Abandon Ship Yells SNK!!

Neo-Geo Pocket Color as everybody knows was pulled from the shelves in America and Europe. It is no longer supported by SNK except for in Japan. From what I gather the Neo-Geo Hyper 64 has been abandoned by SNK also! Why? What the hell is going on these days? SNK had a great track record of supporting their systems with good products year after year. I think that is what helped contribute to the Neo-Geo surviving for just over a decade. The Neo-Geo Pocket Color was a great product. I hate Game Boy. I bought a NEC Turbo-Express (Turbo-Grafx 16 portable) years ago instead of that wimpy little Game Boy crap. I loved my color system. Soon after the games stopped being made and my Turbo-Express fell by the wayside. Enter the Neo-Geo Pocket Color! I loved it! A portable Neo system was a great idea! I bought it. I knew it wouldn't oust Game Boy as the leader in portable gaming because face it, Game Boys (color and non-color) are in over 80 million households worldwide. But I knew the NGPC could offer better graphics at a comparable price and I believed it would catch on. Bloody hell! SNK practically shot me in the face for believing in their product. Why? My NGPC is no better than my Turbo-Express. In fact my Turbo-Express is better than my NGPC because I can watch TV on it in the car! I also have more games for my Turbo-Express than my NGPC... so my NGPC lays dormant in my closet while my Turbo-Express sits on my desk with the TV Tuner attached and ready to go... I have had it with portable game systems. I refuse to go with Game Boy because it sucks. The graphics suck. The colors hardly make up for it. But I have to respect it for being the only game in town.

Get Color Wonderswan then........lots games are coming out. Make sure you pre-ordered from NCS :P

I think ncsx stopped taking pre orders for that system. It's supposed to comeout in US, but I don't know how well it's going to sell--probably cut some niche in the portable market like NGPC. I would rather get GB Advanced instead (waiting for titles like Castlevania, Silent Hill etc). Granted the Wanderswan has those FF titles (#1-3?), though.

Even though I have pre-ordered Color Wonderswan but probably will cancel anyway. FF1 is all Japanese and that's a pain to look at from a small screen and try to guess what story says. GBA looks great because it has my favorite game Castlevania.
Omega-Neo, just go for Nintendo. No one can compete with this video game giant.

Forget Wonderswan, GBA will SWEEP THE BOARD!
Have you guys not seen it or what!
It's one in the eye for SONY!
It's a handheld, Suped-up, super-snes!
Which is even going to have SEGA games on it.
WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

Big surprise... Nintendo will blast the competition with Game Boy Advanced. I don't know much about this system but I know it hooks into the GameCube and I am definitely picking up that bad boy when it is released. So GBA might be the ticket for me. Where did you hear it was a souped-up Super Nintendo? SNES was one of my favorite systems of all time man. There were some great games for it. If the GBA is in fact superior to the SNES then sign me up! I gotta get that. Yes... it looks like I am going to sell-out and buy into the Big N come 2001-2002... a shame too, because I always was for the underdog. From my Turbo-Grafx 16 and TurboExpress, to my Neo-Geo Gold System and finally my Atari Jaguar (all quality systems that never achieved mega-popular status). I have a Sega Dreamcast because what can I say, it kicks ass! I have Playstation but I passed on PS2 because my Playstation was susceptible to freeze-ups in the middle of games, and it overheated a lot when I played long games like Final Fantasy 8. I passed on N64, not really by choice, but my mom refused to buy it because I had a 64-bit system already (Jaguar). But I am no longer rooting for the underdogs. I made that mistake one too many times. My Turbo-Grafx 16 was cool, the Neo-Geo is my all-time favorite system, but the Jaguar was a mistake. Buying a Neo-Geo Pocket Color was also a mistake. Thats all over now. Forget X-Box, Microsoft sucks as far I am concerned. PS2 is powerful but it doesn't blow my Dreamcast out by any means. So I got my 128-bit system already. The next game in my world is going to be in the form of a Nintendo GameCube. And the next portable system just might be the Game Boy Advanced, if it proves to be as good as the good old Super Nintendo. That is a big if. I doubt the GBA will rival the SNES 16-bit graphics. The NGPC didn't come close to the Neo-Geo home console's graphics. In fact the only handheld system that matches a console's power is my TurboExpress. That sucker is a Turbo-Grafx 16 in tiny casing. Totally cool. And I can say hell yeah, I bought a TurboExpress instead of a Game Boy. And you might have 300 games for your game boy, but I have 50 games for my TurboExpress, all in 16-bit color, and I can watch Television on it too!! Hell yeah thats what I'm talking about.

At least for me, I don't consider systems like the TurboExpress and Nomad to be "true" portables. Yeah, obviously they're handhelds, but I'd put those systems in their own category - maybe "portable consoles" or something like that.

I don't know what my point in saying that other than I put things like the TurboExpress and Nomad in a different category than the GBC and NGPC. ^_^

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear that you consider your NGPC purchase a mistake. I don't think that graphically, it was ever intended to be a portable MVS/AES. It carved out its own style mostly with SD graphics, which I think are well-suited for a smaller screen.

