The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based

arcade system board An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...

and the fourth generation

home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...

released on April 26, 1990 by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in SNK's Neo Geo family. The Neo Geo was marketed as the first

24-bit Notable 24-bit machines include the CDC 924 – a 24-bit version of the CDC 1604, CDC lower 3000 series, SDS 930 and SDS 940, the ICT 1900 series, the Elliott 4100 series, and the Datacraft minicomputers/Harris H series. The term SWORD i ...

; its

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...

is technically a 16/

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculati ...

68000-based system with an 8-bit Z80

coprocessor A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (the CPU). Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating-point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, cryptography or I ...

, while its GPU chipset has a 24-bit graphics data bus. The Neo Geo originally launched as the MVS (Multi Video System) coin-operated arcade machine. The MVS offers owners the ability to put up to six different cartridges into a single cabinet, a unique feature that was also a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace, as well as saving money long-term. With its games stored on self-contained cartridges, a game cabinet can be exchanged for a different game title by swapping the game's

ROM cartridge A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, elect ...

and cabinet artwork. A

home console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable tha ...

version was also made, called AES (Advanced Entertainment System). It was originally launched as a rental console for video game stores in Japan (called Neo Geo Rental System), with its high price causing SNK not to release it for home use – this was later reversed due to high demand and it came into the market as a luxury console. As of 2013 it was the most expensive home video game console ever released, costing . The AES had the same raw specs as the MVS and had full compatibility, allowing home users to play the games exactly as they were in the arcades. The Neo Geo was revived along with the brand overall in December 2012 through the introduction of the

Neo Geo X The Neo Geo X (NGX) is a video game console manufactured by Tommo, licensed by SNK Playmore. Information about the Neo Geo X was first reported in January 2012 and later confirmed in March. It is the first Neo Geo system to be released since the ...

handheld and home system. The Neo Geo 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 is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', ''Mega Man'', ''De ...

's CPS, which did not surpass it until the CP System II in 1993. 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 ''Fatal Fury'', known as in Japan, is a fighting game series developed by SNK for the Neo Geo system. Games Canon * '' Fatal Fury'' – The first game of the ''Fatal Fury'' series allowed players to select one of three characters, Terr ...

'', '' Art of Fighting'', ''

Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place ...

'', '' World Heroes'', ''

The King of Fighters ''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') is a series of fighting games by SNK that began with the release of '' The King of Fighters '94'' in 1994. The series was developed originally for SNK's Neo Geo MVS arcade hardware. This served as the main p ...

'' and '' Metal Slug''. 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 A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

and is now considered a

collectable A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

. Neo Geo hardware production lasted seven years, being discontinued in 1997, whereas game software production lasted until 2004, making Neo Geo the longest supported arcade system of all time. The AES console was succeeded by the Neo Geo CD and the MVS arcade by the

Hyper Neo Geo 64 The Hyper Neo Geo 64 is an arcade system created by SNK, and released in September 1997, as the successor of the Neo Geo MVS, within the Neo Geo family. It is the first and only SNK hardware set capable of rendering in 3D, and was meant t ...

. As of March 1997, the Neo Geo and the Neo Geo CD combined had sold 980,000 units worldwide. In 2009, the Neo Geo was ranked 19th out of the 25 best video game consoles of all time by video game website IGN.

History

The Neo Geo hardware was an evolution of an older SNK/Alpha Denshi M68000 arcade platform that was used in ''

Time Soldiers ''Time Soldiers'', known in Japan as , is a 1987 run-and-gun shooter arcade video game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK, while later distributed in North America by Romstar. A Master System version was also produced, as well as ver ...

'' 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

, where he had created the

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining atta ...

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'' (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

s like a

game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a ...

