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SNK Dropping Traditional NeoGeo Hardware

Posted by simoniker on from the another-end-of-an-era dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for its news discussing SNK's decision to shift its arcade development platform from the original NeoGeo MVS cartridge format to Sammy's Atomiswave. A spokesperson for Sammy commented: "The NeoGeo's games have been played worldwide, but it ran on a 16-bit board that had reached its limits", and the SNK Playmore development chief lamented: "There have been talks in the past about when we'll stop supporting the NeoGeo, but this is going to be the real end. And that's really an indescribable feeling." Fan site NeoGeo For Life points out current NeoGeo MVS title Samurai Spirits Zero Special, the last in an era for SNK, while the GameSpot article explains: "Three new titles have been announced for release on the Atomiswave: The King of Fighters 2004, Samurai Spirits AW, and Metal Slug 6."

7 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Farewell. by cableshaft · · Score: 4, Insightful

    *plays Taps* It was bound to happen sometime. Farewell, Neo Geo. You lasted longer than most of the consoles out there. You'll be missed. And played :).

    --
    Creator of the popular web game Proximity
  2. Re:Metal Slug 6? by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 3, Informative

    Metal Slug 4 and 5 exist as well. SNK Playmore's official sites are at:

    Metal Slug 4 (Japanese)
    Metal Slug 5

    --
    10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
    20 GOTO 10
  3. I suppose it was inevitable... by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Someday it had to stop, but it's been a bloody good run for the system, outlasting just about any other platform ever, or at least 16 bit ones (I think the Famicom outlasted it.) And quite a few very good games. Metal Slug, King Of Fighters, League Bowling, Real Bout etc. Now if only I could afford one...

    it probably makes better business sense too, seeing as emulation and piracy might become a bit less of a problem, at least until a Dreamcast emulator is playable (Atomiswave is basically a cartridge based Dreamcast[1].) Sega's last console platform's afterlife is continuing...

    [1] Which has been done before, as Sega Naomi arcade boards are basically a Dreamcast + extra RAM (Naomi 2 has an extra PowerVR GPU and a T&L chip as well.)

    --
    10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
    20 GOTO 10
  4. Remakes please? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Considering the cost of a NeoGeo system and the games, its not suprising it didn't catch on too easier (ease up on the flames).

    I hope Playmore gets around to making remakes and selling them on more mainstream systems since they stand up to well even against modern graphics.

    1. Re:Remakes please? by Jeff+Reed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem is that they've been trying to release a lot of their newer games (Samurai Shodown 5, SvC Chaos, Metal Slug 3) on the Playstation 2 in the US, but Sony has told them to take their 2D games and shove 'em, from all indications. This is, of course, business as usual for Sony. Why approve some excellent 2D games, after all, when you can approve the latest movie-licensed shoveware?

      SNK did somehow convince Sony to let them release The King of Fighters 2000 & 2001 as a bundle pack for PS2 recently, but I doubt they'll be able to do that for many more of the games they want to release, sadly.

      Last I heard, though, Microsoft wasn't against 2D games if they were good, so SNK's porting them to X-Box for a US release. Kind of bad news for someone like me who lacks an X-Box, but at least there'll be a legal way to play SNK's games and still support their US operations.

  5. MSGC by paradesign · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I want metal slug for GC, and i want it now! And i want it 2D, none of this cheesy 3D stuff should mess up a good 2D classic, ya hear that Nintendo?

    --
    I want 2D games back.
  6. It's not enough by mangamuscle · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The reason they are moving to Atomiswave hardware it is because the Neo Geo hardware is fully emulated by several emulators (mame, finalburn, nebula, kawaks, etc.) and rom kiddiez were dumping any new game that were released for this platform. But the atomiswave is bound to be emulated in a couple of years and the cycle will start again. Atomiswave's hardware is a slightly improved dreamcast, they should at least have used hardware based on the PS2 or the Gamecube (those won't be emulated any time soon). If they didn't want to pay royalties they had time to design their own hardware, throw in it a PowerPC cpu, some nVidia graphic chips and linux to run the whole thing and Voila, you have a pretty fast, cheap and propietary system that can't be emulated with present hardware. Sigh, as things stand now we will have history repeat all over again -_-