Neo Geo is a brand of video game hardware developed by SNK .
50-601: It was launched with the Neo Geo , an arcade system (called MVS) with a home console counterpart (AES). Games on the Neo Geo (MVS and AES) were well received and it spawned several long-running and critically acclaimed series, mostly 2D fighters. Later, SNK released the Neo Geo CD , a more cost-effective console with games released on compact discs , which was met with limited success. A new arcade system, Hyper Neo Geo 64 ,
100-419: A ROM cartridge -based video gaming system released on April 26, 1990, by Japanese game company SNK Corporation . Designed as both an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and home video game console (Advanced Entertainment System; AES), the Neo Geo was marketed as the first 24-bit system; its CPU is actually a 16 / 32-bit 68000 with an 8-bit Z80 coprocessor , while its GPU chipset has
150-509: A 24-bit graphics data bus . It was a very powerful system when released, more powerful than any video game console at the time, and many arcade systems such as rival Capcom 's CPS , which did not surpass it until the CP System II in 1993. Neo Geo hardware production lasted seven years; it was succeeded by Hyper Neo Geo 64 . The Neo Geo MVS coin-operated arcade machine offers owners the ability to put up to six different cartridges into
200-613: A TV via an HDMI cable and it has two ports for external Neo Geo Mini control pads based on the Neo Geo CD controllers. SNK also released an international version of the Neo Geo Mini, which was released outside Japan on October 15, 2018, and later in Japan on November 15, 2018. The international version contains the same features as the Japanese Neo Geo Mini but 14 out of the 40 titles are different (including all of
250-516: A color screen. This time it was also released in the North American and European markets. About two million units were sold worldwide. The system was discontinued in 2000 in Europe and North America but continued to sell in Japan until October 30, 2001. Neo Geo (system) The Neo Geo ( Japanese : ネオジオ , Hepburn : Neojio ) , stylized as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO , is
300-421: A few games. While it ceased manufacturing home consoles by the end of 1997, SNK continued making software for the original 2D Neo Geo. Despite being very aged by the end of the decade, the Neo Geo continued getting popular releases, such as the critically acclaimed The King of Fighters 2002 . The last official game by SNK for the Neo Geo system, Samurai Shodown V Special , was released in 2004, 14 years after
350-552: A later time and could also be used to continue play on the SNK home console of the same name. The arcade version of the video game hardware is often referred to as the "MVS", or Multi Video System (available in 1-slot, 2-slot, 4-slot, and 6-slot variations, differing in the amount of game cartridges loaded into the machine at the time), with its console counterpart referred to as the "AES", or Advanced Entertainment System. Early motherboard revisions contain daughterboards , used to enhance
400-519: A limited edition called "Samurai Shodown" was released, in three colors; white, red, and blue, with a black edition being released later on. This edition has 40 games, featuring all of the Samurai Shodown games, including three new games that have never been included in prior versions. Another limited edition was released exclusively in Japan on September 30, 2019, called "Samurai Spirits Kuroko", with 48 games. In September 2019, SNK announced
450-484: A single cabinet. This unique feature was a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace, as well as saving money long term. The Neo Geo AES was originally released solely as a rental console for video game stores in Japan called the Neo Geo Rental System , with its high manufacturing costs causing SNK not to release it for retail sale. This was later reversed due to high demand and it
500-631: A total of 40. In November 2020, a special limited Christmas edition of the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro was released. The package includes a Neo Geo CD style control pad, a cover for the arcade stick, an arcade stick ball cover, a sticker sheet and a Neo Geo 30th anniversary artbook. All 40 games are included, unlocked from the start. In August 2020, the company Unico announced the Neo Geo MVSX, an arcade table top system capable of playing MVS and AES titles that are pre-installed on
550-472: Is SNK 's second and final arcade system board in the Neo Geo family, released in 1997. The Hyper Neo Geo 64 was conceived as SNK's 3D debut into the fifth generation video game consoles . It provided the hardware basis for a home system that would replace their aging Neo Geo AES, one that SNK hoped would be capable of competing with fifth generation video game consoles. In 1999, the Hyper Neo Geo 64
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#1732772557492600-719: Is identical to its arcade counterpart, the MVS, so arcade games released for the home market are nearly identical conversions. The Neo Geo CD, released in 1994, was initially an upgrade from the original AES. This console uses CDs instead of ROM cartridges like the AES. The unit's (approximately) 1X CD-ROM drive was slow, making loading times very long with the system loading up to 56 Mbits of data between loads. Neo Geo CD game prices were low at US$ 50, in contrast to Neo Geo AES game cartridges which cost as much as US$ 300. The system could also play Audio CDs . Three models were released,
