As part of Sega‘s 60th anniversary, they’ve announced the Game Gear Micro. The Game Gear was an iconic hand held and Sega’s only portable console and despite some issues-I’m looking at you battery life-it was a much loved platform of the era. Even now, many collectors and middle-aged gamers look back on this time and hardware with fondness. That makes my next question all the more contentious, because, “What the hell Sega?”
Rather than release a sensible collection-based system which would likely sell like mad, Sega has opted to split it into four colors, each holding a whopping four (different) games each. This is almost beyond mobile game levels of greed. It’s an obvious attempt to rail collectors and as one myself I find it pretty disappointing. I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of Sega for the better part of three decades and it simply saddens me to see the wasted effort here with so many IPs and opportunities for success on a grand scale.
In terms of release, it is still unknown if this will be global or not. Right now as I understand it, it is set for an Asia release and not much more detail has been released outside of that. The handhelds themselves truly redefine the word as their physical measurements come in at: 80mm wide by 43mm high. The screen size itself is barely over an inch. If you preorder all four it comes with a magnifier which looks pretty ridiculous to be fair, and a fifth smoke colored handheld version which doesn’t turn on and is just for show.
This is where it gets worse, because each console costs roughly $50 dollars. So to play all 16 games will cost you over $200 individually, or 250 for the collection (plus shipping) and will likely help give you adult onset myopia when you hold it next to your face to play.*
*cost of glasses/contact lenses not included.
Here are the game and color assignments:
Black: Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Puyo 2, Outrun, Royal Stone
Blue: Sonic Chaos, Gunstar Heroes, Sylvan Tale, Baku Baku Animal
Yellow: Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei Jashin no Kuni he, Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya, Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict, Nazopuyo Aruru no Ru
Red: Revelations The Demon Slayer, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, GG Shinobi, Columns
If you are interested in importing it, you can do so at the Amazon Store, Rakuten, or the official Sega Store.
In closing, I really hope that in the future, endeavors like these won’t be financially rewarding. Moves like these are becoming far too common and only serve to hurt the gaming industry rather than stir innovation. Sega holds a profound number of beloved IPs that they have been pleaded with to release into the modern gaming era. And while the Sega collections are great, I think it’s time to bring some of these games into the modern era and shake things up a bit. I’ve been a huge supporter of many of their modern games such as the Total War and Yakuza series, but I believe they really don’t have their finger on the pulse anymore if this is an example of their modern efforts. Dear Sega, don’t be another Konami! Love, still your fans.
