Neo-Geo

: Neo-Geo is also a style of contemporary art, engendered in the East Village in the 1980s.

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Neo-Geo is the name of a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released in 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. The system was years ahead of other home systems of its time, offering huge, colorful 2D graphics, and high-quality sound. This system was not years ahead of its time because of any innovations, it simply was the current standard of arcade hardware, but available for home purchase. The system was named AES (Advanced Entertainment System) by SNK, and is a slightly modified form of the MVS (Multi Video System).

Related Topics:
Cartridge - Arcade - Video game - 1991 - Japan - SNK - 2D - Graphics - Sound

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Initially, the AES was only available for rent or for use in hotel settings, but SNK quickly began selling the system through stores when customer response indicated that people were willing to spend the money. Compared to the other consoles of the time, the NeoGeo AES was incredibly powerful. The AES featured two CPUs: a 16-bit Motorola 68000 main processor running at 12 MHz and a ZiLOG Z-80A backup processor running at 4 MHz. The system's main CPU was 50 percent faster than the 68000 processor found in Sega's Genesis console. The NeoGeo AES also had the benefit of specialized audio and video chipsets. A custom video chipset allowed the system to display 4,096 colors and 380 individual sprites onscreen simultaneously (compared to 64 simultaneous colors and 80 individual sprites for the Genesis), while the onboard Yamaha 2610 sound chip gave the system 15 channels of CD-quality sound with seven channels reserved specifically for digital sound effects.

Related Topics:
Rent - Hotel - CPUs - 16-bit - Motorola - 68000 - MHz - ZiLOG - Z-80A - Sega - Genesis - Chipset - Color - Sprites - Yamaha - Sound chip - CD

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Nonetheless, this type of power carried a large price tag; the console debuted at $599 USD and included two joystick controllers and a game (either Baseball Stars or NAM-1975). Within a few months of the system's introduction in North America, SNK lowered the cost of this package to $399 and added Magician Lord to the list of pack-in options. Other games cost $200 and up—each. Each joystick controller was a full 2½ inches tall, measured 11 inches long by 8 inches across, and contained the same four-button layout as the arcade MVS cabinet.

Related Topics:
USD - Joystick - North America - Cabinet

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The Neo-Geo was only to be driven further into cult status by changing mainstream tastes which soon demanded flashy, 3D graphics. Yet, the quality of Neo-Geo games kept it alive in arcades, particularly in Japan, where the newest installment of the flagship King of Fighters was certain to cause a stir with each release.

Related Topics:
3D - King of Fighters

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The arcade machines had a memory card system by which a player could save a game to return to at a later time, as well as high scores, and remarkably, to be used to continue play on the SNK home console of the same name.

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The arcade version of the hardware is often referred to as the "MVS", or Multi Video System (as most of the arcade hardware was capable of up to four cartridges loaded into one machine), with its console counterpart referred to as the "AES", or Advanced Entertainment System (most likely to distinguish it from the Nintendo Entertainment System, the dominating console on the market at the time).

Related Topics:
Hardware - Nintendo Entertainment System

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The programming code is the same on both the MVS and AES hardware. In fact, you could move EPROMs from one type to the other, and the game would still run. However, the arcade and home cartridges do have a different pinout. SNK designed them this way to keep people from buying the cheaper home carts and then using them in arcades.

Related Topics:
Programming - EPROM - Pinout

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SNK continued to produce arcade systems (and limited console cartridge runs) using the same 1980s technology all the way through 2002, proving the longevity of its forward-thinking design. The last game for the system, Samurai Spirits Zero Special, was released on October 19, 2004, making the Neo-Geo the longest running, officially supported arcade or console system. Originally, there was no form of copy protection on the system's cartridges, though it was later added, and it managed to prevent software piracy for a period of time. One of the major factors bringing an end to the system's longevity came when bootleggers managed to defeat the copy protection, leading to the eventual pirating of the cartridges' ROM data.

Related Topics:
1980s - 2002 - Samurai Spirits - 2004 - Copy protection - Software piracy - Bootleggers - ROM

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The system's original specification for ROM size was up to 330 megabits, hence the system displaying "MAX 330 MEGA - PRO GEAR SPEC" upon startup. However, this was later enhanced on cartridges with bank switching memory technology, increasing the maximum cartridge size to around 1 gigabit. These new cartridges also caused the system to display "GIGA POWER" upon startup, indicating this enhancement.

Related Topics:
Megabits - Bank switching - Gigabit

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