Shuji Utsumi, the current CEO of Sega America and Europe, has scuttled hopes that the Japanese company will make more mini-consoles, like the Mega Drive / Genesis Mini.
Speaking to The Guardian, Utsumi – who helped launch PlayStation in North America before joining Sega in 1996 – stated that resurrecting older hardware isn’t something he’s looking to do:
I’m not going for the Mini direction. It’s not me. I want to embrace modern gamers.
We are not a retro company. We really appreciate our legacy, we value it, but at the same time, we want to deliver something new – otherwise we’ll become history. That’s not what we’re aiming for.
The Guardian later approached Sega for comment on the topic of mini-consoles, and the company reconfirmed what Utsumi said – it has no plans to make more of them. This reaffirms the messaging that has previously come out of Sega’s head office.
Sega has released the Mega Drive Mini, Mega Drive Mini II and Game Gear Micro so far, with the latter being exclusive to Japan. It has also released the Astro City Mini and Astro City Mini V via its Sega Toys subsidiary.
Despite Utsumi’s claim that Sega isn’t looking to revisit old ground, it is currently working on a raft of retro revivals that include Golden Axe, Crazy Taxi, Shinobi and Jet Set Radio.
Go on.... treat yourself to a new game.
