Post by spannernick on Jul 19, 2024 12:25:22 GMT
The Mega Drive Mini, known as the Sega Genesis Mini in North America only, is a dedicated console modelled on the Sega Mega Drive. The Mini emulates the original console's 16-bit hardware, and includes 42 games made available through emulation software by M2. It was released in North America and Japan in September 2019 and in Europe and the Middle East in October 2019. A follow-up, Sega Mega Drive Mini 2, was released in October 2022 and includes 60 games from the Mega Drive(Genesis) and Mega CD(Sega CD).
The Mega Drive name was different in the US only, it was called the Genesis and the Mega CD was called Sega CD, Sega of America had no rights the Mega Drive name at the time, someone other company in the US had it so Sega could not use it so they had to change the consoles name to Genesis, so why it had a different in the US only but it was still the same console.
The Mega Drive was created in Japan by Sega of Japan and named the Mega Drive like the Sega Mega Drive Mini.
The Japanese version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1, based on the original Japanese Mega Drive, the Mega Drive box is based on the Sega Master System box, it has the same little square design on it, I think its the best looking box out of all of the MDs, the original one is always the best...
well the others are clones of this one so they could be sold in different regions of the world with the right languages.
The first Mega Drive I got in 1989 was the Japanese version, it was not released in the UK until 1990 by Virgin Mastertronic ...
Did you know you use to be able to rent a Sega Mega Drive from a UK Video Rental Shop...
yep you could plus the games too, you could rent it for 3 days at a time in 1989/90...
I uses to rent games from the Video shop for mine, cheaper then buying the games and one way to test a game and if you like it or not, so long before you do that online and rent them, you could rent games from Blockbusters too, I uses to rent PSOne games from Blockbusters then copy them and then give them back, one way of keeping the games you liked...
.
The Japanese version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1:
![https://i.ibb.co/bKSZZv3/md-mini-japan.png](https://i.ibb.co/bKSZZv3/md-mini-japan.png)
The US version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1 (The Genesis):
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kitguru.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F07%2FSega-Genesis-Mini.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a9af24b21214adeecd3c6b1c7c7b6d19ce04df85874198399861bcf00f618e67&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kitguru.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F07%2FSega-Genesis-Mini.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a9af24b21214adeecd3c6b1c7c7b6d19ce04df85874198399861bcf00f618e67&ipo=images)
The UK/EU version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1:
![https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71jz2UF7LsS._AC_SL1000_.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71jz2UF7LsS._AC_SL1000_.jpg)
The UK/EU Version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2:
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaming-grounds.de%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F09%2FMega-Drive-Mini-2-Packshot.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3a3bde8abdcf1fe538c03bae71ad1bc9922b797701d0d48c6c8099386f0f29f3&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaming-grounds.de%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F09%2FMega-Drive-Mini-2-Packshot.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3a3bde8abdcf1fe538c03bae71ad1bc9922b797701d0d48c6c8099386f0f29f3&ipo=images)
The Mega Drive Mini 1 Menu (Japan):
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F9cy6dvwyssI%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=64eb3cdbfae8920eb356c1eb8873597962fd0f173e7a584d52c6b736d74c2e2b&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F9cy6dvwyssI%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=64eb3cdbfae8920eb356c1eb8873597962fd0f173e7a584d52c6b736d74c2e2b&ipo=images)
The Mega Drive Mini 1 Menu (UK/EU):
![https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KYRODmW__keMntgbXB5xV0_L5Eo=/0x0:1280x720/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x720):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18971456/My_Great_Capture_Screenshot_2019_08_06_14_35_24.png](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KYRODmW__keMntgbXB5xV0_L5Eo=/0x0:1280x720/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x720):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18971456/My_Great_Capture_Screenshot_2019_08_06_14_35_24.png)
The Mega drive Mini 2 Menu (UK/EU):
![https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/637122008064458752/1263609059358019596/image.png?ex=669b83e4&is=669a3264&hm=0cd5d7006e670857a1b17d700fe405195c5855683c28db45345f59da50db8180&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=532&height=325](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/637122008064458752/1263609059358019596/image.png?ex=669b83e4&is=669a3264&hm=0cd5d7006e670857a1b17d700fe405195c5855683c28db45345f59da50db8180&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=532&height=325)
Hardware and accessories
Both Mega Drive Mini 1 and 2 uses the same SOC ARM CPU and Kernel, only the MD Mini 2 nand size has changed, its bigger, because MD Mini 2 has Mega CD games included and they are a lot bigger then MD cartridges were.
Operating system: Linux kernel 3.4.113
System on a chip: SOC ZUIKI Z7213 CPU 1.3 GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex A7, its based on a Allwinner A33 see below.
GPU:Mali-400.
Memory: 256 MB of RAM
Storage MD Mini 1: 512 MB flash storage
Storage MD Mini 2: 7.28 GB flash storage
Power: AXP223
The Z7213 SoC is based on the A33, there was a SoC made by Allwinner that used the Cortex A7 chipset,
The Allwinner A33, ARM designs the SoCs Cortex chipset then sell them to SoC manufactures.
