Sega has asked Mega Drive Mini 2 owners in Japan what Mini console they'd like to see next.
Twitter user Gosokkyu pointed out that there is a survey URL included in the packaging for the console asking a series of questions about their purchase and future Minis.
They tweeted: "heads up for anyone who imported a Japanese Mega Drive Mini 2: there's a link and 4-digit password for a user questionnaire on one of the inner flaps of the box, which includes questions about future Minis—here are the questions, one by one: (thread)..."
Meanwhile, Sega said over the summer that high costs are stopping them from producing a Dreamcast or Saturn Mini console.
The video game developers thought about making smaller versions of their iconic offerings but were put off by the high costs of the parts needed to make it a reality.
In light of the announcement of the Mega Drive Mini 2, Yosuke Okunari, the company’s classic hardware producer told Famitsu: “Some of you may say ‘this isn’t a Sega Saturn Mini’ or ‘I wanted a Dreamcast mini’, it’s not that we didn’t think about that direction.”
He outlined that the problem had been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the “fairly expensive” cost of production.
Yosuke said: “The development of new boards has been stagnant due to the Coronavirus and, of course, it would be a fairly expensive product in terms of cost.”
The Dreamcast was Sega’s last home console, a milestone that ended the company’s near two-decade participation in the hardware market.
During the era, it made many much-loved game series, such as 'Shenmue', 'Soul Calibur', 'Phantasy Star Online', 'Crazy Taxi', 'Jet Set Radio' and 'Rez'.
After a successful launch in the North American market, the Dreamcast was defeated by the arrival of the PlayStation 2. The first Mega Drive Mini debuted in 2019 and included 42 games, such as new ports of Darius and Tetris.
The new Mega Drive Mini 2 includes 50 Mega Drives and Mega CD games, including arcade ports.