A Sega Saturn Mini? Hey, Why Not?
There’s an argument to be made about all-in-one consoles. They’re convenient, they’re packed with nostalgia, they’re legal (for those that care about that sort of thing — not the end of the world if you don’t), and they’re reasonably priced. Well, at launch, anyway.
The NES and SNES Mini did amazingly well for Nintendo, to the point that there’s really nothing stopping them from doing a Nintendo 64 Mini (they have the rights to Goldeneye again, after all); and Sega’s been doing rather well with both of its iterations of the Sega Genesis Mini.
In fact, let’s focus on that last one. After making mistakes with its partnership with AtGames (their take on the Sega Genesis all-in-one was pitiful — I mean, that sound!), Sega finally did its own thing and struck gold with its own models. But…why stop at the Genesis?
Over the weekend at the Tokyo Game Show, Japanese hardware firm Tassei Denki showed off what could impeccably be a model of the Sega Saturn Mini. But instead of using traditional emulation of games, it utilizes FPGA technology, allowing for even more accurate software based on the original games.
Though not officially endorsed by Sega, this could very well pave the way for a Sega Saturn Mini — something that Sega didn’t think was “feasible” at the time of suggestion.
“The Sega Saturn is surprisingly high performance, so the difficulty of miniaturization is […] high,” the company noted at the time.
And yet, we’ve seen more-than-accurate emulation from fanboys that work on a number of platforms, particularly the Steam Deck (which I’ve tried and am really impressed with). And as Tassei has proven, it can be done.
The Saturn, believe it or not, does have its fair share of amazing games. It didn’t have the best launch in the world (springing it like a surprise on the game industry and distributors wasn’t exactly a favor), but it did give us awesome ports of titles like Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, Sega Rally and others. And its end cycle was nothing short of incredible, particularly with Panzer Dragoon Saga — one of the most sought after games on the market — and Burning Rangers. (Japan got even more titles, like Radiant Silvergun, X-Men vs. Street Fighter and others.)
So…why not? If Sega can work out a deal with these processing kids, why can’t they do a Sega Saturn Mini? Well, there might be a couple of reasons.
The first is that Sega wants to do this right. Sure, I get that. The AtGames pill was a bitter one to swallow, and if Sega gets this wrong, the fans will totally call them out on it. But, done the right way with the right team members, there’s no reason why this wouldn’t be a success. And it would give the Saturn a rightful second chance on the market, when people can see when it’s going to release and then buy it like crazy.
Of course, this brings up the question of the games. Emulating Panzer Dragoon Saga would take a huge amount of time — but, as we’ve seen from fan projects in the past, it can be done. And with the FPGA tech, I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be done well. I can only imagine how Burning Rangers would hold up over such a process. (Nicely, I figure.)
There are other games to consider, but seeing as how companies like Capcom and others were on board with the Sega Genesis Mini, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be for the Sega Saturn Mini. Plus X-Men vs. Street Fighter would finally get a proper home release, compared to whatever that dreck was on the PlayStation. (It wasn’t the same, sorry, it just wasn’t.)
Of course, some of you out there want the Dreamcast Mini instead. I don’t blame you, and it would be a big hit as well, especially with games like Virtua Tennis, Sega Bass Fishing and Crazy Taxi. But there’s something to be said about the potential of a Saturn Mini, especially if Sega can include games that players missed out on the first time around, either by way of cost or just not getting a proper English translation.
All I’ll say is…think about it, Sega. You might just have something special here.
Just an idea. Have a great weekend, all!
