Neo-Geo... it's been a fun 13 years. Pay your respect here.

[AB Positive]

http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/2004/02/20/103,1077247911,21643,0,0.html

it's in japanese, but it's message is there. Samurai Spirits V Special is indeed the last Neo Geo game. SNK is officially moving on to the Atomiswave system. The game series will still live, there will be KoF 2004, Metal Slug 6... but the MVS system is essentially dead and the AES is coming soon.


Somewhat of a sad day to the Neo fans, but hell.... 13 years of life with a damn close call in the middle is still something to be proud about for a company.


the last of the 'neo-classic' (no pun intended) has finally hit the graveyard. As a collectors site, what are your thoughts?


Personally, Now I technically have a goal for an MVS complete collection.


-AG

[omnedon]

I'm just getting in to the Neo!

I'm not sure if it's a good time or a bad time. This may change nothing, or it may make carts more expensive, or maybe some more will leave the Neo collecting scene at the same time, and drive prices down.

I have no clue. All I know is I want more....

[EnemyZero]

Yeah thats depressing....it would be nice if they kept the AES system afloat but that would be costly id imagine...meh...:\

[Flack]

I enjoy my MVS systems. Even though I've just begun buying carts, I can tell you it's quite addictive. Let's face it, 13 years is a long time for any piece of hardware to remain viable. It's amazing that they are still putting out new games on it at all.

[ClubNinja]

It's sad in a sentimental way; but when you think about all the fantastic titles released over all those years, it doesn't seem so bad. Instead of worrying about the next installment of whatever series to come out, I can focus on the already existing titles that I don't have yet. Let Slug 6 show up on a new platform I don't have - I still don't even have 3-5 yet for a platform I do have. Now's the time to celebrate and appreciate what we've already been given. I'd much rather see the platform go out on a positive note instead of something like Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer 2 anyway ;)

[Mr. Smashy]

Somewhat of a sad day to the Neo fans, but hell.... 13 years of life with a damn close call in the middle is still something to be proud about for a company.

I read somewhere that 13 human years is something like 91 in console years.

Or that might only apply to dogs. I'm not quite sure.

[Fatghost28]

Truly an amazing piece of hardware, both arcade and console.

[ManekiNeko]

Look at it this way, folks. SNK may be retiring the Neo-Geo, but its replacement is essentially a slightly redesigned Dreamcast, and you know THAT can't be a bad thing.

JR

[IntvGene]

Man, it's been a long time.

We first rented the good ol' AES unit way back when it first came out and were in awe of games like Burning Fight, Magician Lord and Baseball Stars. Then, we'd start playing more and more Samurai Shodown in the local arcades. We'd rent it off and on, with the dream of one day owning our own unit, and taking the memory card back and forth from the arcade to home. Our favorite games were Samurai Shodown (1 and 2) along with Baseball Stars 2. I finally picked an AES unit up from a local newspaper ad. I still don't have Baseball Stars 2, but will get it someday. I think it is one of the best 2-player baseball games out there.

It's amazing the support that it's received over all these years, and I'm sure that the loyal fanbase won't let forget about it anytime soon.

[Ze_ro]

It's kind of sad to see it go... but really, the move probably should have been made sooner. I guess the whole failure with the Hyper 64 made them a bit cautious about changing stuff. Oh well, the NeoGeo had a good run... here's hoping for a dedicated homebrew community to operate in SNK's stead.

Oh, and are they planning on making an Atomiswave home unit? Or are they just planning on making PS2/X-Box ports? I guess if the Atomiswave is essentially a Dreamcast, then it wouldn't make much sense.

--Zero

[Videogamerdaryll]

:(

[gamergary]

Hopefully this will drive the prices down so I can get the aes system that I want so much plus a phantom.

[Querjek]

I hope that this will lower prices too... I might finally get to play/own one.

[ubersaurus]

The neo geo has had a hell of a run. Alot of good, classic games to have come out on that beast...remember when SNK tried to retire it back when LB2 came out, and again in 2000? Insane. 3rd times the charm though, and I have to say, they pushed that thing for everything it was worth.

[jaydubnb]

Best. System. Run. Ever.

I remember the first time I saw a Neo in action, mustve been about 1990, and I can recall being impressed not only by the graphics but by the sound; it was so loud and powerful. Acquiring an AES in 02, I thought that it wouldnt sound as good because I'd been spoiled by CD audio of recent times, but the Neo still sounded and looked great. Big audio, big visuals, big price, big carts, big fun = gaming bliss.

