Glad you like it.
In case anyone is interested here's the original, unedited, interview as asked by Mikolai (and answered by me)
NEO-GEO REVIEW ANSWERS FOR HYPER MAGAZINE 02/01/2011
1. What did you attribute the Neo Geo’s continued popularity to?
Well I think SNK had a very powerful system early on, and in the mid 90's, while other systems changed to using 3D polygons, they stayed true to producing beautifully - hand drawn 2D graphics. This made them stand apart from the competition.
They were underdogs in a time when you were either a Sega or Nintendo fan. People always love to see the underdog do well. I think it's this type of crowd that follows them and remains loyal even today.
2. How much of today’s audience falls into the ‘I loved it as a kid but could never afford it’ category?
I assume it’s quite a lot of people. $550 was a large sum of money for any young gamer back in 1990. I felt privileged that I was able to buy purchase one after working various jobs and saving up.
I think SNK was selling to the crowd of hardcore gamers who wanted a 1:1 arcade experience at home. I don't really think they ever felt they would get a Nintendo sized share of the market. Not at that price.
3. Everyone associates the system with one-on-one fighting games, what are some of the hidden gems for the system that people overlook?
You have to remember, back in 1990 when the system launched there were ZERO fighting games for the Neo-Geo. It wasn't until the Street Fighter 2 arcade craze that they started pumping out the VS. fighters.
I know I'm in the minority of Neo-Geo fans that really enjoyed the system for it's
original, classic line-up. Some of my favorites are:
NAM-1975: A fantastic co-op, war themed target shooter, complete with tons of voice acting, and nice animation.
Cyber-Lip: Most people will be quick to mention Metal Slug as the premiere run & gun side scrolling shooter, but this game is also a lot of fun and has huge boss encounters that fill the screen.
The ending is a complete mind $*@& too.. I won't spoil it. :P
Riding Hero: SNK had the strange idea of combining a motorcycle racer with an RPG.. It may sound like a crazy combination, but it somehow worked. It’s one of the few games where the Neo-Geo Memory card is a must if you want to make it to the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour!
Top Player's Golf: Being the first golf game on the Neo-Geo, (the second was Neo-Turf Masters by Nazca) it was extremely well done. SNK, taking what they learned from making Fighting Golf some years before, have added lush graphics and sound. This is where the Neo-Geo was heads above the competition. The game play is also perfect and fun to master.
*(I'm not sure how many you needed. I could add more if you need them)
4. What are your thoughts on Virtual Arcade and compilation titles, how do you think they compare to owning the system, the arcade control pads and the giant cartridges?
Even though I still prefer owning and playing on the actual system with the Neo-Geo sticks, I'm glad SNKP is making them available to everyone via compilations. Their latest creation, NEO-GEO Station on the PS3 is a great way to experience them too.
With this, Neo-Geo fans can actually play Neo-Geo classics in HD, with friends online. This is pretty exciting news! I've tried this out with a friend of mine, who is another big Neo-Geo fan/collector.
We had a lot of fun playing Baseball Stars Professional and were even able to talk to each other using the built-in voice chat option!
Ten games have been released so far and more should be on the way soon. Each game includes nice additions such as being able to record and save a movie of your game. Also, you can listen to any of the in-game music via a jukebox complete with spectrum analyzer which shows all of the Neo-Geo's glorious 15 sound channels at work!
As much as I love the original hardware, things like this make it bring new life to old games and let you experience the games in ways that weren’t possible with the original console.
5. How much would it cost someone to buy a system and get a basic collection of games together? I’m not talking about collectors; I just mean casual fans who don’t care about scruffy boxes, etc.
For a Neo-Geo AES game console I would expect to spend around $200.
This should include the console, at least one arcade-style stick, and the necessary cables.
The Japanese version is a bit easier and cheaper to find these days.
As far as prices on the games, they vary quite a bit. You can spend as little as $30 on a complete AES game all the way to thousands of dollars on a rare game such as the original Metal Slug or Ultimate 11. Expect to pay less for the older line-up, but don't quote me on that. :P
Also, for the console, you could spend much more if you want a nicer condition unit with the box, or, for instance, a modified or “enhanced” system.
They will often include either a "UniBios", which lets the player select between the AES and MVS (with Softdips) settings. This is extremely useful for changing your difficulty level, turning on blood (Metal Slugs, Samurai Shodown, etc..), or accessing other options that are usually reserved for an arcade operator. This also gives you access to a large database of cheats and the ability to play music & sound effects contained within the game.
Another available audio/video enhancement mod will add S-Video, Stereo output (on the back of the unit), and may even have the ability to display high quality RGB video through a component connection. Expect to pay between $500 and $600 for a fully enhanced unit.
If you really want to play actual Neo-Geo games on the cheap you can obtain an MVS to AES convertor that allows you to play the cheaper MVS cartridges on your AES console. Since MVS cartridges don’t contain plastic keep cases or fancy, full color labels they are far less appealing to collectors. Not to mention that, in most cases, many more MVS cartridges were produced than their home AES counterparts the so savings can be substantial.
6. While there are other ways to play the games these days (virtual console, emulators, etc), what makes people continue to spend the money on Neo Geo games? Is it purely a collectors mentality or is there more to it, e.g. the tangible quality.
I think it really depends on the collector. I can only speak for myself here, but I continue to collect Neo-Geo items because of the fun they brought me some 20 years ago.
The game cartridges are unlike most any other game console on the market.
They are huge, VHS cassette sized behemoths, and they live up to their size!
After all they are "Bigger, Badder, Better" according to SNK’s marketing slogan.
I feel the need to preserve games the best I can. There is a limited amount of Neo-Geo games out there and they are a part of an interesting and rich history that should be experienced by game fans.
Emulation can give you an idea of what it was like, but connecting the system, plugging in a giant cartridge, and playing with an original controller will provide a much more authentic experience.
Neo-Geo games have also been a very good investment for many people.
Even in this terrible economy you see these games selling for thousands of dollars apiece and that's pretty impressive in my opinion.
7. On that note - Gamers vs collectors. How serious is that rival ideology?
Can't we be both? Some games I play, others I keep sealed.
Therefore I am both a gamer and a collector.
8. What about your personal collection, how’s it looking these days?
My personal collection is as perfect as it was the day I bought it. I take very good care of my stuff.
I keep everything bagged up and shelved. I also rarely sell games & systems I am fond of.
9. Who has the largest Neo Geo collection in the world?
I have no idea. I’ve seen some really impressive collections over the years.
Perhaps it's also the richest person in the world? :P
I would have said Chad Okada, The Neo-Geo "Game Lord", but he sold off most of his collection a few years ago. Shawn from Neo-Geo.com probably has a large collection. Dion Dakis maybe, if he hasn't sold it off to pay for lawsuits. :P
I do know for sure, but it's certainly not me. I currently own fewer than 50 AES carts.
I never set out to have the largest collection. I collect for many different video game systems. I would rather collect the games I actually enjoy. As it is I have around 150 boxed systems and over 3,000 games.
10. For those people who don’t know, can you explain why Kizuna Encounter and Ultimate 11 are so ridiculously expensive / sought after?
I believe it's because there were so very few actually produced. With Kizuna, it's actually the PAL release that is the rarest version. Supposedly only a handful were sold before it was recalled for unknown reasons. I assume it's something similar with Ultimate 11. There are collectors who are willing to pay whatever it takes. I’m not a part of that group.
Thanks for taking the time to answer these.
Cheers, mikolai
No problem mikolai, thanks for asking! -Matt