Prepare to flame: Is Xbox the Neo-Geo of the 3D Age?

Loopz · Mar 1, 2002

I know that what I am about to write will anger many of you to your core, but put passion aside for a second and listen to reason. Now, this discussion has nothing to do with the companies who fronted these consoles, I'm not an idiot and do not need to be told the dfference between SNK and Microsoft. This comparison has solely to do with hardware, and time of release...

Now, we can all agree that the current age of gaming (Japanese roots, 1985-present) basically began with the release of the NES. Its main competitor, the Master System, failed on both sides of the globe. The 2nd wave of this era, the 16-bit age, began with the release of three consoles, the Super NES (Super Fami), Genesis (MegaDrive), and TurboGrafx(PC Engine). Now, in the midst of all this, a powerful dark horse was released...the Neo Geo AES. It was sickeningly powerful compared to its competitors, yet was much maligned by the media because of its price, SNK's inexperience in the market, and mostly shoddy first gen software with a few games that show a glimmer of promise...

Fast forward to the 3D era, which began with the PlayStation, Saturn, and N64. The second iteration of this hardware scrum began with the release of the Dreamcast, along with the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. In the middle of these, another powerful dark horse emerges, once again far outclassing its rivals in pure performance...the XBox. A launch also marred by mostly shit first gen software, yet with a few games that show brilliance and insane promise...

Another similarity between these two is that they both posess groundbreaking features, the Neo most notably with the first memory card, and the Xbox with its hard drive.

Now this is just the opening shot in this discussion, and before your react angrily with fanboy flamage, just really sit and think about it...it makes more sense than you might think. After all, think about the days when the Neo emerged...don't you think most gamers were quick to deride the system as an expensive turd, not worthy of residing next to their gleaming new Super NES and Genesis systems? Looking forward to chewing this one over with the brighter folks on this board..........

SPINMASTER X · Mar 1, 2002

Who cares what people on this board think. If you feel that Xbox is the Neo Geo of this generation then think that, fuck 'em if they disagree with you. 80% of the people on this board can suck a dick for all I care.

sorry about that, heh.

Anyway I kinda see where you are coming from. They have alot of simiarities but still have some significant differences like the market they appeal to. Xbox is mainstream and the Neo was(and still is) a niche market but for the most part they are pretty close.

300 Meg Pro Gear Spec · Mar 1, 2002

Well first off that inovative Xbox has a hard drive , yet you have to buy a memory card to save games ? makes sense ....

Back in the day when the Neo Geo came out every one wanted one just no one could afford it .

Xbox comes out and most people can afford it but don't want to buy it because its a pile of crap .

I am sure just like me , anyone would have given up their SNES for a Neo Geo back in the day .

The Xbox is not that big and powerful dark horse ,
Gamecube could compete with that thing or come close ,

When the Neo came out nothing could come close ,

Why is there cum on my face ?

[ March 01, 2002: Message edited by: 300 Meg Pro Gear Spec ]

SPINMASTER X · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by 300 Meg Pro Gear Spec:
The Xbox is not that big and powerful dark horse ,
Gamecube could compete with that thing or come close ,

When the Neo came out nothing could come close ,

Why is there cum on my face ?

[ March 01, 2002: Message edited by: 300 Meg Pro Gear Spec ]<hr></blockquote>

True, I agree with you. The Xbox isn't leaps and bounds ahead of the competition like the Neo Was. The Neo went head to head with the big boys of 3 game generations at least on a 2d plane.

oh and I don't know why you got nut on your face, maybe you were wanking cuz of your new Aggressors of Dark Kombat cart, hehe. (just kiddin)

MDK · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by 300 Meg Pro Gear Spec:
[QB]Well first off that inovative Xbox has a hard drive , yet you have to buy a memory card to save games ? makes sense ....<hr></blockquote>

Ummm, I don't have a memory card and I can save ganes just fine.

The Xbox is not that big and powerful dark horse, Gamecube could compete with that thing or come close<hr></blockquote>

Not to be a fanboy or anything but name one GCN game that comes close to any big hyped XBOX game with comparable graphics. No prerendered backgrounds allowed BTW...

Personally, I think the Xbox needs to get some better games for it very soon if it wants to suceed well. Fortunatly Rallysport Challenge and Jet Set Radio Future look to be just whats needed.

But to be honest, none of the consoles can really compare to to the Neo-Geo. They lack the staying power and the games, so I think comparisons like this are really stupid (no offence or anything...).

Click to expand...

