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Games Entertainment

Neo-Geo : The Game Console That Won't Die 208

Posted by timothy from the still-kicking-around dept.
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 :)"
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Neo-Geo : The Game Console That Won't Die More

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

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  • Look out Xbox... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Frank of Earth ( 126705 ) <frank@@@fperkins...com> on Monday May 13, 2002 @06:41AM (#3509259) Homepage Journal
    ... because you have some competition from Neo-Geo now!

    "3 games have been produced this year for the arcade hardware and two of those 3 have been released for the home console"
  • METAL SLUG

    Ok, more words... great little 2d platformer series. Get MAME and play it if you're bored :P

  • Emulators (Score:5, Informative)

    by DarkZero ( 516460 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @06:44AM (#3509264)
    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).

    • Re:Emulators (Score:4, Informative)

      by Schnapple ( 262314 ) <tomkidd.gmail@com> on Monday May 13, 2002 @07:12AM (#3509336) Homepage
      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:Emulators (Score:2, Interesting)

        by gl4ss ( 559668 )
        modifying the code to support that new game isn't all that hard.. so getting them to play on your mame-only cabinet isn't that hard.

        when i go to arcades i pay for playing the game with the kewl arcade style(DOH!) hardware rather than for the sake of the game itself..(the game does matter tho). i gotta build that cab someday..
      • Yeah, but you can get the source and disable the disability, apparantly.

        "Granted, if MS4 never hits the arcade, then perhaps MAME will never emulate it (since it's an arcade emulator)."

        I imagine if this is the case, it`ll get emulated BEFORE the 2 years are up, as it wont affect anyones profits and get them sued.
      • Metal Slug 4 is out. I've played it in Sydney.

        Its different (only a bit) to MS3, and better i think - the first level is reminiscent of MS1 where you're constantly ducking (can't get away with just jumping) and dodging everything. The POW's help YOU now, giving you rides on stolen motorcycles, and trucks.

        Very cool game, and yes it is out and if you look on ebay, you can get a cartridge yourself.

        • Re:Emulators (Score:3, Interesting)

          by 56ker ( 566853 )
          Doesn't legally emulating a platform mean you have to have access to the ROMs (ie own the thing you're emulating) - eliminating the need to actually emulate it when you can get a far better experience from actually using it?
          • Doesn't legally emulating a platform mean you have to have access to the ROMs (ie own the thing you're emulating) - eliminating the need to actually emulate it when you can get a far better experience from actually using it?

            Having legal access to the ROMs is different from having a playable system. For instance, say you have an old Rygar arcade machine where one of the buttons is broken, it smells like cat piss, and the monitor goes out after you play for five minutes. After you burn a hole in your arm messing with the CRT, you might decide you are better off running Rygar on a MAME box with a joystick, buttons etc hooked up to it. Perfectly legal, since you own the ROMs, and with a much reduced chance of scorched flesh.

            (note: may be drawn from personal experience)

            • 1) I've never heard of a Rygar. 2) All the old machines I have (even ones bought in '87) are still in working order. Maybe I'm just lucky.

    • My emu of choice (win32) is NeoRageX [swipnet.se], a nice little Neo Geo emulator that is fast enough to be playable on a 266mhz machine. In addition, it seems to handle sound better then MAME.

      OTOH, the poor bastards who think emulation leads to piracy and thus lack of sales are deluding themselves - I find that emulation works more like a library, as soon as you find something you like, you want a hardcopy for yourself. But that's me, and probably there are a lot of people just like me who are "collectors". And then there are a lot of people who are cheap, or have a casual interest, and only collect roms because they are "free". The sales lost to the emus are more then made up by the sales made because of the emus. However, I do hold to the notion that old emus lead to lost sales of new consoles, since new games seem to be repackaged crap with shiny bits included.

      Btw, the NeoGeo was also an arcade game. Standardized controls across the game, and it was easy to swap out games in cabinets.

