New SNK Console in 2021

SouthtownKid

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I must say, that is a pretty cool DIY build. If only SNK had made something like that from the start instead of the Mini and MVSX.

Yeah, this thing is perfect. And I love that it's based on my all time favorite cab. But it would have cost at least 5 times the price for SNK to produce at that size with those buttons and stick. I guess that would make it about comparable to the MVSX; I never looked into that. I have some nostalgia for the big red, but I always hated the bat and concave buttons.
 

awbacon

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I keep telling you guys...its the Ultra Hyper Neo Geo 128
 

Mr.Bojangles

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I really deep down wish we were getting what we would all really want and that's a Neo Geo 2. Powerful enough to compete with Sony and Microsoft's consoles. However given the people who are now running SNK and their budget, I expect this to be a mediocre product cashing in off old SNK games. I'm guessing a mini console where you could download their entire catalogue if you wanted, with supported online multiplayer for certain games, but I think even that would be asking too much. Either way, expect it to suck.
 

Fygee

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I really deep down wish we were getting what we would all really want and that's a Neo Geo 2. Powerful enough to compete with Sony and Microsoft's consoles. However given the people who are now running SNK and their budget, I expect this to be a mediocre product cashing in off old SNK games. I'm guessing a mini console where you could download their entire catalogue if you wanted, with supported online multiplayer for certain games, but I think even that would be asking too much. Either way, expect it to suck.

It's probably easier in this day and age compared to any time in the past just because consoles are all using modified PC parts and hardware. SNK would just have to give AMD a buzz and create a design that would compete.

The hard part is the financial side of it. You need big bucks to produce the parts, assemble them, box them, and get them on shelves in the millions. That and just like the PS5 and Xbox S X/S, they'd be selling it at a loss at first.

The really hard part is getting killer apps on it that people would want to buy the system for. Even on today's top consoles, SNK's games sell well, but nowhere near what blockbuster titles do. Convincing companies to either make yet another port of their game, or make dedicated titles is no small task.
 

SignOfGoob

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...SNK can’t even make decent games for other systems anymore. The idea of them building any system thats actually new is just crazy. You guys talking about them making a new system...in an age where every system looks the same...not only is that pointless but it’s WAAAY beyond what they are capable of. The money they lost on Neo Geo Pocket would be puny by comparison. Do they even have a dedicated hardware engineer anymore? What’s the the point for them “calling up AMD”? You want a new AMD system?

It’s like NASA 1970 versus NASA today. Completely gutted, kneecapped, sway backed, clapped out, hollowed out, fucked over upside down and backwards. They basiclaly only have enough staff to review other people’s ports of old Geo games to make sure they took the flash out. The coders (providing there even are more than one) probably have to clean the toilets and wash the windows now.
 

Mr.Bojangles

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...SNK can’t even make decent games for other systems anymore. The idea of them building any system thats actually new is just crazy. You guys talking about them making a new system...in an age where every system looks the same...not only is that pointless but it’s WAAAY beyond what they are capable of. The money they lost on Neo Geo Pocket would be puny by comparison. Do they even have a dedicated hardware engineer anymore? What’s the the point for them “calling up AMD”? You want a new AMD system?

It’s like NASA 1970 versus NASA today. Completely gutted, kneecapped, sway backed, clapped out, hollowed out, fucked over upside down and backwards. They basiclaly only have enough staff to review other people’s ports of old Geo games to make sure they took the flash out. The coders (providing there even are more than one) probably have to clean the toilets and wash the windows now.

Oh no man, dont get me wrong. As much as I would want an SNK console that could keep up with other modern consoles, I realize that's totally implausible. Maybe if it was the people behind SNK in the 90's, but with who they have now in charge and their budget, I fully expect nothing but laughable products meant to cash in on nostalgia. I'm fully aware of who SNK is now in 2021, and it ain't pretty.
 

awbacon

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Oh no man, dont get me wrong. As much as I would want an SNK console that could keep up with other modern consoles, I realize that's totally implausible. Maybe if it was the people behind SNK in the 90's, but with who they have now in charge and their budget, I fully expect nothing but laughable products meant to cash in on nostalgia. I'm fully aware of who SNK is now in 2021, and it ain't pretty.

I mean hell I'd be happy with an FPGA Neo Geo with expanded capabilities and an open marketplace where other devs could make games for it

Anything other than another emubox
 

bulbousbeard

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The closest thing to a Neo Geo in 2021 is a 5950x CPU and a 3090 video card.