Probablly my biggest thanks to the Neo would be their push varied uses fightng game mechanics. Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown and KoF were all SNK games, but felt radically different from one another. You couldnt just go from game A to game B and use the same tactics.

I'm hoping that the Neo market doesnt become flooded with collectors who are only now hopping on because the Neo's run is over. The number of carts for each game is low enough as it is. I'm trying to get many carts that I want ASAP before things get wacky in the AES market.

[buttasuperb]

Yea, most definately one hell of a run.

I pay my respects to the Neo Geo by playing it almost every day. That trend will continue the rest of my life, or as long as my hands work.

There is a dev kit for the Neo Geo being released or it might be already released. Someone over at ng.com is working on a Castlevania game already.

[Kejoriv]

I have never played a Neo Geo. I want to though. Everyone that has one, talks about it like its the second coming of god. The system and games are so expensive its hard to justify spending that kind of dough.

[ubersaurus]

If someone ported tempest 2000 to the neo and somehow got an arcade release cobbled, I'd lose it.

When does SS5 Special come out? I know arcade is April..any announcement on the home cart?

[RetroYoungen]

13 years. WOW.

But to be honest, the Neo Geo always seemed to me to be that one system that would last forever... :sigh:

But yeah, maybe prices might be dropped a bit and mke it a bit easier for me to buy one. It would be an awesome thing to play Last Blade 2 on a 36" TV. Bittersweet, this news is.

[HellStar]

Yea its totaly depresing for those of us just getting into the whole collecting the Neo carts!

But could someone tell me more of this AES?
What is it?
Where can I get it?
When can I get it?
and just som info on it
@_@

[omnedon]

Go here http://www.neo-geo.com/reviews/NeoGlossary/neoglossary.htm and read up Hellstar. :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Hey, that's a great way for the system to go out. The nice part is that this isn't "the end" of SNK's games, either; they'll be around on the Atomiswave and others.

[buttasuperb]

For all those who want to play Neo Geo games but feel they can't afford it, find a way to play MVS carts. Plenty of $200+ homecarts can be found on MVS for around $50 or cheaper.

[AB Positive]

MVS Board (1-slot) - $120
Supergun - $200
Ability to play the exact same game for $50 that AES owners need to shell out over a grand for? - Priceless.


MVS my friends. MVS.


-AG

[Ed Oscuro]

Uh, my copy of Fatal Fury 3 looks nice alongside the guide. ROFL.

[vincewy]

Well what can I say, given the lifespan of the system, it was best part of my gaming years, I was however not impressed with the sequals SNKP kept putting out in the last 2-3 years,so I guess this is the good way to end it.

What SNKP could have done, is making games for both Atomiswave and MVS, the key titles going to Atomiswave, leaving the second tier arcade games for MVS as there're still a lot of MVS units out there in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, why abadoning such large user base?

SNKP already has introduced 2 new hardwares, Hyper 64 and Crystal System, both failed, maybe they'll change their minds if Atomiswave fails just like their previous ones but IMO it has better potential, just looks at the titles it already has.

[Ze_ro]

It's sad to see it go, but SNK probably should have done this a long time ago. It'll be interesting to see what they're able to do with their franchises on the Atomiswave. Here's hoping that a good homebrew community springs up to work with the NeoGeo.

I'm guessing there's no talk of releasing a home version of the Atomiswave, since it's essentially a Dreamcast. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll see Japanese releases of Atomiswave ports to the Dreamcast along the lines of Border Down and such.

--Zero

[Moral Deficit]

I boldly proclaimed 13 years ago that the Neo Geo wouldn't last.

It took long enough for my prediction to come true though.

[Ed Oscuro]

What SNKP could have done, is making games for both Atomiswave and MVS, the key titles going to Atomiswave, leaving the second tier arcade games for MVS as there're still a lot of MVS units out there in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, why abadoning such large user base?

New Neo Geo games are coming out on the Atomiswave...you got that part, right? Abandoning the MVS is a good move, much as I like the system, 'cuz everybody and everybody bootlegs games for it.

The SNK properties will never die.

[ubersaurus]

Well what can I say, given the lifespan of the system, it was best part of my gaming years, I was however not impressed with the sequals SNKP kept putting out in the last 2-3 years,so I guess this is the good way to end it.


How can you play KOF 2k2 and Sam Sho 5 and say they aren't good?

