Sega teases Dreamcast mini

Ah, the Dreamcast. Virtua Tennis, Crazy Taxi, Soulcalibur and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 were among my favourites in the early 2000s. Alas, Sega's ahead of its time console fell by the wayside, and the console war was never the same again.

But, what's this? A whisper the Dreamcast may come back - via the mini treatment.

In an interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, Sega's mini chief Yosuke Okunari discussed what's next for the company's mini range, having already released a Mega Drive mini in 2019 and, in Japan only so far, the Game Gear micro.

Siliconera translated his answers, and there's certainly food for thought:

"I think for the next one, we may go with a concept close to the Mega Drive Mini. If I have to say some names, it could be an SG-1000 Mini or a Dreamcast Mini..."

Let's be honest here, Sega isn't going to make an SG-1000 Mini. The SG-1000 - and I had to look this up - was Sega's limited release entry into the home video game hardware business. It came out in 1983, the same day Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan. It pre-dates the Master System by a couple of years.

So, we have a Dreamcast Mini on the cards, and that makes a lot of sense, I think. The console enjoys a hardcore and loyal following even to this day, nearly 20 years after it was discontinued. Our Martin often remembers playing his Dreamcast, and then I sort of tune out as he mentions something about arcade ports and Seaman.

Don't hold your breath, though. In the interview with Famitsu, Okunari says the next mini will take some time:

"The Game Gear Micro is only sold domestically in Japan. When we do the next one, I feel like the project scope will be much bigger as we gaze upon the world. So we won't be able to release it at this time the next year or two years after the Mega Drive Mini. We can't make it that quickly [laughs]."

If Sega does release a Dreamcast mini next, then it means skipping a Saturn mini. That's fine by me. I never had one of those. Was it any good?