Recently, the news that an all-in-one Sega FPGA console was in development caused quite a stir online.
The SuperSega promises to run Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast games, all via a Virtex Ultrascale+ FPGA chip. Almost immediately, there was a fair amount of scepticism online directed towards the project, with many people claiming the system will be little more than vaporware.
Keen to learn what the group behind SuperSega thought of this reaction, we tracked them down for an interview. Amazingly, we discovered that the project isn't really a new one; the name is taken from a Spanish site called SuperSega, which was established in 2002 and allowed users to upload their own ROMs via FTP. Users could then rate and comment on various titles. At its height, SuperSega had 100,000 registered users.
According to Cristina Burgués, who is handling PR for the project, SuperSega is a result of wanting to expand on that same concept of a unified library of games via an all-in-one Sega 'super console' capable of playing all of the company's classic software. Burgués playfully adds that 'SuperSega' sits as a neat contrast to the 'Super Nintendo'.
We asked Burgués about the level of pessimism that has surrounded the project since it was announced. She replies that it's natural to cast doubt over bold promises. "Nothing is certain in this life," she says, before adding that her brother, SuperSega lead engineer Alejandro Martin, has been designing hardware "since he was 16." She also says that the team has contacts in Spain "who currently are in the process of designing the prototype board that we expect to show after the holidays." We don't have long to see if this project is little more than specs on a page, at least.
The system's design has also come under fire, but, as Burgués explains, there's a good reason for it looking that way. "The design; some people do not like it, others do – but it looks like that because we started with Master System," she says. "Our family had the Master System Plus, the one with lightgun, so we were inspired to create the SuperSega as a tribute."
We're pleased to report that two omissions from the original spec list – Sega 32X and Sega CD – will be playable on SuperSega. However, the former will require the use of the 32X itself.
The claim that SuperSega will be capable of replicating Dreamcast-level performance with FPGA also raised a few eyebrows. We asked if the team actually had Dreamcast games running on the Virtex Ultrascale+; Burgués replied that "a few games" are up and running and that the Ultrascale+ has "100K-200K of logic cells that can emulate a Dreamcast behaviour."
As for how the device will deal with Dreamcast's proprietary GD-ROM format, Burgués explains that the team is still researching this. "There were a few optical drives available that can read GD discs, but we are not sure if we will be able to use them," she replies. "If not, users will be able to load their own ISOs into memory from either the DVD drive or an SD card."
Another question relates to the controller options on SuperSega; while there are plenty of DB9 ports for Master System and Mega Drive / Genesis pads, there are no ports for either Saturn or Dreamcast. Burgués says that the four USB-A ports will be used for these consoles; expect to see USB-ready versions or an adaptor that will permit the use of original pads.
Given that the name 'Sega' is included in its name, we felt compelled to quiz Burgués on whether or not 'SuperSega' branding will be subject to change in the event of a challenge from the Japanese giant. She gave a somewhat bullish response. "No one has said anything to us about the 'SuperSega' name, neither now nor 20 years ago when we launched the site."
We expressed a little surprise at this reply, given that the SuperSega website was effectively allowing people to upload copyrighted ROMs without Sega's permission, but Burgués points out that an approach has been made to Sega with the view of making this system a little more official.
"We recently contacted a few people at Sega regarding licenses," she says. "It would be great if the console could ship with some ROMs inside – licensed by Sega, of course. I think users will welcome the chance to pay a little bit more if it means the inclusion of some great Sega classics. We are waiting for a reply from Sega, and then we will see." Given that Sega has previously worked with companies like Blaze to allow ROMs to ship with devices like the ill-fated Game Gadget, this isn't as outlandish as it sounds, but until the company responds, it's perhaps prudent to assume it won't be giving SuperSega it's official blessing.
What about the platform's pricing, though? Given that it comes with a powerful FPGA chip, the SuperSega surely isn't going to come cheap, right? "Our target is about $400 to $450, if we can collect enough funds to produce a few thousand units," says Burgués. "It might go up if we include licensed games, a GD-ROM-compatible optical drive, an internal SSD drive, and so on. But please take this target with a grain of salt; it can go up, but we think that it will be in the $400 ballpark."
