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|discontinued = 1997 (consoles) 2007 (technical support) |CPU = Motorola 68000 @ 12MHz, Zilog Z80A @ 4MHz |sound = Yamaha YM2610 |memory = 64KB RAM, 84KB VRAM, 2KB Sound Memory |display = 320×224 resolution, 4096 on-screen colors out of a palette of 65536 |dimensions = 325 × 237 × 60 mm |media = ROM cartridge |storage=Memory card |unitssold = |topgame = |price = US$649.99 }} The is a cartridge-based arcade system board and home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK. Although it is a member of the fourth generation of video game consoles, it is the first system in the Neo Geo family, which ran throughout the 1990s before being revived in December 2012 with the Neo Geo X handheld and home system. The MVS (Multi Video System), as the Neo Geo is known to the coin-operated arcade game industry, offers owners the ability to put up to six different arcade titles into a single cabinet, a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace. With its games stored on self-contained cartridges, a game cabinet can be exchanged for a different game title by swapping the game's ROM-cartridge and cabinet artwork. The platform's popular series include ''Fatal Fury'', ''The King of Fighters'', ''Metal Slug'' and ''Samurai Shodown''. The Neo Geo system is also a notably costly and technologically uncompromised home console, commonly referred to today as the AES (Advanced Entertainment System). The Neo Geo was marketed as 24-bit, though it is technically a parallel processing 16-bit 68000-based system with an 8-bit Z80 coprocessor. Neo Geo hardware production lasted seven years, discontinued in 1997; and game software production lasted fourteen years, discontinued in 2004.〔Hirohiko Niizumi, (), ''GameSpot'', July 23, 2004, Accessed June 8, 2008.〕 As of March 1997, the Neo Geo and the Neo Geo CD had sold 980,000 units worldwide.〔''Consoles +'', (issue 73 )〕 In 2009, the Neo Geo was ranked 19th out of the 25 best video game consoles of all time by the video game website IGN. There is an amateur and professional commercial homebrew market for the system. ==History== The Neo Geo hardware was an evolution of an older SNK/Alpha Denshi M68000 arcade platform that was used in Time Soldiers in 1987, further developed in the SNK M68000 hardware platform as used for P.O.W.: Prisoners of War in 1988. Contrary to other popular arcade hardware of the time, the SNK/Alpha Denshi hardware used sprite strips instead of the more common tilemap based backgrounds.〔()〕 The Neo Geo hardware was essentially developed by Alpha Denshi's Eiji Fukatsu, adding sprite scaling through the use of scaling tables stored in ROM as well as support for a much higher amount of data on cartridges and better sound hardware.〔()〕〔()〕〔()〕 Initially, the (AES) 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 console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market. The Neo Geo console was announced on January 31, 1990 in Osaka, Japan and released on April 26, 1990. Neo Geo's graphics and sound are largely superior to other contemporary home consoles, and the MVS was one of the most powerful arcade units at the time. Furthermore, since the AES was identical to its arcade counterpart, the MVS, arcade titles released for the home market are perfect translations. Although its high price tag kept it out of the mainstream gaming market, it outlasted the market lifespan of the more popular Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. In the United States, the console's debut price was planned to be and included two joystick controllers and a game: either ''Baseball Stars Professional'' or ''NAM-1975''. However, the price was raised and its American launch debuted as the Gold System at . Later, the Gold System was bundled with ''Magician Lord'' and ''Fatal Fury''. The Silver System package, launched at , includes one joystick controller and does not include a game. Other games were launched at about and up. At double or quadruple the competition, these premium prices made the console accessible only to a niche market. Several home console systems were created based on the same hardware as the arcade games, as well as a series of handheld systems under the Neo Geo brand. These systems include the following: Hyper Neo Geo 64 arcade system, Neo Geo CD, Neo Geo Pocket, Neo Geo Pocket Color, and Neo Geo X. The most recent, the Neo Geo X, is an officially licensed device with a collection of Neo Geo AES games pre-installed. When realtime 3D graphics became the norm in the arcade industry, the Neo Geo's 2D hardware was unable to do likewise. The last official game by SNK for the Neo Geo system, ''Samurai Shodown V Special'', was released in 2004. SNK ceased to manufacture home consoles by the end of 1997, but continued to release games for both arcade and home for another eight years. Measured from the introduction of the arcade hardware in 1990 to the release of the last official home cartridge in 2004, the Neo Geo enjoyed a primary software production lifespan of fourteen years, and a hardware production lifespan of seven years. On August 31, 2007, SNK stopped offering maintenance and repairs to Neo Geo home consoles, handhelds, and games.〔(No Love: SNK Stop Neo Geo Support ), Kotaku〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Neo Geo (system)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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