Development The Neo Geo hardware was an evolution of an older SNK/Alpha Denshi M68000 arcade platform that was used in
Time Soldiers in 1987, further developed in the SNK M68000 hardware platform as used for
P.O.W.: Prisoners of War in 1988. Contrary to other popular arcade hardware of the time, the SNK/Alpha Denshi hardware used
sprite strips instead of the more common
tilemap-based backgrounds. The Neo Geo hardware was essentially developed by
Alpha Denshi's Eiji Fukatsu, adding sprite scaling through the use of scaling tables stored in ROM as well as support for a much higher amount of data on cartridges and better sound hardware. The system's hardware specifications were finalized in December 1989.
Takashi Nishiyama left
Capcom, where he had created the
fighting game Street Fighter (1987), to join SNK after they invited him to join the company. There, he was involved in developing the Neo Geo. He proposed the concept of an arcade system that uses
ROM cartridges like a
game console, and also proposed a
home console version of the system. His reasons for these proposals were to make the system cheaper for markets such as
China,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Southeast Asia,
Central America, and
South America, where it was difficult to sell dedicated arcade games
due to piracy. Nishiyama also created the
Fatal Fury fighting game franchise, as a spiritual successor to the original
Street Fighter. He also worked on the fighting game franchises
Art of Fighting and
The King of Fighters, as well as the
run and gun video game series
Metal Slug.
Release The Neo Geo was announced and demonstrated on January 31, 1990, in
Osaka,
Japan. SNK exhibited several Neo Geo games at Japan's Amusement Machine Operators' Union (AOU) show in February 1990, including
NAM-1975,
Magician Lord,
Baseball Stars Professional, ''
Top Player's Golf and Riding Hero''. The Neo Geo then made its overseas debut at
Chicago's American Coin Machine Exposition (ACME) in March 1990, with several games demonstrated. Initially, the AES home system was only available for
rent to commercial establishments, such as
hotel chains, bars and restaurants. When customer response indicated that some gamers were willing to buy a console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market in 1991.The Neo Geo's graphics and sound are largely superior to other contemporary home consoles, computers (such as the
X68000) and even some arcade systems. Unlike earlier systems, the Neo Geo AES was intended to reproduce the same quality of the game as the arcade MVS system. The MVS was one of the most powerful arcade units at the time, allowing the game
ROM to be loaded from interchangeable
cartridges instead of using custom, dedicated hardware for each game. In the
United States, the console's debut price was planned to be and included two
joystick controllers and a game: either
Baseball Stars Professional or
NAM-1975. However, the price was raised and its American launch debuted as the Gold System at (). Later, the Gold System was bundled with
Magician Lord and
Fatal Fury. The Silver System package, launched at , included one joystick controller and no pack-in game. Other games were launched at about and up. At double or quadruple the price of the competition, the console and its games were accessible only to a
niche market. However, its full compatibility meant that no additional money was being spent on porting or marketing for the AES, since the MVS' success was automatically feeding the AES, making the console profitable for SNK.
Lifetime and discontinuation In January 1991,
Romstar released an
arcade conversion kit version of the Neo Geo in the United States, allowing the conversion of an
arcade cabinet into a Neo Geo system. The same month, the Neo Geo home console version made its North American debut at the
Consumer Electronics Show (CES). SNK also announced that there would generally be a roughly six-month gap between the arcade and home releases of Neo Geo games. When real-time
3D graphics became the norm in the arcade industry, the Neo Geo's 2D hardware was unable to produce them. Despite this, Neo Geo arcade games retained profitability through the mid-1990s, and the system was one of three 1995 recipients of the
American Amusement Machine Association's Diamond Awards (which are based strictly on sales achievements). SNK developed a new home console in 1994, called the
Neo Geo CD. A new arcade system was also made in 1997, called
Hyper Neo Geo 64. However, these two systems had low popularity and only a few games. While it ceased manufacturing home consoles by the end of 1997, SNK continued making software for the original 2D Neo Geo. Despite being very aged by the end of the decade, the Neo Geo continued getting popular releases, such as the critically acclaimed
The King of Fighters 2002. The last official game by SNK for the Neo Geo system,
Samurai Shodown V Special, was released in 2004, 14 years after the system's introduction. On August 31, 2007, SNK stopped offering maintenance and repairs to Neo Geo home consoles, handhelds, and games. ==Technical specifications==