Trin
09-16-2005, 04:31 PM
I'm a huge gamer, and I'm likely a bigger gamer than most people on this planet. That isn't some sort of badge of honor I'm lugging around for anyone to see. It's just fact.
When I worked for Gameforms.com in its heyday, I really enjoyed writing editorials for the site. They weren't always particularly insightful, but they were vicious, and likely caused riots. It made me into a quasi-celebrity as well, as I was noticed by some random gamers at E3 in 2003.
I love talking, because it means other people can't talk. This is great, because other people are stupid, and I'm a genius. By talking, I'm doing anyone in earshot a public service. They're only privy to intelligent information and analysis, instead of the incessant yammering and blabbering that most people mistake for talking.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the gaming galaxy according to me. After all, my opinion is the one that counts.
Entry 1
or
"NEO GEO, and why anyone who doesn't play it is stupid and should be shot."
The Neo Geo is a beast that has gone through many metamorphic changes throughout its long 15 year lifespan. Originally developed as an arcade board by Japanese developer SNK, its greatest advantage was its memory. The memory was so insanely high at the time, that it wasn't until the Dreamcast that accurate ports of Neo games could be produced.
There are two kinds of Neo arcade boards: the MVS (which stands for Multi Video System) cart board, and the PCB (which stands for Printed Circuit Board). The MVS cart board was revolutionary for its time. The board itself had between 1 and 6 ports, and games came on cartridges that look like VHS tapes (but had circuit boards like a cartridge, as opposed to magnetic tape like a VHS). This system had two advantages:
1) If arcade operators wanted to replace a game in a Neo system, they just merely took the cartridge out, and replaced it. This took a fraction of the time it takes to unhook a PCB from a machine, and replace it with a whole new PCB. It was also a ton cheaper.
2) With MVS boards with more than port, operators could put in multiple games, allowing one stand up to house between 2 and 6 games, choosable by the player by hitting a button next to the "Start" button. This was priceless in Japan, where space was limited, but it also served small US arcade operators well, who couldn't necessarily afford to get a stand up for each individual game.
http://www.neo-geo.com/snk/carts/mvs/samurai5.jpg
An example of a complete MVS kit. Yes, this will be on the test.
Some time later, SNK developed the NEO GEO home console, known to those in the "know" as the AES (which stands for Advanced Entertainment System. The name was taken from the text printed on the console under the gold NEO GEO logo). The AES, as any person who has played one will attest, is basically a one slot MVS arcade board, in a pretty shell. This had its pros and cons.
The biggest advantage of the AES system was the chance to play perfect ports of Neo Geo games at home, without having to pay money each time you play. The biggest disadvantage, was how much you had to pay to attain the game. When the AES was first released, arcade aficianados around were exuberant, but the system's $600 USD price tag was effective at sobering them. One top of that, because of the cost associated with porting games otherwise reserved for arcade operators (who often pay close to $2000 for brand new full cabinet, with PCB), games retailed for $350 right out of the gate.
Many people ask, "Why were AES games so expensive?" The answer to this is fairly easy to answer. A few meandering paragraphs back, I talked about how AES systems were basically glorified 1 slot MVS boards. Because of the similarities between the two, it would be pretty simple to assume that AES game kits and MVS game kits were essentially technically the same as well. While this made AES games look that much more beautiful than systems of the time (Genesis, SNES), it also meant that to cover their costs, SNK had to charge the same amount for both MVS and AES kits.
http://www.neo-geo.com/snk/carts/jap/matrimelee.jpg
An example of a complete AES kit. Bow to your overpriced master.
It may seem ridiculous to charge that kind of money for a video game, but the technology was that expensive to produce at the time. It wasn't that the Genesis and SNES were the tip of the spear, technology wise. Instead, they limited their technology to make them cost effective for a home console market. In the case of an arcade operator, $350 was not all that ridiculous, as every time a customer played the game, they were making back money on the price they paid for the carts. In comparison to getting a new cabinet or PCB every time a new game was released, they were merely getting a new cart that they were paying much less for.
Collector's trends started to skyrocket AES prices. Unlike MVS carts, that depreciate over time due to a lack of demand (arcade operators aren't interested in a 4 year old game that wouldn't bring customers), AES carts were becoming more and more rare. They would appreciate in value, and now some games have become ridiculously expensive. Metal Slug is now valued at $1500, Garou Mark of the Wolves is valued at $450, and since there are only about four known copies of an English version of Kizuna Encounter, it can retail for as high as $4000.
