Retro gaming for the rich with the Neo Geo (1990) | Show & Tell

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The Neo Geo was a staple of every arcade I visited in the early '90s but I never did get to try out the fabled AES or Advanced Entertainment System. One of, if not THE, most expensive console ever made when adjusted for inflation. Today I finally get hands on with one as Keith from The Digital Orphanage pops over to The Cave to show off his new toy!
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[@TheDigitalOrphanage]

The Neo Geo AES was a console I would have loved to have owned back in the early 90's. It may have shared the 68000 processor with my beloved Amiga, but that's where the comparison stopped. This was a sprite powerhouse with instant loading. An arcade experience in the home! It was great to be able to buy, borrow, and beg all that we had to show on the table, to delve into a world most of us could only have dreamed of back in the 90's. I hope you enjoyed the musings of us mere mortals about this giant of console gaming history.

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

The MVS was based on SNK/ADK coin op tech from late 80's, so it pretty high spec on its release. I also got an A1200 roughly same time as my NeoGeo AES, the AES made my A1200 feel completely redundant when it came to playing games tho. ✌️

[@ynotwalk7391]

mister fpga core is extremely good, plus it has better audio/video clarity than og hardware

[@vinodkhan1182]

Ui

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

it wasn't a computer.

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

@@nickolasgaspar9660like the Amiga wasn't made for games

[@neverenoughguitars8276]

When I was 16 I saved all my lawn mowing money from May to September plus all my allowance and my paper route to buy a neo geo. I had enough for the console and one game and when I walked into the store I suddenly had a change of heart. I realized that this one game was going to cost over $1000 and all my money was going to be gone. I'm so glad I came to my senses and walked out of there with all that money. Still though part of me kinda wishes I pulled the trigger and had that memory of the whole experience of unboxing it and playing an actual arcade game at home.

[@xenos_n.]

That's an insane amount of money to spend for a kid 30 years ago. You clearly have good financial instincts though. Practically speaking, you could have way more fun with the same amount of money buying the other systems of the day. Neo-Geo was designed for people who have a lot of money to spend.

[@vincentthompson1696]

Im surprised you were able to buy a neo geo in a store. I couldn't find one anywhere. You must lived in Japan.

[@neverenoughguitars8276]

@@vincentthompson1696 I lived in Toronto at the time and there were several places downtown that had all the Japanese stuff including the neo geo. I think it was called One Ten Two Twenty. Great store, I remember it looked like it was straight out of Japan.

[@neverenoughguitars8276]

@@xenos_n. I know right? And I definitely did thoroughly enjoy spending that money on other things. I had pretty well off parents so I got $20 per week for allowance, plus my two summer jobs. Many many years later I received a neo geo cd console from a good friend who was teaching in Japan. He brought me the console and three CD-rom games. It just wasn't the same though. I wanted that big chonky cartridge! 🤣

[@eclisis5080]

In the grand scheme of things you should've brough it, you would have had those memories forever, and look how many times you've made 1000 since,, its not that much money in the grand scheme of things

[@doh4828]

As a child of the Nineties (born in ‘76), I like so many others of my generation, have very strong memories of the AES system locked away in a glass cabinet in our toy store. Above the cabinet there stood the box with a price tag so high it physically hurt. So close yet so far away😂

[@hughjass8383]

It was the Rolls Royce of Home Consoles; the Lamborghini of gaming. The forbidden fruit that all you can do is drool, oogle and fantasize about playing with it.

[@retrogamestudios7649]

I was one of the chosen ones when I was growing up who had grandparents who spolied the bejesus out of me. My grandmother would always babysit me in November and write down what I said I want in her crossword puzzles pretending not to care. Turns out she asked my mom and dad and they said it was almost a thousand bucks and sure enough not only did I get it, they got me a scooter, a outdoor basketball hoop, and almost every domino rally they ever made. So now every Saturday I'd have to stay with grandpa while everyone shopped together and all we both did was play bust a move, fatal fury, and baseball stars. God I miss you guys. Thanks for spoling me. Yup I still visit u at the cemetery once a month and I am so glad I had a great childhood.

[@suburbia2050]

Sounds like a good setup you had there!

[@donnie6178]

Awe your a good grandson, and sounds like they were really dote on you.

[@afjkidd5]

Sounds a lot like my grandmother. She bought me more consoles and games over the years than I can count. Many of my favorite gaming memories were possible because of her.

[@themollymachine]

I've been looking for one of you I need to know how your childhood was being the only kid to have an arcade accurate gaming system

[@_Mutineer]

Long comment here, sorry. Back in 1982 I was lucky enough to be hired to build coin-op arcade games here in Canada, I progressed from there to working for the second largest coin-op game company in Toronto, building, repairing and (the best part) testing games. I can still remember the PCB JAMCO pin-outs perfectly. I worked in the industry for over 10 years, and saw the decline and fall of the industry first hand. Some cool stories.. When the original Pole Position by Atari came out, it was a sensation because it was the first racing game shown from something other than a top-down view. The original cabinets cost $5000 CAD and the fellow that I was working for got some money from his father and bought 5 of them. We had NO trouble placing them in arcades since they were that years hot game. The coin box held $1200 in quarters and I was going to each machine for collection every 2-3 days. People were placing quarters on the "dashboard" shroud to reserve thier turn to play and numerous fights broke out if someone played for too long, "hogging" the machine. Needless to say, those games payed for themselves in a few weeks and my company made $10000 from each one in a month. Canada had some unique laws regarding game copyrights and as a result the "grey" market in game PCB's thrived here. At one point we were selling the "copy" boards and were raided by the RCMP (!), an interesting day. My all-time favorite game was Hard Drivin' by Atari, a real breakthrough in graphics and controls. It had a force-feedback steering wheel (a real beast to repair) along with a working clutch and gated shifter, the full sized cabinet had a swing-out seat and looked like a Testarossa (a really challenging game to move). The sales literature for the game mentioned that someone at the Atari development studio actually learned to drive a manual transmission by playing the game. There was an EPROM update (I think it was about 30 chips that had to be replaced) that made the game even better. I used to take game cabinets home over the weekends and stick them in the garage, change the dip switch settings to max lives and free play so I was a hero to my kids and all their friends. I really enjoyed the work, it was technical and a lot of fun at the same time. Cheers, thanks for the memories.

