======================================================================
= Neo_Geo_(system) =
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Introduction
======================================================================
The {{langnf|el|Neo Geo|New World|i=no}}, stylized as NEO•GEO, is a
video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK
Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based
formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home
video game console (Advanced Entertainment System; AES). A
CD-ROM-based home console iteration, the Neo Geo CD, was released in
1994. The arcade system can hold multiple cartridges that can be
exchanged out, a unique feature that contrasted to the dedicated
single-game arcade cabinets of its time, making it popular with arcade
operators.
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 a 24-bit graphics data bus. It was a very powerful
system when released, more so 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.
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 was released
at retail as a luxury console. Adjusted for inflation, it was the most
expensive home video game console ever released, costing . 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 the two systems.
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 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. Neo Geo hardware production lasted seven years;
it was succeeded by Hyper Neo Geo 64.
Development
=============
The Neo Geo hardware 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 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
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 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'.
*
Release
=========
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 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 console, SNK expanded sales and
marketing into the home console market in 1991.The Neo Geo AES shipped
with large, arcade-style controllers.The Neo Geo's graphics and sound
are largely superior to other contemporary home consoles, computers
(such as 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 was planned to be 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 (649.99). Later, the
Gold System was bundled with 'Magician Lord' and 'Fatal Fury'. The
Silver System package, launched at , included one joystick controller
and no pack-in game. Other games were launched at about and up. At
double or quadruple 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.
Lifetime and discontinuation
==============================
In January 1991, Romstar released an arcade conversion kit version of
the Neo Geo in 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, 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 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 the
system's introduction.
On August 31, 2007, SNK stopped offering maintenance and repairs to
Neo Geo home consoles, handhelds, and games.
{{anchor | Technical aspects}}Technical specifications
======================================================================
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 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 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 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.
ROM sizes and startup screens
===============================
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 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.
File:neogeo_100megashock.png|The 100Mega Shock!
File:GigaPower.png|Giga Power
The system uses seven different specialist processors, which divide
the workload for the visuals, audio and gameplay.
Processors
============
* CPU: Motorola 68000 (often a second sourced version, usually by
Toshiba or Hitachi, initially a Hitachi HD68HC000PS12) @ 12 MHz
(16/32-bit instructions @ 1.75 MIPS)
* Coprocessor: Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz (also used as audio controller)
(8/16-bit instructions @ 0.58 MIPS)
Memory
========
RAM: 214 KB SRAM
* Main 68000 RAM: 64 KB (32 KB SRAM ×2)
* Video RAM: 84 KB SRAM
** Main VRAM: 64 KB (32 KB SRAM ×2)
** Palette memory: 16 KB (8 KB SRAM ×2)
** Fast video sprite RAM: 4 KB (2 KB SRAM ×2)
* Z80 sound RAM: 2 KB SRAM
* Battery-backup save NVRAM: 64 KB SRAM
On-board ROM: 512 KB
*Zoom look-up table: 128 KB
*Fix layer graphics: 128 KB
*Z80 sound: 128 KB
*68000 BIOS: 128 KB
Display
=========
The SNK custom video chipset allows 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, 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.
* GPU chipset:
** SNK LSPC2-A2 (line sprite generator & VRAM interface) @ 24 MHz
** SNK PRO-B0 (palette arbiter)
** SNK PRO-A0, NEO-B1, NEO-GRC
* GPU graphics data bus: 24-bit
* Display resolution: 320×224 px (many games only use the centermost
304 px), progressive scan
* Color palette: 65,536 (16-bit) (not RGB565, but RGB666, where the
lowest bit of each channel is shared, being common to the three RGB
components)
* Maximum colors on screen: 3840
* Maximum sprites on screen: 380
* Minimum sprite size: 16×16 px
* Maximum sprite size: 16×512 px
* Maximum sprites per scanline: 96
* Maximum sprite pixels per scanline: 1536 px
* Static tilemap plane: 1 (512×256 px fix layer)
* Aspect ratio: 4:3
* A/V output: RF, composite video/RCA audio, RGB (with separate 21 pin
RGB cable FCG-9, or European standard RGB SCART cable).
Sound
=======
The onboard Yamaha YM2610 sound chip provides 14 channels of sound.
* Sound chip: Yamaha YM2610
* 4 concurrent FM synthesis channels (voices), four operators per
channel
* 3 SSG channels
* 7 pulse-code modulation (PCM) channels
** ADPCM-A: 6 ADPCM channels, 18.5 kHz sampling rate, 12-bit audio
depth
** ADPCM-B: 1 ADPCM channel, 1.85-55.5 kHz sampling rate, 16-bit
audio depth
* 2 interval timers
* 1 low frequency oscillator (LFO)
* Sound/Work RAM: 2 KB
* Sound ROM: 128 KB on-board (only less than 32 KB used), up to 512 KB
sound ROM on cartridges
Other
=======
;Power
* Source: separate DC 5 V (older systems) and DC 9 V adapter (newer
systems).
* Consumption: 8 W older systems, 5 W newer systems
;Dimensions
* Console: 325 mm (width) × 237 mm (depth) × 60 mm (height)
* Controller: 280 mm (width) × 190 mm (depth) × 95 mm (height)
;Console storage
* Removable memory card: 2 KB or 68-pin JEIDA ver. 3 spec memory. Any
68-pin memory that fits the JEIDA version 3 spec will work.