I think it largely WAS supposed to be a portable MVS/AES gameplay-wise though, and in that, I think the NGPC succeeded rather well, at least with their fighting and puzzle games.

Really, at least in my mind, the NGPC had enough great games to be worth it.

Naturally, that point is purely subjective, but what I'm getting at is that I don't think it's necessarily a mistake to root for the underdog - as long as the system you want has the games you want, who cares if it's the underdog or not?

You make a good point. Maybe all that matters is the games. I know that is what I base my love of certain systems on. I like all of the games I bought for my NGPC. So it really wasn't a mistake completely... but I think SNK made a mistake by abandoning the US and Europe customers who bought one. I don't think the TurboExpress or Nomad (forgot about it) are in a different class than the others. They are portable systems, so if they can be advanced why aren't the other portables trying to catch up with them? That seems like the smart thing to do. I do like the NGPC graphics, they are way better than any Nintendo handheld offering, better than Sega Game Gear, and better than Atari Lynx. So NGPC wasn't a total disaster. I was kind of harsh in my judgements of the system. Its cool, its not like I am going to trash it or anything. Its here to stay in my video game collection. I do not really think I will buy a handheld system again though. It sucks getting burned after dumping significant amounts of cash on a product.

Most of the press reports and media coverage in the U.K, have made quite a lot of the similarities between GBA and SNES. In fact I'm sure I saw an official comment from nintendo that said that GBA was "About as powerful as a SNES running with twin Super FX chips" Come to think of it, one of the N64 comics a couple of months ago did a comparison feature between the screenshots of the announced GBA Releases and their SNES ancestors. So the indications are good. Now dont get me wrong I love my NGPC. But the GBA will have graphics that even the Turbo-graphics or Nomad couldn't match! Old Lcd screens cant really compete with TFT. And no bleaching, fading, colour loss around the edges etc. I'm hoping the GBA will combine the best of the SNES, Mode 7, Super FX, and the best MEGADRIVE games from SEGA.
And you know what the best thing is? It's bound to be a success, and even if it wasnt Nintendo wouldn't f**k us all over at the first sign of trouble!
If any company deserves our support then its Nintendo. Look at the alternatives:-
SNK? I bought over £1000 worth of NGPC stuff, as I imagine a lot of you have. How did they repay us? EXACTLY, so f**k them.
SEGA? Well after a few f**k ups, at least they are trying with DC, Despite heavy losses. So good on em.
SONY? Vastley overpriced games for PSX (They only dropped the prices when DC came out) £300 for PS2 and the games are all crap! (Apart from Timesplitters) And everyones favourite holier than thou, mighty Sony can do no wrong attitude. Well F**K them right in the ear!
Microsoft? DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED!
And as for the mighty BANDAI With their Wonderswan, Well Does anyone hear GAMECOM 2?
Support Sega and Nintendo, or see the Whole industry swollowed up by SONY and MICROSOFT.

At least I'm not abandon my NGPC...........

Omega-NEO:
You make a good point about how portable systems should be able to catch up to Turbo Express technology.

I assume that's because the companies want to keep the price of their hardware down. The TurboExpress was very expensive when it debuted, but I'm sure the price of that technology has to be cheaper now, so maybe there really is no reason why modern handhelds can't be as powerful. ^_^

Regardless, I still classify the TurboExpress and Nomad as different than other portables, because the games they play were designed for a TV, not a portable screen. The difference may not mean much, but I still make it.

Metal Slug:
As for spending a lot of money on an NGPC and feeling burned in the end, well, that certainly is understandable. But are your NGPC and games less fun now that support is gone? I'm sad that the NGPC was killed prematurely, but I'm still glad I own what I own.

My NGPC games are still just as fun now as they were when I got them. In fact they might be even more fun because of the fact the system is dead. I mean, at least I bought into it while I had a chance. Now I can sort of bask in the fact I am own of the few owners of the NGPC in USA and Europe. Maybe a small cult of NGPC owners will band together someday. Who knows? As for the TurboExpress, it is awesome! I wish other portable handhelds would attempt to match the horsepower in terms of graphic capabilities, on-screen colors, etc... the fact that it is on a screen with weaker resolution than the GBA will have is only a testament to how awesome and ahead of its time the TurboExpress really was. If the GBA manages to replicate Mode 7, Super FX Chip cabalities, and all the other technological goodies that I came to love and appreciate on my SNES, then I will be the first to say,"Hail the Mighty King of Portable Game Systems, the GameBoy Advanced!" Until then I bow to the feet of the reigning king, the TurboExpress. And I salute the newest member of my handheld team, the NGPC as the system that could have been... and it will remain active in my video game lineup until I finally beat the shit out of every game I own for it. Gal Fighters is awesome! I love that one, and even after I beat it with every character, I will still love it and play it faithfully. But damn that Lithium battery it uses. I hate my Sega Dreamcasrt VMU's because of their stupid lithium batteries, and I hate the NGPC for using one too. They suck and don't last long at all. Now thats a complaint everyone can agree on.

