Neo-Geo : The Game Console That Won't Die

xonox writes: "Perhaps you heard about the Neo-Geo game console when it came out some 12 years ago. Most people remember it because it was very expensive. Well, after 12 years, it is still alive and getting brand new commercial games for it. It may be a bit of a niche item but still. The Neo-Geo console was essentially the arcade hardware of the same name inside a prettier case. 3 games have been produced this year for the arcade hardware and two of those 3 have been released for the home console. If you think 2d games are cool, then you should check out http://www.neo-geo.com for more information about one of the greatest 2d platforms of all time. I'm picking playability over 3d anyday :)"

Emulators

[DarkZero]

I might as well be the first to mention that most Neo-Geo games are supported by Mame [mame.net] and my personal emulator of choice, Kawaks [retrogames.com]. If you'd like to try the newer Neo Geo games before you consider the high price road, you should download those emulators and then try searching for some ROMs in various websites, IRC channels, and P2P programs. My personal game recommendations are "Garou: Mark of the Wolves", "The King of Fighters 2000", and any of the Metal Slug games, especially "Metal Slug X".

Oh, and if you see any of the PlayStation ports of Neo Geo games in stores, don't bother with them. They're buggy, bastardized versions of the games with at least twenty to sixty times the amount of loading time (and no, that's not an exaggeration).

More info on Neo Geo

[fabiolrs]

Maybe many of you never heard about this wonderfull console, I got some links here on my bookmarks so you all can have a look at it (and play it on emulators):

Neo Geo Temple [neogeotemple.com]

Some Roms [classicgaming.com]

Emulation [emulationzone.org]

Re:Emulators

[Schnapple]

Yes, but there are two things about MAME emulation of Neo Geo titles:

1. MAME has an internal "ethics" clause forcing them to wait two years before emulating a game, so if Metal Slug 4 is released this year then it will be 2004 before MAME emulates it. Granted, if MS4 never hits the arcade, then perhaps MAME will never emulate it (since it's an arcade emulator).

2. Neo Geo games, at least at one point in time, employed heavy encryption. As a result, it takes quite a while to dump the cartridges in any working form. Metal Slug 3 was released in 2000 but it was mid-2001 before working dumps showed up, and of course 2002 before MAME would support it.

Granted, Kawaks supported it right away and the old NeoRageX doesn't have to have predefined games, so as soon as a game gets dumped you can usually play it right away, but it's not like a "on the Internet before it's in stores ala AOTC" situation.

Re:Didn't they just recently kill this system?

[randomErr]

On the SNK issue: Sengoku 3 is the last game they will be publishing. Also remember the SNK isn't NEO-GEO, although they are the main publisher for the system.

On the price of the games: The games come out with 90-600 meg cartrages. It's nothing for those cart to come out with 20-150 individual burned chips.

That a lot silicon compared to the data stored on a CD-ROM or now a days a DVD-ROM.

C64

[Erik K. Veland]

People are still making games for C64 [c64.com] too...

Get a Neo Geo MVS

[nuxx]

If you're looking for a Neo Geo and find the prices of the home consoles high, look into one of the arcade games themselves. The arcade versions are high, but the low price of the games balances things out. I picked up (locally) a 4-slot (meaning, capable of holding four games at once and switching between them) Neo Geo with a 27" monitor for $500 - $600. Throw in another $30 for new buttons and joysticks (that anyone with a basic knowledge should be able to install) and it'll play just like new. MVS (arcade version) games on eBay typically go for much less than their AES (home version) because they were produced in larger quantities. Many games weren't even released for home play ever. You can find games anywhere from $3/ea to $300/ea, but you should be able to assemble a complete Neo Geo MVS arcade collection for under $1000. I did.

There's just something so much nicer about the original hardware. Even if you do build your own emulation machine. (Which is also in my collection: http://www.nuxx.net/gallery/arcade)

Mmm... Magical Drop III tournaments on a 27".

-Steve

$$$Money$$$

[Mulletproof]

Yeah, and this had to be one of the most expensive consoles ever sold with the most expensive games to boot. I'm one for playability, but damn. If only every console had such a long shelf life and retained their value as well as this one... Maybe my NG Pocket will do the same ^__^

Re:C64

[BigJimSlade]

People are still making games for C64

People are still making the C64 [geocities.com] itself! (I submitted this to /. last week but it got rejected, so feel free to mod me up :)

Re:Emulators

[imr]

this link is for you:
here [nuthouse.org]

Re:"I'm picking playability over 3d anyday :)"

[Nivekk]

Well if you want revamped 2D classic gaming you could do worse than check out Jeff 'Yak' Minter's revived Llamasoft offerings.

He's started up again after the Nuon debacle and has given make-overs to Deflex and Hover Bovver. Addictiveness is back with the classic Yakly psychadelic embellishments :) He's currently at http://www.llamasoft.co.uk - well worth a visit.

Re:gosh......

[Anonymous Coward]

the neo-geo hardware has 64kbytes of ram, all the data is read directly from the rom, this explains why the psx ports were somewhat cut-down.

-xonox