Our last hurrah for 2020 is a first look at our upcoming PC Engine CD and Mega CD player called Mega Engine. The unit presents an alternative to play your physical PC Engine and Mega / Sega CD titles on a modern setup.

One of the biggest problems for fans of vintage video gaming systems is the notorious unreliability of 25 to 30 year old hardware. While it is possible to properly refurbish your classic PC Engine oder Sega CD setups, it certainly comes at a price and not everybody has access to these kind of services.

Adding to that is the requirement to adapt the old consoles’ video ouputs to match your modern display. Again, while possible, a RGB mod along with a good upscaler adds a lot to the total price for a classic gaming setup.

Mega Engine is an alternative solution to play your physical PC Engine CDs (and of course Super CDs and Arcade CDs like Sapphire) as well as Mega CD and Sega CD discs on your modern HDMI display.

The system supports all kinds of controllers. From original XBox or PS4 controllers to wired Sega Saturn controllers (USB ones by Sega SLS or Retro-Bit) to 8bitdo’s dedicated PC Engine or Mega Drive controllers or pretty much any other USB, 2.4GHz oder bluetooth Controller out there.

PC Engine or Mega CD discs are played directly from disc. No installation required. The unit is fanless and except for some noises when loading or ejecting discs or due to an initial spin-up, the machine is rather quiet when playing discs.

The Mega Engine uses standard parts where possible (except for the case of course and some PCBs), which makes the unit completely user-servicable and guaranteed to last for many years to come.

Next to your physical PC Engine or Mega CD discs the unit – of course – also runs roms for all your favorite classic systems, which can easily be added through USB.

Prototype units are up and running right now and we plan to have the first (but possibly only) wave of machines available in late february or march July of 2021. Final cost for the machine hasn’t been determined yet. Shipping costs are a big question of course. Since all our prices always already include international shipping, we might offer the system bundled with some (new?) software instead (to offset some of the shipping costs).

If you haven’t registered your interest earlier this year, you can find a web form by following the Mega Engine link on top of the screen.