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I was worried when I first read that Innex was putting out a console that could play Sega Genesis games, wondering about the possible legal issues involved. I needn't worried myself.
When I met with Innex and looked at their lineup at E3, the thing they were most hyped about was their Sega Genesis compatible consoles, which, they explained, were fully licensed from Sega. There were, actually, three Sega Genesis-compatible products being shown; one that was an all-inclusive system and two that actually accept Sega Genesis cartridges.
Looking at these systems, my first reaction was amazement at how small the units were. The portable system that accepts Genesis cartridges was literally about the size of a Sega Genesis cartridge, itself. It's almost as if you took a Genesis cartridge, attached a screen on the front of it and put controls off to the side. The "home" console (without a built-in screen) is also pretty small. The tiniest of all is the handheld that doesn't take Genesis cartridges (but, instead, has a slew of titles built-in), but its size is less impressive, since you're not constantly comparing it to the size of a Genesis cartridge.
While the size is amazing, it may not be the most amazing thing about these systems. Another contender for "most amazing thing about this product" is the included games, which are included with both the Firebox (home console) and the smallest portable (without cartridge slot).
Then again, the most amazing aspect might be the cartridge with the flash card slot that will allow you to expand your Genesis library via digital downloads over the Internet. This cartridge will be sold separately, and will be somewhere in the $10 - $20 USD range. This digital-download-compatible cartridge may revitalize the Sega Genesis... I wouldn't be surprised to see independent developers start to make demos and games for the Genesis once this hits the market.
It will be interesting to see how these Sega Genesis-compatible products affect the market, when they hit. The ability to purchase a brand-new console that works with Genesis games and comes with games to play will probably devalue the used Genesis market a lot, but the used Genesis game cartridges should increase in value, with the increase in demand, since these consoles can play the old Genesis games. Then again, this increase in demand could be offset by the ability to download the games in digital format. It's all very exciting, but time will tell how this plays out. |
