Sega says a Saturn Mini would be extremely difficult to make, given the "high-performance" quality of the console.

Sega chief Yukio Sugino has admitted the chances of them creating a smaller version of the 1994 (Japan) gaming machine might be slim.

The Saturn was the successor to the successful Sega Genesis. It boasted dual-CPU architecture and eight processors. Its games are in CD-ROM format, and its game library contains several ports of arcade games as well as original games.

He told Famitsu, as translated by IGN, that: “The development of hardware up until now has occurred when the internal and external conditions have happened to align.

“The Sega Saturn has surprisingly high performance, so the difficulty (of creating a mini version) is also high.”

However, he's not entirely ruled it out and spilled that a Dreamcast Mini is also being discussed and researched.

Sugino went on: “When it comes to reissuing classic hardware, it’s not really a case of saying, ‘Sales are good, so let’s make another.’ It might be some way off, but I’d like to consider it when we are in a situation where we can develop it openly together with people who have long loved the Sega Saturn or the Dreamcast. That said, I believe our teams are doing some technical research.”

There have been two mini versions of the Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive.

The 2019 Genesis Mini and 2022's Sega Genesis Mini 2.