NEO•GEO

SNK launched the Neo Geo AES (Advanced Entertainment System) on 31 January 1990 in Japan, and 1 July 1990 in North America, at a launch price of $649 - more than three times the Super Nintendo. The price was justified by an extraordinary proposition: the AES ran the identical hardware as SNK’s MVS (Multi Video System) arcade boards. When an operator installed a new SNK title in a cabinet, home players could buy the same cartridge and play the same game - frame-perfect, no compromises.

The platform hosted 304 MVS titles across its commercial life, with games priced between $50 and $200 per cartridge. Franchises including Metal Slug, The King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, and Art of Fighting defined the Neo Geo identity: richly animated 2D sprite art at a fidelity that console competitors could not approach until the PlayStation era.

The History section traces SNK from its 1978 Osaka founding through the Neo Geo golden era, the 2001 bankruptcy, and the modern SNK revival under Mega Enterprise. The Games catalogue lists every major MVS and AES release with platform filter, covering the 304-title library from launch title Magician Lord through the final first-party releases before bankruptcy.

The Metal Slug deep dive covers the Nazca Corporation trilogy in full: development history, sprite animation analysis, vehicle mechanics, critical reception, and the franchise legacy through modern re-releases. The People section profiles the creators behind the platform - Takashi Nishiyama, Eisuke Ogura, Kazuhiko Nozaki, and others who defined the SNK house style.

Hardware coverage spans the full Neo Geo family: the MVS arcade board, the AES home console, the Neo Geo CD, and the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The Gallery collects MVS marquees, AES box art variants, and arcade screenshots. The Videos section curates retrospectives, longplays, KOF competitive history, and hardware deep dives. Further reading and community resources are listed in Resources.