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Flinux-sunxi.org%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2Fe%2Fe1%2FA33.jpg%2F250px-A33.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2ca8acfba02c0ba8b8446a1064ca7ea781df09b0bea5c99c5578212657a5f7f0&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Flinux-sunxi.org%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2Fe%2Fe1%2FA33.jpg%2F250px-A33.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2ca8acfba02c0ba8b8446a1064ca7ea781df09b0bea5c99c5578212657a5f7f0&ipo=images)
linux-sunxi.org/A33
The Mini is half the size of the original Sega Mega Drive. Inside the unit is an ARM-based SOC ZUIKI Z7213[4] and 512 MB of flash memory. It includes either one or two (dependent on region's bundle options) full-size replica controllers that connect through USB (thus original controllers are incompatible) a USB-to-Micro-B power cable (USB AC adapter in North America), and an HDMI video cable.[1] There are separate releases for North America, Europe, Asia and Japan, as the Mini reproduces the original console's decal and color variations in those regions. Korea is a slight exception, as the Mega Drive was released there by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and Super Aladdin Boy; none of these names appear on the Korean Mini.
All of the games have a save state feature to pause and resume progress and can be played in either the original 4:3 aspect ratio with optional wallpapers or stretched to 16:9 widescreen with HUD elements modified to fit onto the screen. Certain games have regional variants that can be accessed by changing the system's language settings (e.g. switching the system language from English to Japanese will change Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine into Puyo Puyo.)
The North American and European models of the Mega Drive Mini come bundled with two three-button controllers, while the Japanese model comes with two six-button controllers.[5] Officially licensed six-button controllers made specifically for the Mini are also sold separately in North America and Europe. Official model accessories of a miniature Mega-CD, a miniature Super 32X, a miniature Sonic & Knuckles lock-on Genesis cartridge, and a miniature Sonic the Hedgehog standard Mega Drive cartridge were also sold separately in Japan. Miniature replicas of the Sega CD and Sega 32X in both the North American and European versions were also manufactured but only distributed to select members of the media.
The Mini 2 system is modelled after the Mega Drive 2 variant of the original console and comes bundled with over 50 games and a single six-button controller in all regions. It uses the same SOC chip as the first Mini, albeit with more memory and storage. In addition to the first Mini's emulation features, the Mini 2 includes the option to emulate the sound outputs of the original Mega Drive or Mega Drive 2. Like with the original Mega Drive Mini, a set of model accessories consisting of a miniature Mega-CD 2, a miniature Virtua Racing cartridge, and a miniature Sonic CD disc was released in Japan alongside the system, including compatibility parts with the first Mega Drive Mini and its accessories. Additionally, a USB-powered Cyber Stick controller based on the original flight stick controller produced by Sharp was released alongside the system in Japan and provides analogy input for After Burner II, Night Striker, and Starblade.
The Mega Drive name was different in the US only, it was called the Genesis and the Mega CD was called Sega CD, Sega of America had no rights the Mega Drive name at the time, someone other company in the US had it so Sega could not use it so they had to change the consoles name to Genesis, so why it had a different in the US only but it was still the same console.
The Mega Drive was created in Japan by Sega of Japan and named the Mega Drive like the Sega Mega Drive Mini.
The Japanese version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1, based on the original Japanese Mega Drive, the Mega Drive box is based on the Sega Master System box, it has the same little square design on it, I think its the best looking box out of all of the MDs, the original one is always the best...
![:)](http://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
The first Mega Drive I got in 1989 was the Japanese version, it was not released in the UK until 1990 by Virgin Mastertronic ...
![:)](http://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
Did you know you use to be able to rent a Sega Mega Drive from a UK Video Rental Shop...
