Editing Neo Geo (section)

=== 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}}