A release date is somewhat harder to pin down as prototype boards are still in development. "We expect these boards to be completed after the holidays – so between September and October. After that, we will focus on completing the FPGA cores and then the GUI. We hope, by the end of this year, to raise a funding campaign or get funds in another way. At this moment, we are still very much a work in progress."
Comments 28
Sega might license games to established companies, but I can't imagine they would license them for a system like this.
Also, figure out the solutions before you announce, don't imply you can read Dreamcast discs before you solve that challenge.
Honestly this all just adds more to the scepticism rather than addressing it. These things never work out well.
This has all the trappings of a project set to over-promise and under-deliver.
Yeah, well...I'm gonna make a console called the SuperSonyXboxPlayStationCube64 and it's gonna have support for all the controllers and all the memory cards and all the discs and cartridges...and...and...and I spoke to Nintendo and they said they might let me put some Mario ROMs on it and I can't show it to you yet but...but look at this drawing I done and my dad worked at IBM and designed stuff for ages and this is what it'll look like and I reckon it'll be no more than £250. My target for launch is December 2025 but I just formed a band with three of my friends last week and we'll probably be playing Wembley Stadium in the November, so it might get delayed slightly.
Pffft.
Eh..... In today's day-in-age where everyone's easily offended..... You want to call it the "SS"?
I wouldn't call it the Super Sega anyway, it's too close to the consoles rival of that era anyway the SUPER Nintendo. I don't like the name
Ok, WHY do you need an actual 32X to play 32X games when it's on an FPGA? Like, there's another company in Brazil making a Sega Neptune FPGA without needing the add-on, why can't these folks do it too?
@GMMXX you have to make a lot of mental gymnastics to connect SS to something derogatory, unless you browse X 24/7. 😂
No way in hell the SEGAs will approve it.
This is like getting an okay from the people who worked on Heil Honey just to publicly post the episodes online, you should already expect what's the answer is gonna be.
@GMMXX I don’t think most people these days, the younger ones offended by everything, even know what the SS was. It isn’t en vogue at the moment to care about that history.
I'm predicting vaporware.
Even if Sega gives them their blessing (plus a few ROMs to include officially) it will make the whole thing more expensive. It may be better that they don't go after the Sega licence, nor use the Sega name. Call it the "Mega Xtreme" or something.
I feel it would also make more sense to just split the project into two separate FPGA consoles to keep cost down and avoid the headaches that come with the Dreamcast's GD-ROMs, and the extra controller ports for Saturn and Dreamcast.
Make the first console focus on all 8-bit & 16-bit (and 32X) hardware emulation. So it could run Master System, GameGear, Genesis/Mega Drive, & 32X cartridges, as well as Sega/Mega CD & 32X-CD discs.
If they successfully pull that off, then they could work on making a second console that focuses on Sega Saturn & Dreamcast emulation, and includes the controller ports for those consoles' controllers.
Right now I feel like they're taking on too much and making things more difficult for themselves.
Yeah, this is sketchy as all hell and requires more than a few pinches of salt until they show it in action, which will never happen. Just look at those ridiculous "renders"! I wouldn't trust this team to design the shell, much less the guts inside.
The bit about Sega is just headline bait. These guys fired off an email (if they're even being that honest) knowing it wouldn't get a response so that they could disingenuously suggest there was some kind of actual discussion going on. There isn't. There won't be.
This "project" will vanish into the ether as soon as it gets the chance to bilk some gullible crowdfunders out of their cash. No matter how many scams like this come and go, there's always another herd of lemmings lining up for the cliff.
The brazen "can do" attitude here is commendable, but I think ultimately misguided. I wonder if it's a difference in culture type of thing?
It would help to know what other projects of a similar size the team has completed in the past. If there are none (seems to be the case) this is akin to wanting to learn game development and setting your sights on something the size of BotW as your first game.
always a bummer to see this much negativity surrounding a project. yeah, there isn't a whole lot that's concrete yet, but money hasn't changed hands either, so there's no sense getting worked up about it. if the crowdfunding starts and they still have nothing concrete, that's a very different story!