Anyhow, user base aside, most of that was wasted from bootlegs and pirates. They'd end up making more money just by abandoning the neo.

[jaydubnb]

Hey, that's a great way for the system to go out. The nice part is that this isn't "the end" of SNK's games, either; they'll be around on the Atomiswave and others.

Exactly!

What I find odd is that certain people seem to have thier hearts set against any non-Neo SNKP games! To me, thats INSANE and I just can not comprehend it. Fans of the system more than the company...?

[Ed Oscuro]

Exactly!

What I find odd is that certain people seem to have thier hearts set against any non-Neo SNKP games! To me, thats INSANE and I just can not comprehend it. Fans of the system more than the company...?

I dunno, some of the early non-SNK games were a bit, uh...yeah...but that should probably be blamed on Aruze (that's for somebody who knows the games better than I do to say). So that unfortunately carries over to the SNKp games a bit. I say that the new stuff seems good.

[jaydubnb]

Exactly!

What I find odd is that certain people seem to have thier hearts set against any non-Neo SNKP games! To me, thats INSANE and I just can not comprehend it. Fans of the system more than the company...?

I dunno, some of the early non-SNK games were a bit, uh...yeah...but that should probably be blamed on Aruze (that's for somebody who knows the games better than I do to say). So that unfortunately carries over to the SNKp games a bit. I say that the new stuff seems good.

Actually, I meant that some folks say that they are refusing to play SNK games on the Atomiswave :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Actually, I meant that some folks say that they are refusing to play SNK games on the Atomiswave :)

I mean to say that many of the post-SNK ("true SNK") efforts have been lacking in the eyes of many SNK fanatics, for good or bad. Yeah, some folks are taking the last game's release a bit hard, but that's to be expected. They'll get over it :)

All I have to say is...for once, I'm actually catching up with the released games on the Neo Geo (as if I actually want a complete collection, lol)!

[DigitalSpace]

I remember back in fifth grade when one of my friends was to this day the only person I have ever known who owned a Neo Geo.

Honestly, I only played the Neo Geo at arcades way back in the day. I remember playing a nice platformer, but I don't remember the name.

Anybody remember seeing those Neo Geo arcade machines at McDonald's?

[EnemyZero]

Well look at one brightside, there games wont be any less quality....the atomiswave is a less expensive form of dreamcast...and DC was amazing for 2D games....it would be kick ass to see snk release a atomiswave home unit.. :D

[Ed Oscuro]

A Dreamcast with cartridges...

[buttasuperb]

A Dreamcast with cartridges...

Something wrong with that?

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh, guess the elipsis makes it look like I was saying that, heh.

Course not! I'll take cartridges on a system over CDs any ol' day. Faster load times and better piracy protection for the manufacturer, sounds good to me.

[farfel]

What's Neo Geo?

[Ed Oscuro]

What's Neo Geo?

What's Bomber Man?

(Seriously, dude, what the hell is the point of coming into a thread just to say that?)

[jaydubnb]

What's Neo Geo?

What's Bomber Man?


A terrorist under the Patriot Act, heh.

BOMBER MAN GO BOOM BOOM!

[Ed Oscuro]

Better a Neo Gnome than a Bomber Man, I say (http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=kpj_inc&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50)

XD

[kainemaxwell]

13 years, damn long time, lasted longer then most consoles ever should...

[ubersaurus]

My only worry is that SS5 Special will be lacking in comparison to the original in terms of gameplay. Beta testers are reporting that the origina SS5 was better, since they weakened dash-throws and enlightenment, allowing characters like Rera(who was top tier already) to get better. Who knows though, there's still 2 months left before it gets released.

[ManekiNeko]

I think it was time for the Neo-Geo to be retired. Its deficiencies became more and more obvious with each passing year... I remember when a pizza parlor put a Darkstalkers machine right next to a Neo-Geo running Samurai Shodown. You could see a BIG difference in the quality of the graphics and sound... audiovisually, Darkstalkers blew Samurai Shodown out of the water. That was in 1996. Today, the Neo-Geo seems even more antiquated in comparison to competing arcade systems like the Naomi.

I think SNK made the right decision when they retired the Neo-Geo in favor of the Atomiswave. Their programmers will no longer have to deal with the limitations of decade old technology, and piracy will no longer be as much of an issue for them, since no fully functional Atomiswave/Dreamcast emulator currently exists.

Don't get me wrong... I loved the Neo-Geo back when it was first released, and I still enjoy many of its games. However, the time has come for it to be retired. SNK just couldn't stay competitive in the nearly dried-up arcade market with hardware that old.

