Coincidentally or not, as we've caught whiff of Sony launching PlayStation Classic, Sega announced that the Japan launch of their Mega Drive Mini has been pushed back to 2019, so as to coincide with the launch of EU and US versions.
True Sega enthusiasts, also known as them old sods, know that Sega Mega Drive was the console's trademark name in Europe. The same console was sold as Sega Genesis in the US but the overseas response has apparently been so great that the company went back to the drawing table to further differentiate the two.
According to the company's tweet, Sega will also continue to iterate on what they've currently got, "in order to achieve the quality which can satisfy all of Sega fans". They also said they're working with proven Japanese software developers to make sure their dip in the nostalgia-pool is up to scratch.
That being said, it will be interesting to see how Sega plans to spice up Genesis Mini and Mega Drive Mini. Note that both of the names are subject to change, as the company pointed out in the tweet.
All things considered, pulling off a proper launch and hopefully not tracing Nintendo's steps when their NES Mini ended up in short supply for months on end, is certainly in Sega's best interests. After all if European and US customers want a few million more - you better have them while they're craving 'em. Gamers can be a fickle bunch, after all, especially them old sods.
With PlayStation Classic scheduled for 03 December 2018, it might be doubly wise to push back Mega Drive Mini and Genesis Mini to 2019. As much excitement and hype Mega Drives could muster, it's highly unlikely they can fight Sony's relentless PR machine.
Atari
At this tempo, all we need to reconstruct the 1980-90s gaming scene will be Atari, although as things stand - it's unlikely their VCS will ever see the light of day. Starting off as an enthusiastic pitch, Atari was freely pitching VCS pre-orders without having even a playable demo, which ultimately resulted in attacks on the journalist who called it a " ".
