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Nintendo vs Sega: Retro Console Wars Round Two

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Gaming is no longer the solitary pursuit of children, perpetual loners and hairy palmed basement dwellers. In fact, it's become such an accepted mainstream hobby that the gaming industry is now worth more and generates more income than the film and music industries combined! Sitting at the lower echelons of the current gaming pantheon is the retro gaming scene, which is largely populated by the kind of 'professional' YouTubers you'd probably cross the street to void. And me, or at least people like me. Those of us who are unwilling or incapable of letting go of our collective pasts. As such, recent retro-focused games systems, such as the Hyperkin Retron 5, have proven to be surprisingly popular amongst us lowly mouth-breathers. Upping the game considerably, Nintendo themselves decided to throw their sizeable hats in the ring recently with the NES Classic console, and now it transpires Sega have done likewise. Does this mean we could spend the closing months of 2016 reliving the glory years of the “great console wars” of the 1990's? One can only hope.

NES Classic Mini*

In the red corner we have the NES, or “Nintendo Entertainment System,” which is often considered the greatest and most influential video game console of all time. This is the machine that single-handedly brought video gaming out of the Atari inflicted recession with its unbeatable library of games and some of the most iconic characters ever to grace the medium. Nintendo dominated the 8-bit console race in the US and Japan, though Sega's competing Master System did do decent business in Europe. Milking the powerful nostalgic wave generated by the release of Pokémon Go, which has seen Nintendo shares soar, Nintendo announced the miniature version of its classic Nintendo Entertainment System last week and social media (at least mine) erupted. The upcoming NES Classic Mini console is essentially an emulation system, nothing more, nothing less. It does look incredibly pretty though, and there's an unmistakable nostalgia attached to the original NES that Sega could never truly hope to combat.

Able to fit in the palm of your hand, the NES Classic Mini is much smaller than the original and will ship with a healthy roster of classic Nintendo titles including the original Mario Bros games, Mega Man 2 (my personal favourite), Castlevania 2, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. The unit will come with a NES Classic Mini controller, which will also be available to buy separately for multiplayer games and other Nintendo controllers, such as the Wii's Classic Controller Pro, can also be used. While the gadget looks virtually identical to the 1983 original, it does have modern ports attached. You can link it to your TV through a HDMI cable while there are USB ports present, too. The AC adaptor to power it will have to be bought separately.

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Linking the NES controller to a Wii remote allows you to play an emulated version of the bundled NES games on Nintendo's modern consoles as well, so it appears as if they've covered almost all bases. The only thing it can't do is play actual, original NES cartridges, which might be where Sega have them over a barrel. The console's in-built library also cannot be expanded upon, which is a real bummer, especially if, like me, you really wanted to play Castlevania 3 on a modern 4K TV. Priced from £49.99, it will be available from November and, if Nintendo's recent successes are anything to go by, they will be selling like proverbial hot cakes so you might want to consider putting in a pre-order for your perfect retro Christmas stocking filler.

Sega Mega Drive*

In the blue corner, and hot on the heels of Nintendo’s announcement, it was revealed this week that Sega is getting into the nostalgia game too with a couple of new toys of its own. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, the company is reviving its Sega Mega Drive brand in the form of a two-player home console, as well as a portable gaming system. The console supports original Mega Drive cartridges, comes with two wireless controllers and plugs directly into your TV; the portable system, meanwhile features a 3.2-inch display and includes a rechargeable battery with a USB charger. What’s especially neat is that both systems come with 80 games built in, including Sega classics like the afore-mentioned Sonic, Mortal Kombat, Golden Axe and Comix Zone. That means you can start playing as soon as you power them on. You can also load additional game ROMs on an SD cards and enjoy them on the portable console, making it a perfect machine for hackers and illegal downloaders.

Unlike Nintendo's offering, there's no support for save states nor will you find an HDMI port. Rather you'll be using a basic composite cable, so the video quality probably won't be quite as highly defined. The products are also not manufactured by Sega themselves, but by Chinese firm At Games, which has previously released a slew of retro consoles. Both consoles are available for preorder from FunStockRetro for, once again, £49.99. Ultimately, it all boils down to your personal preference. I had both as a youngster so will probably be picking up both, but then, I am an unashamed giga-nerd who refuses to grow up. Seriously, you should see my bedroom, stuffed Yoshis and comic books piled as far as the eye can see.

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Both consoles appear to have overshadowed the upcoming release of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+; a handheld version of Sir Clive Sinclair's classic 80s gaming machine. The Vega+, which will be able to play thousands of ZX Spectrum games, is expected to launch in September 2016. Sir Clive himself said: “The present surge of interest in retro products inspired me to plan the Vega+ as a handy games console which can be played anywhere.” So yeah, I'll probably be picking that one up too.

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Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.

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