This Saturn handheld borrows heavily from Sega's Project Venus prototype

In a nutshell: The mini retro console craze has cooled, but that hasn't stopped diehard enthusiasts from pursuing their own builds at home. One such effort comes courtesy of modder TZMWX, who recently reskinned his homemade Sega Saturn handheld to match the visuals of an earlier Sega prototype.

Back in 2020, Sega showed off a prototype handheld from the mid-90s. Codenamed Project Venus, the device would ultimately become the Sega Nomad – a handheld version of the Genesis. Inspired by Project Venus, TZMWX decided to build a custom chassis for his Saturn that mimicked the look of the original prototype.

The system utilizes a Fenrir Saturn drive emulator and VCD card as well as a 4M EXRAM card.

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– TZMWX (@TZMWXdiyer) June 3, 2024

Sega has put out a couple of desirable mini consoles including the Genesis Mini. The Japanese gaming giant also considered making miniature versions of the Saturn and the Dreamcast but component and cost constraints brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic forced a rethink.

Instead, we got the Genesis Mini 2 in 2022 which used the same internals as the original Genesis Mini but with a different set of games and an updated external shell modeled after the second-gen console. Sega creative producer Yosuke Okunari recently confirmed on X that there won't be any new mini console announcements for 2024, either.

Those looking to add to their mini console collection still have plenty of options to choose from, however, including the Atari 400 and the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. Sega also put out a Game Gear Micro but given its 1.5-inch display, it's more of an expensive novelty than something you'd actually want to spend any time playing.

Sony also put out a PlayStation Classic, which got awful reviews out of the gate and quickly found its way to the bargain bin.

The door is also still wide open for Nintendo to drop an N64 Mini, but that's likely never going to happen as the company has instead elected to focus on its Switch Online service for classic gameplay.

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This Saturn handheld borrows heavily from Sega's Project Venus prototype

andyross said:

Is it me, or is that copy of an X post or whatever in the middle of the article just a bunch of random text and symbols?

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The color of the newly purchased 3D printing material is similar to the blue-gray color of the JVC Saturn shell, which looks quite comfortable. I changed the shell of a Saturn handheld game console I made last year to this color and renamed it Venus S.

It is a complete Sega Saturn, with built-in Fenrir and VCD card, 1M/4M EXRAM and 4M memory card

Click to expand...