Neo Geo Console System

[bobster]

At the very least, use a MAME emulator to play some of the awesome games NeoGeo provides

[soera]

I remember when the Neo Geo was originally available. Even when the system was still current, the damn thing was expensive. I mean like $1000 for the system and about $300 a game. And (dont be offended) I didnt see a single game worth buying/playing/owning anyhow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Neo_Geo_games

[gartcat]

The Wii Virtual Console has a lot of good ones, also the SNK Arcade Classics compilation on PS2, those are very affordable and play really well. 

[Bwigdahl]

I personally own pretty much every Neo Geo system, except I'm still missing a Neo Geo CDZ
But I'll explain what each console is.

Neo Geo AES

This is the home version they released in 1991, the carts are true arcade (but they changed it to limited continues) Common are Japanese models that can run you $200-$300, while a US model can run $400+, whats the difference? well AES read games in English or Japanese based the the system, not the games. A JP or NA cart in an US system will read in English, but a JP system will only read games in Japanese. There's also a 3rd option, a custom console that has cheat bios. They can run cheaper than a US model, but still be pricy. Collecting games for this system is not cheap, while some games you can find under $20, others will cost over $1000. 

Neo Geo MVS

This is the original Arcade, The arcade has carts you can change out, but you can also buy a custom console (this is what I use) So you can ether buy a full size arcade that may need a lot of maintenance or a buy a console and play it on any HDTV. A basic Arcade you can find find for about $400-800. And a custom console usually will cost about $500, Custom console usually include all the cheat bios. Carts on the MVS are the same as the AES only major difference is you can continue as often as you like. MVS carts are cheaper and many games where never released on the AES. But they are uglier compared to the AES. lol       

Neo Geo CD
There's 3 versions

The front loader, only released in Japan and only 10,000 of these where made.

The Top Loader, the most common of the CD systems (at least the JP version is) the US version is hard to find.

And the CDZ, this is the system that reads CDs faster.

The CD system is for the most part one of the cheapest way to play Neo Geo games. Most games cost under $20 but you have to put up with horrible long load times, even the CDZ isn't the fastest, A JP CD system (top loader) will run you $100-$200, and the CDZ can be $250-$350. you can find JP consoles that have region switches in them so you can change it from Japanese to English, (not all games this works on) The CD system is just like the AES it reads games based on the system.

Neo Geo X

This is the handheld emulator system that came out last year, It's okay but like everyone here has talked about, it's not perfect.
The games are on Flash cards and its not perfect by any means, short battery life, games look bad on the stretched out screen, this is not the way to go to play these arcade classics.

Of course YOU have every Neo Geo console... Probably found an AES at a garage sale for 10 bucks 

[theflea]

Of course YOU have every Neo Geo console... Probably found an AES at a garage sale for 10 bucks 

I wish, I have NEVER found any Neo Geo ANYTHING from a garage sale. lol
Heck I've never even found a Neo Geo Pocket from a garage sale.
The day I find a Neo Geo ANYTHING at a garage sale will be one of my best days. lol

I have found Neo Geo games from local stores now and then, its rare but they do pop up.
I remember finding CIB Burning Fight for $10, and CIB Viewpoint for $100.  (both NA versions)

I was lucky and hunted down a lot of my Neo Geo collection before prices went insane.
The most I ever paid for a Neo Geo game was $300.
In fact the other day a guy listed Neo Geo AES games on craigslist, I called him about the two games I was missing but he wanted prices higher then Ebay. And I told him hope you can find a fool to pay that. (they where Japanese versions which is more common too) I'm sorry I'm not paying $300 for KoF2002 when I can buy it at anytime for under $200.

[fredlepirate]

I own the 3 SNK console for about 15 years now;

- NeoGeo Pocket Color is the cheapest, and have a lot of great games (SNK vs Capcom MOTM, Card Fighter Clash, Metal Slug 1-2, Last blade, Samurai Shodown, Sonic, Faselei...). It`s would be my first pick if I had a low budget.

- NeoGeo CD; cheaper that the NeoGeo AES (cartridge version), but have least games and a loading time issue. Still, I love it to play the earliest SNK games from 1990-1995 and non fighting games (Magical Drop, Ninja Commando, Robo Army, Flying Power Disc, Sonic Wing...). Those games have really short loading time of 1-2 seconds, and you can find them for 20-50$ instead of the average 100-500$ for the cartridge version. I`ve also noticed the soundtrack of all the games are far superior (CD quality) that the cartridge version.

- NeoGeo AES; the more expensive one, but it give the best arcade experience, with a lot of really (and expensive) fighting games (King of Fighters, Last Blade, Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury...) and shooter (Metal Slug!!). SNK supported that console from 1990 to 2004,  and non official developer are still making games for that console (NG:DEV.Team).

If you want to play the NeoGeo at a cheap price, look at all the compilations and great port that came out for Dreamcast/PS2/Wii/PSP/ Virtual Console.

Few examples; SNK Arcade Classic Vol.1, Metal Slug Anthology, Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 1 and 2, Samurai Shodown Anthology, many KOF port...

[Jakandsig]

I remember when the Neo Geo was originally available. Even when the system was still current, the damn thing was expensive. I mean like $1000 for the system and about $300 a game. And (dont be offended) I didnt see a single game worth buying/playing/owning anyhow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Neo_Geo_games

There was a cheaper version for $399, $300 without controllers.