It's the premium gaming experience today, and most caps can't afford it just like they couldn't afford a Neo Geo when it was relevant.
 

SignOfGoob

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The closest thing to a Neo Geo in 2021 is a 5950x CPU and a 3090 video card.

It's the premium gaming experience today, and most caps can't afford it just like they couldn't afford a Neo Geo when it was relevant.

Ha! Yeah, tell me what that will be worth in 20 years.

There is no premium gaming experience today. The whole thing is mainstream. Video cards that drop in price like Nikola stock are part of the reason. Most of the stuff in the Neo wasn’t particularly cutting edge when they made it, it was the way it was packaged that made it special.

Similarly, Blu-ray is way better than Laserdisc but the LD experience was premium as fuck. Hand built copper chassis, black lacquer, gold plating, $150 for a single title, thousands for a player. There’s nothing like it today no matter what you charge. From PS5 to Chromecast, it’s all the same plastic bullshit by comparison.
 

bulbousbeard

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Ha! Yeah, tell me what that will be worth in 20 years.

There is no premium gaming experience today. The whole thing is mainstream. Video cards that drop in price like Nikola stock are part of the reason. Most of the stuff in the Neo wasn’t particularly cutting edge when they made it, it was the way it was packaged that made it special.

Similarly, Blu-ray is way better than Laserdisc but the LD experience was premium as fuck. Hand built copper chassis, black lacquer, gold plating, $150 for a single title, thousands for a player. There’s nothing like it today no matter what you charge. From PS5 to Chromecast, it’s all the same plastic bullshit by comparison.

No, playing the latest games at resolutions and framerates that budget hardware can't pull off is a premium experience. It's directly analogous to what arcade hardware used to give you over home console hardware.

You can't do contemporary games at 4k above 60fps without a 3090 video card and a high end CPU.
 

HeavyMachineGoob

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No, playing the latest games at resolutions and framerates that budget hardware can't pull off is a premium experience. It's directly analogous to what arcade hardware used to give you over home console hardware.

You can't do contemporary games at 4k above 60fps without a 3090 video card and a high end CPU.

Your comparison to the Neo Geo just doesn't work at all. Anything Neo Geo is still worth money today. Your space heater PC? It'll become worthless outdated junk one day.

A real, proper comparison? Just pick any extremely overpriced and overpowered PC hardware from 20 to 30 years ago. Voodoo 5, Gravis UltraSound, whatever CPU was the most expensive any given year, those are direct comparisons to a 5950x and a 3090.

Even if we ignore aftermarket value, a PC is not an arcade system and an arcade system not a dirty peasant PC, no matter how much lipstick you put on that pig.
 
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bulbousbeard

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Your comparison to the Neo Geo just doesn't work at all. Anything Neo Geo is still worth money today. Your space heater PC? It'll become worthless outdated junk one day.

A real, proper comparison? Just pick any extremely overpriced and overpowered PC hardware from 20 to 30 years ago. Voodoo 5, Gravis UltraSound, whatever CPU was the most expensive any given year, those are direct comparisons to a 5950x and a 3090.

Even if we ignore aftermarket value, a PC is not an arcade system and an arcade system not a dirty peasant PC, no matter how much lipstick you put on that pig.

Modern arcades are literally PCs in cabinets. You're not the shiniest penny in the fountain, are you?

The perceived after market value of the hardware has nothing to do with it. You're thinking in terms of money like an reptile brained chimp, when it has nothing to do with money at all. It's simply premium gaming hardware for a given time.

Wait until the gen xers and early millenials start dying off/hitting arthritis age and then talk to me about the value of the hardware. Neo Geo hardware and games are already worthless--people's nostalgia just hasn't got the memo yet.
 

SignOfGoob

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No, playing the latest games at resolutions and framerates that budget hardware can't pull off is a premium experience. It's directly analogous to what arcade hardware used to give you over home console hardware.

You can't do contemporary games at 4k above 60fps without a 3090 video card and a high end CPU.

You missed the point completely.

Stats change. The benchmarks you describe are just the most current of an ever changing spec. Once the spec changes the previous state of the art is mere e-waste.