, and also proposed a

version of the system. His reasons for these proposals was to make the system cheaper for markets such as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, where it was difficult to sell dedicated arcade games due to piracy. Nishiyama also created the ''

'' fighting game franchise, as a spiritual successor to the original ''Street Fighter''. He also worked on the fighting game franchises '' Art of Fighting'' and ''

'', as well as the run-and-gun shooter series '' Metal Slug''. * The Neo Geo was announced and demonstrated on January 31, 1990, in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. SNK exhibited several Neo Geo games at Japan's Amusement Machine Operators' Union (AOU) show in February 1990, including ''

NAM-1975 is a war shooting gallery arcade video game developed and originally published by SNK on April 26, 1990. It was one of the launch titles for both the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and Neo Geo AES (home) platforms, in addition to being the only title in ...

'', '' Magician Lord'', '' Baseball Stars Professional'', '' Top Player's Golf'' and '' Riding Hero''. The Neo Geo then made its overseas debut at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

'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 Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

to commercial establishments, such as

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

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. Neo Geo's graphics and sound are largely superior to other contemporary home consoles, computers (such as the Sharp X68000) and even some arcade systems. Unlike earlier systems, the Neo Geo AES was intended to reproduce the same quality of 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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the console's debut price was planned to be and included two

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

controllers and a game: either '' Baseball Stars Professional'' or ''

''. However, the price was raised and its American launch debuted as the Gold System at (). 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 A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that i ...

. 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 In video gaming parlance, a conversion is the production of a game on one computer or console that was originally written for another system. Over the years, video game conversion has taken form in a number of different ways, both in their style a ...

kit version of the Neo Geo in the United States, allowing the conversion of an

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Mac ...

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 (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event t ...

(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 console in 1994, called the Neo Geo CD. A new arcade was also made in 1997, called

. 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 ''Samurai Shodown V Special'' is the ninth entry in SNK's '' Samurai Shodown/Samurai Spirits'' series of fighting games. It is an upgraded version of the game '' Samurai Shodown V'' and is the last official game for the Neo Geo platform. A furthe ...

'', 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. The

, 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.

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 ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a ...

'' and ''

Terminator 2 ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' is a 1991 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the script with William Wisher. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong, it is t ...

'') and 1993. In 1994, the Neo Geo MVS was best-selling arcade

printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich str ...

(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 Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally ...

'' 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

s, 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.

Technical details

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 Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. The arcade machines have a

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...

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

daughterboard In computing, an expansion card (also called an expansion board, adapter card, peripheral card or accessory card) is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or expansion slot (also referred to as a bus s ...

s, used to enhance the clarity of the video output. The MVS and AES hardware can execute identical machine code. Owners can move

EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored data after a power s ...

s 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 Bank switching is a technique used in computer design to increase the amount of usable memory beyond the amount directly addressable by the processor instructions. It can be used to configure a system differently at different times; for example ...

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

Specifications

The system uses seven different specialist

processors A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...

, which divide the workload for the visuals, audio and gameplay.

CPU

* Main

processor:

Motorola 68000 The Motorola 68000 (sometimes shortened to Motorola 68k or m68k and usually pronounced "sixty-eight-thousand") is a 16/32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessor, introduced in 1979 by Motorola Semiconductor Products Secto ...

(often a second sourced version, usually by

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' and later DKB Group and Fuyo G ...

, initially a Hitachi HD68HC000PS12) @ 12 MHz ( 16/32-bit instructions @ 1.75 MIPS) * CPU

co-processor A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (the CPU). Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating-point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, cryptography or ...

: 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 Dual-ported video RAM, or VRAM, is a dual-ported variant of dynamic RAM (DRAM), which was once commonly used to store the framebuffer in graphics adapters. Note that most computers and game consoles do not use this form of memory, and dual-port ...

: 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 In computer science, a lookup table (LUT) is an array that replaces runtime computation with a simpler array indexing operation. The process is termed as "direct addressing" and LUTs differ from hash tables in a way that, to retrieve a value v w ...

: 128 KB *Fix layer graphics: 128 KB *Z80 sound: 128 KB *68000

BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the b ...

: 128 KB

Display

The SNK custom video chipset allows the system to draw sprites in vertical strips which are 16 pixels wide, and can be 16 to 512 pixels tall; it can draw up to 96 sprites per scanline for a total of 380 sprites on the screen at a time. 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:

Display resolution The display resolution or display modes of a digital television, computer monitor or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution ...