      • There are the collectors, the pirates, and then there's the third group, the people in between, which I'm a part of. I'd buy a Neo Geo and some games for it, but I honestly can't see paying several hundred dollars so that I can play the same games, minus internet multiplayer, slower loading times, and instant swappability. I'm all for supporting the artists and such, but not when it costs both money and the entertainment value of the product. That's just a little too much for me.

        The same goes for the ports of Neo Geo games. I bought The King of Fighters '99 for the PlayStation so that at least a little bit of my money would get to SNK/Playmore. I'm now the fine owner of a worthless frisbee with "The King of Fighters '99" printed on one side of it.

  • Still expensive (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Brento ( 26177 ) <brento@nOSPam.brentozar.com> on Monday May 13, 2002 @06:48AM (#3509273) Homepage
    Most people remember it because it was very expensive.

    And most people still do, because they still go for more than a Playstation 2. There are games [ebay.com] for these things that go for more than an Playstation 2, for crying out loud.
    • That has more to do with the fact that the systems have been out of production for many years now making it hard to even find one for sale. And the games are produced in very limited quantities, especialy US versions.
      • That has more to do with the fact that the systems have been out of production for many years now making it hard to even find one for sale.

        You mean like the working Commodore 64's and Atari 2600's that you can routinely pick up on Ebay for under fifty bucks? That argument doesn't hold water.


        • You mean like the working Commodore 64's and Atari 2600's that you can routinely pick up on Ebay for under fifty bucks? That argument doesn't hold water.


          It does when you consider that (out of production for a while) with the scope of the original supply and the current level of demand for them. Certain Sega Saturn games (such as Radiant Silvergun [ebay.com] or the US version of Panzer Dragoon Saga [ebay.com]) have undergone the same type of phenomenon.

      • Sorry, but even when the console was new and in all the stores, the games were still super-expensive, often $200, which was just insane for a single game.

    • I remember looking at an EB advert for the Neo-Geo, man... hundreds of dollars. I though that was too much then and it still is now... (xbox, ps2, ...)

      Funny though, you are right. One of my favorite games of all time is Capcom vs SNK. A fighting game for Dreamcast, which is based on Capcom and SNK's (Neo-Geo's company) fighting games fighting it out in arcades so much.
  • I've always thought that the neo-geo was special, if memory serves me, they are very quick and flexiable.

    Emulator anyone?

  • More info on Neo Geo (Score:4, Informative)

    by fabiolrs ( 536338 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @06:49AM (#3509275) Homepage
    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]

  • Vague memories (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ringbarer ( 545020 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @06:50AM (#3509276) Homepage Journal
    Didn't this console come with a smart-card type thing that allowed you to transfer game stats to and from the arcade machines?

    And while we're at it, whatever happened to the PC Engine?

    • Re:Vague memories (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Soulslayer ( 21435 )
      Yes this correct. The Arcade systems had slots under the joystick table for a card where you could store profiles and stats. If I remember correctly the cards were around $150 when new.

      One of my friends was still using his a few years ago. If he is lurking I am sure TaliesinWI will provide more information. :)

      • Memory Card (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Soulslayer ( 21435 )
        I believe this is the card [ebay.com]. It worked in both the home system and the Neo Geo MVS Cabinets (basically the home system in an arcade cabinet).

      • Most DDR (Dance Dance Revolution - best arcade game ever) machines also have slots for standard PSX memory cards so you can load the custom steps you make at home on your Playstation to the arcade so you can impress the bitches (by bitches I mean your glow-stick raver friends).
  • Didn't I see something [slashdot.org] about how SNK was discontinuing opperations? And why are these games SOOOOOOOOOOO expensive? It's no like Street Fighter is that new!
  • I think anyone who came of age in the late 80's and early 90's (colloquially known as "the 80's") will testify to the wonder and mystique of the so-called Neo Geo.

    Hours spent playing games.

    This was the architecture that paved the way for the 32-bit and better machines and consoles that today are commonplace. In addition to the introduction of parallelism and coprocessing into games, Neo Geo raised the bar for graphics and presaged the whole "multimedia" craze hyped by the media and ignored by consumers.

