Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Would you believe there is still someone developing new games for the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive? I recently learned about a game called Beggar Prince. It claims to be the first commercial Genesis game released in the US in nearly ten years. Check it out here:

http://www.beggarprince.com/

It looks like it might be a fun little RPG. It's 32 megabits, which makes it even larger than Phantasy Star IV. They're taking orders for the third printing now. I'm thinking about ordering a copy myself. It would be cool to have a new Genesis game again after all this time.

This is interesting. However, since Sega Genesis/Megadrives sre no longer in production, I don't see the point, unless they want that classic console feel. I'm sure that older Sega systems aren't easy to get ahold of unless you care to do some shopping online or happen to have a system stored away.

The idea that someone's still making games like this is pretty cool, since some of the best games I've ever played was for NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, etc. all those older systems. Kind of makes me wish that they'd still make those old consoles, as I'm sure that many people still enjoy them after all these years.

Speaking of which, how old would some of these systems be anyways? It's interesting to think about...

The classic console feel, that's it exactly. This Beggar Prince game supposedly even comes with a Sega style box and manual to make it feel like a real game from the Genesis era.

Several companies have tried to revive the retro gaming market by releasing games like this. One company released three or four CD-i games in the past couple of years, but that system's been off the market as long as the Genesis. I read that Nintendo's patents on the NES expired and some imitation NES systems have begun to appear in certain regions.

Some of the Genesis systems still out there would be pretty old. The original model Genesis was released around '90, so that's 17 years. I have the second model which is a little newer, but only by three or four years. I remember the last version, Genesis 3, was put out a few years after that when the 16 bit market was drying up.

There are probably a ton of Genesis consoles on eBay, of course. Genesis 3 sold very poorly in stores, so I bet there's a lot of overstock of them around somewhere.

I think it is neat that a few companies are still supporting the older hardware with games. The potential market for these games has to be really small. There must be some dedicated collectors coming together to keep them going. I have to respect people that stick with their passion.

I bet there's all kinds of ways to repair a Genesis, too. I was reading about some of these 6-in-1 little game systems that have been coming out over the past few years. The controllers that you plug into a TV and play the games, you know? Anyway, some of them are just a mini-Genesis. Supposedly you can even connect a cart port to them and play other games on them.

I think Sega should make an add-on, for the Wii probably, that plays Genesis and Master System carts. That would rock so hard. I know I'd get one.