![:)](http://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
![:)](http://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
![:)](http://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
The Japanese version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1:
![https://i.ibb.co/bKSZZv3/md-mini-japan.png](https://i.ibb.co/bKSZZv3/md-mini-japan.png)
The US version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1 (The Genesis):
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kitguru.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F07%2FSega-Genesis-Mini.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a9af24b21214adeecd3c6b1c7c7b6d19ce04df85874198399861bcf00f618e67&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kitguru.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F07%2FSega-Genesis-Mini.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a9af24b21214adeecd3c6b1c7c7b6d19ce04df85874198399861bcf00f618e67&ipo=images)
The UK/EU version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 1:
![https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71jz2UF7LsS._AC_SL1000_.jpg](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71jz2UF7LsS._AC_SL1000_.jpg)
The UK/EU Version of the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2:
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaming-grounds.de%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F09%2FMega-Drive-Mini-2-Packshot.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3a3bde8abdcf1fe538c03bae71ad1bc9922b797701d0d48c6c8099386f0f29f3&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaming-grounds.de%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F09%2FMega-Drive-Mini-2-Packshot.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3a3bde8abdcf1fe538c03bae71ad1bc9922b797701d0d48c6c8099386f0f29f3&ipo=images)
The Mega Drive Mini 1 Menu (Japan):
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F9cy6dvwyssI%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=64eb3cdbfae8920eb356c1eb8873597962fd0f173e7a584d52c6b736d74c2e2b&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F9cy6dvwyssI%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=64eb3cdbfae8920eb356c1eb8873597962fd0f173e7a584d52c6b736d74c2e2b&ipo=images)
The Mega Drive Mini 1 Menu (UK/EU):
![https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KYRODmW__keMntgbXB5xV0_L5Eo=/0x0:1280x720/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x720):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18971456/My_Great_Capture_Screenshot_2019_08_06_14_35_24.png](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KYRODmW__keMntgbXB5xV0_L5Eo=/0x0:1280x720/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:1280x720):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/18971456/My_Great_Capture_Screenshot_2019_08_06_14_35_24.png)
The Mega drive Mini 2 Menu (UK/EU):
![https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/637122008064458752/1263609059358019596/image.png?ex=669b83e4&is=669a3264&hm=0cd5d7006e670857a1b17d700fe405195c5855683c28db45345f59da50db8180&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=532&height=325](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/637122008064458752/1263609059358019596/image.png?ex=669b83e4&is=669a3264&hm=0cd5d7006e670857a1b17d700fe405195c5855683c28db45345f59da50db8180&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=532&height=325)
Hardware and accessories
Both Mega Drive Mini 1 and 2 uses the same SOC ARM CPU and Kernel, only the MD Mini 2 nand size has changed, its bigger, because MD Mini 2 has Mega CD games included and they are a lot bigger then MD cartridges were.
Operating system: Linux kernel 3.4.113
System on a chip: SOC ZUIKI Z7213 CPU 1.3 GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex A7, its based on a Allwinner A33 see below.
GPU:Mali-400.
Memory: 256 MB of RAM
Storage MD Mini 1: 512 MB flash storage
Storage MD Mini 2: 7.28 GB flash storage
Power: AXP223
The Z7213 SoC is based on the A33, there was a SoC made by Allwinner that used the Cortex A7 chipset,
The Allwinner A33, ARM designs the SoCs Cortex chipset then sell them to SoC manufactures.
![https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Flinux-sunxi.org%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2Fe%2Fe1%2FA33.jpg%2F250px-A33.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2ca8acfba02c0ba8b8446a1064ca7ea781df09b0bea5c99c5578212657a5f7f0&ipo=images](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Flinux-sunxi.org%2Fimages%2Fthumb%2Fe%2Fe1%2FA33.jpg%2F250px-A33.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=2ca8acfba02c0ba8b8446a1064ca7ea781df09b0bea5c99c5578212657a5f7f0&ipo=images)
linux-sunxi.org/A33
The Mini is half the size of the original Sega Mega Drive. Inside the unit is an ARM-based SOC ZUIKI Z7213[4] and 512 MB of flash memory. It includes either one or two (dependent on region's bundle options) full-size replica controllers that connect through USB (thus original controllers are incompatible) a USB-to-Micro-B power cable (USB AC adapter in North America), and an HDMI video cable.[1] There are separate releases for North America, Europe, Asia and Japan, as the Mini reproduces the original console's decal and color variations in those regions. Korea is a slight exception, as the Mega Drive was released there by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and Super Aladdin Boy; none of these names appear on the Korean Mini.
All of the games have a save state feature to pause and resume progress and can be played in either the original 4:3 aspect ratio with optional wallpapers or stretched to 16:9 widescreen with HUD elements modified to fit onto the screen. Certain games have regional variants that can be accessed by changing the system's language settings (e.g. switching the system language from English to Japanese will change Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine into Puyo Puyo.)
The North American and European models of the Mega Drive Mini come bundled with two three-button controllers, while the Japanese model comes with two six-button controllers.[5] Officially licensed six-button controllers made specifically for the Mini are also sold separately in North America and Europe. Official model accessories of a miniature Mega-CD, a miniature Super 32X, a miniature Sonic & Knuckles lock-on Genesis cartridge, and a miniature Sonic the Hedgehog standard Mega Drive cartridge were also sold separately in Japan. Miniature replicas of the Sega CD and Sega 32X in both the North American and European versions were also manufactured but only distributed to select members of the media.
The Mini 2 system is modelled after the Mega Drive 2 variant of the original console and comes bundled with over 50 games and a single six-button controller in all regions. It uses the same SOC chip as the first Mini, albeit with more memory and storage. In addition to the first Mini's emulation features, the Mini 2 includes the option to emulate the sound outputs of the original Mega Drive or Mega Drive 2. Like with the original Mega Drive Mini, a set of model accessories consisting of a miniature Mega-CD 2, a miniature Virtua Racing cartridge, and a miniature Sonic CD disc was released in Japan alongside the system, including compatibility parts with the first Mega Drive Mini and its accessories. Additionally, a USB-powered Cyber Stick controller based on the original flight stick controller produced by Sharp was released alongside the system in Japan and provides analogy input for After Burner II, Night Striker, and Starblade.