[@StariusPrime]

Incredible timing! I just got my Neo Geo AES console on Tuesday! This console was only in the realm of dreams when I was young, very excited to finally have one.

[@david-spliso1928]

Can you tell us how much?

[@StariusPrime]

@@david-spliso1928 Sure. I got the AES with 1 original arcade stick, fully re-capped and with the Universe Bios installed for $535 USD. I got a additional “kidney bean” style controller for an additional $78 from the same seller in Japan. Expensive still, but far more manageable than it was in 1990. 😅

[@roygillotti4615]

I got one a few weeks ago. Mine was Component video modded and had the Uni-Bios installed.. $600 USD, bought an MVS adapter for around $100, just to realize these 161 in 1 Cartridges exist.

[@GawrGurasBathTubPizza]

don't portable consoles you can buy from aliexpress play ps1 and mame emulator stuff? with a aracade emulator you can play arcade style games, making this pointless

[@StariusPrime]

@@GawrGurasBathTubPizza Having the original hardware or item is the point. If someone really likes a painting, maybe they can buy a poster or print if it - or even a reproduction. Or maybe they love it so much they will pony up for the original. Much like beauty, the value of a thing is up to the beholder.

[@HappyCodingZX]

I remember back in about 2000 I picked up a boxed AES console with two arcade sticks and about eight games for 200 quid. It was a steal, especially as one of them was Viewpoint. But perhaps the best of all was the wonderful six slot MVS arcade machine I picked up for a similar price. In the end, if you have space and you really want the arcade experience at home, get the actual arcade machine! In the end the costs work out the same given the MVS game prices.

[@Jamal_Tyrone]

You jammy git!

[@aliabdallah102]

MiSTER FPGA plus JAMMA adapter, and you're good 'bout ~400? plus more than just MVS

[@muhaxiiii]

Might as well get a Mister nowadays unless you are a collector :)

[@HappyCodingZX]

@@muhaxiiii as I said, if you want the arcade experience at home, which is really what the Neo Geo is all about, then you can't beat a full cab - it's not just about the perfect internal hardware, it's the tangible and the aesthetic - wonderful artwork, big CRT monitor, proper mounted joysticks, memory card slot, headphone jack, instant on with no load times. A deluxe item yes, but one that is made to be so. It's the difference between taking the bus and owning a classic car.

[@muhaxiiii]

@@HappyCodingZX oh no don't get me wrong the cab makes all the difference, I mean a mister in a cab 😁

[@visionop8]

I use an AES version of the 161-in-1 cartridge and it works perfectly, no crazy adapter required. Its the same size as a normal cartridge. I would highly recommend it! Edit: KZbin recommended this video to me AGAIN and I did watch it AGAIN so here's an update after 1 year that I guess I didn't mention. It looks like only later serial numbered AES consoles can use the 161-in-1 with no issues and a Sega Genesis power adapter which is how I use it with the jailbars RGB fix. Also, despite never being released on AES, Puzzle Bobble is available on the 161-in-1. Yes, the AES version as well and it works, once again, perfectly. You will have countless hours of fun. Your house will not burn down.

[@hardkore360]

there is a green v2 cartridge that improved the power draw issues of the first yellow version, recommend getting that one for any one wanting to pull the trigger, eBay and Ali Express are also cheaper than Amazon but expect longer delivery times. That game combined with the 64 in 1, gets you most of the popular games in the Neo Geo library at a fraction of the cost of buying individual games.

[@kenknight5983]

From a moral position, I couldn't sit there downloading these roms (my friend down the road did that for me)

[@ninetendopesaitama2107]

😂

[@Ozzpot]

When I was a schoolboy in the late 80s and early 90s, my best friend had an absent father who walked out on his family not long after my friend's birth, and was now living a very successful life in another country. To allay his guilt, he used to buy his distant son every console going, and most of the games too, yes, including the Neo Geo. I was so insanely jealous, and often voiced how thrilled I would be to swap my father for an Aladdin's cave of gaming goodness. I stand by it too. 🤣

[@GameTimeWhy]

I had a cousin like that. his dad was absent but bought him pretty much every single game and console in existence. we would have weekend gaming sessions just playing everything. the days when I could play games and eat shit food for days and not have any repercussions.

[@Drew-Dastardly]

I had a rich friend in a similar position in early '80s. I was a poor friend also with a single parent mother. I could not believe it when he swapped his complete BBC Micro setup with 2 drives and Microvitec Cub monitor for a piece of lino and a boombox to go breakdancing on 😆I was never jealous if him. I was jealous of the friend who swapped some DIY store tat for a £1000+ setup adjusted for inflation probably $3000. That dude had some issues it has to be said. He was always in trouble with the police and social workers despite being a rich teenager.

[@richtakings3359]

Don't worry about the rain Neil, you're sheltering in a rather snazzy cave.

[@MeneGR]

Yesss, I also like hearing the rain in videos, it increases the immersion!

[@MrVictorRong]

I finally got a Neo Geo AES about 3 years ago and picked up a NeoSD too, absolutely amazing console. Looks fantastic with a retro cables RGB and a B&O MX7000 TV

[@retrogameshqswindon9237]

Great video as always guys. Thanks again for fixing the Neo Geo CD 🙌

[@Ghost_Of_SAS]

Me: "This video is not british enough." _rain starts pouring down_ Me: 😌

[@TheDigitalOrphanage]

The mics didn't pick it up but it really did pelt it down for a few moments, a good old passing shower!

[@sansnom]

The first time I have ever enjoyed a Neo Geo was after getting a serious bonus from my job and I decided to import one from Japan, that was 5 years ago. Great System.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Oh you know me. I love the Neo-Geo Neil and all that applies to it kind sir. I posted this up on the Neo-Geo thread to help with additional exposure and to show my everlasting support you do bro. Thank you for sharing this and keep up the great work you always do. 8^) Anthony...