JR

[vincewy]

Well what can I say, given the lifespan of the system, it was best part of my gaming years, I was however not impressed with the sequals SNKP kept putting out in the last 2-3 years,so I guess this is the good way to end it.


How can you play KOF 2k2 and Sam Sho 5 and say they aren't good?

Anyhow, user base aside, most of that was wasted from bootlegs and pirates. They'd end up making more money just by abandoning the neo.

The only new game I truly enjoy is Samurai 5, if you have been the neo scene since early 90s, you missed out a lot of cool titles, especially late 94 to early 98, IMO this is the golden age of Neo-Geo, variety of genres, all quality software. Nowadays, all the new releases are sequals and fighters. Although I'd love to see more games released (it'll just add more games into my collection), it'd not be the way I want a system to continue.

I wonder if SNKP has thought of releasing console version of Atomiswave games, many home cart fanatics will follow them paying outrageous prices, and there're already people collecting complete kits of these games.

[jaydubnb]

I wonder if SNKP has thought of releasing console version of Atomiswave games, many home cart fanatics will follow them paying outrageous prices, and there're already people collecting complete kits of these games.

I've had the same idea, but then the thought of playing a non-perfect AW port would be kinda deflating for a system that was the "port-free, arcade perfect" system. But if Garou 2 appears on AW and the AES gets a port, best belive I'd be there ;)

[vincewy]

Actually I'm talking about carbon copy of AW games, just like MVS games published for console into AES.

AW games are in cartridge forms, it shouldn't be too hard to make a consolized AW with games like that. So you'll need to get new system for those games as well.

[ubersaurus]

here's no reason for a console atomiswave. First off, it's a stripped down Dreamcast, which means that the games don't have to be programmed in assembly. Which means, not only do you see home ports faster on the PS2, Xbox, whatever, but they'd be for all intents and purposes, exactly like the arcade.

The GGXX ports to PS2 are so close to the original that in many places in the US, they are substituted for actual machines.

[Ze_ro]

I didn't notice if anyone has asked this... but does SNK plan to make use of the Atomiswave's 3D capabilities? That is, are we going to see Metal Slug and KOF become 3D games in their next incarnations? Or do they plan on sticking to 2D, and maybe just using 3D for backgrounds and special effects (Like in Capcom vs. SNK and Marvel vs. Capcom 2)?

I'd be curious to see a Metal Slug 3D... but there are very few 2D games that transitioned to 3D well. I know SNK tried some of this with their Hyper 64, and it didn't go over too well. Seeing a 3D Samurai Showdown with the same quality as Soul Calibur would be pretty kick-ass though.

--Zero

[maxlords]

Well, the Neo had one hell of a run, that's for damned sure. As for it's new incarnation on the Atomiswave, I'm all for it. The best thing is...there are NO boots of Atomiswave stuff yet. It's as of yet, impossible to bootleg, and will probably stay that way for a good while, much to the chagrin of bootleggers everywhere who loved SNK's decade old carts. I expect to see a slow transition to 3D on some of SNK's titles and others to stay either 2D or a mesh of both like Knights of Valor.

Either way...enjoy your Neo and support SNK, purveyors of the neo-2D movement (no pun intended!)

[jaydubnb]

I didn't notice if anyone has asked this... but does SNK plan to make use of the Atomiswave's 3D capabilities? That is, are we going to see Metal Slug and KOF become 3D games in their next incarnations? Or do they plan on sticking to 2D, and maybe just using 3D for backgrounds and special effects (Like in Capcom vs. SNK and Marvel vs. Capcom 2)?

I'd be curious to see a Metal Slug 3D... but there are very few 2D games that transitioned to 3D well. I know SNK tried some of this with their Hyper 64, and it didn't go over too well. Seeing a 3D Samurai Showdown with the same quality as Soul Calibur would be pretty kick-ass though.

--Zero

I know that there's a 3D KoF coming -- IIRC, its "KoF NeoWave" or something.

As for a 3D Slug, I would hate to see it. The distinctive look would most assuredly hit the crapper.

[ubersaurus]

I want to see a Halo mod of Ikari Warriors vs Metal SLug LOL

[AB Positive]

I dread any 3D-'evolution' of SNK games... they're meant to be 2D, dammit! the 3D KoF worries me most, but I'm sure when it bombs they'll remember to just stick to the 2D.

And side-note, got my very first news post! neat!

-AG