    Modern PC games pale by comparison.

    Yet I think they will rise again.

  • More people probably play neo geo games via emulator than own the console...

    I mean, its like saying that Windows 3.1 is an amzingly viable OS right now just because some programs run in it/are used in XP under the compatibility layer.

    It seems that "usability" and "playability" is always the argument brought up by die-hard fanatical supporters of dying/dead platforms. And I would know, as a mac user, that this doesn't buy crap in the real world. If the hardware, and more importantly, the games, are crap, then no-one will think even once about buying it. And right now, games with 3d are what people want. I just feel like laughing at whoever would be willing to pay the price to actually buy one of these things, especially when the dreamcast is ultra-cheap. (Now there is a decent 'dead' console. Don't give me that 80's crap)

    Of course, I could give you a great deal on an old Amiga, if you're interested ;-)
    • It is a matter of taste. Some people prefer the simplistic action of a 2D fighter like Samurai Shodown. The simplistic hard-core 2D action of the Metal Slug series is also a fun escapist hobby; I certainly have enjoyed many hours of that.

      Yes, it's not a "popular" genre, that's why it's called a niche market.

  • "I'm picking playability over 3d anyday :)" (Score:3, Insightful)

    by DarkDust ( 239124 ) <marc@darkdust.net> on Monday May 13, 2002 @06:54AM (#3509291) Homepage
    That's why my girl-friend and me were playing SNES and Genesis games the last weeks :-) Toe Jam and Earl rules ;-) Besides, is it just me or are there really fewer types of games released today ? I mean, have you seen any scrolling shooters like R-Type lately, or adventures ? Even jump'n'runs seem to be rare today :-( Damn 3D-philia !

    • Instant gratification (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Ixohoxi ( 170656 )
      Games and gamers are like a binary star, each revolves around the other. Change in one influences the other, recursively. Yesterday's game maker had to make a great game to make alot of money. Now that there are so many more gamers, the stakes are higher. Marketing can turn a mediocre game into a money-maker.

      Take that recipe, and repeat over and over. Eventually, the game landscape looks like it does today. Tons of 3-D intensive games, loads of RTS and their offspring, and a slew of sports games. Indeed, what happened to innovative side-scrollers, stimulating puzzlers, and more traditional games?

      Kids today are obsessed with visuals. If the game doesn't look kick-ass, they don't want to play it. If the game doesn't involve fragging and dying every 30 seconds, they don't want to play it. Most of today's kids want the immediate gratification that games like Q3, UT, HL, etc. offer.

      True, there are some types of thought that these gamers are exhibiting, that more traditional games might not bring out. But today's game doesn't make gamers really think. Many of today's games are simply proceed to the next goal, then repeat. Whatever happened to games that you wanted to play until you mastered them?

      Those types of games are not conducive to money-making in today's gaming market. You have to buy the sequel! The upgrade! The expansion pack! You can't just pay $35 to have a game you want to play over and over. Like Tetris. If games were drugs, the addictiveness of Tetris is like cocaine, whereas that of say a highly popular FPS is like crack. That's why. Don't increase replayability, increase addictiveness!

      • Re:Instant gratification (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Croaker ( 10633 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @09:30AM (#3509912)
        Kids today are obsessed with visuals. If the game doesn't look kick-ass, they don't want to play it. If the game doesn't involve fragging and dying every 30 seconds, they don't want to play it. Most of today's kids want the immediate gratification that games like Q3, UT, HL, etc. offer.


        That's exactly the opposite of what I think. The games these days require so much investment of time in order to master. Take a look at most FPS games, or most of the console fighting games these days. You need to learn a half-dozen to a dozen different commands, dodges, weapon combos, and advanced strategies. It's hard to get into these games unless you're a kid who has a load of time to kill.