[@rodneyabrett]

I did actually own a Neo Geo console at the time it was released, but I had to team up with my twin brother to be able to afford it. We used our combined income from our minimum wage jobs at the time and after a few months, we eventually saved up enough to buy one. It was glorious! I sold the game and the console right before I went to college. Since I missed playing the system, I also ended up emulating the Neo Geo in the mid 90s with an emulator called NeoRage that ran on an my old Pentium II MMX running at 250mhz and I downloaded a bunch of roms on a 28k modem dial up. They took awhile to find and download, but it was way cheaper and I was pretty blown away when I got it run a game I had previously spent hundreds of dollars for. Good times.

[@zamhar]

During my teenage years, I was studying in a boarding school and the students would be allowed to go out to town every 2 weeks. Street Fighter II was BIG at the time, but students couldn't go to the arcades. Students from my school were required to wear our school uniforms and those wearing school uniforms weren't allowed in the arcades. I had to find my gaming fix somewhere... luckily, there was an electronics shop that had the NEO-GEO AES and let people play for 30 minutes on it for RM1 (1 Malaysian Ringgit ). They only had a few games and I would play Fatal Fury just to get my fighting game fix. Remember seeing the price of the console at the time and it was mind boggling to think how a games console could be priced close to a personal computer. I would go back to my school and in the hostel, I would wonder how much I had to save up to buy a NEO-GEO AES. Luckily, I didn't need to as I eventually got a Sega Mega Drive and SFII, AND Fatal Fury came out on the Sega. Aaaahhhh... memories...

[@hughjass8383]

Yeah, but with the Sega Mega Drive, you're playing with a weiner; at least with a Neo Geo AES, you're playing with a Hot Dog

[@8manneogeo3]

In the early 90s, I bought the Neo Geo AES Gold System direct from SNK in California, and picked up a bunch of accessories: Duffle Bag, extra Controller, Memory Card, T-shirts, Pins, and Posters. This system was incredible! The huge Japanese animated sprites and sounds blew all my current systems away. It truly was BIGGER - BADDER - BETTER!

[@locked01]

Fuckin' hell, you must have been mint in the early 90s...

[@adrianprince7266]

My mom purchased a Neo-geo aes on launch day at Electronics boutique. My favorite console ever. You had to have it back then to really appreciate the console.

[@MrBenedictHeyer]

First time I played Neogeo MVS while on family vacation in Greece. The game was Street Hoop (aka Street Slam or Dunk Dream). Still has a special place in my heart! I love the music and the gameplay!

[@pbonfanti]

I am not a sports fan but Street Hoop is just fantastic, the music and the sound of that game.

[@xenos_n.]

Ah, the rich kids machine we all dreamed of. I didn't know a single soul who owned one and also never even heard of anyone who knew someone who owned one. I definitely remember always wanting one though. The price was absolutely insane.

[@alexojideagu]

It's the games that were insane, I couldn't believe the prices in magazines

[@IrelandVonVicious]

Kid on my street growing up had one. Was the first console I never owned.

[@cryptolord9826]

Rich kids had arcade machines at home not consoles lol 😊

[@sinchman1]

I wasn't rich I worked and lived at home in 1989 at age 20 when I purchased the Japanese version from a company called Gamedude. Today I still own my Japanese Neo-Geo version and 2 US gold edition new never used with 157 games with multiple copies of certain games. I put a down payment on my home with the sale of Metal Slug US version in 2011 and still own 3 copies the best arcade home console ever created.

[@Ran-tan-tan]

"Four bright buttons and two joysticks, cool red cabinet and name that sticks"

[@Dr.D00p]

I remember downloading the Metal Slug 2X ROM, on a 56k dial up connection in 1999, shortly after sound support for Neo-Geo games was added to MAME. Sitting there, watching it so,so slowly download, praying the connection wouldn't drop, was no fun at all!

[@Dr.D00p]

@Andrew Ballard I had Pentium II 333Mhz and I expanded my RAM from 64Mb to 128Mb, so as to have enough to run the biggest Neo-Geo games such as King of Fighters 98 & Garou Mark of The Wolves with sound!

[@IdiotRace]

@Andrew Ballard It's funny how many people had the same experience. I remember thinking how cool it was hearing that Neo-geo startup jingle coming out of my pc after hearing it so many times in the dodgy shopping centre arcade. I also remember in the early 2000's seeing an AES for sale in the original CEX store in Tottenham court road. I think even then it was some silly price.

[@fatherjack636]

I remember reading the multi-platform magazine C&VG and seeing the reviews for the Neo Geo games. I just couldn’t believe it when I saw the price of a game as £120. Blew my mind.

[@Kaido_928]

I miss c&vg. The magazine. Even the website. They were different.

[@loganford3921]

Yeah £150 for a game and now sadly there even more expensive Also How's Father Ted lol.

[@Patrick-db2zs]

I managed to get my AES off ebay from japan about a decade ago for ~$300 shipped with the console, 2 arcade sticks and 6 cartridges.

[@shadowtheimpure]

When it was 'old tech' but not so old as to be 'collectible tech'. The best time to buy a system, really, because the used market gets flooded and the prices crash.

[@Patrick-db2zs]

@@shadowtheimpure i agree, i wish i had started collecting earlier.

[@howdyouknow]

Besides a tiny bit of exclusive games, the Neo Geo CD had one other thing going for it - a hidden course in Neo Turf Masters (Big Tournament Golf) that you can actually unlock with a simple code - press left, down/left, down, down/right, right +D when selecting your course. Scotland is unlocked and it's extremely challenging. The NGCD of course also has the bonus of games being a lot more affordable, but not every big title (especially late releases in the fighting genres) got ports, though many that did had some other similar bonus content like improved soundtracks and some extra animated scenes and such.

[@RetroMoments]

Great overview of the NEO GEO, guys! I recently bought my second AES with tons of games for a very reasonable price, I'd say. Dreams do come true.

[@djc2526]

I had an Amiga 500 at the time. The NeoGeo was like looking at a Lamborghini whilst owning a Maestro.

[@pnvgordinho]

The Neo Geo consoles are beautiful machines, specially the CD version and even the joypads have a cool design. And of course, the arcade stick is super cool. Best way to play 2d games.

[@demonology2629]

I believe Neo Geo is capable doing 3D because it's way more powerful then Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis which they simply installed new chips inside of the cartridges to enhance the system capabilities.

[@pbonfanti]

I imported a Neo CD from Jpan when was launched, it was expensive, but the games in Cd became well cheaper than old SNK cartridges.

