Sega Genesis Wumbo announced exclusively for North America and Sega Mega-Drive Micro announced exclusively for Japan (April Fools)

In a most bewildering twist, Sega have announced their next big vision for mini consoles, and I do mean big. They’re returning, once again, to the Sega Genesis well with the announcement of the Sega Genesis Wumbo for North America exclusively and the Sega Mega-Drive Micro for Japan exclusively. Nothing has been announced yet for Europe.

Both consoles are essentially the same thing as the two Genesis Mini consoles before them, but now with a new and unexpected gimmick. Japan’s Mega-Drive Micro will be half the size of the original Mega-Drive Mini. It will be so small, in fact, that it will come with a special, separate USB-C adapter for both HDMI out and power input, as the console will be too small to fit an HDMI port and a power port on it. North America’s Genesis Wumbo will be twice the size of an original Model 1 Genesis console (Not the Genesis Mini. The original Genesis console from 1989). Controllers will also follow suit, with the Mega-Drive Micro’s controller being half the size of an original controller while the Genesis Wumbo’s controller will be double the size.

Sega have not yet announced a release date for the two consoles, but they have announced a starting lineup of ten games. Have a look past the break to see what those games are, along with more information.

Rumor: Jet Set Radio Past in development by an undisclosed indie studio (April Fools)

Jet Set Radio is set to make an amazing return to the limelight with a rumored updated port of the original Dreamcast classic and a confirmed brand new game on the way, but it looks like this two-fer might end up being a three-fer.

According to games insider Applefuel, an indie studio is working on a JSR game of their own titled “Jet Set Radio Past”. In an inversion to Jet Set Radio Future (2992), this game is looking like yet another reboot of the series, now taking place many years back in history. It’s not known for now how far back in time the game is meant to take place, but the game seems to feature a “Caveman Beat”, “Rokkaku Dinosaurs”, and a “DJ Pterosaur K”. A very interesting creative direction, indeed.

There is no news yet on what sort of developer is working on this game. Fans are speculating so far that it may be the work of Team Reptile, creators of the hit game Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. Interestingly, reports are also saying that this developer, whoever they are, didn’t even bother approaching Sega for the license to work on a Jet Set Radio game, believing Sega would never approve, but that they would also not even bother sending a Cease & Desist order because “they still do what Nintendon’t”. Oooooooookay…?

We don’t usually report on such silly rumors here on SegaBits, but what the hell, it’s been a boring day. If more news comes out, you’ll hear about it when you tune into the #1 Sega news network in town: SEGABIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITS!! After all, it’s never a gamble reading reports from the nerds we employ here.

Sonic X Cream Advance announced as a remaster with new Cream the Rabbit content (April Fools)

In a surprise announcement, Sega has revealed that an HD remaster of Sonic Advance (2002), named Sonic X Cream Advance, is in development. Taking after last year’s Sonic X Shadow Generations, Sonic X Cream Advance brings back the original game made for the Game Boy Advance, the very first original Sonic game on a non-Sega platform following Sega’s exit from the console market. The game will be rebuilt from the ground up in up to 4K resolution on all platforms supporting it with rebuilt physics and new animated cutscenes, all very much in the style of Sonic Origins.

Cream the Rabbit, who would not be introduced until this original game’s sequel, will star in the game as a new 5th playable character with all new levels meant to be traversed exclusively by her and her reliable Chao companion Cheese. These portions of the game will also feature a brand new story written by Ian Flynn, in order to tie the previously non-canon Sonic Advance into the Sonic timeline officially. No story details other than that have been revealed so far.

For more info on this exciting news, check in after the break.

Sega has partnered with Steam to announce a new handheld-gaming PC: The Sega Teradeck (April Fools)

Ladies and gentlemen! It finally happened. Hell has frozen over, pigs are flying, dogs and cats live together, Half-Life 3 is coming out soon, and Sega are about to (technically) finally make their grand return to the console hardware market.

In a surprise announcement, Sega have announced a partnership with Steam (Not Valve, the company. Steam, the product.) which will see the two join forces in launching the successor to, not only the Sega Dreamcast, but the Steam Deck: a new handheld gaming PC. The Sega Teradeck, named after Sega and IBM’s old Mega-Drive compatible PC the Teradrive, will be a handheld PC capable of playing all the latest PC games. It runs on a new operating system called SegaOS, features its own curated store consisting exclusively of games made and/or published by Sega, and also features compatibility with Steam, allowing Steam users to bring over the vast majority of games they have purchased on the popular PC game storefront throughout the years.

With handheld gaming PCs on the rise following the popularity of existing handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally, as well as the innovative Nintendo Switch, many computer manufacturers are gearing up to enter this soon-to-be crowded market. Even Microsoft looks to be making one of their own to be part of the Xbox family. Sega will be making a bold step as a newcomer to this scene, but retro Sega fans the world over have reacted with nothing but excitement.

To learn more about the Sega Teradeck, come on down past the break.

SegaBits April Fools roundup

Another April Fools has come and gone, another day of ‘omg Dreamcast 2’ and lets not forget the classic ‘Shenmue 3 announced!’ topics filling up every videogame forum. Oh joy!

But amongst the endless drivel there are a few pretty good ‘pranks’ Join me as I list some of my favorites of 2010!