Hyperkin has made a handheld Sega Genesis that plays original carts
By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards.
The Mega 95 is a new gaming handheld from Hyperkin that’s designed to play original Sega Genesis and Mega Drive cartridges. It’s equipped with a five-inch display that has a toggle to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 modes, and a battery that Hyperkin says should last 10 hours per charge. Think of it like a modern take on the Genesis Nomad with roughly three times the battery life and other modern conveniences.
The handheld looks to be a portable version of Hyperkin’s MegaRetroN HD Gaming Console, the existing Genesis-compatible retro console released in 2018 and which now sells for $59.99. Hyperkin’s press release doesn’t go into detail about how the Mega 95 runs its classic Genesis titles, but the MegaRetroN HD reportedly uses a hardware emulation approach with quality that sits somewhere between a software emulator and the premium FPGA-based system used in Analogue’s Mega Sg home console.
Although the Mega 95 is designed primarily as a handheld system, there’s also a USB-C dock available that’ll let you plug it into a TV and which features ports to plug in additional controllers. Each Mega 95 comes with a dock.
Pricing or a release date for the Mega 95 is yet to be announced, but for reference Hyperkin’s handheld Super NES emulation machine currently sells for $119.99. With any luck, that could mean the Mega 95 ends up being more affordable and more readily available than the Analogue Pocket.
Update January 9th, 8:18AM ET: Added mention of the original Genesis Nomad, insultingly omitted from the original writeup.
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