SNK launches portable Neo Geo with classic games

SNK Playmore today confirmed that the Neo Geo X Gold entertainment system is scheduled for a worldwide release this December. Following the 20th anniversary of the Neo Geo AES console, the Neo Geo X Gold entertainment system provides players with all of the features of a home arcade and the convenience of a handheld gaming device. The Neo Geo X Gold entertainment system is set for a worldwide release on December 6, 2012 for a suggested retail price of $199.99 (roughly Rs. 11,000).

The Neo Geo X Gold entertainment system comes complete with the Neo Geo X Station, the Neo Geo X Handheld with 20 pre-loaded Neo Geo classic titles and the Neo Geo X Joystick. In addition to coming pre-loaded with 20 Neo Geo classic titles, the Neo Geo X Handheld device features a crisp 4.3" LCD display, an expandable game card slot, internal stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack for a personal gaming experience you can take anywhere. The Neo Geo X Handheld device works with the Neo Geo X Joystick and Neo Geo X Station to charge the handheld device and transfer the action directly to a television set or monitor, via HDMI or A/V out, for a true arcade experience right at home. 

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The Neo Geo X Gold, containing many classic games

The full list of Neo Geo X Handheld pre-installed games is as follows:

• 3 Count Bount
• Alpha Mission II
• Art of Fighting
• Baseball Stars II
• Cyber Lip
• Fatal Fury
• Fatal Fury Special
• Real Bout - Fatal Fury Special
• The King of Fighters ‘95
• King of the Monsters
• Last Resort
• League Bowling II
• Magician Lord
• Metal Slug
• Mutation Nation
• Nam 1975
• Puzzled
• Samurai Showdown II
• Super Sidekicks
• World Heroes Perfect

“Great game consoles don’t die; they’re just reborn in much more affordable and convenient packages,” said Tommo CEO Jonathan Wan. “The Neo Geo X Gold is a love letter to one of my favorite consoles of all time, and working with SNK Playmore to acquire the Neo Geo license, Tommo Inc. looks to provide gaming and entertainment enthusiasts with a classic arcade experience both at home and on the go.”

The original Neo Geo arcade system was developed in the late 1980s. The arcade machine was revolutionary at the time because a single machine could work with multiple games. SNK had called it the Multiple Video System. The home version of the arcade machine was dubbed the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System.

The system cost a lot, not just for the advanced processing power at the time, but also for the joysticks and the games. The games cost about $200 at the time, partly because the cartridges for the games were comparable in size to the Nintendo 64 game carts and partly because of the architecture of the game cartridges had the RAM chips on the cartridge instead of the system. The console launched in the US with two controllers and the game Magician Lord at $650. A bundle was released a bit later with no game and one controller which sold for $400. The high price of the system ultimately led to its death at the hands of Nintendo’s NES and SNES systems.