        Me, I'd like to get a quick gaming fix now and again, but I simply don't have the time to invest in the average game these days. Bring back more of the games with simpler, easily accessable gameplay. Stop equating "more complex" with "more fun." You can still create a game that can hold long-term interest while being accessable. It's just harder.



        • I second that. One of the heralds of classic gaming is that it's easy to get into -- Pac-Man moves around the maze eating dots, okay. The Paperboy throws newspapers, get 'em on the porch, okay. There are nuances and patterns to learn, sure, but we're not talking about 50,000 combo tricks and special techniques and secrets and play variants you need to master in order to have fun at the game. We're talking a game you can drop a quarter into, have a few minutes of fun, and then you're done -- simple, fun, fast, and never tires out.

          There are thankfully some modern games with this mentality, but not enough. My favorite right now and the reason I keep my Dreamcast plugged in is Power Stone (first one, not the second). A dirt simple 'fighting game' which is really more of a crazed, high energy Hollywood movie brawl. I can play that as long or as short as I like and still have plenty of fun. AND it had those flashy gosh-wow 3-D graphics that the previous post condemned, too, go figure.

          Also of note is that a lot of American arcades are taking this 'Pick up and play' route as well. 'Adult' oriented arcades like Dave & Busters don't even have joystick based games anymore, it's all simulators (adults know how to drive a car or ski down a mountain) or shooting games. Stuff that ANYBODY could play without hitting GameFAQs to memorize all the small details first.

          • I totally agree! Game developers for some reason think that games need to be movies or reality simulators. Whatever happened to a game being a game? Some modern games are still games: Chu-chu Rocket is a good example.

            The best classic games usually had a few simple concepts, which made initially picking the game up and playing a very easy task... however, the many different combinations of those few simple concepts gave gameplay depth only master gamers could conquer.
        • You should definately try Icy Tower, which can be freely downloaded from here [freelunchdesign.com]. Unfortunately, their other games are pretty crappy, but Icy Tower directly caused the collective failure on exams for my floor.
      • I would say that it's the other way round, tetris is like crack, just addictive, whereas a good FPS is like coke: not only addictive, but makes you feel like a God.

        graspee

    • We have a playstation 2 with over a dozen games, but my 10 year old son frequently likes to play the games included with KDE instead.

      Remember, chess is only a 2-D game :).

      -mdl

    • Re:"I'm picking playability over 3d anyday :)" (Score:4, Funny)

      by imr ( 106517 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @08:05AM (#3509499)
      It's true about girl-friends as well.


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

      Get both, get a GameCube.

      Highly addictive and very playable 3D- titles, like Super Monkey Ball, prove the point. Can't wait for Mario and Zelda... Miyamoto- san knows playability like no other.

      J

    • Today's games are too hard! How many buttons are on a PS2 controller?

      to shoot, hold this button, while pushing this other button every second, while moving the left analog directional joystick around counter clockwise Too much depth in the game to make the casual gamer want to learn.
      I like SNES. Great system, cheap games, hours of playability. ZERO learning curve.
      And if the game doesn't want to work, you just BLOW on the cartrige real hard. Now THATS interactivity!
      • When Defender came out, people complained that it had too many buttons. In fact, one good thing about today's games, especially if you grew up with video games, is that the days of needing ultra-fast reactions are gone.

        Also, be careful not to confuse the complexity of the interface (like how many buttons there are and what they do) with the complexity of the game.

        For example, DropShip (PS2) has a fairly complex interface but the game is simple, compared to the board game "Go" which has a very simple interface but which is notoriously difficult to master.

        graspee

    • Spacetripper [pompom.org.uk] is more like Defender than R-Type, but a beautiful game regardless. There's even a Linux version available. Perfect combination of gameplay and graphics, IMO.
    • I mean, have you seen any scrolling shooters like R-Type lately, or adventures?

