The Mini Console - A Story of Success, Death, and Reinvention

Mini consoles; all-in-ones; plug-n’-plays: Consoles that come preloaded with an instant library of games.

Since the release of Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition back in 2016, a flurry of these tiny/micro/miniature consoles have punctuated the market. Some, like the NES Classic and its successor, the SNES Classic Edition, were popular to the point of frustration, with many shoppers struggling to find one across constantly ransacked shelves. Others, like the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 Minis, were reasonably successful within their own fandoms, and a few, like the A500 Mini (for Amiga groupies), were never meant to me more than boutique releases. In that sense, they, too, were successes.

The overall concept is not a new one, though. Long before Nintendo reached into its grab bag of classics, there were Atari and Commodore 64 and Namco joysticks, Intellivision facsimiles, and even chintzy Sega-branded consoles all stuffed with their own vintage experiences. The Big N simply took this microcosm of the gaming market and expanded it into a serious subset of the industry…at least for a while. These dream machines were just a “fad” after all, destined to fade, and fast.

The “why?” is hardly surprising, of course. These relic-replicas were not serious gaming consoles, but impulse-buy baubles, collectibles—shelf candy—for those craving a nostalgic fix or an easy Christmas gift. These were time capsules good for an afternoon or two before being retired to the display case…if not the closet. No built-in library, no matter how generous or eclectic, can compete with the deluge of new content always enjoyed by the modern systems. And it’s not just a lack of expandability; anything beyond the 16-bit generation remains incredibly difficult to emulate accurately on affordable hardware. Sony actually tried with its so-called PlayStation Classic, only to receive immediate rebuke over the device’s iffy performance and underwhelming line-up of PS1 titles. And that’s the easiest of the mainline 32-bit machines to reproduce; the N64 and Sega Saturn consoles are reportedly nightmares to duplicate properly on budget processors.

The situation is grim, but a few enterprising companies have found ready solutions, creating their own “minis” built around that very need: expandability. One of the most notable comes from Blaze Entertainment, a small enterprise with big ambitions. Its Evercade VS and EXP platforms are regularly supplied with new cartridges manufactured and supplied by the company itself, offering a steady stream of new content. These games are a mix of retro releases and new, indie fare all packed in spiffy plastic cases and with color manuals. It’s exactly what Nintendo or Sega could have done. Should have done. Indeed, these Evercade machines, despite being “off-brand,” have proven immensely popular.

And more recently, Atari, back again from the ashes, has released the Atari 2600 Plus, its own mini system that also comes with a working cartridge slot. This means it can play most vintage Atari 2600 (and 7800!) games, plus anything new the company devises. Imagine if Nintendo or Sega were to do this, releasing new SNES or Genesis games on old-school cartridges for their classic, resurrected platforms! It would be a retro maven’s dream come true. It would make both companies piles of money.

But alas, it just makes too much sense to ever happen.--D

The Evercade VS boasts a cool feature--two cartridge slots! That halves the amount of time spent changing out the desired game!

For those always on the go, Blaze Entertainment also offers the "EXP" model. It plays all the same cartridges, plus has some Capcom classics built in.

Company My Arcade also offers the Atari Gamestation Pro, a slick device containing preloaded Atari 2600 and 7800 titles.

Atari's own recent mini machine focuses on cartridges; no ROM files allowed.

Thanks to GenXGrownUp for the My Arcade pic.