Back نيو جيو Arabic نيو چيو ARZ Neo-Geo AST Neo-Geo Catalan Neo-Geo Danish Neo Geo German Neo-Geo Spanish Neo-Geo Finnish Neo-Geo MVS French Neo-Geo Croatian
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  Neo Geo AES console (top) and 4-slot MVS arcade cabinet (bottom) | |
| Manufacturer | SNK Corporation |
|---|---|
| Type | Arcade system board Home video game console |
| Generation | Fourth |
| Release date | April 26, 1990
|
| Introductory price | US$649.99 |
| Discontinued | 1997[3] |
| Units sold | 1.18 million[a] |
| Media | ROM cartridge |
| CPU | Motorola 68000 @ 12 MHz Zilog Z80A @ 4 MHz |
| Memory | 64 KB RAM, 84 KB VRAM, 2 KB sound memory |
| Storage | Memory card |
| Display | 320×224 resolution, 3840 on-screen colors out of a palette of 65536 |
| Sound | Yamaha YM2610 |
| Power | 8 W older systems 5 W newer systems |
| Dimensions | 325 × 237 × 60 mm |
| Best-selling game | Samurai Shodown |
| Successor | Neo Geo CD Hyper Neo Geo 64 |
Neo Geo (Latin for 'New World'),[6][7] stylized as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, 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). 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.[8]
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 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.[9]
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 US$649.99 (equivalent to $1,500 in 2024).[10] The AES had identical hardware to the MVS, allowing home users to play the games exactly as they were in the arcades;[11] however, cartridges are not inter-compatible due to different physical sizes, meaning that software releases differed for 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,[12] making Neo Geo the longest-supported arcade system of all time.[13] 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[b][14] and 980,000 Neo Geo AES and CD units combined.[c][15] Neo Geo hardware production lasted seven years; it was succeeded by Hyper Neo Geo 64.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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ngendwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Hardware Totals". Game Data Library. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ "Tokyorama". Consoles + (in French). No. 73. February 1998. pp. 46–7.
- ^ "Ace News". Ace Magazine. No. 31. EMAP. April 1990. p. 9.
- ^ Japanese: ネオジオ, Hepburn: Neojio
- ^ "SNK Neo-Geo 101: A Beginner's Guide - RetroGaming with Racketboy". 20 May 2011.
- ^ "Neo Geo History". Neo Geo, Arcade & Retro Games. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (December 17, 2013). "36 Years of Console Prices, Adjusted for Inflation". Kotaku. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Slaven, Andy (2002). Video Game Bible, 1985-2002. Trafford Publishing. pp. 338–. ISBN 978-1-55369-731-2.
- ^ Hirohiko Niizumi, [1], GameSpot, July 23, 2004, Accessed June 8, 2008.
- ^ "Longest support for an arcade system". Guinness World Records.
- ^ "Overseas Readers Column - SNK To Intro "NEO•GEO 64" In Summer". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 539. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 April 1997. p. 22.
- ^ "Japon Previews: Tokyorama - Les Ventes De L'année". Consoles + (in French). No. 73. M.E.R.7. February 1998. p. 47.
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