Not too long ago, I talked about how Sony needs a PlayStation 2 Classic or PlayStation 2 Mini if you prefer. I loved the mini console craze that lasted for a few years, the NES, the SNES, the Mega Drive/Genesis, the Turbo Grafx, and even the Amiga… the less said about the PlayStation Classic the better! Sega themselves said that they were tinkering around with the idea of making A Dreamcast Mini, but were worried about the cost and the quality. However, I would love a Dreamcast Mini and would love to know if you would too.
I am a big fan of the Dreamcast, I did admit in my top 5 Sega Dreamcast games list that I did ditch the console once I got a PS2, but it was so much fun while it lasted and ahead of its time in many ways. I have had a few Sega Dreamcasts over the years as they can be quite temperamental. The one I have in my game room now has been in there for around 3 years, but it makes a hell of a lot of noise, I am talking noisy even for a Sega Dreamcast. Having a Sega Dreamcast Mini would be awesome as it would be so much more reliable than the hardware that is left out there.
The Dreamcast has a fantastic lineup of games that they could put on this thing. You have all of the offerings from Sega themselves, Sonic, Zombie Revenge, Dynamite Cop, Daytona, Virtua Fighter, Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Rez, Crazy Taxi, Chu Chu Rocket, and more and those are just the ones off the top of my head. Capcom has been very supportive of the mini console craze so I see no reason as to why we could not get the likes of Resident Evil and Street Fighter on this thing. Plus, Namco would surely be cool with allowing Soulcalibur on this thing! It could have a stacked lineup of 20 games.
Of course, one of the main reasons that we all buy and love these mini consoles is the hacking scene. I have hacked all of my mini consoles, and I have never put other systems on them like some other people do. I just have SNES games (and GBA) on the SNES and NES (and GB and GBC) on the NES Classic. The Sega Mega Drive Classic though, I have Mega Drive, Master System, and 32X games on there, whereas I used the Sega Mega Drive 2 Classic as a way to have a Sega CD collection at hand. You may be saying “Sega Dreamcast games are way too big to have a ton on a console” Well, that is what memory sticks are for, I use a memory stick with both my PlayStation Classic and Mega Drive 2 Classic, and have had no problems.
No way Sega would ever make their Sega Dreamcast Mini hackable on purpose, but just like Ian Malcolm says, “life finds a way” and I have no doubt someone would have found a way to hack it very quickly. The big hurdle for a Dreamcast Mini has to be the price. The controller alone is sure to cost Sega a fair bit of money to reproduce as they would have to put in a little LCD screen to replicate the VMU. The hardware may need to be beefier than their previous mini-consoles too, not to mention increased storage space. There is no way that they could get this out for the same price that they did their Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mini.
How much would you be willing to pay for a Sega Dreamcast Mini? At the end of the day that is the big question. Would someone be willing to pay 200, maybe even 300 big ones for a mini console when they could get an Xbox Series S or a Nintendo Switch for the same or even less money than that? I do not see this catching as many people as the NES, SNES, and Mega Drive Classics do. There is nostalgia for the Dreamcast, but despite those of us who had one loving it, at the end of the day, we have to admit, in the world of gaming, it is something of a niche console.
Those are my thoughts on a Sega Dreamcast Mini, to be honest, I think I would be willing to pay £200, maybe a little more for one of these, but I am someone who had and loved the Dreamcast when it was released. I would love to know your thoughts on a Dreamcast Mini, how much would you be willing to pay? What games would you realistically like to see on it and do you think that there is any chance this could ever happen?