      The last great scrolling shooter that I remember is Einhander for the PSX. As far as adventures, I think Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was supposed to be one of the great 2D adventure games (I never got into it much), and Klanoa was a great jump n' run for the PSX (haven't tried Klanoa 2 for PS2, but I hear it's also good). Tomba 1 & 2 are other good examples. I know that this is all Playstation-biased, but that's all I've owned for the last 3 years or so.
      • You have to look to the Gameboy Advance. Desipite being 32 bit, it has 16bit like graphics on par with the SNES. Many simialer games too, there is a gradius game, a new castlevania game(which rocks) Fzero, advance wars, a new metroid and a bunch of RPGs.

        The playability of these games are great and probably the only place where you will find most new 2d games.
        • Ahhh! I don't know how the concept of "x-bit" graphics got started, but it's a totally meaningless concept and has NOTHING to do with the actual consoles themselves. What's more, people are often wrong about the numbers they use. The SNES had a 16-bit CPU, it did not have 16-bit graphics by any meaning of the word.
    • 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.
    • I think the technology is actually having a detrimental effect on games now. It's become such a big deal to make a game that games feel like they should be bigger and better. There isn't enough time for variety when it takes so long and so much effort to make one good game.

      Of couse the 3D thing probably doesn't help anyway. If game makers would relalize that games don't have to have 3d cameras to be popular it would help things a lot.

      Although if you want a next gen game that still has some roots in the good old days check out ICO for the PS2, or MDK2 for any system (I've only played it on PC, but I've seen it on consoles). Both have the feel of an older style game, but updated.
    • I agree in sentiment, but not about the Neo-Geo. When it was released, its library of games was the most uinspired and derivative available. Tired of having played a hundred beat-em-ups on the NES and Genesis? Well, get a Neo-Geo and play some more uninspired rehashes of them. History has been kind to the Neo-Geo because, well, people tend to forget history.

      The reason there aren't many games like R-Type any more is the same reason there aren't many games like Pac-Man any more. The genere was so overdone that it burned itself to a crisp. It didn't need to be that way of course, but developers spent too much time pandering to the cliches of the genre, so every game tended to have that Techno-Organic Look (tm), and involve the same kind of powerups and bosses and so on. Bleah. (I'll admit that much of your feeling about these games depends on your background. Even by 1991, there were more R-Type style shooters for the Genesis than anyone could possibly stand. And it took years for those kind of games to finally hit it big on the PC, with creatively stillborn entries like Raptor and Tyrian. But PC owners who shunned consoles thought they were the greatest games ever.)
    • It's not specifically the 2D graphics, it's the fact that you're interacting with the game on a 2D screen with typically at best 2.5 degrees of control (2 analogue axies plus shoulder buttons). Here's something I wrote on the subject recently:
      So I finally got around to playing two Saturn games I bought a while ago. First up I found Nights into Dreams -- a brand new, never used, 3D controller bundle. It wasn't cheap, but it was new. It's a fun game, I'm really gaining some respect for Sonic Team. Particularly enjoyable is that while it's a 3D graphical environment, it only requires 2D of interaction - up, down, forward, back. Makes it playable. Similarly, the other game, Panzer Dragoon is, at heart, a forward-scrolling shooter in the style of Space Harrier or Afterburner, but with a full 3D environment. You're always moving forward so you only have to control up, down, left and right. You can turn to the side and behind you, but it's playable because you don't have to judge that impossible third degree of freedom. In contrast, Sonic Adventure is as much of a pain as Mario 64. I can never land a jump where I want and I'm always falling off the edge of stuff or going in the wrong direction. Only Gauntlet Legends has provided me with a fun 3D 3rd-person world, and that's because you can't jump, can't fall off the edge of stuff and the camera is pre-programed based on your location on the map, not on the direction you're facing or moving.
  • For reasons including its exorbitant price, the Neo Geo has never been a big hit with the home market.

    It has some pretty impressive hardware, which makes it a popular machine for arcades. With the processing power of today's machines, it isn't an exaggeration to say that Neo Geo was ahead of its time.
  • I remember back when this was new. I had a super nintendo, and I thought:

    "wow neo-geo is a 32 bit system!!!! that has got to be the pinical of gaming technology!!!! it will never get better than that!!!"

    little did I know......it didn't :-) (that was a joke)
    • Neo Geo had the same main processors as a sega Genesis (A 68000 and a Z80). IIRC it just had a much, much, better graphics chipset.

