NEO-GEO AES
the arcade comes home
Manufacturer: SNK | Year: 1990
■ Legendary for both its price and power, Snk’s luxury machine achieved mythical status due to its arcade-perfect games, including a huge number of one-on-one fighting games. Few can afford to seriously collect Neo-geo games, but those that do take the plunge quickly become devotees, explaining the machine’s appearance here.
yasyuki oda, Producer at SNK The neo-geo featured powerful, arcade-quality hardware and a high price. Why did SNK choose this approach when designing it?
as you mention, we wanted our fans to play our games at home with the best arcade quality, just as they experienced at their local arcade centre. as a result of this, the prices for both the games and the neo-geo hardware were quite expensive.
Why were so many fighting games released on the system?
In those days, the fighting game genre was the most successful genre in terms of profit in the arcade market. as a result of that, the company decided to focus on the
development of fighting games. the development team spent most of their time developing games for the MVS system. that meant we did not get many chances to develop other game genres for other platforms.
Why do you think players stayed with the hardware for so long?
We really feel grateful that we were able to continue to release our titles until 2004, and we have the support of our amazing fans to thank for that. around 2000 to 2003, SNK went into bankruptcy and there was a very distinct lack of both human resources and equipment. even during that situation, we managed to continue to develop neo-geo games for our fans.
Which games do you feel best represent the neo-geo as a whole?
In my opinion, it would be Art Of Fighting, which released as our first ‘100 Mega Shock’ title.
Why do you think RETRO GAMER’S readers still think highly of the neo-geo?
neo-geo simply had a very long production run. We believe the fact that we supported the hardware for so long helped to leave a strong impression on our fans.
Alex Trowers, Ex Bullfrog designer What was your first memory of encountering the neo-geo?
It was playing World Heroes II at Laserquest in Guildford. Well, that and seeing lovely shots of Viewpoint in magazines. I bought one shortly afterwards when I realised (mistakenly) that my salary would allow me the freedom to buy these games.
Did the neo-geo deserve its luxury status?
absolutely. It was an arcade machine for your home.
Why do you think so many of the system’s games remain so desirable today?
exclusivity. On a related note, if anyone sees a Samurai Shodown IV for the neo-geo cd at a reasonable price, do please let me know!
What do you think is the neo-geo’s legacy?
It’s got to be the beat-’em-ups. Sure, none of them ever really captured the mainstream attention of Street Fighter and the move to 3D really did some damage, but the wealth of characters and interesting systems that still prevail today have to be worth something.