Things that are premium on the other hand are premium forever…or at least until they transition to being antiques. A new Lexus is superior to a 70s Rolls in every single way but it isn’t premium, it’s just young. It’s Rolex vs Timex, Gucci vs Adidas, McIntosh vs Kenwood. Linen vs paper. The Neo was based on a years old CPU when it came out but with premium hardware where it mattered, memory, ROM, support chips, etc which are why it was still a premium system when it retired over a decade later. Other examples might include the PC Engine Super Grafx (failed attempt at it anyway), PC Engine LT, Laseractive…maaaybe the Mk1 Wondermega (probably not) and Capcom’s CP Changer. I can’t think of anything else really…

There are still many examples of premium audio products although most are quite expensive. Truly premium cars these days are probably $500,000+…with a few garage level exceptions like Lotus and Morgan. I can’t think of any truly high end console stuff anymore…Analog for sure tries for it. There just isn’t any point to the idea anymore. Real advances in graphical tech now come from selling tens of millions of units to punters at zero profit. Paying a shitload more for something doesn’t really pay off, at least not for long. Neo games honestly felt expensive but still high end and worth it to fans well into the era of the Dreamcast, PS2, etc. A high end video card might not excite anyone even only a year after it’s release.

The closest thing to high end PC gaming might be those super realistic flight simulator setups made largely from real airplane components. It’s not a spec but a whole body experience. That’s sort of shit lasts years and years. A nice simulator based on outdated gear is way more luxurious than whatever the best video card is at the moment.
 

bulbousbeard

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You missed the point completely.

Stats change. The benchmarks you describe are just the most current of an ever changing spec. Once the spec changes the previous state of the art is mere e-waste.

Things that are premium on the other hand are premium forever…or at least until they transition to being antiques. A new Lexus is superior to a 70s Rolls in every single way but it isn’t premium, it’s just young. It’s Rolex vs Timex, Gucci vs Adidas, McIntosh vs Kenwood. Linen vs paper. The Neo was based on a years old CPU when it came out but with premium hardware where it mattered, memory, ROM, support chips, etc which are why it was still a premium system when it retired over a decade later. Other examples might include the PC Engine Super Grafx (failed attempt at it anyway), PC Engine LT, Laseractive…maaaybe the Mk1 Wondermega (probably not) and Capcom’s CP Changer. I can’t think of anything else really…

There are still many examples of premium audio products although most are quite expensive. Truly premium cars these days are probably $500,000+…with a few garage level exceptions like Lotus and Morgan. I can’t think of any truly high end console stuff anymore…Analog for sure tries for it. There just isn’t any point to the idea anymore. Real advances in graphical tech now come from selling tens of millions of units to punters at zero profit. Paying a shitload more for something doesn’t really pay off, at least not for long. Neo games honestly felt expensive but still high end and worth it to fans well into the era of the Dreamcast, PS2, etc. A high end video card might not excite anyone even only a year after it’s release.

The closest thing to high end PC gaming might be those super realistic flight simulator setups made largely from real airplane components. It’s not a spec but a whole body experience. That’s sort of shit lasts years and years. A nice simulator based on outdated gear is way more luxurious than whatever the best video card is at the moment.

No, that's not true. Things that are premium at a given time are NOT premium forever. You're the one missing the point. You're confusing rarity and premium quality. It's not the same. The highest quality thing could be the most common, and the lowest quality thing could be the most rare.
 

bulbousbeard

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The funny thing is, given that people who care about 16bit games are already starting to drop like flies and the shortage of computer hardware, I actually suspect that a high end PC today will be worth more in 20 years than Neo Geo hardware will be in 20 years. The same shit happened with the Atari 2600. There used to be a dumb nostalgic collector's market, but then all the people who cared about it either died or got too old to care. Same thing's going to happen with the Neo. Kids don't give two fucks about it. No one's going to care about it in 20-30 years. Doesn't help that emulation and SD card solutions have made the software functionally worthless.
 

Atro

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The funny thing is, given that people who care about 16bit games are already starting to drop like flies and the shortage of computer hardware, I actually suspect that a high end PC today will be worth more in 20 years than Neo Geo hardware will be in 20 years. The same shit happened with the Atari 2600. There used to be a dumb nostalgic collector's market, but then all the people who cared about it either died or got too old to care. Same thing's going to happen with the Neo. Kids don't give two fucks about it. No one's going to care about it in 20-30 years. Doesn't help that emulation and SD card solutions have made the software functionally worthless.
Nobody cares
 

Raph4

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SNK's best surprise would be a NEOGEO AES/MVS classic shell or mini shell for FPGA / RPi hardware,
everything else will be shit.
 
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