;Arcade storage
* Removable memory card: 68-pin. Cartridge is composed of two PCBs.
Reception
======================================================================
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
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 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 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.
Legacy
========
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 the Wii's Virtual Console, in partnership
with D4 Enterprise, 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, the service was called NEOGEO Station),
including 'Fatal Fury Special', 'Samurai Shodown II', 'Metal Slug 3',
'Garou: Mark of 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 under the 'ACA
Neo Geo' label. In 2019, Antstream Arcade also runs Neo Geo games
during the gaming platform's early lifespan.
Homebrew activity began after the console's discontinuation, both by
noncommercial hobbyists and commercially.
The Neo Geo has a community of collectors. Because of the limited
production runs received by cartridges amongst 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 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.
Recreated hardware
======================================================================
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.
Neo Geo X
===========
The Neo Geo X, an officially licensed device with a collection of Neo
Geo games pre-installed, 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.
Neo Geo Mini
==============
On June 9, 2018, SNK announced the Neo Geo Mini, a miniature sized
semi-portable arcade cabinet loosely resembling 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 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 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, 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.
List of games on Neo Geo Mini
Games International Edition Japan Edition Christmas Edition Samurai
Shodown Editions Samurai Spirits Kuroko Edition
|'3 Count Bout'
|'Aggressors of Dark Kombat'
|'Alpha Mission II'
|'Art of Fighting'
|'Blazing Star'
|'Blue's Journey'
|'Burning Fight'
|'Crossed Swords'
|'Cyber-Lip'
|'Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'
|'Fatal Fury 2'
|'Fatal Fury Special'
|'Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory'
|'Football Frenzy'
|'Garou: Mark of the Wolves'
|'Ghost Pilots'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|'King of the Monsters'
|'King of the Monsters 2'
|'Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle'
|
|
|'Last Resort'
|'League Bowling'
|'Magician Lord'
|'Metal Slug'
|'Metal Slug 2'
|'Metal Slug X'
|'Metal Slug 3'
|'Metal Slug 4'
|'Metal Slug 5'
|'Mutation Nation'
|'Ninja Combat'
|'Ninja Commando'
|'Ninja Master's: Haō Ninpō Chō'
|'Puzzled'
|'Real Bout Fatal Fury'
|'Real Bout Fatal Fury Special'
|'Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers'
|'Robo Army'
|'Samurai Shodown'
|'Samurai Shodown II'
|'Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood'
|'Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge'
|'Samurai Shodown V'
|'Samurai Shodown V Special'
|'Savage Reign'
|'Sengoku 3'
|'Shock Troopers'
|'Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad'
|'Soccer Brawl'
|'Super Sidekicks'
|
|'Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy'
|'Top Player's Golf'
|'Twinkle Star Sprites'
|'World Heroes Perfect' |Number of games Included 40 40 48 40 48
Games International Edition Japan Edition Christmas Edition Samurai
Shodown Editions Samurai Spirits Kuroko Edition
Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro
==========================
In September 2019, SNK announced 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 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.
colspan="2" |List of Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro games
!Initial games !Additional games released throughout 2020
* 'Art of Fighting' * 'Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory' *
'Fatal Fury Special' * 'Garou: Mark of the Wolves' * 'The King of
Fighters '95' * 'The King of Fighters '97' * 'The King of Fighters
'98: The Slugfest' * 'The King of Fighters '99: Millennium Battle' *
'The King of Fighters 2000' * 'The King of Fighters 2002: Challenge to
Ultimate Battle' * 'Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle' * 'The Last
Blade 2' * 'Ninja Master's: Haō Ninpō Chō' * 'Samurai Shodown II' *
'Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood' * 'Samurai Shodown IV:
Amakusa's Revenge' * 'Samurai Shodown V Special' * 'World Heroes 2' *
'World Heroes 2 Jet' * 'World Heroes Perfect' * 'Art of Fighting 3:
The Path of the Warrior' * 'Fatal Fury 2' * 'Fatal Fury: King of
Fighters' * 'The Last Blade' * 'League Bowling' * 'Metal Slug' *
'Metal Slug 2' * 'Metal Slug 3' * 'Metal Slug 4' * 'Metal Slug 5' *
'Metal Slug X' * 'Ninja Combat' * 'Real Bout Fatal Fury Special' *
'Samurai Shodown' * 'Savage Reign' * 'Shock Troopers' * 'Shock
Troopers: 2nd Squad' * 'Soccer Brawl' * 'Super Sidekicks' * 'The Super
Spy'
Unico
=======
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 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 the same way as the
pre-existing Neo Geo Mini controllers and an HDMI cable. It comes
pre-loaded with 45 games, most of them are the same as those found on
the MVSX, but with five games removed from the line up.
See also
======================================================================
* CP System
* Neo Geo CD
* DECO Cassette System
* PolyGame Master
* Taito B System
* List of Neo Geo games
* List of Sega arcade system boards
External links
======================================================================
*
* [
http://neogeomuseum.snkplaymore.co.jp/english/ NEOGEO Museum]
* [
http://www.neogeosoft.com/ A complete software and artwork resource
for the Neo Geo]
* [
http://wiki.neogeodev.org/ The NeoGeo Development Wiki]
* [
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdUopin4jvQ Video of Neo Geo AES]
hardware and features from
[
http://famicomdojo.tv/season2/neo-geo-affair FamicomDojo.TV]
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_Geo_(system)
