Editing Neo Geo (section)

==History==

=== Development ===
[[File:MVS-Logo.png|alt=MVS (Multi Video System) logo|thumb|135x135px|Logo used for the MVS (Multi Video System)]]
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 (computer graphics)|sprite]] strips instead of the more common [[Tile-based video game|tilemap-based]] backgrounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bryanmcphail.com/wp/?page_id=8|title=MAME - BryanMcPhail.com|website=www.bryanmcphail.com}}</ref> The Neo Geo hardware was essentially developed by [[ADK (company)|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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://z-ch.miraisoft.co.jp/adk.php3 | title=ADK会社案内 | date=3 August 2001 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010803022135/http://z-ch.miraisoft.co.jp/adk.php3 | archive-date=3 August 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?148-ADK&p=1975&viewfull=1#post1975|title=ADK|website=www.neo-geo.com|date=6 November 2002 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showthread.php?745-100-000-1-things-you-never-new-about-neo&p=2263381&viewfull=1#post2263381|title=100,000 + 1 things you never new about neo - Page 9|website=www.neo-geo.com|date=28 January 2003 }}</ref> The system's hardware specifications were finalized in December 1989.<ref name="Specification">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/NeoGeoHardwareSpecification |title=NEO•GEO Hardware Specification|date=18 June 1991|access-date=2014-07-22}}</ref>

[[Takashi Nishiyama]] left [[Capcom]], where he had created the [[fighting game]] ''[[Street Fighter (video 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 cartridge]]s 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 [[Video game piracy|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]]''.<ref name="1up">{{cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/features/the-man-who-created-street-fighter|title=The Man Who Created Street Fighter from 1UP.com|date=3 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103143919/http://www.1up.com/features/the-man-who-created-street-fighter|access-date=8 January 2019|archive-date=2012-01-03}}
*{{cite web |date=2011-12-14|title=Interview with Takashi Nishiyama, Street Fighter and Fatal Fury creator |url=https://www.culturaneogeo.com/imagenes/entrevistas/streeteng.htm |website=Culturaneogeo}}</ref>

=== Release ===
The Neo Geo was announced and demonstrated on January 31, 1990, in [[Osaka]], [[Japan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mortal.shang.free.fr/pages/neo-geo.htm |title=Mortal Shang - Neo-Geo |publisher=Mortal Shang |access-date=2012-01-26 |archive-date=2018-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226081909/http://mortal.shang.free.fr/pages/neo-geo.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=News Digest: SNK Smiling With 2 Fine Dedicated Games; Multi-Game System Coming at ACME |magazine=RePlay |date=February 1990 |volume=15 |issue=5 |page=14 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-5-february-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%205%20-%20February%201990/page/14}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref><ref name="RePlay83">{{cite magazine |title=Cover story: SNK Corp. Readies Multi-Game Neo-Geo Video System For World Release; Stateside Debut Slated for ACME |magazine=RePlay |date=March 1990 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=83–6 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-6-march-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%206%20-%20March%201990/page/83}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref> 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]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Overseas Readers Column: Many Videos Unveiled At AOU Expo '90 Chiba |magazine=[[:ja:ゲームマシン|Game Machine]] |issue=377 |publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement Press, Inc.]] |date=1 April 1990 |page=26 |lang=ja |url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19900401p.pdf#page=14}}</ref> The Neo Geo then made its overseas debut at [[Chicago]]'s American Coin Machine Exposition (ACME) in March 1990, with several games demonstrated.<ref name="ACME">{{cite magazine |title=ACME: New Product Review |magazine=RePlay |date=April 1990 |volume=15 |issue=7 |pages=50–84 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-7-april-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%207%20-%20April%201990/page/50/mode/2up}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Sneak Preview: sizzling new equipment of all stripes will be on display at ACME |magazine=RePlay |date=March 1990 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=30–8 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-14-issue-no.-6-march-1990-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2014%2C%20Issue%20No.%206%20-%20March%201990/page/30}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref><ref name="RePlay83" /> The system was then released in Japan on April 26, 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arcade-gear.com/Games/SNK/SNK_Neo_Geo.htm |title=Arcade Gear - Neo Geo |publisher=MArcade Gear |access-date=2015-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007053910/http://www.arcade-gear.com/Games/SNK/SNK_Neo_Geo.htm |archive-date=2016-10-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Initially, the AES home system was only available for [[renting|rent]] to commercial establishments,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=SNK's Neo-Geo Vidgame System is Cooking |magazine=RePlay |date=October 1990 |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=18 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-16-issue-no.-1-october-1990-600DPI/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2016%2C%20Issue%20No.%201%20-%20October%201990/page/18}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref> such as [[hotel]] chains, bars and restaurants. When customer response indicated that some gamers were willing to buy a {{US$|650}} console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market in 1991.[[File:Neo-Geo-AES-Controller-FL.jpg|thumb|right|The Neo Geo AES shipped with large, arcade-style controllers.]]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 [[ROM cartridge|cartridge]]s instead of using custom, dedicated hardware cabinets for each game.<ref name="nicoll">{{cite journal |last1=Nicoll |first1=Benjamin |title=Bridging the Gap: The Neo Geo, the Media Imaginary, and the Domestication of Arcade Games |journal=Games and Culture |date=2015 |doi=10.1177/1555412015590048|s2cid=147981978 }}</ref>