      Jeremy
      • I think the biggest (only?) reason for the superior graphics was that NEO-GEO modules are much bigger (physically and logically) than those of any ROM-based console ever. E.g. Metal Slug 3 has 708 Mb. 708 Mb, IN ROM CHIPS! Compare that to the puny 16 Mb Genesis or SNES Modules.
        • Yep, unlike other consoles, they never, ever used data compression in their carts.

        • I think the biggest (only?) reason for the superior graphics was that NEO-GEO modules are much bigger (physically and logically) than those of any ROM-based console ever. E.g. Metal Slug 3 has 708 Mb. 708 Mb, IN ROM CHIPS! Compare that to the puny 16 Mb Genesis or SNES Modules.

          The Game Boy Advance (16 MiHz ARM processor, Super NES-like graphics chipset) may soon top that. Right now, you can buy Visoly flash cartridges that hold 512 megabits [lik-sang.com]. The biggest current games are only 64 megabits, but that will change as prices fall.

  • 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.

    Check out the Sega Saturn too -- they're pretty close to free in the used game shops around here, and absolutely kick ass for 2d gaming.

    Street Fighter Alpha 2, for example. [drool]

    --saint

    • Loading....

      • Streaming (Score:2, Interesting)

        by yerricde ( 125198 )

        Loading....

        The consumer version of the Neo-Geo (i.e. the version where each game didn't cost three figures) was CD-based. And loading isn't that bad if you can cover it up with an announcer yelling "Ryu vs. Chun-Li" or something (I don't know SNK characters, so I'm using Capcom here). Plus, you can stream data into RAM as it's needed, which is very useful for scrolling shooters such as the 194? games. If you want to see a beautiful example of streaming in action, try Einhänder for PS1.

        • Load times on the first NGCD were so bad that SNK revamped the system and released an updated model with a faster CD-ROM soon after releasing the first. Reliability was also an issue, since the first model's drive crapped out fairly often, but most bought the updated model for its faster drive, not for its improved reliability.

          < tofuhead >

  • I remember when Neo Geo just hit the arcades and I got a neogeo card for Xmas. 12 years is a long time for one of the last "new" things I remember in the arcades.

    Maybe I've been gaming a bit too much :P
  • The Samurai Shodown games are still the best fighting games ever. Especially parts 1 & 2. Street Fighter,Virtua Fighter, and Tekken are for pussies.

  • Why it failed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Chardish ( 529780 ) <chardish&gmail,com> on Monday May 13, 2002 @07:17AM (#3509352) Homepage
    Yeah, the performance was great, but a $1,000 system with games that cost $100 a piece was not going to be picked up by the gaming public in an era where the primary game players were under 18 at the time. Also the hardware was ahead of the time, but Neo-Geo emulates fine on my secondary PC (333 mhZ K6-2 with only 64 MB of RAM).

    Bottom line? Stick with a PS2 or GameCube, you get more bang for your buck. (But less geek appeal...)

    -Evan

  • C64 (Score:2, Informative)

    by Erik K. Veland ( 574016 )
    People are still making games for C64 [c64.com] too...
  • Everybody seems to be reminiscing about when "every game was unique" in the 80's. I just looked at the Neo-geo site, and most of the games appear to be 'Street Fighter' clones or variations.

    Get a grip, I have a Pocket Colour I bought just before the unit was pulled from Europe and all I can get are the same few game types.

    What about the early to mid 80's(C64, Speccy etc.)? There were far fewer game clones then.

    Hang on, I think I've turned into Granpa from the Simpsons...

