New Sega Consoles?

Two new Sega related consoles were recently announced, though by teams currently unconnected with Sega. The first is the GF1 Neptune, a system designed and modeled on the original official Sega Neptune console, which never released.

GF1 NEPTUNE

For those unfamiliar with the Neptune, it was a codename for an all in one solution which combined Mega Drive/Genesis and 32X tech into one tidy sleek unit, so gamers looking to jump in to the world of 32-bit gaming via the 32X wouldn’t need to buy the base 16-bit console if they didn’t already have one. However, given the subsequent early abandonment of the 32X platform, the Neptune console was quietly cancelled.

Now, Brazilian manufacturer GamesCare has announced its own Sega Neptune console. Called the GF1 Neptune and dropping the Sega name for obvious reasons, this sleek sexy import has a lot of interesting features.

The console is FPGA based so aims for similar performance, compatibility and authenticity as something you’d see from Analogue. The idea is that it can play both Mega Drive and 32X cartridges via its cart slot.

It also supports SD cards as well as Wi-Fi connectivity which will enable users to access a store in order to download titles, and being a modern machine, it will a HDMI connection which will output up to 1080p.

It will also be Mega CD compatible via the authentic expansion port on the underside of the console, similar to the original Mega Drive/Genesis console.

All in all pretty exciting news for Sega fans, especially those of us who have been exceptionally curious of Sega’s long lost abandoned console.

But that wasn’t the only new console news, as around the same time, a team of Spanish Sega fans have shared their work on what could be the ultimate Sega console.

‘SUPERSEGA’ MULTI-CONSOLE

The proposed “SuperSega” boasts not one, not two, but three cartridge slots as well as a disc drive. The idea is that it can play any game from the Mega Drive, Master System, SG1000, Saturn and Dreamcast!

The project uses a Virtex Ultrascale+ FPGA chip for emulation and will apparently support Mega CD and 32X games too, though the latter will need an original console add-on.

While this system is currently known as the “SuperSega”, this isn’t the official name of the project. SuperSega is in fact the name of the original site for a Sega focused emulation community, members of which are contributing to this project.

Nonetheless the team have reached out to Sega for an official license and to include some games with the unit. Can’t be any worse than the At Games machines, right?

Both projects sound promising, though they will need to navigate some significant technical and legal hurdles if they are to fulfil their respective promises on compatibility and emulation accuracy.

For more details and the my opinion on these two consoles, check out the SEGAGuys video below.