Released: 1990, 19 years ago
CPU Speed: Motorola 68000, 12 MHz
Memory: 64 KB RAM / 68 KB VRAM
Video: 320x240 / 65536 colors
Game Controller: Gamepad
Price in 1990: $649
The Japanese company SNK began manufacturing the funky looking Neo Geo in 1990. At the time of its release, it featured revolutionary high-quality sound and vivid, two-dimensional graphics.
The Neo Geo had two main functions, one as a Multi Video System (MVS) that allowed several games to be stored within a single gaming cabinet for the coin operated arcades. With the MVS, games were stored on cartridges not unlike a home console cartridge. To change the format of a gaming cabinet, the operator had to simply switch the cartridge and change the artwork, making the MVS an incredible work of convenience.
The Neo Geo's other function was as a very expensive home console unit. The AES (Advanced Entertainment System) was marketed as 24-bit, making it a novel acquisition, even though the statement was not quite accurate. The AES had its beginnings as a high-dollar rental gaming system for commercial venues. With consumer interest, SNK launched the gaming console to the general public, but its $600 price tag made it an exclusive machine. Despite its understandably small market, the Neo Geo continued to sell through 1997, when SNK discontinued it. Still, SNK continued to release games for both versions of the Neo Geo, the latest being Samurai Showdown V Perfect in 2004. It was the last game for the Neo Geo. SNK closed its doors, citing gaming piracy as the reason for its decline.
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