    In my day.... blah blah yadda yadda rhubarb

    • Re:Pocket Colour? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Dimensio ( 311070 )
      Most of the fighting games are "Street Fighter" clones, heck I thought that the characters from World Heroes were direct rip-offs (one character had the appearance of M. Bison(US)/Vega(JP) and the "stretch" ability of Dhalsim). Samurai Shodown had its own unique style however. The Metal Slug series is hardly an original genre, but its intense action and cartoonish humour gives it a cult following.

      Yes, many of the fighting games are SF ripoffs (which is why it was so easy to create Capcom vs. SNK) and many of the other games were rips of other genres (lots of Double Dragon/Final Fight type games), but there were a few gems amongs the bunch and almost all of them looked pretty.
  • I don't think so. The Neo-geo bios is always running in every place, on arcade machines. There are LOTS of Games running, and they're the best choice for all the gamers I know. Specially the King Of Fighters games are the preferred fighting game for everybody I know.

    IMHO, SNK make the best fighting games, like Fatal Fury series, King Of Fighting series, Last Blade, Samurai Showdown, ... There's a place here in town that I always go, and while the King Of Fighters machine is always occupied by someone, the "Capcom vs. Street Fighter" machine running a dreamcast is always empty... Playability is all! The fancy graphics aren't always the best choice...

  • Get a Neo Geo MVS (Score:4, Informative)

    by nuxx ( 10153 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @07:36AM (#3509397) Homepage
    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
    • I think you can get a JAMMA cabinet even cheaper. I picked up one for about 250$.


      Then a Neo-Geo 1-slot Jamma Card for about 100$, and top it off with Metal SLug, both found on ebay for 150$ and 50$, respectively.


      And I agree-- go with the arcade flavor. much nicer.

  • I remember the NeoGeo being up against the Sega MegaDrive (Genesis) in the old playground 'my console could have your console' battles. The Nintendo was for poofs and kids, the MegaDrive was mainstream, and the techie boys loved the NeoGeo to pieces.

    Only the PCEngine was worth more street cred - but that was because you could actually get games for it! The NeoGeo games available in the UK went for at least £100, sometimes £250.

    Mmmmmmm.... Metal Sluuuuuug
    • I'd say Super Nintendo was more mainstream than Sega Megadrive. SNES pretty much reamed MD.
      • Hard to say, actually. I believe the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom was clearly the superior system. However, the Genesis / Megadrive had a lot of good games as well. IIRC, in the U.S., the Genesis did outsell the SNES in terms of total systems sold.

        Maybe it is because I'm older now, but this seems to be when the truly great games were out. The SNES had great Square games as well as many other good 3rd. party titles. There were also tons of excellent first party titles like Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, etc.

        The Genesis had some really good games too, like Sonic, Phantasy Star 2-4, etc. There were also a few good CD titles, like Lunar (which was re-released on Saturn and Playstation), even though the majority of the Sega CD games sucked.

        Recently, I've seen a few things that I've liked in the current console market. SSB Melee at least did a good job of letting me re-live the old days by featuring tons of little things from Nintendo's past. Capcom also did a good job with Maximo, IMO.
        Even though it was 3D, it reminds me very much of Ghosts n' Goblins. Though it isn't quite as difficult, it is still harder than most of what comes out nowadays.

  • I'm picking playability over 3d anyday

    Looks like I'm not the only one who hasn't been brainwashed by SCEA that unaliased jagged jumpy polygons AREN'T the future!

  • $$$Money$$$ (Score:2, Informative)

    by Mulletproof ( 513805 )
    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 ^__^
  • I'm picking playability over 3d anyday

    And you're talking about the Neo Geo here?

    Uh... the same game system which had some of the world's crappiest games on it, both in the arcade and on the home system?

    Look, if you want cheap and playable then go out and get a $200 PC and play PC games from yesteryear. Go get MAME and other emulators and also play old arcade games like Qbert, Qix, Dig Dug, and so forth.

  • Neo Geo 3D (Score:2, Interesting)

    by proj_2501 ( 78149 )
    It should be noted that there is a 64-bit version of the Neo Geo. It's called the Hyper NEO GEO 64, although I think it's only an arcade board. The only game I know of released on it was called Samurai Shodown 64, which I suppose is not the same as Samurai Shodown 4.

