"Sega, it's stronger than you!" : if you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you will remember this slogan. Sega, legendary Japanese brand of video games, rocked the first video game steps of millions of children, on consoles such as the Mega Drive and the Master System, passed into posterity. Except that since 2001 and the bitter failure of its Dreamcast, the manufacturer has withdrawn from the war of video game consoles, today dominated without sharing by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. But the glorious past of the Japanese brand is still a recipe and to celebrate its 60th anniversary, Sega is going to release a console ... amazing.
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The Game Gear Micro, an amazing console
After releasing the Mega Drive Mini last year, a sort of best-of version of its classic console from 1988, this time Sega dusted off the Game Gear, a portable console released in 1990 in Japan and a year later in Europe. Designed as a response to the Game Boy from Nintendo, it allowed you to play games in the Sega catalog wherever you are, especially those of the Master System. Revolutionary at the time with its color screen, while the first Game Boy was in black and white, the Game Gear had not had the expected success.
It is however this console that Sega chose to celebrate its 60 years of existence. The Game Gear Micro, which will be released in October in Japan (there is no French date yet), is a funny object, more gadget than console. Its size, already, is astonishing: eight centimeters long by four wide! It literally fits in the palm of your hand. The screen is therefore very small (1.1 inch) but can be "enlarged" using a magnifying glass which is fixed on the Game Gear Micro. As for the buttons, they are smaller than the thumb.
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Sega reissues cult games
Sold 4,980 yen in Japan (around 40 euros), the Game Gear Micro will be available in four models: blue, red, yellow or black. Each will integrate four games from the classics in the Sega catalog. Starting with the timeless Sonic the Hedgehog . There are also other titles that should tickle nostalgic "gamers" like Puyo Puyo , Shinobi and the Shining Force trilogy . A pack bringing together the four versions of the console, the 16 games and the magnifying glass for the screen will be sold for the equivalent of 246 euros.
You have to be honest, this Game Gear Micro is a more symbolic console than anything else. This is not how Sega will return to the video game console market, which has become far too competitive. The Japanese manufacturer simply bet on the nostalgia of the players with a nice product and very accessible in terms of price.