Yahoo Finance Sega gives people a good reason to visit GameStop
The business of nostalgia continues to be a revenue powerhouse.
Netflix (NFLX) has capitalized on 80’s pop culture with its hit show “Stranger Things,” Disney (DIS) is taking the “Star Wars” empire in a new direction and a video game giant of the 90’s is looking to bring back some classic 16-bit gaming.
Following that trend, the Sega Genesis Mini became available nationwide on Thursday. Similar to the Nintendo (NTDOY) Mini and Sony’s (SNE) Playstation Classic, the miniature console offers a variety of classic games right out of the box for one or two players.
Here are some key stats on Sega’s (SGAMY) new gadget:
It’s 55% smaller than the original Sega Console (while showcasing very specific details)
Preloaded with 42 games (two of which were unreleased on a Sega)
Plug and play capabilities
Sells for $79.99
A few of the games included in the Genesis are Sonic, Streets of Rage 2, Earthworm Jim, Tetris and more.
Sega is clearly banking on the nostalgia factor. “There’s folks who owned a Sega Genesis, maybe not anymore, but still have a nostalgic feel and want to go back to it and play it,” said Jacob Nahin, Senior Communications Manager for Sega of America. “There are those who owned a Sega Genesis and may want to share the experience with their kid or spouse. And there’s those who maybe never had a Sega Genesis.”
Retailers are hoping that anyone who fits the mold will line up for a console. Key stores like Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN), Best Buy (BBY) and GameStop (GME) are selling the console.
While the first three retailers aren’t dependent on video game sales, the same can’t be said for the fourth. GameStop recently said it plans to close 180 to 200 underperforming stores by the end of the fiscal year. As customers turn to digital gaming, it’s left GameStop in a corner.
Regardless of how many units Sega is set to sell, there’s one attribution Nahin said perfectly about the device, “there’s something for everyone on this.”
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