Sega says high costs are stopping them producing a Dreamcast or Saturn mini console.

The video game developers have thought about making smaller versions of their iconic offerings but have been put off by the high costs of the parts needed to make it a reality.

In light of the 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 excerabed 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 their era, they 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 and what Sega has promised to be a “mysterious new work”. It is expected to drop for Japanese customers in October and will cost ¥9,980 ($75) but has not shared a date for other markets.