The downward spiral of financial failure in AES sales began to grow, and unlike Japan, arcade culture was dying a slow and painful death in Europe and North America. There were also a number of administrative blunders in terms of US Neo Geo distribution, but there's enough to talk about there to start a whole new entry. In 2001, SNK closed its doors, only to be revived two years later as SNK Playmore. Playmore had been started by SNK's old CEO, in hopes of getting the SNK name back from a pachinko manufacturer who owned the rights to the name following SNK's demise.
By this time, Neo Geo had become an exclusive owners club. Most arcades didn't carry Neo Geo cabs anymore, and had traded them out for the much more fashionable System 246 and Capcom developed cabs. Most Neo Geo cabs only existed in bars, restaurants and truck stops where people didn't know any better, or in the homes of hardcore SNK fans.
After its revival, SNK Playmore released a few more games for the aging MVS/AES boards (Metal Slug 4 and 5, Matrimelee, SvC Chaos, King of Fighters 2001-2003, Samurai Shodown V and V Special), and after 15 years, finally retired the system. The last game to be released for the hardware was Samurai Shodown V Special.
In a move to shake off its cobwebs and join the future of gaming, SNK Playmore adopted Sammy's Atomiswave arcade board (Guilty Gear X), intent on releasing a few games for the new system. SNK was intent on showing the world that they were far from dead.
After releasing KOF Neowave (A traditional King of Fighters game made to test the Atomiswave's capabilities), SNK released its first compilation fighter, NEO GEO Battle Colloseum. SNK is currently location testing (commonly called a loki test) Samurai Shodown Tenka, and recently announced Metal Slug 6 at JAMMA AM show at the start of this past September. It's good to see that despite being faced with a future rife with 3D games, SNK still sticks to its guns and works on exquisite sprite based games (even if those games have 3D backgrounds, like Marvel vs Capcom 2 or KOF Neowave).
It makes me mentally hemorrhage when someone asks me what SNK is. It pains me in the deepest regions of my heart and my psyche when I'm forced with the truth that many gamers have no idea who SNK is, a company that wrote the book on lovingly designed sprite based arcade games.
To those who don't know SNK, I have little to say that wouldn't be horribly insulting and condescending. Instead I'll simply say "Know your roots, dammit."
Peace.
P.S. I haven't covered either the Neo Geo CD, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, or the Neo Geo Ultra64 for a good reason. Those are second tier SNK systems that I intend to tackle in another post.
Here is my current AES collection (http://www.eyesoute.com/trin/Photos/Collection/coll9.JPG). The photo is slightly outdated. Replace SvC Chaos with Sengoku 3, and you have a good idea of it. :)
When I worked for Gameforms.com in its heyday, I really enjoyed writing editorials for the site. They weren't always particularly insightful, but they were vicious, and likely caused riots. It made me into a quasi-celebrity as well, as I was noticed by some random gamers at E3 in 2003.
I love talking, because it means other people can't talk. This is great, because other people are stupid, and I'm a genius. By talking, I'm doing anyone in earshot a public service. They're only privy to intelligent information and analysis, instead of the incessant yammering and blabbering that most people mistake for talking.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the gaming galaxy according to me. After all, my opinion is the one that counts.
Entry 1
or
"NEO GEO, and why anyone who doesn't play it is stupid and should be shot."
The Neo Geo is a beast that has gone through many metamorphic changes throughout its long 15 year lifespan. Originally developed as an arcade board by Japanese developer SNK, its greatest advantage was its memory. The memory was so insanely high at the time, that it wasn't until the Dreamcast that accurate ports of Neo games could be produced.
There are two kinds of Neo arcade boards: the MVS (which stands for Multi Video System) cart board, and the PCB (which stands for Printed Circuit Board). The MVS cart board was revolutionary for its time. The board itself had between 1 and 6 ports, and games came on cartridges that look like VHS tapes (but had circuit boards like a cartridge, as opposed to magnetic tape like a VHS). This system had two advantages:
1) If arcade operators wanted to replace a game in a Neo system, they just merely took the cartridge out, and replaced it. This took a fraction of the time it takes to unhook a PCB from a machine, and replace it with a whole new PCB. It was also a ton cheaper.
2) With MVS boards with more than port, operators could put in multiple games, allowing one stand up to house between 2 and 6 games, choosable by the player by hitting a button next to the "Start" button. This was priceless in Japan, where space was limited, but it also served small US arcade operators well, who couldn't necessarily afford to get a stand up for each individual game.
http://www.neo-geo.com/snk/carts/mvs/samurai5.jpg
An example of a complete MVS kit. Yes, this will be on the test.
Some time later, SNK developed the NEO GEO home console, known to those in the "know" as the AES (which stands for Advanced Entertainment System. The name was taken from the text printed on the console under the gold NEO GEO logo). The AES, as any person who has played one will attest, is basically a one slot MVS arcade board, in a pretty shell. This had its pros and cons.
