Update : In a livestream earlier today, Taito revealed the 10 games that will be included in Taito Egret II Mini Arcade Memories Vol. 3.

The list of the games includes:

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Update #2 : The ten games that will be included in Taito Egret II Mini Arcade Memories Vol.2 were revealed in a special Famitsu livestream earlier today.

According to Famitsu's website, these titles will include:

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Plug-and-play video game consoles have been a part of gaming for years, but 2016's NES Classic Edition triggered an entirely new era for these products.

Swiftly followed by micro-consoles based on the Neo Geo, SNES, Mega Drive and PC Engine, this 'mini' boom shows no signs of slowing down, with the likes of the Commodore Amiga and Taito Egret II joining the ranks more recently.

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Limited Run Games announced on Monday (17th October) that it will soon open pre-orders for the Sega Astro City Mini V, alongside restocking the original Astro City Mini arcade.

What's interesting about this release of the Astro City Mini V is that it isn't just a rerelease of the Japanese version (as spotted by Gosokkyu). Instead, it will apparently contain an additional game not included in the original Japanese version: Super Zaxxon.

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Last month, we wrote about Arcade Memories Vol. 1, a collection of 10 classic arcade games coming to Taito's Egret II Mini console via an SD card. And now (as spotted by Gosokkyu) it seems that Taito is soliciting its fans for suggestions on what they want to see for the next collection.

The form (which is in Japanese), asks fans to select up to 3 titles for each genre, with the categories including shooting games, action games, puzzle and quiz games, and large cabinet games. It's limited to arcade games obviously, and it's also possible for players to suggest non-Taito games.

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Sega is getting ready to release the second of its Genesis / Mega Drive Mini consoles, with the new micro-system arriving on October 27th worldwide.

The console will come pre-loaded with 60 Sega titles spanning both the Mega Drive and its Mega CD / Sega CD attachment, and the hook this time around is that the machine's design is based on the Genesis / Mega Drive 2, a revised version that arrived in 1993, five years after the launch of the original Mega Drive in Japan.

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On a recent YouTube livestream (via VGC), Sega confirmed 11 more games that are planned for its Mega Drive/Genesis Mini 2 console in Japan, including five more titles for the Mega CD and six for the Mega Drive/Genesis. This brings the total number of games announced for the Japanese console to 44 in total.

Some of the games announced, including Tenka Fubu: Eiyuutachi no Houkou, Sorcerian, Ecco the Dolphin CD, and Tougi Ou: King Colossus, were never released in the West, so it's incredibly unlikely they'll be made available as part of the North American Genesis Mini 2. Other announced titles, like Gain Ground, Robo Aleste, and Viewpoint did make it overseas, however, making them possible new additions to the mini console in North America.

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While Sega has been happy to give people what they want when it comes to mini console systems via the excellent Genesis / Mega Drive Mini (and its upcoming sequel), the company has also released some pretty left-field offerings in this particular field. The Astro City Mini delivered a delicious deep cut of Sega's coin-op history, while the Japan-only Game Gear Mini was a good idea on paper that was sadly fumbled in its execution, delivering a cramp-inducing portable that needlessly spread its games across multiple SKUs.

The aforementioned Mega Drive Mini 2 proves that Sega is still serious about servicing the needs of its retro-loving fans, but the shiny new Astro City Mini V is evidence that it's just as keen to head off the beaten path and produce something for the fringes of the video game world rather than the mainstream. The Astro City Mini V is unashamedly aimed at hardcore players, boasting a selection of titles that reads like a wish-list for long-suffering arcade-loving otaku – all presented via a vertical screen, hence the 'V' in the title (Taito's Egret II Mini performed a similar trick earlier this year, but hass the added bonus of a display that can be physically alternated between landscape and portrait modes).

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When you're discussing video game history, it's often the case that memories will be dominated by consoles like the NES, SNES, Mega Drive / Genesis, N64, GameCube and so on – but those old enough to have lived through the '80s will remember that for a period of time, home computers like the C64, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum and Commodore Amiga were a perfectly legitimate way of playing games outside of the arcade.

It's fitting, then, that alongside the recent explosion of interest in plug-and-play 'micro consoles' like the NES Classic and Sega Mega Drive Mini we've seen some fresh takes on the humble home micro; UK firm Retro Games Ltd. has already produced a miniature version of the C64, and how it's back with a pint-sized facsimile of the Amiga – a platform which, in Europe, at least, was insanely popular during the late '80s and early '90s.

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Taito is a company with a rich history in the world of video gaming, and it's fair to say that if the Japanese veteran hadn't existed, the gaming landscape would look rather different today. Space Invaders arguably transformed interactive entertainment from a casual pastime into a global pop culture phenomenon, conquering not just its native Japan but the rest of the world, too. While Tomohiro Nishikado's seminal shooter is perhaps Taito's most famous accomplishment, its list of other classic titles is truly enviable. Bubble Bobble, Elevator Action, Darius, RayStorm, Qix, Rainbow Islands, Puzzle Bobble, Rastan, Chase H.Q., The Ninja Warriors… this is just a handful of the titles Taito has contributed to the medium over the decades and is barely scratching the surface.