Yeah this thing is never coming out. playing Dreamcast from disc was a massive red flag
The whole ‘project’ stinks of BS to me.
That Intellivision dud will launch before this.
I've noticed on licensed things like the Arcade1up machines, that Sega demands their logo removed from the product.
They don't like their name on 3rd party products.
I'm waiting for a reply from Active Enterprises. No one has said anything to me about the 'Super Action GameMaster' name.
Is it too much to ask just for a cheaper polymega at this point? Yet noones done it :/
@GMMXX I don't think most people know facism is these days, much less connect the name of a niche retrogame device to that SS.
@profkross This is what I thought of. People are paying out the ass for an emulator PC packaged as the Polymega, when something like this has much more intrinsic value. I hope it's successful.
@DestructoDisk there's not really any reason to attack any age groups here. You probably don't like "young people" saying XYZ about you, and you probably didn't like when the "old" generation complained about you when you were "young". Acting like your generation somehow was the only one to be right about everything both when you were young And old is... A choice you can certainly make.
@GhaleonUnlimited “ I don't think most people know facism is these days, much less connect the name of a niche retrogame device to that SS.”
Bro you said almost the same thing as me . Who is “most people these days”. The younger folks.. Unless you were implying that all the media older folks absorbed and all the things they used to teach in school in previous generations, was forgotten en masse by previous generations, leading to a state where they too know nothing about fascism…. In that case I am mistaken lol.
The sega saturn & 32x hardware are very similar , both using Hitachi SH-2 CPUs so it would make more sense for the saturn & 32x to be emulated on the same system. Doing controller compatibility would I imagine be more simple than recreating the CPU/GPU functions of entire systems@Daze_of_Reality
@DestructoDisk I'm not sure what country you're from, but yeah, in the USA I know many a people older than me (I'm 42) who claim to be up on history but don't seem to draw parallels with fascist 20th century leaders and politicians they openly support today. I don't really think it's helpful to call out an age group though because it gives people something to argue about instead of our actual issues and problems, IMO
@GhaleonUnlimited yeah I can definitely see that dude. I just think the younger people today aren’t as familiar with WW2 era travesties, and they are falling victim to some of the trappings of the past without knowing it. And yeah we are about the same age and I do see a few folks my age but mostly a generation or two up that are falling victim to it coming from the other direction. Feel like both political ends are going the same way without realizing. As a result, especially online I feel out of place, taking part in neither side. Both ends getting upset about every little thing said and digging their heels in.
Social media has lead to a lot of hatred and short fuses. Thats why I am tired of the “I’m offended by that culture”. Missing the era of when people were chill and laughed with each other. And it isn’t just the younger generation that is like that. It was the younger generation in this particular topic in regards to the SS. But the older generations get super offended about other things they are too touchy about. And yeah even my generation and gen X do it too, though I think it is to a lesser degree.
Kinda feel stuck in the middle watching things collapse. However I am surrounded in my personal home and life by people who didnt grow up in western culture and its politics though, so I am able to enjoy the real world in my home with my friends and family. Sadly though I have to explain to them how they have to walk on eggshells at work and in public as some of them have gotten in trouble for innocent and unknowing things they did or said around folks dogmatic to one or the other political side. They are all from a place that was a little more comfortable in public and with neighbors. A place of smiles and greetings, similar to how it was when I was growing up many years ago here in the west.
Anyway game comments aren’t really the place for political discourse if any mods want to delete all this going back to my first comment thats cool with me
@Guru_Larry Not surprised, considering how terrible AtGames' consoles were.
This like the Sega Spartan are just Sega fanboy wet dream consoles. They rely too much on Sega and will probably get ignore. They don't build up a reputation first and then go from there but instead thought that cause they had a website from 2002 ago they count themselves as been in the game for a long time. Nope that's not how it works, existing for that long is nothing but actually had a product and a reputation for that long would definitely interest Sega.
They only exist, they did not had a good reputation or products to show or prove to Sega that they could be a legit partner. Yes Sega support companies like Retro-Bit, Blaze and AtGames but these companies already built and had good reputation to prove to Sega that they could be trusted partners in their relationship, these guys are a bunch of nobodies creating an idea and had not proven anything yet.
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