Reports that Sega is to release a Dreamcast 2 console are, to say the least, overblown. In fact Sega has nothing whatsoever to do with the idea at this point.

As Kotaku astutely identified, the rumor is being driven by a story on the subject being featured as a “trending topic” on Facebook’s sidebar. That takes you to an article full of ifs and maybes and reduces it to a one-line description that is misleading at best, reading “Dreamcast 2: Sega Reportedly to Release New PC-Console Hybrid.”

All that’s actually happened is that several sites have interviewed the leader of a totally independent campaign group whose members would like Sega to release the console. That sprang out of a petition (with the accompanying image, pictured above) that received 23,000 signatures.

The people in the campaign group have got plenty of ideas for how the machine would work. They suggest building the console with mainly PC hardware and setting it up to use the game circuit boards from arcade cabinets. The group even has a suggested business model with the idea of using crowdfunding to get a million pre-sales before going ahead with production.

The problem is not only that this has nothing to do with Sega, but the group hasn’t even talked to the company about it. The current status is that the group hopes to arrange a meeting with Sega next year to propose the idea.