: 320×224 px (many games only use the centermost 304 px),

progressive scan Progressive scanning (alternatively referred to as noninterlaced scanning) is a format of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. This is in contrast to interlaced video use ...

* Color palette: 65,536 (

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

) (not RGB565, but RGB666, where the lowest bit of each channel is shared, being common to the three RGB components) * Maximum colors on screen: 4096 ( 12-bit) * 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) * Background planes: Up to 3 planes, which enable parallax scrolling (large sprites can be chained together to make objects that function similarly to tilemap backgrounds) * Aspect ratio: 4:3 * A/V output: RF,

composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channe ...

/RCA audio, RGB (with separate 21 pin RGB cable FCG-9, or European standard RGB SCART cable).

Sound

The onboard Yamaha YM2610

sound chip A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process ...

gives the system 15 channels of sound. *

Sound chip A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process ...

: Yamaha YM2610 * 4 concurrent FM synthesis channels (voices), four operators per channel * 3 SSG channels * 1 programmable

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

channel * 7

pulse-code modulation Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the ...

(PCM) channels ** ADPCM-A: 6

ADPCM Adaptive differential pulse-code modulation (ADPCM) is a variant of differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM) that varies the size of the quantization step, to allow further reduction of the required data bandwidth for a given signal-to-noise ratio ...

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 Low-frequency oscillation (LFO) is an electronic frequency that is usually below 20 Hz and creates a rhythmic pulse or sweep. This is used to modulate musical equipment such as synthesizers to create audio effects such as vibrato, tremolo ...

(LFO) * Sound/Work RAM: 2KB * 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). Neo-Geo-Memory-Card

;Console storage * Removable memory card: 2KB or 68-pin

JEIDA The (Formerly ) was an industry research, development, and standards body for electronics in Japan. It was merged with EIAJ to form JEITA on November 1, 2000. JEIDA was similar to SEMATECH of the US, ECMA of Europe. JEIDA developed a number ...

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 2 PCBs.

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 In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use pe ...

and a small library of Neo Geo games. In 2007

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

announced that Neo Geo games would appear on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, U ...

, 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 Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...

and

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smar ...

(For the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

/PlayStation Network, the service was called

NEOGEO Station NEOGEO Station was a brand by M2 for downloadable Neo Geo games that were previously available to be purchased from the PlayStation Store for Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Portable (PSP) and PlayStation Vita (PSV) video game consoles i ...

), including '' Fatal Fury Special'', ''

Samurai Shodown II ''Samurai Shodown II'', known in Japan as is a 1994 fighting game released as the second entry in SNK's ''Samurai Shodown'' series. Like the original ''Samurai Shodown'', the sequel was initially released for the Neo Geo arcade and home system. ...

'', ''

Metal Slug 3 is a run and gun video game developed by SNK. It was originally released in 2000 for the Neo-Geo MVS arcade platform as the sequel to '' Metal Slug 2''/'' Metal Slug X''. The music of the game was developed by Noise Factory. The game was port ...

'', '' Garou: Mark of the Wolves'' and ''

The King of Fighters '98 ''The King of Fighters '98: The Slugfest'', known in Japan as ''The King of Fighters '98: Dream Match Never Ends (KOF '98)'', is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1998. It is the fifth game in ''The King ...

''. Many Neo Geo games were released on the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 i ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...

, and

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

through the

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Ge ...

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 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 ''Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle'' is a 1996 weapon-based fighting game produced by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platform. It is the sequel to ''Savage Reign''. The European Neo-Geo homecart PAL release was rare, with only five known c ...

''. 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.

Notes

References

External links

*
NEOGEO Museum

A complete software and artwork resource for the Neo Geo

The NeoGeo Development Wiki

Video of Neo Geo AES
hardware and features fro
FamicomDojo.TV
{{Home video game consoles Products introduced in 1990 Products introduced in 1991 Computer-related introductions in 1990 Computer-related introductions in 1991 Products and services discontinued in 2004 Arcade system boards Home video game consoles Fourth-generation video game consoles Regionless game consoles SNK 1990s toys 2000s toys 68k-based game consoles