The system doesn’t launch until the end of September, but AtGames’ new Sega Genesis Flashback console has already generated controversy.

A number of units have gone out to US gaming outlets for review, and the response has not been favourable. Gamespot warned consumers “Do Not Buy AtGames’ Sega Genesis Flashback Console,” IGN damned it by saying “More like Trashback” and Gizmodo called it “hot garbage”. While the sound issues that have dogged AtGames’ Mega Drive consoles for years have largely been fixed by this new machine, reviewers complained of very unresponsive wireless control pads and emulation that exhibits notable slowdown on both the built-in games and those played via cartridge.

In response, AtGames has now issued a statement claiming that the units sent out for review weren’t representative of the final products. When contacted by Kotaku, the company claimed “A batch of our review units were accidentally shipped out with early software builds that do not represent the final version,” and that “We are working to get updated and correct final products in the hands of reviewers in the coming weeks.”

We haven’t yet had the opportunity to test the Sega Genesis Flashback. On paper, it should be a worthy competitor to the SNES Classic Mini, as it offers a number of excellent built-in games at a competitive price, with HDMI output and the all-important ability to add your own games via cartridge. However, AtGames’ track record with Sega products is poor, and this latest incident doesn’t inspire confidence that things have improved. Hopefully we’ll be able to get hold of a finalised review unit in the near future in order to give you a complete picture of the machine’s strengths and weaknesses.