A Lego Sega Mega Drive / Genesis controller is coming this month, but there’s a catch
The controller contains a hidden Sonic scene but it won’t be available to buy like normal Lego sets
Lego has officially announced that a Lego Sega Mega Drive / Genesis controller is coming soon, but it’s not being sold as normal.
Lego insiders had previously leaked images of the set, but it now has its own official store page on the Lego website, suggesting its release is imminent.
According to Sega, the 260-piece set includes the controller and a display stand, as well as “regional stickers for customisation”, which presumably means it can say either ‘Genesis’ or ‘Mega Drive’ on the controller.
When the controller is turned around, the back reveals a hidden microscale Green Hill Zone scene, paying tribute to the original Sonic the Hedgehog game.
However, while the controller is listed with a price of $19.99, that price is crossed out and the set is marked as ‘Gift with Purchase’.
Known as GWP sets among the Lego community, these are usually promotional sets that aren’t sold by Lego as individual standalone products, and can usually only be acquired as part of a promotional deal.
It’s almost certain, then, that when the Mega Drive / Genesis controller is made available, customers will only be able to get one as a ‘free’ promotional gift when buying something else on the official Lego website.
One insider on the Legoleak Reddit page believes that the GWP deal will begin on September 8, and that customers will only get it if they spend at least $130 on the Lego store.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that Sega collectors looking to get their hands on it will only be able to get it by spending that much, however – GWP sets are often resold on eBay or specific Lego reseller sites by customers who were buying other Lego sets anyway, got them for free as part of the promotion, and decided to sell them on to recoup some money from their purchase.
As such, sealed sets will likely be able on the resale market shortly after they’re released, and while these will likely cost more than the $19.99 value Lego is placing on them, it will still be significantly less than the $130 threshold needed to acquire one directly from Lego.
Lego has been collaborating with Sega for a while, but all its sets so far have been specifically based on Sonic the Hedgehog. This is the first Lego set of Sega hardware, even if it does still have the Sonic reference on the back.
Previous Lego recreations of video game hardware have included the NES and Atari 2600, while a Lego Game Boy is set for release on October 1.
