re-release of the first Shenmue games on PC and consoles in 2018. According to the Retro Gaming Guru, he was having a call with Sega over doing various digital Dreamcast re-releases instead of releasing those titles via a mini Dreamcast version. Koralik then asked what is the problem with the Mini version of the console, after which Sega said that it will be too expensive for a mini console. “If we want to release it as a console, it will be like $300 USD because we need to put real hardware in it and the technology is just not cheap enough yet to actually do that”, he reveals in the video. “Nobody would be happy with the $300 USD price tag. People would be expecting $100 USD so everyone would be mad.”
Sega seemingly also considered releasing a mini version with PC conversions of Dreamcast titles, but these titles weren’t received that well by the community. “You can either get that cheap affordable one that’s not a great product, or you get the product one that’s not affordable”, Koralik added. “Hence it has not been released”.
If true, we can see where Sega is coming from. After all, sales of the Dreamcast did not meet Sega’s expectations, and it was the last console the Japanese company released. In addition, the mini console hype passed over fairly quickly and we can imagine fans wanting a mini version that’s priced higher than the original console.