650-1028: The Fatal Fury fighting game franchise, as a spiritual successor to the original Street Fighter . He also worked on the fighting game franchises Art of Fighting and The King of Fighters , as well as the run and gun video game series Metal Slug . The Neo Geo was announced and demonstrated on January 31, 1990, in Osaka , Japan . SNK exhibited several Neo Geo games at Japan's Amusement Machine Operators' Union (AOU) show in February 1990, including NAM-1975 , Magician Lord , Baseball Stars Professional , Top Player's Golf and Riding Hero . The Neo Geo then made its overseas debut at Chicago 's American Coin Machine Exposition (ACME) in March 1990, with several games demonstrated. The system
700-457: The Metal Slug games) and a different interface. As such, both versions have 54 different SNK titles in total. On July 19, 2019, SNK announced the discontinuation of the original Neo Geo Mini and the international version. In December 2018, a limited edition Christmas themed Neo Geo Mini was released, featuring nine games previously unreleased on the other two versions. On June 27, 2019,
750-524: The Wii 's Virtual Console , starting with Fatal Fury: King of Fighters , Art of Fighting , The King of Fighters '94 , and World Heroes . Neo Geo games were released through Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network (For the PlayStation 3 /PlayStation Network, the service was called NEOGEO Station ), including Fatal Fury Special , Samurai Shodown II , Metal Slug 3 , Garou: Mark of
800-593: The X68000 ) and even some arcade systems. Unlike earlier systems, the Neo Geo AES was intended to reproduce the same quality of the game as the arcade MVS system. The MVS was one of the most powerful arcade units at the time, allowing the game ROM to be loaded from interchangeable cartridges instead of using custom, dedicated hardware cabinets for each game. In the United States , the console's debut price
850-593: The 1990 Gamest Awards , the Neo Geo received the Special Award. At the 1991 AMOA Awards held by the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA), the Neo Geo won the "Most Innovative New Technology" award. In a 1993 review, GamePro gave the Neo Geo a "thumbs up". Though they voiced several criticisms, noting that the system was not as powerful as the soon-to-launch 3DO and had few releases which were not fighting games , they generally praised both
900-425: The AES home system through the use of adapters. In 2009, the Neo Geo was ranked 19th out of the 25 best video game consoles of all time by video game website IGN . Since the 2010s, SNK have revived the Neo Geo in new form factors with built-in games, created both by themselves and by officially licensed third-parties. The Neo Geo X , an officially licensed device with a collection of Neo Geo games pre-installed,
950-633: The Monsters 2 at number ten. The Neo Geo MVS received Diamond awards from the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) two years in a row, for being among America's top four best-selling arcade machines of 1992 (with Street Fighter II: Champion Edition , Mortal Kombat and Terminator 2 ) and 1993 . In 1994 , the Neo Geo MVS was best-selling arcade printed circuit board (PCB) worldwide. In
1000-544: The Neo Geo does not use scrolling tilemap background layers. Instead, it has a single non-scrolling tilemap layer called the fix layer, while any scrolling layers rely exclusively on drawing sprites to create the scrolling backgrounds (like the Sega Y Board ). By laying multiple sprites side by side, the system can simulate a tilemap background layer. The Neo Geo sprite system represents a step between conventional sprites and tilemaps. The onboard Yamaha YM2610 sound chip gives
1050-585: The Neo Geo's 2D hardware was unable to do likewise. Despite this, Neo Geo arcade games retained profitability through the mid-1990s, and the system was one of three 1995 recipients of the American Amusement Machine Association 's Diamond Awards (which are based strictly on sales achievements). SNK developed a new home console in 1994, called the Neo Geo CD . A new arcade system was also made in 1997, called Hyper Neo Geo 64 . However, these two systems had low popularity and only
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#17327725574921100-551: The United States, allowing the conversion of an arcade cabinet into a Neo Geo system. The same month, the Neo Geo home console version made its North American debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). SNK also announced that there would generally be a roughly six-month gap between the arcade and home releases of Neo Geo games. When real-time 3D graphics became the norm in the arcade industry,
1150-529: The Wolves and The King of Fighters '98 . Many Neo Geo games were released on the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Windows , and Nintendo Switch through the Arcade Archives service. Homebrew activity began after the console's discontinuation, both by noncommercial hobbyists and commercially. Neo Geo has a community of collectors. Because of the limited production runs received by cartridges amongst
1200-404: The ability to put up to six different arcade games into a single cabinet, a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace. It comes in many different cabinets but basically consists of an add on board that can be linked to a standard JAMMA system. The AES was the first video game console in the family. The hardware features comparatively colorful 2D graphics . The hardware
1250-492: The appearance of a Japanese Neo Geo MVS, which features 40 built-in SNK titles, and was released on July 24, 2018, in Japan to celebrate SNK's 40th anniversary. The games on the system are the AES home console versions with limited continues , however, the Neo Geo Mini features a save/load state system which allows players to save and load the game at any time to continue the game and has up to four save files per game. In addition to its 320x224 pixel display, it can be connected to
