Better ways to play NEO GEO | Is SNKs AES+ really for retrogramers or game collectors?
Creative Cat Productions
2,430 views
The Neo Geo AES+ is scheduled to be released in November of 2026, and a lot people are really excited about it because not only does this mean the return of “authentic” physical media, but it’s a relatively low cost way for new comers to get into the nebulous and pricey world of Neo Geo game collecting.
However, there are already a lot of us who have doubts about Plaoin Replais’s new version of the New Geo. First of all, and not the least trivial, is the fact that despite being described as “authentic hardware”, in reality, the Neo Geo+ is making use of existing fpga circuit logic that’s been lifted from the Neo Geo cores used on the MiSTer. Specifically, the logic has been lifted from the MiSTer and reapplied to a set of ASIC chips that will be used on the actual Neo Geo+. SNK and Plaion Replai have made grand gestures assuring the world that this won’t matter in the slightest, but lived experience tells me…..there’s always some unforeseeable issue, and there’s no way to REALLY play test the entire library of Neo Geo games ahead of launch. So it will be fun for everyone to find out what works, and what doesn’t, after thousands of people start to simultaneously put things to the test.
Second to all of this, is the fact there are cheaper, effective alternatives. A lot of people don’t seem to know about Hamster Corporation’s excellent Arcade Archives, or the fact that almost all of the games released for the NEO GEO arcade platform have been emulated to outstanding effect on the Arcade Archives. This means that essentially ALL of the very best Neo Geo games are already available across a myriad of platforms that gamers almost certainly already have access to without having to pre-order or buy yet another device.
What option is better? Well that’s for you to decide. The Neo Geo was never the best gaming platform, not even in its heyday….. but it was interesting! And so seeing what happens with the AES+ will also be interesting to see. Will this spell the return of physical gaming as a new niche? Can it be true? Will the SEGA Genesis follow in its wake? We could be seeing the dawn of an entirely new retrogaming revival, based on physical media! Or this could the last gasps of a dying trend.
You decide.
Thanks for watching!
CCP Management
_______________
Chapters:
0:00 - introduction / NeoGeo AES+
3:30 - Neo Geo games are expensive
5:50 - Neo Geo has its own culture
7:37 - Launch of the Neo Geo in 1991
9:36 - Hamster Corporation/ACA games
12:44 - Neo Geo is for fighting games
14:57 - 3DO was a better home console
18:05 - Great NeoGeo games in ACA
18:52 - NAM 1975
22:07 - Magician Lord
26:54 - MVS launch games in 1990
28:47 - Sengoku
33:30 - King of the Monsters
38:03 - Street Fighter 2 impacts gaming
39:54 - Fatal Fury’s Capcom roots
45:09 - Fatal Fury Special
48:51 - Art of Fighting
53:37 - King of Fighters 94’ and 98’
56:58 - Samurai Showdown
1:00:08 - Neo Turf Masters
1:04:28 - Metal Slug
1:08:14 - conclusion / types of gamers
20 Comments
The AES+ reboot, you'll notice, has anachronistically repackaged the cardboard games in the plastic "shock box" from the final period of the console's lifespan.
Well not THAT much. Hardly at all, really. I wanted one when I was a kid just because I couldn't have one, that's about it, tbh.
And let's be real: one Neo Geo cartridge (brand new, at the time) cost as much as four Genesis cartridges. It would not be hard to say, "this Neo Geo game is worth more than four times that Eternal Champions cartridge." And I'm not even gonna mention Chakan and Greendog.
but it comes in a paper carton labelled, "Mazard's Miraculous Grape Soda".
Would it still be worth one hundred dollars? Fifty? Five?
People are paying for the price tag: the price tag itself is a part of the product.
Better ways to play NEO GEO | Is SNKs AES+ really for retrogramers or game collectors?
Creative Cat Productions
2,430 views
The Neo Geo AES+ is scheduled to be released in November of 2026, and a lot people are really excited about it because not only does this mean the return of “authentic” physical media, but it’s a relatively low cost way for new comers to get into the nebulous and pricey world of Neo Geo game collecting.
However, there are already a lot of us who have doubts about Plaoin Replais’s new version of the New Geo. First of all, and not the least trivial, is the fact that despite being described as “authentic hardware”, in reality, the Neo Geo+ is making use of existing fpga circuit logic that’s been lifted from the Neo Geo cores used on the MiSTer. Specifically, the logic has been lifted from the MiSTer and reapplied to a set of ASIC chips that will be used on the actual Neo Geo+. SNK and Plaion Replai have made grand gestures assuring the world that this won’t matter in the slightest, but lived experience tells me…..there’s always some unforeseeable issue, and there’s no way to REALLY play test the entire library of Neo Geo games ahead of launch. So it will be fun for everyone to find out what works, and what doesn’t, after thousands of people start to simultaneously put things to the test.
Second to all of this, is the fact there are cheaper, effective alternatives. A lot of people don’t seem to know about Hamster Corporation’s excellent Arcade Archives, or the fact that almost all of the games released for the NEO GEO arcade platform have been emulated to outstanding effect on the Arcade Archives. This means that essentially ALL of the very best Neo Geo games are already available across a myriad of platforms that gamers almost certainly already have access to without having to pre-order or buy yet another device.
What option is better? Well that’s for you to decide. The Neo Geo was never the best gaming platform, not even in its heyday….. but it was interesting! And so seeing what happens with the AES+ will also be interesting to see. Will this spell the return of physical gaming as a new niche? Can it be true? Will the SEGA Genesis follow in its wake? We could be seeing the dawn of an entirely new retrogaming revival, based on physical media! Or this could the last gasps of a dying trend.
You decide.
Thanks for watching!
CCP Management
_______________
Chapters:
0:00 - introduction / NeoGeo AES+
3:30 - Neo Geo games are expensive
5:50 - Neo Geo has its own culture
7:37 - Launch of the Neo Geo in 1991
9:36 - Hamster Corporation/ACA games
12:44 - Neo Geo is for fighting games
14:57 - 3DO was a better home console
18:05 - Great NeoGeo games in ACA
18:52 - NAM 1975
22:07 - Magician Lord
26:54 - MVS launch games in 1990
28:47 - Sengoku
33:30 - King of the Monsters
38:03 - Street Fighter 2 impacts gaming
39:54 - Fatal Fury’s Capcom roots
45:09 - Fatal Fury Special
48:51 - Art of Fighting
53:37 - King of Fighters 94’ and 98’
56:58 - Samurai Showdown
1:00:08 - Neo Turf Masters
1:04:28 - Metal Slug
1:08:14 - conclusion / types of gamers