Eclipse,
I love my NGPC and count myself very lucky to have managed to get all the good games for it. I do feel bitterly towards SNK, as I think do a lot of people, but unlike most I dont blame the gameboy for it's demise. The NGPC was making serious inroads into the handheld market. Even though Aruze didnt spend a penny on advertising it after the takeover. No, the NGPC was alive and well and the decision to kill it is at best mystifying stupidity.
I do think however that we shouldnt blame Nintendo for the success of the gameboy, cos face it without gameboy and Pokemon, No more nintendo. Picachu IS the rat that SAVED the sinking ship! and without the revenue they created, no new N64 games, No GBA, No Gamecube etc So I say thank god for the gameboy, it saved us from SONY!
As for the GBA, think of it as the offspring of a sinister sexual liason between a Nomad and a SNES, in Dr Mephesto's lab, and look forward to it as much as I do!!!!

Hmmm... Nomad and SNES have sex and that creates the GBA? I don't really know if I want the GBA anymore after hearing that. Just kidding... I do want a GBA but it is just common sense to know that if the GBA is an advanced piece of SNES hardware then of course it can handle MegaDrive/Genesis games. The SNES, remember, was the knife in the Genesis' back. The Super Nintendo was superior to the Genesis in every conceivable way. Graphically the SNES was more advanced, sound-wise the SNES was clearer, and more powerful, on-screen color display was more vivid and capable of producing more colors on one screen at any given time than the Genesis was. I think the Genesis sported 64 colors while the SNES had 256. The awesome Neo-Geo had 4,096 though... haha. But we're not bringing the Neo into this... my whole point is that the SNES wouldn't have to have sex with the Nomad to create the GBA. Nomad is inferior to the SNES. The SNES can easily reproduce the Genesis games which were also the Nomad's games. Right? I think so...

Originally posted by Master Terry Bogard:
Granted the Wanderswan has those FF titles (#1-3?), though.

Click to expand...

Last I read, Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6 will also be ported to the WSC.

-BioMotor_Unitron

Originally posted by Omega-NEO:
But damn that Lithium battery it uses. I hate my Sega Dreamcast VMU's because of their stupid lithium batteries, and I hate the NGPC for using one too. They suck and don't last long at all. Now that's a complaint everyone can agree on.

Click to expand...

I do not agree. The lithium battery is for purposes of maintaining the memory of the NGPC, and I have had my NGPC for a year and a half and have yet to need a replacement lithium battery, despite religious gameplay and many game saves.

-BioMotor_Unitron

I don't know why, but it seems there is always somebody willing to disagree with whatever I say! Oh well... everyone has their own opinion and thats cool by me. I really don't like the lithium battery though, I have had to replace my Sega VMU lithium batteries several times (i have three VMU's, all 3 have had multiple replacements) and I have replaced my NGPC lithium battery twice. So I don't know what that means exactly, because you haven't replaced yours once. Oh well... some guys have all the luck. I, on the other hand, don't.

If you like Neo Geo, then don't be regret buying NGPC even though SNK abandons US and Europe Market and so.......
I know ppl frustrate that NGPC lacks support from SNK but hey, it has the best games so far right? You like Gameboy Color with lots crappy games or NGPC with fewer games but good quality ones? I'll take over Metal Slug over Pokemon at any time.

I guess I don't regret buying the NGPC. I would never have bought a Game Boy Color so, I went with the alternative. That gives me two handheld systems that most people don't own, and some people haven't heard of. My TurboExpress, complete with 33 games. And my Neo-Geo Pocket Color complete with 15 games. Thats 48 games to play on high-quality 16-bit machines. I can live with that.

I'm in total agreement with you on that one Omega! But I still think GBC did us all a favour (I wouldnt buy one either)
LONG LIVE NGPC!

Just a quick question...The Turbo Express played the same Hu-card chips that the TG-16 used, didn't it? If so, I may have to look into one...I have a Turbo Grafx and I loved it! I was going to get a Turbo Express back when the TG-16 was still alive in the states, but I could never find one. Also, despite it's stateside death/cancellation, I have recently purchased a NGPC through ebay( namely because I was too stupid to buy one when they were in the stores) because it really is an exellent handheld! I think one of the reasons NGPC got pulled is because of the death of SNK of America. But I could be wrong.

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How does it feel to be well done?...but I bet you taste terrible

Andy is a bastard:
I saw someone is trying to sell his turbo express and condition is good. The best place you can find is join the turbo mailing list instead of Ebay. Actually Turbo Express sux........Duo is the best overall.

About this TurboExpress..Is anyone still selling it and games for it? Are there any sites with info on it etc?

SK

I know that the Duo is greatness, but I just wanted a portable to take my favorite chips on the road with me. Where would I find this mailing list? Do the Turbo systems still have an official website, or is it a fan based?

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How does it feel to be well done?...but I bet you taste terrible




[This message has been edited by Andy Is A Bastard (edited December 17, 2000).]

Guys,
There is no more Turbo product in US and Japan since 1997. You can still find some new systems from personal collection but no more offical product from NEC or Hudson (or TTI). You can find Turbo Express from Ebay or used game video game stores. The turbo mailing list? Just go to www.tzd.com and you'll see a link to the mailing list. You have to register in order to become a member.
To me I don't like Turbo Express that much. small screen kills my eyes.