When Analogue released its modern reimagining of the NES, the Analogue Nt, it was a thing of beauty. The premium $500 price, though, meant it was destined for the serious enthusiast market only. Its follow up, the Analogue Nt Mini, trimmed a couple of features but came in at a far more realistic pricepoint for the average gamer.
Then followed the Analogue Super Nt, doing for the 16-bit SNES what it had done for the console's predecessor. Every console also came with an extra special gift - an exclusive Director's Cut of Super Turrican featuring material that had to be cut from the original cartridge due to memory restrictions. With the upcoming Analogue Mega Sg - an equivalent modern interpretation of Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis - fans were hoping there'd be a similar present awaiting them on the new console.
From the look of that trailer, they're not going to be disappointed! The company posted the above video showing off Hardcore, a run-and-gun shooter from Digital Illusions (or DICE as they're better known) that was cancelled in 1994 in a 99% complete state. Apparently the only known source code came from "a single, dead hard drive that was barely recovered".
Analogue go on to describe the game thusly:
Hardcore is a fast paced, euro-style run'n'gun, space base thriller. We're dedicated to preserving this piece of video game history and Hardcore is included digitally on each Mega Sg system.
The game will go by the name Ultracore 'due to licensing reasons', but whatever it's called, it looks absolutely terrific. It'll be a treat to tuck into a game from the era - not a remake, not an homage; a genuine 25-year-old Mega Drive game that had been 'lost'.
The console is on pre-order for $189.99 from Analogue's website and is scheduled to ship in April.
As you can probably tell, we're quite excited - it'd be a massive shame if the game turns out to be rubbish! Does this make the Analogue Mega Sg a more attractive proposition? Share your thoughts below.
This article was originally published by nintendolife.com on Fri 22nd February, 2019.
Comments 42
$189 is way out of my price range. If it played Sega CD's as well, then I wouldn't think twice about spending $200 to play my collection in HD.
@Painkiller_Mike It has the connector hidden on the bottom so it can hook up to an original SEGA CD unit!
https://www.analogue.co/mega-sg/
I have the mega sg preordered, it was an absolute no brainer after how impressed I was with the super nt. To have this preinstalled is a really nice touch as well, thanks Analogue!
That looks awesome. Really would like to know why the cancelled it. Why do companies keep doing this? Make a game near completion and then just cancel it. What a waste of money.
@masterLEON Nice! But unfortunately I own a Sega CDX so that wouldn't work. Not that I'm complaining about my Sega CDX. Just would love to play it on one of my HDTV's without spending 100 plus dollars for an upscaler or resorting to emulation which I might just end up doing. Zero guilt on my part since I own the systems and the games so technically it's not illegal.
I can't stand the tremolo effect in the music from some of those European games. And those blank blue coins must have been a place-holder for something else. This unfinished game needs more finishing.
I thought this game was exclusive to PSVita and PS4. Guess not
Looks good but before I saw who developed it I would have put money on bitmap brothers it has that metal look to it like speed ball 2 and the music sounds like it’s come from an Amiga
I love this though I would had chosen a much better game but oh well it's Analogue so it's good either way. The fact that we're getting a free Sega Master System adapter with the console is a real treat as well.
@Painkiller_Mike Don't forget, it plays them as the original console model 1 did (and model 2 in a few cases) in HD since it is FPGA. Not to mention you have an SD slot and can load the entire library from all regions if that is your sort of thing. It is pricey though no argument there.
@Painkiller_Mike I would not and do not feel guilty for emulating 20-30 year old games that are unavailable now to purchase in any way for the vast majority of those libraries. People can be against it but that doesn't hurt my feelings or the developers that worked on them ages ago since most hold no stake in them.
@Jokerwolf I agree with you wholeheartedly. I've dabbled in emulation since the 90's when I played Pokemon on my PC. Played it. Enjoyed it. Saved the money for a Gameboy Color and bought Pokemon Yellow. I still emulate older consoles and games for the same reasons you stated. I refuse to give someone on Ebay $100 or $200 for a copy of GI Joe for the NES. Who benefits there other than the seller. Is the publisher Taxan still around? What about the developer KID? The answer to both is NO. So who am I harming? No one. If GI Joe made its to the Switch as a digital download or as part of a collection, I would immediately throw my money towards whoever made it happen. I've always believed that when it comes to pirating/emulating, there are two types of people. People like us and then people that will NEVER give anyone their money for a game, movie, music, etc. I am not one of those so I have no guilt whatsoever.
