NEO GEO AES+

pixeljunkie

pixeljunkie

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Neo Geo never really "flopped" in the US. Tons of video stores stocked units/games for rent nationwide. Buddy of mine and I would split the cost and rent a system with a couple games pretty often, it came in that giant rental case. Games were in just about all chains. It was limited and pretty unobtainable as a kid, but I wouldn't call it a failure. Which is why I think this nostalgic cash grab (albeit a rad one) is working so well.

[deeeep inhale] NGPC was a complete failure in the US.

I had multiple, and almost every damn game. IPS modded a couple. LOVE the system. But it failed pretty bad here. Translation: nobody really cares about that system...except us
 
Neo Alec

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pixeljunkie said:
Neo Geo never really "flopped" in the US. Tons of video stores stocked units/games for rent nationwide. Buddy of mine and I would split the cost and rent a system with a couple games pretty often, it came in that giant rental case. Games were in just about all chains. It was limited and pretty unobtainable as a kid, but I wouldn't call it a failure. Which is why I think this nostalgic cash grab (albeit a rad one) is working so well.
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People ask Google why the Neo Geo failed. And I mean, it didn't. It's one of the most popular arcade boards ever, and the home system was always meant to be a niche product.

A better question would be, "Why did SNK fail?"

Screenshot_20260430_100527_Samsung Browser.jpg
 
lithy

lithy

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pixeljunkie said:
[deeeep inhale] NGPC was a complete failure in the US.

I had multiple, and almost every damn game. IPS modded a couple. LOVE the system. But it failed pretty bad here. Translation: nobody really cares about that system...except us
Click to expand...

I mentioned this in chat the other day.

SNK was a bit of a mid-level arcade developer in the 80s (in financial terms not necessarily game quality) that stumbled into something huge with the Neo Geo but then just could not figure out what to do next and never came close to replicating the success of the MVS. And kinda destroyed themselves chasing that next success.

Tried 64-bit hardware, late and underpowered compared to what was already on the market. Failure.

Tried pocket hardware to compete against the 2 year old Game Boy Pocket, kept low-spec with only a modest graphic improvement but still B&W. Except that Nintendo completely undercut any advantage with the Game Boy Color that launched at basically the same time as the NGP. So SNK scrambles to release the NGPC, only to have that almost immediately undercut again when the GBA is announced later that year. Failure.

MVS was successful because it was innovative. Everything else they did was derivative.
 
Neo Alec

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pixeljunkie said:
[deeeep inhale] NGPC was a complete failure in the US.

I had multiple, and almost every damn game. IPS modded a couple. LOVE the system. But it failed pretty bad here. Translation: nobody really cares about that system...except us
Click to expand...
I know this is the narrative, but I don't think I agree. Ben Herman of SNK USA said they had it at basically all retailers except K-Mart. They had to pull the plug early because the marketing budget dried up due to SNK's financial struggles back in Japan. And I believe it too, because I was surprised to see it in stores at the time, and if you blinked you missed it. American consumers need a little more time to adjust to competing product from a smaller company than they gave it.
 
pixeljunkie

pixeljunkie

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Neo Alec said:
I know this is the narrative, but I don't think I agree. Ben Herman of SNK USA said they had it at basically all retailers except K-Mart. They had to pull the plug early because the marketing budget dried up due to SNK's financial struggles back in Japan. And I believe it too, because I was surprised to see it in stores at the time, and if you blinked you missed it. American consumers need a little more time to adjust to competing product from a smaller company than they gave it.
Click to expand...

I saw WAAAY less retail coverage for NGPC than anything AES. EB/Gamestop barely had a tiny corner for it for a hot minute. Best Buy, etc the same. I get what you're saying about the marketing budget drying up, but that's also a symptom of failure. Doesn't really matter if it "looked promising". It failed.
 
neo_mao

neo_mao

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Whether the NGPC was a success when it launched or not is irrelevant.

All Plaion would be concerned with is if it will sell now…and that is pretty much a guarantee. Goobs will buy anything retro and physical now. Especially if it is riding the AES+ hype train.

JFC you can buy a Virtual Boy in 2026.
 
HellioN

HellioN

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Neo Alec said:
I know this is the narrative, but I don't think I agree. Ben Herman of SNK USA said they had it at basically all retailers except K-Mart. They had to pull the plug early because the marketing budget dried up due to SNK's financial struggles back in Japan. And I believe it too, because I was surprised to see it in stores at the time, and if you blinked you missed it. American consumers need a little more time to adjust to competing product from a smaller company than they gave it.
Click to expand...
I bought my NGPC at some small game shop in the mall.
I didn't even know it had been released.
Just walked in and there it was.
Still have it.
 
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