In the [[United States]], the console's debut price was planned to be {{US$|599}} and included two [[joystick]] controllers and a game: either ''[[Baseball Stars Professional]]'' or ''[[NAM-1975]]''. However, the price was raised and its American launch debuted as the Gold System at {{US$|649.99}} ({{Inflation|US|649.99|1991|fmt=eq}}). Later, the Gold System was bundled with ''Magician Lord'' and ''Fatal Fury''. The Silver System package, launched at {{US$|399.99}}, included one joystick controller and no pack-in game. Other games were launched at about {{US$|200}} and up. At double or quadruple the price of the competition, the console and its games were accessible only to a [[niche market]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Which Game System is the Best!?|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=12|date=December 1995|page=75 |quote=The original Neo-Geo home system basically brought the exact same arcade experience home. Cartridges, however, cost upward of $200, which relegated the system to a very select market.}}</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

=== 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=News Digest: Romstar Set To Ship One-Slot Neo-Geo Hardware Kits |magazine=RePlay |date=January 1991 |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=20, 88 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-16-issue-no.-4-january-1991-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2016%2C%20Issue%20No.%204%20-%20January%201991/page/20}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Kawasaki Puts Coin-Op First In New Neo-Geo Scheme |magazine=RePlay |date=February 1991 |volume=16 |issue=5 |page=23 |url=https://archive.org/details/re-play-volume-16-issue-no.-5-february-1991-600dpi/RePlay%20-%20Volume%2016%2C%20Issue%20No.%205%20-%20February%201991/page/23}}{{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref>

When real-time [[3D computer graphics|3D graphics]] became the norm in the arcade industry, the Neo Geo's 2D hardware was unable to do likewise. Despite this, Neo Geo arcade games retained profitability through the mid-1990s,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Webb |first=Marcus |title=Arcadia|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=11|date=November 1995|page=26|quote=Basically, SNK's Neo Geo system has proved the existence of a die-hard market for lower-cost videogames in arcades ...}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=And the Winner Is... |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=17|date=May 1996|page=21}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ngend">{{cite web|title=ネオジオ修理のお問い合わせ|publisher=SNK Playmore|url=https://www.snkplaymore.co.jp/game/inquiry/mente_index.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717003130/https://www.snkplaymore.co.jp/game/inquiry/mente_index.php|archive-date=July 17, 2007|language=ja|access-date=April 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/no-love/snk-stop-neo-geo-support-265509.php | title=No Love: SNK Stop Neo Geo Support | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717163744/kotaku.com/gaming/no-love/snk-stop-neo-geo-support-265509.php | archive-date=17 July 2012}}</ref>