    You know, you could probably buy a NEO GEO arcade motherboard for about $50, then pick up a JAMMA cabinet with a crap game in it for $200, and you wouldn't have to worry about encryption OR copyright violation OR finding ROM dumps.
  • Hand drawn animation, well thought out music. Characters WITH character. SNK did it right. They've had their ups and downs, Should have stuck with the NGCD system, just needed a little more ram and a slightly faster cd drive. As a sidenote, those guys at neo-geo.com are a little crazy, so much as a mention of roms and they'll ban your ass. I suppose it'd be because the guy that runs the place makes a livin off those fools that will pay upto $5k for a cart. Mind you they were never more than $400 tops direct from SNK. Once its sold out from snk, and been dumped just get one of those x-sticks or whatever they are called and play it on mame. some anti-aliasing definately makes it better. I'd suggest trying out last blade 2, damned good game. Neo-Geo=arcade fighters Saturn=Best shooters Latest and greatest=flashy crap There was also a system SNK released, hyper neo 64 I believe, 64bit arcade machine. you can pick one up for $500 or so. there were only a handful of games made for it. Essentialy just a step up in the graphics.
  • It's amazing how SNK has been able to keep somewhat of a hold on the gaming market with what would be considered "outdated" hardware by industry standards.

    What I've always questioned, though, is why are they only focusing on fighting and action based games? I think they would get much more exposure if they ever released a sequel to Crystalis. Just a thought...

  • Rom Sizes (Score:2, Interesting)

    by racerx509 ( 204322 )
    I was always wondering, why were NeoGeo titles so expensive. Besides manufacturing a limited amount of titles, its the rom size. Has anyone ever taken a look at the rom size of these things? Some of the games are 48mb, some are 64mb. Thats gotta drive the cost up. Aside from N64, I don't think any other cart based systems have had roms this large.
    Whats the largest Neo Geo cart anyway?
  • Woo. [penny-arcade.com]

  • Nethack (Score:2, Funny)

    by npsimons ( 32752 )
    I'm picking playability over 3d anyday :)


    Does it run Nethack [nethack.org]? Didn't think so.

  • I'm not dead yet (paraphrase-alternative version) (Score:5, Funny)

    by WankersRevenge ( 452399 ) on Monday May 13, 2002 @11:48AM (#3510648)
    Marketplace: Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: Here's one.

    Neo-Geo: I'm not dead yet.

    Marketplace: He says he's not dead

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: Well, he will be soon. He's very ill.

    Neo-Geo: I'm getting better.

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: No, you're not. You'll be stone dead in a moment.

    Marketplace: Oh, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.

    Neo-Geo: I don't want to go on the cart!

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: Oh, don't be such a baby.

    Marketplace: I can't take him.

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: Well, do us a favor.

    Marketplace: I can't.

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes? He won't be long.

    Marketplace: No, I've got to go to Sega Headquarters. They've lost their whole hardware division today.

    Neo-Geo: I think I'll go for a walk.

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Look. Isn't there something you can do?

    Neo-Geo: I feel happy. I feel happy.


    (metal) SLUG

    Sony, Microsoft, et al: Ah, thanks very much.

    Marketplace: Not at all. See you on Thursday.

  • I can't be the only one that thinks that many 2d games _look_ better than many 3d games, can I? So many 3d games are ugly, angular and blocky, with straight lines on many of the rendered graphics where there should be a smooth curve.

    Drawn graphics only give you a limited viewpoint, but it's a _smooth_ and pretty image. Recent 3d games are _starting_ to look good, for some of them, but most still suck. Until 3d games look like Shrek, I'd rather see pretty hand drawn images tiled into the game.
  • That's an ironic thing to say, considering that in the first 2 or 3 years, the selling point of the Neo Geo was it's graphics and sound (everyone was wowed by the amount of speech!), and the games mostly played like crap.

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