[@pbonfanti]

​@@demonology2629 There was a rendered 3d game called Shin Oh Ken for Neo CD, but was a little clumsy, SNK launched 3d versions of Samurai Showdown and Fatal Fury in arcade, but i don't think was MVS.

[@demonology2629]

@@pbonfanti I know what you're saying but almost half of those Neo Geo CD games are in the hundreds now if not thousands and it's not worth it compared to the cartridge a lot of those CDs are just too high of a price no CD should be worth that much unless it was very rare I might be wrong but I wouldn't pay that much for CD ever and I need to check out that 3D game for Neo Geo CD sounds cool

[@einokeskitalo3217]

There was a big review of Neo Geo and it's games in Finnish computer magazine MikroBitti in the Autumn of 1991. That was the first issue of a computer magazine we got in the home. I was nine and didn't have a lot of context for all the stuff in it, though I was extremely interested in games and had played a bunch of them (mostly at friends' houses). I think I thought a lot in the magazine was really cool. On the Neo Geo coverage, I do remember they of course made it a major thing how expensive it was, how it was like an arcade at the home, and how audiovisually impressive (but also shallow) the games were. It was really cool for sure, and seemed so far away as something to own or even see.. it was a mythical machine. If memory serves there was a big, nice photo of the console, the controller and a cartridge, with their sleek design. I think I still remember how reading and thinking about it felt. I've since played a bunch of the games but never on the original home hardware.

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

As a kid Neo Geo was Samurai Showdown and Metal Slug for me. If either of those games was at the arcade I was playing them. Still fantastic games to this day. Would've loved to try this in the 90s, but yea it was WAY above my pay grade as a young child lol.

[@c7261]

I love the ominous "Keith remains a happy Neo Geo owner, but for how long?" at the end. Planning on getting the old "murder gloves" out again Neil? 😂

[@VamosViverFora]

About AES: not just the console itself was quite expensive, it’s necessary mentioning the Cartridges were almost as expensive as some consoles. I think the games usually cost 200 USD.

[@humansrants1694]

Two years old ones in the Uk cost £77 in 1992 but Saumari Showdown cost £175 in 1993 when it had been out a few months.

[@HLl564]

Incredible tech for its time, the graphics still look incredible

[@KesMonkey]

Fighting games are not beat 'em ups! Street Fighter and King of Fighters etc. are fighting games. Final Fight and Streets of Rage are beat 'em ups. :)

[@TheDigitalOrphanage]

If that was me I apologise, I have a habit of calling any game where you fight someone a beat 'em up 🤔

[@hardkore360]

100% correct!

[@goldenfreddy-gj5wy]

There are some beat 'em up for the Neo Geo, but yeah SF, KOF, MK and WH, those are fighting games.

[@worldofretrogameplay6963]

I’ve been a proud owner of the Neo-Geo since 1993. I sold both my AES systems for a consolized 1-slot MVS and a Neo-Geo CD. I owned and loved my Neo-Geo Pocket, but I sold both (I had a Special Edition as a backup) when SNK dropped support.

[@goldenfreddy-gj5wy]

The MVS is having the real arcade attached to your TV, I was a little hesitant in buying one, cause they are a little expensive too (not as bad as the AES), but the though of owing real Neo Geo arcade cartridges (which are affordable too) beat me to it, so I bought it, paid around almost $400 (shipping included from overseas), looks the same the AES console, but with Component, RBG Scart, Composite, as well the regular Neo Geo output. Has 2 USB for different type of controllers too, beside the regular Neo Geo controller ports, I'm super happy with it since I used to salivate in owning a Neo Geo.

[@D2SProductions]

There's the Pioneer Laseractive console, this was more expensive than the Philips CD-I. To the best of my knowledge the Pioneer Laseractive was the only video system to use Laserdiscs instead of CD-ROM, it's price when it debuted was $970.00 USD. Another thing that was pretty neat about the Pioneer Laseractive was it was compatible with Sega/Mega CDs, TurboGrafx CD.

[@RMCRetro]

Yes we have one here (and a series on the channel about it), but the LaserActive isn’t a console until you buy a PAC to slot into it, it’s just a laserdisc player, so that’s a tricky comparison and not technically a console for the RRP

[@Oribaa90]

I bought my Neo Geo AES two years ago with the NeoSD. I remember seeing it for the first time ever. It felt so special to actually own it. I was born too late because I grew up with the PS2 and Xbox360 but I started collecting and playing retro games. A couple of years ago I couldn't imagine having a Neo Geo at home. The games feel really special.

[@Dorelaxen]

I spent my high school graduation night at a truck stop just outside of town with some buddies of mine. We spent the entire night eating the greasy burgers the cafe there served and playing the Neo Geo. World Heroes 2 had just come out the month before and they had it, so that was our game that night.

[@mrbagitos]

I believe the first time I experienced the Neo Geo was on an MVS multi arcade cab at East Midlands Airport in the early 90s. The next time I dabbled with Neo Geo was on emulation using my Dell 233MMX PC back in 1998. I can remember it taking forever to download King of Fighters on my 56k modem. Then came the Neo Geo Pocket which I picked up on release. The same colour you have in the video Neil. I got King of Fighters R2, SNK vs Capcom and Metal Slug. I was really impressed with the machine at the time, that joystick click brings back memories. I finally got to enjoy the delights of an AES at the National Video Game Museum when it was based in Nottingham 6 or so years ago. Around this time I also downloaded some SNK games on the PlayStation Store for my PS3. Right I’m going on EBay now looking at AES’s.

[@lsdowdle]

I'm very happy with the MiSTer NeoGeo core.

[@ninetendopesaitama2107]

Same. Even the sw emulation is very very good. Fb neo. NG Mini. NG arcade stick.

[@flow221]

It's very good. Especially with a nice arcade stick attached.

[@eliotcole]

Gaelco World Rally Championship is *literally* one of the greatest arcade games ever. You won't see it on retro games shows (other than this snippet, here) or channels, but it is (like 1943 in shmups) probably one of the best arcade games you'd ever play.

[@orkoto6057]

Spanish game from Barcelona!