[zenimus]

I'm sad that I didn't pick up an MVS copy of SVC Chaos before prices randomly went up 4x-5x last year.

It always sold for around $55-$65 for the cart, and (I think) $100 for the kit? It's one of the more recent Neo Geo games, so most people who collected kits already had it by that point.

Then last year a prolonged drought on eBay happened. None were listed for a few months. When one finally popped up, it was a full arcade kit that sold for around $650!! Ever since then, sellers have been asking for crazy prices, and just the bare cart has been selling consistently for over $250.

What's up with that?

It's always been the most expensive system to collect for, but the Neo Geo is a great piece of history with some spectacular games. It's probably the only "non-mainstream" system to have such a solid library. Maybe the Colecovision too, which is sorta like the Neo Geo of the 80's.

[theflea]

I'm sad that I didn't pick up an MVS copy of SVC Chaos before prices randomly went up 4x-5x last year.

It always sold for around $55-$65 for the cart, and (I think) $100 for the kit? It's one of the more recent Neo Geo games, so most people who collected kits already had it by that point.

Then last year a prolonged drought on eBay happened. None were listed for a few months. When one finally popped up, it was a full arcade kit that sold for around $650!! Ever since then, sellers have been asking for crazy prices, and just the bare cart has been selling consistently for over $250

What's up with that?

It's always been the most expensive system to collect for, but the Neo Geo is a great piece of history with some spectacular games. It's probably the only "non-mainstream" system to have such a solid library. Maybe the Colecovision too, which is sorta like the Neo Geo of the 80's.

I hear ya man, I used to pick up MVS games for $10 - $30 easy off Ebay and these where titles like, Metal Slug 1 - 5, all the Samurai Shodowns,  Last Blade 2,  all the KoF games and more. Now a days people want over $100 for many of these games.

[90snostalga]

Thanks guys for the comments.  From reading all this, the Neo Geo console systems seem too expensive and complicated.  I will continue to stick with the Pocket Color, but as far as the Neo Geo system games, I will look for compilations on other systems.  Example, I just learned that Metal Slug 1-6 was released in a compilation for the PS2 and Wii.  From playing 1st mission, it makes me wants to play the other Metal Slug games.


Now, any Neo Geo compilations you guys would suggest me to get on another system?  And also, I do remember when I was a kid there was this one arcade SNK baseball game for Neo Geo that I would like to play.  Not sure what it was called but it was very very fun and I use to enjoy the crap out of it.  Any ideas?

[Jakandsig]

Thanks guys for the comments.  From reading all this, the Neo Geo console systems seem too expensive and complicated.  I will continue to stick with the Pocket Color, but as far as the Neo Geo system games, I will look for compilations on other systems.  Example, I just learned that Metal Slug 1-6 was released in a compilation for the PS2 and Wii.  From playing 1st mission, it makes me wants to play the other Metal Slug games.


Now, any Neo Geo compilations you guys would suggest me to get on another system?  And also, I do remember when I was a kid there was this one arcade SNK baseball game for Neo Geo that I would like to play.  Not sure what it was called but it was very very fun and I use to enjoy the crap out of it.  Any ideas?

Uhh, why not just get the neogeo x?

[zenimus]

And also, I do remember when I was a kid there was this one arcade SNK baseball game for Neo Geo that I would like to play.  Not sure what it was called but it was very very fun and I use to enjoy the crap out of it.  Any ideas?

There's three baseball games on Neo Geo:
- Baseball Stars Professional (the most common)
- Baseball Stars 2 (everything is over-the-top on Neo Geo, and this is still one of the most fun baseball games ever)
- Super Baseball 2020 (a hilarious envisioning of baseball in the futuristic year 2020, complete with landmines and robots)

All you ever see nowadays are hyper-realistic baseball "simulators". Whatever happened to wacky, high-energy sports games like these?

I hear ya man, I used to pick up MVS games for $10 - $30 easy off Ebay and these where titles like, Metal Slug 1 - 5, all the Samurai Shodowns,  Last Blade 2,  all the KoF games and more. Now a days people want over $100 for many of these games.

We got spoiled between the years 2004-2010. Stuff was affordable back then. The Neo Geo had finally been discontinued, and people were ready to move on. Demand was low, and nostalgia wasn't too high.

Around April 2011 is when everything went crazy for AES. Samurai Shodown V Special (JP) which went for $300, suddenly jumped to over $800. Mark of the Wolves (JP) typical $350 suddenly went to $650. Aero Fighters 2 (US), which I bought for $90 in 2006, was now selling for over $400??

Not to mention all the fakes and bootlegs getting made. It's easy to get scammed in the Neo Geo market.

[Jakandsig]

And also, I do remember when I was a kid there was this one arcade SNK baseball game for Neo Geo that I would like to play.  Not sure what it was called but it was very very fun and I use to enjoy the crap out of it.  Any ideas?

There's three baseball games on Neo Geo:
- Baseball Stars Professional (the most common)
- Baseball Stars 2 (everything is over-the-top on Neo Geo, and this is still one of the most fun baseball games ever)
- Super Baseball 2020 (a hilarious envisioning of baseball in the futuristic year 2020, complete with landmines and robots)

All you ever see nowadays are hyper-realistic baseball "simulators". Whatever happened to wacky, high-energy sports games like these?

Uh, they dont sell? Nfl and nba excluded.