While Taito has been a subsidiary of Square Enix since 2005 and it's reasonable to say that the glory days of the firm have long since passed, the Taito name retains a considerable degree of cachet, even with modern players. It's fitting, then, that the latest in the recent line of 'mini cabinets' – which includes the Neo Geo Mini and Sega Astro City Mini – should be focused on Taito's arcade output. Based on the company's iconic arcade system, the Egret II Mini is a tabletop console that features its own screen and controls but requires external power (via USB-C) to function. It offers HDMI-out functionality and boasts a robust micro-switched joystick and responsive buttons.

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Blaze's Evercade handheld was one of 2020's more pleasant surprises; a new piece of hardware that offered an alternative for retro enthusiasts and offered a wide range of physical cartridges packed with classic titles (many of which were originally found on Nintendo consoles) – all for a very reasonable price. Now, its creator is taking the concept in a new direction with the Evercade VS, a system that retains compatibility with (almost) all of the existing Evercade cartridges but is more focused on offering the best possible experience on your TV – and, as the name suggests, the prospect of good, old-fashioned competitive play.

The Evercade VS retains much of the same design language as its handheld counterpart, using white and red as the two main colours. It takes a leaf out of Nintendo's book, too; the cartridge bay (which actually has two slots – more on that shortly) is hidden behind a NES-style flap at the front of the machine. Below this, there are four USB ports for controllers, while the power button is found on the right-hand side of the machine. On the back, there's the HDMI port and Micro USB port (both of which are upside-down, confusingly), as well as a reset button, used in the event of the system crashing (something that mercifully didn't happen during our review period). There's no HDMI cable included in the box, with Blaze claiming that it helps keep down the cost of the unit (most households have at least one spare HDMI cable lying around, so it's no biggie). There's also no power supply unit, but most modern TV sets offer the 5V USB port required to power the Evercade VS.

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2020 has been a pretty rough year, but one of the things that has given us a little bit of happiness during the past 12 months is the fact that Nintendo's one-time rival Sega is celebrating 60 glorious years in the business. During this period, we've seen prototypes, played games that were considered to be lost and even gotten our hands on a tiny Game Gear (an event which actually left us wanting more, but that's beside the point). Now, Sega is rounding off its 60th birthday with another hardware launch – and one that's perhaps even more niche that a Game Gear you can comfortably slip into your pocket without owning a pair of MC Hammer's old trousers.

The Astro City Mini is, like the Neo Geo Mini before it, a tabletop arcade machine which comes pre-loaded with 37 games. It has a built-in LCD screen, a micro-switched joystick and six action buttons, imitating perfectly the original Astro City arcade cabinet from back in the day. It's powered via a Micro-USB (not USB-C, sadly) port on the back, and boasts HDMI-out so you can connect it to your television for 720p gaming goodness. A 3.5mm headphone socket is also included, as are two USB-A ports so you can connect compatible controllers.

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Konami – which is now the custodian of the PC Engine brand following its purchase of Hudson Soft in 2011 – is perhaps a little late to the party with its take on the ‘micro-console’ concept that kicked off with the Nintendo Classic Edition a few years back. Since then, we’ve seen SNK, Sony and Sega all jump on board the retro money train, often with wildly varying degrees of success.

However, while the Neo Geo Mini and Mega Drive Mini both offered up a selection of games that will be familiar even to the most casual of retro gaming fans thanks to the fact they’ve been released (and re-released) on a wide range of digital storefronts over the past decade, the PC Engine Mini (alongside its western counterpart, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini) offers up a library of games that's a little more off the beaten track. That's not to say it lacks quality – quite the opposite, in fact – and with emulation expert M2 doing the heavy-lifting (just as it did with Sega’s micro-console) authenticity is assured.

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After the initial flurry of interest in micro-consoles – triggered largely due to the release of the excellent NES and SNES Classic Editions – we've seen some pretty left-field entries into this niche sector of the hardware market. SNK's Neo Geo Mini added an LCD screen and presented itself as a miniature coin-op cabinet which could connect to your TV, while Koch's recent Capcom Home Arcade gave us a two-player monster shaped like a gigantic Capcom logo. The micro-console sector is clearly big enough to allow some room for experimentation, and that's why we have the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro – one of the many hardware projects the resurgent SNK hinted at a while back.

On the face of it, it's a massive arcade stick with a micro-switched stick, eight face buttons and a host of inputs and switches. 20 games come pre-loaded, and it connects to your TV via HDMI, while power is supplied by a USB-C port. However, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye, which we'll come to shortly. To begin with, let's take a look at the build quality of this thing, and how it controls – two topics which will be of great concern to those who have already invested in the Neo Geo Mini and perhaps felt a little robbed.