[@jakeiswayblack3377]

I just finally decided to buy a neo geo cd yesterday, still waiting on it to get here from japan. To this day, i still have NEVER seen any neo geo in person, besides the actual arcade cabinets. Can't wait to mod it and finally experience all the rich kid games

[@vh-ali_n-teen]

The console was meant to be used in hotels or other limited space services buildings where they couldn’t allow bulky arcade machines to be placed on due to lack of space . Because SNK were not interested of selling their “consoled” arcade games like Nintendo 8 bits cartridges market strategy.

[@FermentedGrumpyGrapeSqueezit]

You literally took cues from what was said in the video and tried regurgitating it as a theory

[@jackofallgamesTV]

The Bally Astrocade is probably the inflation adjusted most expensive video game system. In the 70s, a new Bally was $500. However in the 90s, at a thrift store, I found a Bally Astrocade, 4 controllers, and 9 cartridges, including Muncher and Blast Droids for $5. I don't think Neo Geo had a dip in the market like the Astrocade did.

[@SuperArmus]

I remember the Neo Geo AES as the unicorn. You wanted and dreamed of it but could never afford it as a kid. As a kid, I didn't really understand how it worked and just thought the games were beautiful. As a 40yo man I finally own one now and it's as magical as it was when I was a little kid.

[@ibapreppie]

43 here and just got mine! I was like an expecting Father at the door waiting on the mailman. No games, but I don't care lol. Games will come later, Im still staring at mine in disbelief I finally have my Holy Grail.

[@DavePoo2]

I have a memory that there was a NEO-GEO cabinet in The Roadhouse Manchester in the late 90's. I think it had multiple carts in it. I seem to remember playing Metal Slug at some point.

[@MikeD-bu6hr]

Correct! I played metal slug there too during gigs.😂 I think it was even Free Play at one point

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

Ah yes, the 90s "luxury consoles", Neo Geo, CD-I, 3DO (Beach Boys song!), Jaguar...

[@WillmobilePlus]

The game system that some other kid we all knew swore they had a "cousin" that had it. I remember this having 200.00 games, and was only advertised in "adult nerd" magazines like Omni.

[@MOS6582]

Lol that kid’s name was always Nathan and he was full of shit. One of the Nathans at my school had an uncle who had a Ferrari which he could lift over his head. We only ever knew one person who actually owned a Neo Geo. He ran an arcade in town and was basically the Simpsons comic book guy which lines up pretty well with your recollection.

[@lupolinar]

200? I remember seeing the AES demoing Viewpoint and the game was like 500 bucks in 1994.

[@WillmobilePlus]

@@lupolinar That might have been a price I heard "through the grapevine", especially being a kid, and the internet not existing then. A LOT of stuff we "knew" about this was basically rumor, urban legend, or straight exaggeration. LOL!

[@lupolinar]

@@WillmobilePlus That might be true. We had a pretty sweet vendor who also sold stuff from oversea, like the PC Engine and NeoGeo, so you always knew what was possible if you had the money for it. ^^;

[@kanedaku]

I remember in the console magazines I used to buy, the game prices went between 189.99 and 349.99

[@BikeNutt1970]

1992. Early twenties, still living at home so had plenty of disposable income. Went to Tottenham Court Road with several grand in cash, clubbed together with 2 other mates. Managed to buy 3 AES consoles, 3 extra arcade joysticks, 3 memory cards and 8 games (shop keep wouldn't stretch to a 9th game). There was a group of us that went, purely so we didn't get mugged. I still have mine, boxed, in storage in the house somewhere. The games (about a dozen) are still in their original cases on a bookshelf. One day I'll get time to relive past memories, assuming it still works LOL.

[@WSS_the_OG]

Totally remember this. I had an Amiga at the time, and there was one of these on the University campus. I was gobsmacked by its capabilities, even as an Amiga owner. In many ways, this was the first time the cracks started to show in my Amiga (500)'s closed architecture, and its lack of upgrade-ability. Of course, I still loved my Amiga, but it wasn't long after I saw the Neo Geo that I realised it was probably time to build myself a PC, and make the painful switch.

[@shadowtheimpure]

When it came to the 'slowdown' issue, SNK figured that the players would appreciate the added chaos that those extra sprites brought to the playfield and would be willing to overlook the resulting slowdown. Given how popular NeoGeo is, especially the Metal Slug franchise who is most notorious for it, they were right.

[@kyles8524]

it has nothing to do with an issue, im pretty sure its intentional cause if you emulate it it does the exact same thing

[@shadowtheimpure]

@@kyles8524 It's a limitation of the hardware, the games are pushing it to the limits and the game slows to a crawl as a result.

[@kyles8524]

@@shadowtheimpure i dont think you understood what I even said.When you emulate something your not using the original hardware lol.Ive emulated this game on a powerful PC and it still does the same thing

[@programaths]

@@kyles8524 The emulator reproduce the hardware. As an example, on NES, you can't have two sprite on the same line, otherwise they flicker. By default, emulator reproduce that limitation. I do not remember which emulator allows to remove quirks, but it's actually a feature. It also brings its own issue, because some games relies on quirks for special effect and overall timing. So, people creating the emulator get as close as the original hardware for maximum compatibility, which makes very powerful PC irrelevant. What is more impactful are very low end PC. Gameboy is the one which often lack one hardware feature: screen ghosting. So, some games using ghosting to have parallax effect do not work properly as the two images blend together to make a total mess. There are even games that will use tricks to check the hardware and refuse to launch if it sense too much of a difference. Again, the Gameboy is notable to check that a specific address the "Nintnedo (c)" is present and will freeze if not. In short, emulators stick closest to the real hardware for various very technical reason and thus, PC performance above the minimal requirement is totally irrelevant. So, the guy you are replying to may know those facts and you think he is dumb as a result because you think too simply about emulation 😅 (Such mistake is understandable as the reason I evoked can't simply be thought out of thin air and are far to be obvious)

[@kyles8524]

@@programaths simple fact is the emulators dont use the same source code as the actual hardware, so even though you have a very drawn out opinion its a simple fact emulators use different methods of emulating the game.As seen by you stating there are issues with some games, and thats down to the fact its illegal to run these roms on an emulator with the same source code.I do commend you for giving out a drawn out mess of a comment but theres a lot you still need to learn how emulation works.Only FPGA chips are capable of correct emulation 100% and if you dont know what an FPGA chip is look it up.Your comment sort of is a comment of someone that just barely understand emulation.Google is your friend though.If you look this stuff up youll end up deleting half your comment and be like "ahhh I see"