1300-529: The cheaper home carts and then using them in arcades. In a few home version games, the arcade version of the game can be unlocked by inputting a special code. The original specification for ROM size is up to 330 megabits , hence the system displaying "Max 330 Mega Pro-Gear Spec" upon startup. While no technical advances were required to achieve it, some games over 100 megabits, such as Top Hunter , followed this screen by displaying an animation proclaiming "The 100Mega Shock!". The original ROM size specification
1350-462: The clarity of the video output. The MVS and AES hardware can execute identical machine code. Owners can move EPROMs from one type to the other, and the game will still run. The program specifics for both MVS and AES game options are contained on every game ROM, whether the cartridge is intended for home or arcade use. However, the arcade and home cartridges do have a different pinout . They were designed this way to prevent arcade operators from buying
1400-482: The company. There, he was involved in developing the Neo Geo. He proposed the concept of an arcade system that uses ROM cartridges like a game console , and also proposed a home console version of the system. His reasons for these proposals were to make the system cheaper for markets such as China , Hong Kong , Taiwan , Southeast Asia , Central America , and South America , where it was difficult to sell dedicated arcade games due to piracy . Nishiyama also created
1450-432: The hardware and games library and recommended that gamers who could not afford the console (which was still priced at $ 649.99) play the games in the arcade. The Neo Geo is the first home game console to feature a removable memory card for saved games . The GameTap subscription service has included a Neo Geo emulator and a small library of Neo Geo games. In 2007 Nintendo announced that Neo Geo games would appear on
1500-403: The longest-supported arcade system of all time. The AES had a very niche market in Japan, though sales were very low in the U.S. due to its high price for both the hardware and software, but it has since gained a cult following and is now considered a collectable . Worldwide, one million Neo Geo MVS units have been shipped and 980,000 Neo Geo AES and CD units combined. The Neo Geo hardware
1550-459: The original top loader model, a revised front loader, and the CDZ , which featured a faster CD drive and was only released in Japan. All three versions of the system have no region-lock. The Neo Geo CD was bundled with a control pad instead of a joystick like the AES. However, the original AES joystick can be used with all 3 Neo Geo CD models instead of the included control pads. The Hyper Neo Geo 64
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1600-403: The price of the competition, the console and its games were accessible only to a niche market . However, its full compatibility meant that no additional money was being spent on porting or marketing for the AES, since the MVS' success was automatically feeding the AES, making the console profitable for SNK. In January 1991, Romstar released an arcade conversion kit version of the Neo Geo in
1650-504: The release of the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro. Resembling a large white arcade stick complete with joystick and 8 buttons, it has 20 built-in games as well as HDMI output for TVs. It can also be used on any of the Neo Geo Mini units via an included adapter and is also backwards compatible with the game pads released for the Mini. The initial 20 built-in games were all fighting games, but more games were added by SNK through software updates to make
1700-479: The sizable available arcade library, some of the rarest Neo Geo games can sell for well over $ 1,000. The most valuable game is the European AES version of Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle . The MVS market provides a cheaper alternative to the expensive and rare home cartridges, and complete arcade kits are priced at a premium. It is also possible to play the MVS cartridges, which generally cost much less, on
1750-498: The system 15 channels of sound. The Neo Geo MVS was a worldwide commercial success upon release in arcades, becoming one of the highest-earning machines at various arcades across markets such as North America and Australia in 1990. In North America, three Neo Geo games were later among the ten top-grossing arcade software conversion kits in December 1992: Art of Fighting at number one, World Heroes at number two, and King of
1800-562: The system itself, with 2 player support with a 17-inch screen, and pre-loaded with 50 games. Also available is a 32-inch stand to allow it to work as a free-standing unit resembling a vintage MVS cabinet. It was released in November 2020 in North America. In late 2023, Unico released another Neo Geo Mini, this one in the style of an MVS arcade cabinet. It could be purchased with or without an additional Unico red controller, modelled
1850-460: The system to draw sprites in vertical strips of tiles (blocks of 16x16 pixels), and can be 32 tiles tall (total of 512 pixels); it can draw up to 380 sprites on the screen at a time, with the limitation of 96 sprites per scanline. Each tile can be assigned a palette, which defines 15 colors (+ transparency). Allowing up to 256 palettes at the same time, the system can display 3840 colors simultaneously. Unlike most other video game consoles of its time,
1900-417: The system's introduction. On August 31, 2007, SNK stopped offering maintenance and repairs to Neo Geo home consoles, handhelds, and games. Each joystick controller is 280 mm (width) × 190 mm (depth) × 95 mm (height) ( 11 × 8 × 2.5 in.) and contains the same four-button layout as the arcade MVS cabinet . The arcade machines have a memory card system by which a player could save a game to return to at
