Brought to our attention this week was the obscene price of the SEGA Mega Drive Mini on Amazon – currently at £220.
That’s quite an increase from the original release price and can only be due to one thing: the international chip shortage. Certainly, the price hasn’t just shot up from its initial £75. Rather, it has been a gradual climb, one that appears to mirror the length of the chip shortage and the interruption to freight schedules over the past year or so.
We used the Keepa.com price history and tracking tool to learn more about the price of the SEGA Mega Drive Mini in the past 12 months. In the first year since its October 2019 release, the miniature cloned console maintained a pretty constant price. But then this happened:
Conversely, the Sony PlayStation Classic Console has maintained a pretty standard price. It’s remained at around £90. Did Sony build more of these than SEGA did with the Mega Drive Mini? It’s difficult to say… but we might have found you a loophole.
What is the solution?
It seems that while the Mega Drive Mini is ridiculously expensive, the Genesis Mini is not, available for £90 right now on Amazon. So, here’s an alternative theory: SEGA misjudged demand for devices called “Mega Drive Mini” and is attempting to fix this by selling Genesis Minis instead. The downside here is that this version of the console features a different selection of games.
You could attempt to grab the ROMs of the other games and sideload onto the Mega Drive Mini, but that probably wouldn’t prove to be simple if your knowledge of retro gaming is buying mini consoles or Evercades.
But if you’re desperate for a Mega Drive Mini and don’t have £219.99 to hand, the Genesis Mini makes sense.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