@Painkiller_Mike Ya I have a similar take on it too, I buy games all the time that I already own or bought before if I really want it on a new platform but people will still try and say you are stealing and a horrible person lol.
Can't wait. I have been buying master system games like mad. I don't know why but I'm more excited to play master system games than genesis.
I will be in Japan this April buying cheap Sega games and returning home to unbox this bad boy May 1st
It boggles my mind that companies just cancel games at the last minute that are basically done like this.
Damn, now I REALLY want to have and play this game.
I'm just not willing to pay $189.99 for it...
Hashtag segalife.
So are they going to finish the game or release it 99 percent complete?
As a proud owner of 400+ Genesis carts, I may have to invest! 😊
@Jokerwolf It doesn't play ROMs from the SD card. Analogue are all about original cartridges.
You could of course use an Everdrive if you're really hell bent on stealing, but I can't really see the point. Analogue make products for collectors.
@DonkeyDiddyKong I believe it has to do with being able to write it off at tax time as a loss. Maybe the market for those games changed and they did not feel it would have made money.
Was already going to get the Analogue MD, this confirms that purchase!
@ramu-chan Custom firmware that is easy to install does though.
@ramu-chan
There is jailbreak firmware for the other analogue hardware devices that allow you to play games off an SD card. It won't be "officially" supported, but I'd be very surprised if it doesn't get that feature.
It really still amazes me that, with people buying expensive clone hardware like this, that there isn't more official support for retro software and even hardware.
@ramu-chan
Both the NT Mini and Super NT load ROMs via the SD Card using a firmware hack created by the guy, Kevtris, who designed each console.
So no, Analogue is not "all about original cartridges"
Having owned their previous consoles, this will be a thing of beauty well worth the price. Seriously, the clone consoles are horrific. Analogue nails compatibility
@KennyBania The hack is unofficial, I still use SNES carts on mine despite the option of an outdated firmware revision
@sleepinglion
It was created by Kevtris. The man who designed the hardware. It's only "unofficial" in that it is not endorsed or mentioned on the Analogue website.
A company with a retro focus needs to start re-manufacturing the actual cartridges for these consoles. Buying the original games to play on the new/old systems is unbelievably expensive. I'm sure with the current interest in retro gaming the original companies/copyright-holders (if still in business) could do rather well if they licensed the games to someone to make new physical copies.
@MaaadMatt Cartridges aren't cheap to manufacture, and I hear especially in low volumes. Like well below original retail runs which were in the tens of thousands, I believe.
Though I'll admit Genesis carts are probably cheaper to make than NES or SNES since Genesis had no proprietary lockout chips (its lockout was entirely in software).
This looks brilliant so tempted now, I have the original tech a megadrive with mega cd, and a Retron 5. But this tech looks great.
@KennyBania Whoah. That's shady
@sleepinglion I plan on getting both systems, I was using the retron 3 for a long while but it just isn't too tier, mind you it is not the worst clone by any means.
@KingMike I'm sure that's true. I don't doubt it would be a niche market, but this is more wish-fulfilment on my part than any realistic expectation that it would actually happen!
Does anyone know if this console will support save states? Not knowing this is really the only thing preventing me from pre-ordering.
Looks fantastic.
FYI if you are importing into the UK I think there will be around £35 VAT as well as the the $50 they are charging for delivery.
So overall i am forecasting £220 all in to get mine here in the UK which is more like $290
@KennyBania
That's a hack, it has nothing to do with Analogue.
If you ever see Analogue supporting piracy, I'll eat my hat.
@stylon No. Analogue devices aim to recreate the original hardware to 100% accuracy, then add HDMI output, nothing more. There are no extra features beyond a simple scanline option.
They're beautiful pieces of hardware of course. Built like tanks and extremely high quality. You can tell they're extremely proud of what they create.
@ramu-chan
The technical 'guts' of the console were designed/programmed by a guy named Kevin Horton.
The firmware updates which allow you to play ROMs on the NT Mini, Super NT, and eventually the Mega SG were created/shared by Kevin Horton.
It's not a feature promoted by Analogue, but it's designed by the creator.
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