[@b1ueocean]

We had one of these things on a South London council estate - far from “rich” but very diligent at purposefully directing every penny. Absolutely crazy machine, literally transforming any bedroom or front room into an arcade. We only got to play various games by swapping/part-exchanging existing games. Cartridges ran from £70 up to £180 or so for the latest releases - this was around 1993. System wasn’t economically viable for us so it was sold to a random console import/export vendor. By then we had already been building a nice library of games on an imported Super Famicom (Japanese SNES), the Sega Megadrive, and our trusty old Amstrad CPC 464, so all was all lost 😊

[@hippo2020]

When I was a young lad decades back during the early 90s, I firstly saw the AES in a video game shop showing AOF1 in Malaysia. Coming from nes going towards the mega drive, I was instantly impressed by the AOF1 huge sprites and thumping music. However the price was really insane and totally out of my budget. This was during the time the super Famicom was coming out. All of my friends knew bout the Neo Geo but none has it.

[@JamesChessman]

I absolutely love Samurai Shodown, and I think it was really the best 2D series of the time, despite SFII always being the most popular one. I have a Samurai Shodown collection for PS2 and it's great, also a general Neo Geo collection too, it's really the best things I have for my PS2. I love it that the actual console is not needed in modern times, bc it was always impossibly expensive. I never tried emulation or MAME of the arcade cabinet but I think I'll try that next time...

[@dunebasher1971]

3:00 You went proper West Country when you said "lusted after" :)

[@RMCRetro]

Haha Keith brings out the accent in me

[@Sinn0100]

So... I saw a couple of things in this video I would like to address. The Neo Geo AES had a total of 150 commercially released games for it during its lifespan (some say 158). Out of the 150 (or 158) games released, 50 are fighting games. So, the majority of games for the Neo Geo AES are not in the fighting genre. The Neo Geo AES did indeed start its life as a commercially rented product in 1990. Two things began happening almost immediately that changed SNK's stance on the AES after its launch as a rental service. The first is most American retailers refused to carry the AES as a rental system. The second is many Americans chose to circumvent the rental limitations by buying Japanese AES's at a huge mark-up. By mid 1990, SNK started shipping retail versions of their AES to select stores across the US. Changing subjects... The Philips CDi was sold as an edutainment product for the first few years of its life. This all changed towards the end of its life. The CDi's last year in the US market it was sold primarily as a games machine, and it failed miserably. Addendum- I own a rental Neo Geo AES. The only way one can tell is the rental AES's come in an almost all white box. It has a splash of orange on the front and says Neo Geo AES in black on the front of the box. Inside the inner flaps, the words "Property of Hilton Hotels."

[@ridiculous_gaming]

The Samurai Showdown series were among my favorites, along with several shmups, Shock Troopers, Metal Slugs, etc. For years you could only purchase the 161-1 multicart for the MVS units, but more recently, like 2 years ago, AES multicarts are readily available. They may not have all of your favorite games, but for the price, they're worth it!

[@jglg7238]

even to this day Neo Geo AES is very hard to collect if you're a collector in games, i say that becuase there was a time in my life i wanted to start collecting Neo Geo AES games, but it's very hard and impossible due to pricing of each games.

[@dave_s_vids]

We had a Neo Geo cab in the breakroom at college in the mid '90s loaded with Puzzle Bobble, Sam Shodown, Wind Jammers and something else I don't remember! Loved that machine. I was emulating it in the late 90s on my PC also - Last Blade II and Garou: Mark of the Wolves being particular favourites!

[@skynetd-termination98]

In the early 2000's I was lucky enough to buy an original 4-slot NEO-GEO arcade cabinet. Ebay provided the cartridges, so this video was very nostalgic for me. Thanks!

[@regfenster]

I had the AES in 1991 when I was only 19 years of age, the only reason I could afford it was the fact I traded my Japanese Megadrive with 30 plus Japanese Megadrive games. I had a grand total of 8 titles only due to them being imported at over £250 a pop. Considering at this time as an apprentice I only earned about £150 per week buying games was at best one every 6 weeks on average. Yes I was not really its target audience being relatively poor and this was the Rolls Royce of Gaming in the early 1990's. But man you could Lord it over the Megadrive/Snes/Super Famicom owning plebs.

[@kernow5000]

I've had one for 22yrs, 43 carts here

[@simplesimonhadapie]

Did you also star in zoolander?

[@kernow5000]

@@simplesimonhadapie sadly not

[@acem7749]

I always love the sniff of the game cartridge.. pure PCB Bliss..

[@Robin-ie3ns]

Just giving this a rewatch. Had a Neo Geo about 7 years now - so much depth to many of the games that is often overlooked. Garou Mark of the Wolves, KoF 98 and Last Blade 2 have become favourites over SF2 for me. Mark of the Wolves is especially stunning to look at and the gameplay has a lot more nuance than SF2 Blazing Star and Pulstar are two of the best (and most beautiful) shooters ever made. Plus beyond that Viewpoint, the Sonic Wings games and Zed Blade are very cool shooters as well. It takes some time to really appreciate some of the games - almost the more you play them the more you notice how sharp the gameplay is. Would recommend anyone spending more time with it if they’re into shooters/fighters.

[@properjob2311]

NeoGeo was an unbelievable system back in the day. The Sony Playstation was probably the next "arcade at home" console.

