Coleco releases new Sega handheld

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While it may not be the “Segaton” announcement Sega Nerds have been impatiently waiting for, a new handheld featuring Sega games is now on the market.

The Coleco Sonic Handheld, which, as the name suggests, is manufactured by Coleco, features 20 classic Sega games and retails for the very reasonable price of $50. The unit requires three AAA batteries and features audio and video output. Target is currently selling it instore and online.

Click here for the rest of the article and the game list.
 
Saw these in Target a couple of weeks ago. About the same size as a gameboy advance (old style). Must be the CAG in me, but $50 seems abit much.
 
[quote name='SpazX']Two buttons? Only Master System games?[/quote]
Sort of. The list looks to be Game Gear games
 
The list looks like a mix of Master System and Game Gear games. I don't understand why they released it under the Coleco brand. I'm sure it would sell more with Sega branding. Maybe they didn't/couldn't pay enough for the rights.
 
[quote name='radjago']The list looks like a mix of Master System and Game Gear games.[/quote]
Oops, I completely missed the link to the list :p. Just saw the pic of two buttons and thought "wtf no genesis?"

Not worth $50 for the few good games on there, but if you're a sega nut it's probably pretty awesome.
 
Twenty games with about half I already own on other consoles. Hmm...maybe I'll pick this up when it is twenty bucks or less. It would have been nice if they included more games or an expandable memory or cartridge slot for more compilations later on. Seems like a nice idea though, but still a high price for me as well.
 
I could buy a used Master System for less than that when the Master System was still sold by Sega in the US!

Over half the cost of this unit is in the screen. It would be far more cost effective to just put all of those games on a GBA cart. But then, many of them already are and in superior versions based on the Genesis releases.
 
I feel sorry for kids who are going to get that for Christmas rather than a DS. Is the screen even backlit or active matrix?

It's not completely ridiculous, but most of those games aren't very good, and most are available elsewhere.

I wonder what kind of CPU this has-like if it's actually a Z-80, or if at this point it's cheaper to include an ARM chip that emulates a Z-80? :D
 
I'll wait this out just like I did with the Intellivision plug and play game that they tried to sell for 15-20 last christmas, and are rotting on the shelves at Walmart for $2.50.
 
I guess it's an okay deal, but to me the only games worth playing are the Alex Kidds. Game Gear ports of Genesis games were by and large terrible (think people's complaints on PSP multiplied by 1000), and Sonic Drift 2 is the crappiest game to ever get ported to several systems in several collections. Who needs two versions of Columns? I'd be interested in learning more about the video output option, though.

Remember how Game Gear had an adaptor to play Master System carts? It was sort of ghetto but pretty cool.
 
Sonic Drift 2
Sonic Triple Trouble
Alex Kidd in High Tech World
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Altered Beast
Assault City
Astro Warrior
Aztec Adventure
Bomber Raid
Columns
Ecco II: The Tides of Time
Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone: The Maze
Global Defense
Kung Fu Kid
The Ninja
Penguin Land
Quartet
Snail Maze
Super Columns

WOW! All this gaming goodness for ONLY $50?! $50 which I could otherwise spend on a dreamcast and 20 games?! Or $50 which I could otherwise spend on 10 of yesterday's AAA games on the PS2 or XB?! NICE! (pass)
 
Who's the target market for this? (no pun intended) Kids have no clue what a "coleco" is, and the rest of us know better than to waste money on something subpar and overpriced like this.

I'll buy it for $5.98 in February.
 
[quote name='Puppy']I feel sorry for kids who are going to get that for Christmas rather than a DS. Is the screen even backlit or active matrix?

It's not completely ridiculous, but most of those games aren't very good, and most are available elsewhere.

I wonder what kind of CPU this has-like if it's actually a Z-80, or if at this point it's cheaper to include an ARM chip that emulates a Z-80? :D[/QUOTE]

Actually, the Z80 is still the way to go if you need the discrete version. Zilog is a still a player in the embedded market and has some enhanced versions of the Z80 architecture that make producing a machine like this very cheap. The IP for the video and audio chips in the Master System can be licensed pretty cheaply and integrating all of these onto a single die at .25 micron would be pretty easy and make for a very inexpensive device that would cover nearly all of the silicon in the system. (Direct driving an LCD makes it possible to eliminate some of the video driver hardware but might be considered more labor than it is worth, unless they were able to pick up the license for the Game Gear version of this chipset.)

If they were going to take the ARM route, why not just make this into a GBA cart and reach a vastly larger audience with far less labor and capital outlay?
 
I'll be picking one up today and will post some impressions on it. Love the Alex Kidd games, Snail, Sonic, etc. so this should be pretty cool. It also have a line out to connect it to a TV or portable DVD player. Expect some impressions/reviews later tonight/tomorrow if I can manage to find this.

Edit: Looks like the other Alex Kidd is the 'Hi-Tech' one which sucks. Was hoping for 'The Lost Stars'. Oh well.
There is also a normal Plug and Play set which includes ALL the Alex Kidds, ALL the Sonics (including Tails Adventure) and a few others for $29.99. That is not in stores yet. There is also two other handhelds planned (One resembles Sonic, the other is an upgraded version of this handheld).
If you want to see more info check out www.playpalworld.com
 
[quote name='gizmogc']I'll be picking one up today and will post some impressions on it. Love the Alex Kidd games, Snail, Sonic, etc. so this should be pretty cool. It also have a line out to connect it to a TV or portable DVD player. Expect some impressions/reviews later tonight/tomorrow if I can manage to find this.

Edit: Looks like the other Alex Kidd is the 'Hi-Tech' one which sucks. Was hoping for 'The Lost Stars'. Oh well.
There is also a normal Plug and Play set which includes ALL the Alex Kidds, ALL the Sonics (including Tails Adventure) and a few others for $29.99. That is not in stores yet. There is also two other handhelds planned (One resembles Sonic, the other is an upgraded version of this handheld).
If you want to see more info check out www.playpalworld.com[/QUOTE]


Which one is that... which model number includes all of the Sonics etc?
 
Its a Plug and Play...not a handheld with screen. It looks like a giant Sonic fist. Search ebay under 'play pal sega' and you'll see it. $29.99...not too bad.
 
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