The biggest advantage of the AES system was the chance to play perfect ports of Neo Geo games at home, without having to pay money each time you play. The biggest disadvantage, was how much you had to pay to attain the game. When the AES was first released, arcade aficianados around were exuberant, but the system's $600 USD price tag was effective at sobering them. One top of that, because of the cost associated with porting games otherwise reserved for arcade operators (who often pay close to $2000 for brand new full cabinet, with PCB), games retailed for $350 right out of the gate.
Many people ask, "Why were AES games so expensive?" The answer to this is fairly easy to answer. A few meandering paragraphs back, I talked about how AES systems were basically glorified 1 slot MVS boards. Because of the similarities between the two, it would be pretty simple to assume that AES game kits and MVS game kits were essentially technically the same as well. While this made AES games look that much more beautiful than systems of the time (Genesis, SNES), it also meant that to cover their costs, SNK had to charge the same amount for both MVS and AES kits.
http://www.neo-geo.com/snk/carts/jap/matrimelee.jpg
An example of a complete AES kit. Bow to your overpriced master.
It may seem ridiculous to charge that kind of money for a video game, but the technology was that expensive to produce at the time. It wasn't that the Genesis and SNES were the tip of the spear, technology wise. Instead, they limited their technology to make them cost effective for a home console market. In the case of an arcade operator, $350 was not all that ridiculous, as every time a customer played the game, they were making back money on the price they paid for the carts. In comparison to getting a new cabinet or PCB every time a new game was released, they were merely getting a new cart that they were paying much less for.
Collector's trends started to skyrocket AES prices. Unlike MVS carts, that depreciate over time due to a lack of demand (arcade operators aren't interested in a 4 year old game that wouldn't bring customers), AES carts were becoming more and more rare. They would appreciate in value, and now some games have become ridiculously expensive. Metal Slug is now valued at $1500, Garou Mark of the Wolves is valued at $450, and since there are only about four known copies of an English version of Kizuna Encounter, it can retail for as high as $4000.
The downward spiral of financial failure in AES sales began to grow, and unlike Japan, arcade culture was dying a slow and painful death in Europe and North America. There were also a number of administrative blunders in terms of US Neo Geo distribution, but there's enough to talk about there to start a whole new entry. In 2001, SNK closed its doors, only to be revived two years later as SNK Playmore. Playmore had been started by SNK's old CEO, in hopes of getting the SNK name back from a pachinko manufacturer who owned the rights to the name following SNK's demise.
By this time, Neo Geo had become an exclusive owners club. Most arcades didn't carry Neo Geo cabs anymore, and had traded them out for the much more fashionable System 246 and Capcom developed cabs. Most Neo Geo cabs only existed in bars, restaurants and truck stops where people didn't know any better, or in the homes of hardcore SNK fans.
After its revival, SNK Playmore released a few more games for the aging MVS/AES boards (Metal Slug 4 and 5, Matrimelee, SvC Chaos, King of Fighters 2001-2003, Samurai Shodown V and V Special), and after 15 years, finally retired the system. The last game to be released for the hardware was Samurai Shodown V Special.
In a move to shake off its cobwebs and join the future of gaming, SNK Playmore adopted Sammy's Atomiswave arcade board (Guilty Gear X), intent on releasing a few games for the new system. SNK was intent on showing the world that they were far from dead.
After releasing KOF Neowave (A traditional King of Fighters game made to test the Atomiswave's capabilities), SNK released its first compilation fighter, NEO GEO Battle Colloseum. SNK is currently location testing (commonly called a loki test) Samurai Shodown Tenka, and recently announced Metal Slug 6 at JAMMA AM show at the start of this past September. It's good to see that despite being faced with a future rife with 3D games, SNK still sticks to its guns and works on exquisite sprite based games (even if those games have 3D backgrounds, like Marvel vs Capcom 2 or KOF Neowave).
It makes me mentally hemorrhage when someone asks me what SNK is. It pains me in the deepest regions of my heart and my psyche when I'm forced with the truth that many gamers have no idea who SNK is, a company that wrote the book on lovingly designed sprite based arcade games.
To those who don't know SNK, I have little to say that wouldn't be horribly insulting and condescending. Instead I'll simply say "Know your roots, dammit."
Peace.
P.S. I haven't covered either the Neo Geo CD, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, or the Neo Geo Ultra64 for a good reason. Those are second tier SNK systems that I intend to tackle in another post.
Here is my current AES collection (http://www.eyesoute.com/trin/Photos/Collection/coll9.JPG). The photo is slightly outdated. Replace SvC Chaos with Sengoku 3, and you have a good idea of it. :)