[@RMCRetro]

I'd certainly agree with that, especially with Ridge Racer blasting out of the PSX

[@apollosungod2819]

Arguably both Sony and Sega in Japan did indeed make use of their hardware for arcade use however the Sony PS1 based arcade hardware as first used by Namco in 1994 had the difference of 2MB of video RAM as opposed to the 1MB found in the PS1 which is somewhat implied to have been some last ditch decision by Sony to keep the cost lower given that there was a type of "price war" during 1994 Japan on videogame systems so the launch PS1 retailed at around ¥39,800 and the Sega Saturn at ¥44,800 at launch with no game included in 1994... very important to note that. The Sega Saturn for arcade use was the ST-V or Sega Titan Video arcade hardware which is essentially the SAME hardware as the Sega Saturn but for use with ROM Cartridge for arcade use... I don't believe that the Namco System 11 (PS1 based) had ROM Cartridges but the storage was still ROM chip based so technically both Sega and Sony were using the SNK "like" arcade hardware strategy because they were indeed mass production, low cost real arcade hardware in 1994... many gamer journalists seem to forget that or be clueless about it so it gets lost when gamer later talk about it unless they more or less much more informed by reading some of the gamer magazines that provided more accurate information back then. Also it is important to note that videogame system marketing in Japan including the SNK NeoGeo aes had marketing aimed at hardcore arcade gamers, home gamers, both male and female gamers even as a side hobby and the entire family which is very different from the perceived "target audience" that Nintendo's NES, SNES and N64 are associated with (basically toddlers and young teens but the reality is that when SF2 sold 6 million cartridges in 1992, it was mostly late teens and adults actually buying the game... not really young children's parents because that game came out during the summer where it took weeks here in the U.S. of how close to the arcade it was and it had constant selling out of stock in stores) If you check out some of the original SNK NeoGeo aes marketing from Japan, it's clear that they aimed this game system for an older age bracket and not children or young children... they also aimed it at both genders as I have found 20 years ago when going to arcade centers and meeting Asian girls who were proficiently competing at the SNK Puzzle games and King of Fighters as skilled players... some of them even owned a Sega Saturn or Japanese version with the 1MB and or 4MB RAM Cartridge games... and remember these are female gamers over twenty years ago that you would never even know unless you knew them to be gamers... The marketing here in the U.S. had the silly comparisons to the Sega MegaDrive (Genesis), NEC TG16 and the Super Nintendo hardware specs as well as some print advertising that poked fun at the other hardware which I say is silly because it's using the similar childish marketing tactics that 1990 Sega of America's staff started using instead of creating an image of their Sega hardware or bothering to support their fanbase which is why Nintendo's U.S. subsidiary branch was successful as they did use entire family marketing and then young boys marketing but they built an image of the NES and Super Nintendo without making silly comparisons until too many television commercials actually made them reply around either 1993 to 1994 which is a long time of taking those attack ads. I noticed you guys didn't talk about using the PAL CRTs with the SNK NeoGeo MVS aes given that they were NTSC/J/U hardware and no official U.K./Europe region release which has long been the huge limiting factor in why Sega took two years to release the Sega MegaDrive there and likewise for Nintendo and others. Basically also videogames in the U.S. did have a type of stigma in the late 80s and 90s as constantly being associated with young children which includes if you dated a woman and she saw you had videogame systems at home in the early 90s and either she or her female friends would depending on the situation basically gang up on you as either being childish or make some type of negative remarks because they have very little experience and depending on them, might refuse to give videogames a chance to play which years later might be different... might... These things play a factor into the perception even we as gamers had because if you was in late teens and 20s during the 90s and still liked videogames what you wanted was more power... not necessarily "3d" that's a misconception made and created by American gamer magazines and U.K.'s Edge/Next Generation magazine whose editors kept shaming 2d games like total clueless idiots or do biased coverage favoring 3d graphics games often ignoring hoe nearly 1:1 2d arcade games were getting and then you had some incompetent arrogant management staff at 90s Sega of America trying to refuse to support the 1MB and 4MB RAM Cartridge games because their agenda was to put pressure to make next gen. Not supporting the older Sega fanbase, making it seem like videogames were still only for children and pulling last minute fanbase marketing for Dreamcast while they refused to do so for Sega Saturn... stuff that affected sales because the reality is gamer magazines could have misinformation, biased journalists and the U.S. subsidiary branch was indeed using the wrong marketing tactics for the wrong age groups incapable of buying even a 1989 launch Sega Genesis.

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

Classic console the AES - remember the experience of playing arcade perfect Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury Special at home in 1994 was supreme - glad I repurchased one and a dozen games again CIB about 8yrs back... awesome sound and graphics to this day 👍 *got a NeoCD and 2x1 Slot MVS also since then, amazing systems.

[@StariusPrime]

I really want to get one of those NeoSD carts. The chips shortage has made them impossible to get right now but I hope they return. You got your items at a good time I’d say, they only continue to go up in price.

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

@@StariusPrime agreed - aes mvs and neocd prices are steadily increasing.

[@SNARC15]

"The most expensive console ever made." RDI Halcyon and Pioneer LaserActive: Are be both jokes to you? (Though it's definitely one of the most expensive GOOD consoles out there, but the cost of those carts? DAMN!)

[@keyserxx]

It was me wanting get an Amiga again then learning more about the Neo Geo and the cost of said items I went full into the MiSTer coz that thing is a bargain! I'm hooked on Turf Masters :)

[@MrCalverino]

The NEO GEO jingle is the alert tone on my phone

[@markveganism5003]

Neo geo was just a pipe dream when I was a kid ..I have it now via raspberry pie and its impressive now ,just imagine owning one in the 90s

[@grgmj1980]

One of my friends had 2 older brothers and they bought a Neo Geo. My friends and I weren’t allowed to play with it, but it was awesome just to look at.

[@Rocky1138]

Our local arcade had a Neo Geo machine but I was too young to really understand what it was. No one I knew had the home version as, like you've described, one would have had to be rich to afford one.

[@hofnaerrchen]

The NeoGeo games still look great in 2022... they aged very well compared to other (newer) gaming consoles or 8/16bit gaming computers. I can remember quite well how great it would have been having this console while still being a teenager back then.

[@Gladson]

I got my very own AES two months ago, an old dream finally fulfilled. There are so many options to play Neo Geo games today, emulation is spot-on since late 90's but that feeling when you see the Neo Geo logo and hear that jingle coming from real hardware is very rewarding. I had a NG CD back then but like many others I've always dreamed about owning the real deal. Interesting how back in the day AES carts were cheaper than their MVS counterparts and now it's the complete opposite. Some AES games cost thousands of dollars and the MVS ones go in the hundreds so thank God those converters exist. So far my collection is quite small, I have 3 AES carts and 11 MVS ones but I plan on buying more whenever my wallet allows it!

[@Bice404]

It also has one of the best golf games ever made Neo Turf Master, you need to check it out if you havent already. :)

[@dastiffmeisterman]

Like you've got Total Air War on the shelf at the back that game was revolutionary at the time.