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Gamers of a particular age will know all too well the allure of amusement arcades back in the '80s and '90s. This was a time when the most technologically advanced titles weren't found in the home; instead, the bleeding edge of the industry was found in arcades, packed with the latest and greatest offerings from the likes of Sega, SNK, Konami, Capcom, Irem, Taito and many more besides (oh, and Nintendo, assuming the amusement centre you were in had a battered Donkey Kong cabinet in the corner).

If you're old enough to recall this period, then we really don't need to expand on that setting; if not, then take our word for it: it was magical. You could argue that, in the modern era, the social element of gaming has long since moved online (although the Switch is doing its bit to reverse that occurrence), but back in the age of arcades, if you wanted to prove your dominance at the newest titles, then you had no choice but to head out of the door with plenty of loose change in your pocket. Games like Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, King of Fighters and Mortal Kombat would allow you to test your skills against strangers who were close enough to hear you breathe (and perhaps whimper in fright). Respect was won (or sometimes lost) in close proximity to your adversary; something which seems a little odd in today's unashamedly global online arena.

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The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini is pretty special – as you'll know if you've already consulted our exhaustive review. Packed full of retro goodness and blessed with a lineup that contains some of the system's most desirable titles, it's proof that Sega is finally taking the 'micro-console' approach seriously, after years of allowing manufacturing partner AtGames to sully its good name.

However, just as was the case with the SNES and NES Classic Editions, the western version of the Mega Drive Mini is only one part of the story. In Japan, the machine has different packaging and a different lineup of games which better reflect the tastes of players in that region – as well as vastly superior controllers.

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You might think that Nintendo has embraced the 'Classic Mini' craze with gusto thanks to its NES and SNES Classic Editions, but the company's efforts in this field pale in comparison to that of SNK, which has been pumping out miniature hardware with extreme prejudice for the past year or so. First, we had the Neo Geo Mini – available in both Japanese and international variants that featured different case designs and software line-ups – and then, for Christmas last year, the company released a third (mostly revolting) variant with a festive theme.

Now, to coincide with the release of the latest Samurai Shodown game (which is rather good and is coming to Switch later this year), SNK has produced three new models, each of which takes inspiration from one of the franchise's most iconic characters. We've got Haohmaru (White), Nakoruru (Red), and Ukyo Tachibana (Blue), and each one is limited to just 20,000 units. They all come with two controllers, a HDMI cable, a USB-C power cable, an 'anti-slip' cushion and a shiny limited edition collector's card. You also get two marquee stickers and a sticker which can be applied to the console's control panel.

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The 'classic console' market is getting pretty busy right now, what with the NES Classic, SNES Classic and PlayStation Classic sure to keep the tills ticking over this Christmas, and the Mega Drive Mini to look forward to next year. SNK is another company that has entered this niche but profitable arena; earlier this year, we went hands-on with the Japanese version of the Neo Geo Mini, a tiny arcade cabinet-style system which featured 40 classic titles and could plug into your TV for the full console experience.

Strangely, SNK didn't feel that a single Neo Geo Mini unit would be suitable for global consumption and quickly announced that a second machine – with a different software line-up and a modified case design – would be made available to buyers outside of Japan. We've now been able to secure a review unit of this model, and while we'll perhaps stop short of analysing it quite as deeply as we did the Japanese edition, we'll nevertheless aim to tell you if this more readily-obtainable version is worthy of your cold, hard cash.

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Nintendo may not have been the first company to come up with the ingenious idea of leveraging the unbridled nostalgia of your average gamer to sell bucketloads of ROM-filled micro-consoles, but the arrival of the NES Classic a few years ago certainly gave this previously niche sector of the market a swift kick up the backside. Since then we've seen another Classic Edition as well as a considerable surge of interest in 'reheated' vintage hardware; Sega, which ironically has had a presence in this field for well over a decade thanks to its association with AtGames, is set to release a new 'Mini' console based on the Mega Drive / Genesis later this year, but it has been beaten to the punch by one of its erstwhile rivals, SNK.

Shin Nihon Kikaku, as we all know, is the company that launched the legendary Neo Geo arcade and home hardware back in the '90s. Notably dubbed 'The Rolls Royce of games consoles' by one outlet in the UK gaming media back in the day, this extravagantly expensive system was a contemporary of the SNES and Mega Drive, but offered arcade-quality graphics, sound and animation that put Sega and Nintendo's machines well and truly in the shade. The catch, of course, was that the AES console – which was the domestic version of the MVS coin-op hardware – was vastly more expensive than its rivals and each game cost around £150-£200 a pop; as a result, the Neo Geo became an unobtainable object of desire for many a young gamer growing up in the '90s, but never a system that they could realistically own – unless of course, they had very rich parents.

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