“Neo Geo”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Neo Geo{{efn|In Japanese: {{nihongo||ネオジオ|Neo Jio}}. Stylised as NEO・GEO and also written as NEOGEO}} is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. Both the arcade system and console were powerful for the time and the AES allows for perfect compatibility of games released for the MVS. However, the high price point for both the AES console and its games prevented it from directly competing with its contemporaries, the Sega Genesis, Super NES, and TurboGrafx-16. However, the MVS arcade became very successful in stores in Japan and North America.

Years later, SNK released the Neo Geo CD, a more cost effective console with games released on compact discs. The console was met with limited success, due in part to its slow CD-ROM drive. In an attempt to compete with increasingly popular 3D games, SNK released the Hyper Neo Geo 64 arcade system in 1997 as the successor to its aging MVS. The system did not fare well and only a few games were released for it. A planned home console based on the hardware was never released. SNK later extended the brand by releasing two handheld consoles, the Neo Geo Pocket, and later Neo Geo Pocket Color, which briefly competed with Nintendo's Game Boy. Soon after their release, SNK encountered various legal and financial issues - however the original Neo Geo MVS and AES continued getting new games under new ownership until officially being discontinued in 2004, ending the brand.

Regardless of the failure of later Neo Geo hardware, games for the original MVS and AES have been well received. The system spawned several long-running and critically acclaimed series, mostly 2D fighters, including Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown and The King of Fighters, as well as popular games in other genres such as the Metal Slug and Baseball Stars series. In December 2012, SNK Playmore released a handheld console based on the original AES, the Neo Geo X.^[1] As of March 1997, the Neo Geo had sold 980,000 units worldwide.^[1] The Neo Geo Pocket Color also has been given praise for multiple innovations, and a very substantial library, despite its short life.

SNK debuted new hardware; the Neo Geo Mini that features a collection of popular Neo Geo titles as part of its 40th anniversary celebration, the company announced. "This year, SNK celebrates 40th anniversary," the company said in a tweet. "It is with gratitude towards the fans who have supported SNK's titles, including The King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown and Metal Slug, that we introduce a new game machine that compiles the popular titles of Neo Geo! Please look forward to it The Future Is Now!"^[2]

Neo Geo MVS and AES

SNK's first two products using the Neo Geo name are an arcade system called the Neo Geo Multi Video System (MVS) and a companion console called the Advanced Entertainment System (AES), both released in 1990. The MVS offers arcade operators the ability to put up to six different arcade games into a single cabinet, a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace. It comes in many different cabinets but basically consists of an add on board that can be linked to a standard JAMMA system.

The Advanced Entertainment System (AES), originally known just as the Neo Geo, is the first video game console in the family. The hardware features comparatively colorful 2D graphics. The hardware was in part designed by Alpha Denshi (later ADK).^[3]

Initially, the home system was only available for rent to commercial establishments, such as hotel chains, bars and restaurants, and other venues. 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. The Neo Geo console was officially launched on 31 January 1990 in Osaka, Japan.^[4] The AES is identical to its arcade counterpart, the MVS, so arcade games released for the home market are nearly identical conversions.

Neo Geo CD

The Neo Geo CD, released in 1994, was initially an upgrade from the original AES. This console uses CDs instead of ROM cartridges like the AES. The unit's (approximately) 1X CD-ROM drive was slow, making loading times very long with the system loading up to 56 Mbits of data between loads. Neo Geo CD game prices were low at US$50, in contrast to Neo Geo AES game cartridges which cost as much as US$300. The system could also play Audio CDs. All three versions of the system have no region-lock.

The Neo Geo CD was bundled with a control pad instead of a joystick like the AES. However, the original AES joystick can be used with all 3 Neo Geo CD models (top loader, front loader and CDZ, an upgraded version of the CD console, that was only released in Japan), instead of the included control pads.

Hyper Neo Geo 64

The Hyper Neo Geo 64 is SNK's second and final arcade system board in the Neo Geo family, released in 1997. The Hyper Neo Geo 64 was conceived as SNK's 3D debut into the fifth generation video game consoles. It provided the hardware basis for a home system that would replace their aging Neo Geo AES—one that SNK hoped would be capable of competing with fifth generation video game consoles. In 1999, the Hyper Neo Geo 64 was discontinued, with only seven games released for it in two years.

Handheld consoles

In December 2012, Tommo released a new Neo Geo handheld in North America and Europe, licensed by SNK Playmore. It is an open-source-based handheld like the Dingoo, but closed to emulate Neo Geo games, with 20 built-in games, called the Neo Geo X.^[5] Effectively October 2, 2013, in order to protect its intellectual property such as 'NEOGEO' and 'SNK', SNK Playmore decided to terminate the license^[6] given to Tommo and ordered to immediately cease sales of the Neo Geo X Arcade Stick. SNK added that "decisive measures will be taken against all unapproved NEOGEO X products not subject to the License Agreement."^[7]

Neo Geo Mini

On June 9, 2018, SNK announced the Neo Geo Mini, a miniature sized semi-portable arcade cabinet which features built-in 40 SNK titles, and was released on July 24, 2018 in Japan to celebrate SNK's 40th anniversary. The games on the system are the AES home console versions with limited continues, however the Neo Geo Mini features the save/load state system which allows players to save and load the game at anytime to continue the game and has up to 4 save files per game. The Neo Geo Mini also allows itself to be connected to a TV screen by connecting it with its very own HDMI cable (sold separately), including a headphone jack and two ports for external Neo Geo Mini Pad controllers (also sold separately), which are the re-design of Neo Geo CD controllers, allows it to have two players play on the system at once. SNK also announces the Neo Geo Mini International Version which will be released outside of Japan, contains the same features as the Japanese Neo Geo Mini but with 14 out of 40 different titles and a different interface. As such, both versions have 54 different SNK titles in total.

In December 2018, a limited edition Christmas themed Neo Geo mini was released. A red Neo Geo Mini unit with two red control pads, power cable, an HDMI cable, two screen protectors, seven stickers and an anti slip cushion. This edition has 48 games, 9 of which were previously unreleased on the other two versions, as well as a mixture of games from both the existing releases.

Games with asterisks are included on the Neo Geo Mini Christmas limited edition.

Neo Geo MVS and AES

Neo Geo CD

Hyper Neo Geo 64

Handheld consoles

Neo Geo Mini

See also

Notes

References

External links