[@cfriedel123]

My favorite NEO-GEO game was Super Baseball 2020. Played it constantly at the arcade and, when it was ported to the SNES, my friend and I played it on there when we were roommates. Played him 365 times and beat him 365 times. He got a run once. Korea Dragoons for the win!* * - He beat me pretty bad playing WWE Royal Rumble, so it worked out =)

[@mikewifak]

Those aren’t cartridges, they’re monoliths. Watch for weapon-wielding apes in the cave.

[@TerribleFire]

I was given a new 2021 release of XenoCrisis. Looked like a perfect Neo Geo arcade release in a cart.

[@rgm4646]

Well, Nintendo marketed the NES to retailers as a toy (with rob) but we all knew it was a game console.

[@nathan-tz9ow]

The Irony is that I have a literal NEO-GEO MVS Big Red slot 4 at my house and like 30 games and its still cheaper than the AES and a couple games.

[@dimitriszongas8027]

I have an neogeo AES in the closet, with some games, also have all the MVS king of fighters games and an AES converter, but I just used the machine to play metal slug games and neo turf masters 😅

[@aeiouxs]

I always felt the AES system - with its gold HiFi-style lettering, slim front profile, wide-mouthed Cartridge slot (phwooaaaar) and matching power button to the arcade sticks' buttons - was one of the finest looking consoles ever designed! Very jealous Keith!

[@Mallaien]

I remember playing on a Turbo Grafix, and a goldstar 3DO, around the time the Neo console was around. I was working as a software salesperson when the Super NES came out.

[@willaimkazer9754]

Neo Geo is awesome. I discovered it in MAME. I fell in love with it. It inspired me to make MAME cabs with more than 3 buttons. I have a tabletop Xarcade MAME machine that I made with a 4:3 LCD computer monitor and a PC. My favorite games are the Metal Slug series in Neo Geo. Love NEO GEO. I discovered how good it was in around 2015.

[@anonamatron]

You should keep the three button layout, but wire up the coin slot button thing... the coin return that glows bright orange... Anyway, that's the fourth button. You become erect from playing your Neo Geo and press the 4th button that way.

[@DrMobiusOfficial]

Back in 2016 I found a Neo Geo AES in the back of a charity shop in Brixton. No idea how it got there but I bought it off them for 15 pounds. Came boxed with 4 boxed games!

[@TheDigitalOrphanage]

Wow, bargain! The retro equivalent of that Fabergé egg bought in a charity shop 😉

[@DrMobiusOfficial]

@@TheDigitalOrphanage If you scroll through my channel you can find me documenting the process there. It didn't come with a power supply. so it was stuck in this loophole where the electrician couldn't PAT test it, but they didn't get rid of it, so it sat on the shelf for years. I only stumbled upon it because one of the staff wanted to show me a drum kit they kept in the back.

[@TheDigitalOrphanage]

@@DrMobiusOfficial I've just watched your video and it was fun to follow your rollercoaster of emotions. Excited anticipation, disappointment, more disappointment, even more... then finally jubilation! Great find!

[@braikingboss9137]

As for me, just like everybody else, I wished I owned one of these when it first came out, I would only see it on magazines and nobody I knew even had one on the plus side, now, as an adult, I actually own one, and I own the Neo Geo cdz aswell as the nei geo pocket, and let me tell you the first time I held an actual cartridge for the AES... It was magical and I'm glad that I got to make one of my dreams happen💖💖💖

[@mcameron1981]

It's like Neil and future Neil talking about retro consoles. I love it.

[@TheDigitalOrphanage]

I've come back from the future to tell myself what to collect now that will be expensive back in the future!

[@dumbasses_R_us]

I'm Australian and I don't even know if these were released here, but I once went to the house of a kid whose dad had bought him one in Japan. They were friends of a family that was friends with our family, but they weren't friends of our family, we didn't know them. I was staying at the friends of my family's house and we went over to their place and their shithead kid had one. We were like 12 and this kind was about 9 and he wouldn't let either of us play it. We had to sit there and watch him play (badly) for 2 hours. We got bored and stopped watching him so he got really angry that we weren't watching so he threw his sandwich on the ground and got mayonnaise on the carpet. That was kinda funny

[@Tclans]

So I have a single slot MVS cabinet and the talked about slowdown happens for me when I plug in the cartridge of Metal Slug 2. Is there anything I can do about it. A dip switch setting maybe?

[@GohTakeshita]

I don't know if it's a UK thing or particular to these two guys, but here in the US, beat 'em ups and fighting games are two separate distinct genres. Something like Final Fight would be called a beat 'em up, while Street Fighter 2 would be a fighting game.

[@tarnetskygge]

Yeah in the UK "beat-em-ups" usually includes both 1v1 and scrolling fighters.

[@FingerBreakerWu]

Back in the day, I sold my entire SNES and Genesis library to buy a NeoGeo MVS with Samurai Shodown for $700. Didn't regret it one bit. I was thinking of buying another MVS and getting the flashcard cart, but it would cost MORE than what I bought my original set up for.

[@darrenrussell8980]

They always had them on the English channel ferries, 4 or 6 slot, I would run to thr arcade after boarding. Would love to own one. I have about 13 NGPCs...!

[@williamoverton7775]

it is identical hardware to a particular cash register I don't remember the story but apparently an early networked cash register was a big inspiration for the AES design. the networking kept a redundant receipt that was transmitted to a server using a phone cord.

[@kristinaF54]

I remember the adverts for the NeoGeo and never having met anyone that owned one back in the day (because it was so darn expensive) that a strange mythic aura surrounded it like maybe it wasn't real or was still a concept like concept cars that never got released. Even at school the talk surrounding NeoGeos was always kinda reverent and with a sense of awe, wonder and mystery.

[@angusrumplemeyer1791]

I found my Neo Geo AES 20 years ago in a washed out tent with 7 games and 3 controller, but it's up for sale at this point.

[@TYNEPUNK]

oh puzzle bobble a fave! i did the official port of puzzle bobble for taito, for the sidekick blade lol.

[@voldem0rt]

I have fond memories of Neo Geo. While I owned the system for about 6 years before selling it, it provided me thousands of hours of fun and saved me hundreds of dollars in quarters.