1950-561: The two systems. In 1994, SNK released the Neo Geo CD console which utilizes cheaper compact disc media as opposed to the cartridges used on the AES. The Neo Geo MVS was a success during the 1990s due to the cabinet's low cost, multiple cartridge slots, and compact size. Several successful video game series were released for the platform, such as Fatal Fury , Art of Fighting , Samurai Shodown , World Heroes , The King of Fighters , Twinkle Star Sprites and Metal Slug ; game software production lasted until 2004, making Neo Geo
2000-587: Was an evolution of an older SNK/Alpha Denshi M68000 arcade platform that was used in Time Soldiers in 1987, further developed in the SNK M68000 hardware platform as used for P.O.W.: Prisoners of War in 1988. Contrary to other popular arcade hardware of the time, the SNK/Alpha Denshi hardware used sprite strips instead of the more common tilemap-based backgrounds. The Neo Geo hardware
2050-492: Was discontinued, with only seven games released for it in two years. The Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's first handheld console in the Neo Geo family. Featuring a monochrome display, it was originally released in late 1998 exclusively in the Japan and Hong Kong markets. Lower than expected sales resulted in its discontinuation in 1999, whereupon it was immediately succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color , which had
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2100-493: Was essentially developed by Alpha Denshi 's Eiji Fukatsu, adding sprite scaling through the use of scaling tables stored in ROM as well as support for a much higher amount of data on cartridges and better sound hardware. The system's hardware specifications were finalized in December 1989. Takashi Nishiyama left Capcom , where he had created the fighting game Street Fighter (1987), to join SNK after they invited him to join
2150-420: Was first released in 2012 by TOMMO Inc. After just one year and a lukewarm reception due to its price and poor quality of the emulation, on October 2, 2013, SNK Playmore terminated the license agreement and demanded an immediate cease and desist of distribution and sales of all licensed products. On June 9, 2018, SNK announced the Neo Geo Mini, a miniature sized semi-portable arcade cabinet loosely resembling
2200-443: Was in part designed by Alpha Denshi (later ADK). Initially, the home system was only available for rent to commercial establishments, such as hotel chains, bars and restaurants, and other venues. When customer response indicated that some gamers were willing to buy a US$ 650 console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market. The Neo Geo console was officially launched on 31 January 1990 in Osaka , Japan. The AES
2250-498: Was later enhanced on cartridges with bank switching memory technology, increasing the maximum cartridge size to around 716 megabits. These new cartridges also cause the system to display "Giga Power Pro-Gear Spec" upon startup or during attract mode , indicating this enhancement. The system uses seven different specialist processors , which divide the workload for the visuals, audio and gameplay. RAM : 214 KB SRAM On-board ROM : 512 KB The SNK custom video chipset allows
2300-581: Was planned to be US$ 599 and included two joystick controllers and a game: either Baseball Stars Professional or NAM-1975 . However, the price was raised and its American launch debuted as the Gold System at US$ 649.99 (equivalent to $ 1,454 in 2023). Later, the Gold System was bundled with Magician Lord and Fatal Fury . The Silver System package, launched at US$ 399.99 , included one joystick controller and no pack-in game. Other games were launched at about US$ 200 and up. At double or quadruple
2350-430: Was released at retail as a luxury console. Adjusted for inflation, it was the most expensive home video game console ever released, costing US$ 649.99 (equivalent to $ 1,454 in 2023). The AES had identical hardware to the MVS, allowing home users to play the games exactly as they were in the arcades; however, cartridges are not inter-compatible due to different physical sizes, meaning that software releases differed for
2400-536: Was released in 1997, but it did not fare well. SNK also released a handheld console under the brand, the Neo Geo Pocket , which was quickly succeeded by the Neo Geo Pocket Color , which have been given praise despite its short lifetime. SNK encountered various legal and financial issues resulting in a sale of the company in 2001. Despite that, the original Neo Geo arcade and console continued receiving new games under new ownership until 2004. The Neo Geo brand
2450-573: Was revived in 2012 with the release of the Neo Geo X handheld. Since then, a number of other Neo Geo products have been released based on the original Neo Geo. SNK's first two products using the Neo Geo name are an arcade system called the Neo Geo Multi Video System (MVS) and a companion console called the Advanced Entertainment System (AES), both released in 1990. The MVS offers arcade operators
2500-452: Was then released in Japan on April 26, 1990. Initially, the AES home system was only available for rent to commercial establishments, such as hotel chains, bars and restaurants. When customer response indicated that some gamers were willing to buy a US$ 650 console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market in 1991. Neo Geo's graphics and sound are largely superior to other contemporary home consoles, computers (such as
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