About this project
THE NEO·GEO SYSTEM
Neo·Geo. This mythical name is still synonymous with pleasure, happiness and quality to all those who fell in love with it, as well as frustration to all those not lucky enough to have owned one, back in the day. Having first appeared more than 25 years ago, the “Cadillac of Console Gaming” aroused more lustful feelings than any other, still haunting many a gamer’s soul to this very day… It embodied a concept. It brought a dream to life, one that, at the time, seemed unattainable. The dream of taking the arcade home with you.
NEO·GEO ANTHOLOGY
To celebrate this console that a whole generation of gamers will forever hold dear, Franck Latour and Geeks-Line are proud to present the Neo·Geo Anthology, a unique work of reference. Over its 400-plus pages, the author retraces SNK’s incredible history through their first arcade machines; breaking down the brand’s triumphs and failures, the console’s first baby steps, and every single game ever released in any country, as well as all the collectibles sought after today. On top of all that, Franck scrupulously dissects the machine itself to find out what made it tick, and interviews those involved with the franchise about its glorious past, as frankly as possible.
CONTENTS
HISTORY
To fully understand the Neo·Geo phenomenon, it’s important to know about its genesis, the context in which its development took place, the marketing conditions, but, above all, SNK’s foundations, as a company known for its arcade machines between 1970 and 1990. Throughout almost 200 richly illustrated pages, the author takes an in-depth look at the video game giant’s journey, its technology, “Game Centers”, games, consoles, victories, shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses.
Table Of Contents Of The History Section:
Neo·Geo: Origins (1971-1989)
- The Arcade Revolution (1971-1982)
- The Fruits of Labor (1983-1986)
- The Beginning of an Era (1987-1989)
The Home Arcade (1990-1997)
- The Future Is Now! (1990-1991)
- An Offensive on All Fronts (1992-1993)
- The Tech Race (1994-1997)
Decline and Downfall (1998-2001)
- Swansong (1998-1999)
- False Hope (2000-2001)
Rebirth (2001-2004)
Legacy (2004-2016)
- Change Within Continuity (2004-2006)
- Resurrection (2006-2016)
COMPLETE GAMES LIBRARY
Over 150 pages are dedicated to the impressive catalog of games and Neo·Geo systems (AES, MVS, CD, Hyper Neo·Geo 64 and Neo·Geo Pocket), official and unofficial alike. A given amount of page space is dedicated to each game based on its quality and reputation. For example, The King Of Fighter has earned itself a full page, whereas titles of lesser renown will be covered on a half-page. The author delves deep into each game, offering up detailed info and anecdotes, many of which have never before been published. This book presents every single published game on every system released (AES, MVS, CD, Hyper Neo·Geo 64, Neo·Geo Pocket), with detailed information including their release date, developer, publisher, genre, rarity index, NGH number, and a rating out of five.
INTERVIEWS
To fully grasp the situation, the market, and the story, it’s important to hear from those who experienced this epic from the inside. Geeks-Line interviewed the men that helped build the legend that is the Neo·Geo.
HARDWARE
In this section, we take a look at the core of Neo·Geo systems: the various reworkings, models, accessories, packaging, cartridges, cases… We also find out what made SNK’s console the most powerful on the market at the time through simple, effective explanations.
COLLECTIBLE GAMES AND OBJECTS
The notoriety of Neo·Geo games was such that numerous by-products were produced, some of which are quite rare today. In this section, the author worked tirelessly to showcase all the collectible games as well as the most surprising, memorable and sought-after merchandise; a collector’s holy grail.
PROTOTYPES, UNRELEASED AND HOMEBREWS
Discover the machine’s prototypes, the games that never made it onto shelves and the various Homebrews, important aspects of any console’s life, even more so for the Neo·Geo.
HYPER NEO·GEO 64
With MVS being the most common arcade system in 1996, SNK decided to follow in its rival’s footsteps, joining the 3D race with a brand-new system: The Hyper Neo·Geo 64. Though it was quickly revealed to be a mistake from the company’s standpoint, with its late marketing and lack of games from which to choose (a total of seven), the new technology was abandoned after only two years. A commercial and financial failure, but does it deserve all the harsh criticism it received when it was released? That’s what we’re here to find out.
NEO·GEO POCKET
In 1998, with the Hyper Neo·Geo 64 arcade system falling short of the success SNK had hoped for it, the company tried its hand at making handheld consoles. History may remember this console as a money pit for its creator, in no small part due to the release of the Game Boy Color a week earlier, but it often leaves out its many qualities and almost faultless game library. A look back at a console that could have been – and should have been –a benchmark…
2 EDITIONS: “PRO-GEAR” EDITIONS AND “NEO” EDITION
“PRO-GEAR” EDITION:
This Pro-Gear edition includes the Neo·Geo Anthology and Box Art supplement, which compiles the cases of every version of every game released for the Neo·Geo AES and Neo·Geo CD.
528 pages of pure pleasure!
120-page Box Art Supplement (included in the Pro-Gear Edition)
An extra 120 pages containing all the Neo·Geo CD and AES game box designs. That’s over 159 illustrations by the Osaka-based brand’s most talented artists.
The Box Art edition comes with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by both the author and the Publisher.
Check out the Jean Marc Demoly Interview click here