Robert · Mar 1, 2002

There is an huge difference for me. I have already considered the AES like an kind of official super gun for the MVS. Arcade is the source of all the neo games which is not the case for the Xbox because microsoft never produced an arcade game ( to my knowledge).
The second part is that the AES games were only developped by one few companies (SNK was the major producer), which is not the case of the Xbox, where Microsoft only develop the support and not try to make the game lineup.

Your arguments are good but I'm afraid that's only about the colour and the size.

Takumaji · Mar 1, 2002

I see your points there, Loopz. Let me add a few things;

The Neo AES is the home version of an arcade machine, with the intention to bring arcade-perfect games into your living room. SNK was an arcade developer in the first place and knew their little niche on the market quite well, but they had no real clue about the home video market in general; they saw their FF and SS series prosper, and figured that it could be promising to build a home console for it.

SNK were never key players, they were freaks, with freak-developers, and of course with a freaky distribution.

Microsoft, on the other hand, was never a freak company. Bill Gates himself argued against free software/freakism from the very beginning; as a college student, he was asked wether he wanted to take part in a software developement team which was about to code some new apps for the campus administration, for free. Billy refused - he said that software should be copyrighted and sold for a good profit - he was 19 when he said that. Then enter Microsoft...

MS's efforts in the console market is pure calculation; they never had the problem to fight against injust monopoles (like Sega vs. Nintendo back in the 80s), because they already *are* monopolistic in many ways. Which enables them to do things other companies could never do.

The Xbox's features are nice and all, but IMO not as radical and fresh as the Neo was back in 1990. Let's see...

Dampfwalze · Mar 1, 2002

kernow · Mar 1, 2002

no..

xbox is a cumine .18 micron celly 700mhz with unified sdram/vram and a gf3 with tweaked pixel shaders..

please tell me how this differs from a pc..

"Xbox comes out and most people can afford it but don't want to buy it because its a pile of crap ."

Absolute classic...

Shred · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by kernow:
no..

xbox is a cumine .18 micron celly 700mhz with unified sdram/vram and a gf3 with tweaked pixel shaders..

please tell me how this differs from a pc..

"Xbox comes out and most people can afford it but don't want to buy it because its a pile of crap ."

Absolute classic...<hr></blockquote>

It doesn't!!! The XBox will stay around for quite a while only because of the money and marketing power that Microsoft can afford to put behind it.
Remember Gates is still the riches man in the world.

Loopz · Mar 1, 2002

Some valid counterpoints raised...

As far as the GCN/XBox comaprison, so far, I honestly have seen anything on the Cube that compares to Halo/JSRF. Rogue Leader comes close, but even that game suffers some wicked slowdown when there's a lot of shit happening on the screen. I guess right now there isn't much of a comparison to be made until some similar games hit both systems (perhaps Halo vs. Perfect Dark Zero).

300 Meg, I used to bash the XBox because I also thought you still had to have a memory card despite the presence of the hard drive, but that isn't the case. I don't think I'll ever fill that hard drive with saves...I got a hell of a lot of music dumped in there, and still haven't made a sizable dent in it yet.

Spin, its true, I don't stay awake at nights wondering what people think of me on this board...but hey, it exists to make arguments and have some interesting discussion, right?

As far as content, yes I do know that the Neo was basically built as an arcade at home experience, while the XBox is M$'s Death Star for conquering the console world. Very different goals indeed. But strictly in terms of their hardware potential vs their rivals, I think they're still very similar. Keep it comin folks.

bmoc · Mar 1, 2002

The X-Box is a great machine and if they get the games that it can handle, MICROSOFT will prosper in a very big way. I would have to disagree, X-Box is no Neo of it's era. But on the other hand, PS2 and Gamecube are also nice. As usual, it will be the games that make the machine not the other way around...........Just my .03.......

Shred · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by bmoc:
The X-Box is a great machine and if they get the games that it can handle, MICROSOFT will prosper in a very big way. I would have to disagree, X-Box is no Neo of it's era. But on the other hand, PS2 and Gamecube are also nice. As usual, it will be the games that make the machine not the other way around...........Just my .03.......<hr></blockquote>
Yeah the games are what make the console and Microsoft has the money to pay for exclusive games just for the XBox. American release of Shenmu 2!!

nemezisx · Mar 1, 2002

You Guys seem to forget, When Ps2 first launched, all their were Garbage, Fantivision anyone? it was'nt until Capcom Dropped Onimusha Warlords, when things started to look up for Ps2 owners. Compare this to the Xbox First Releases at launch and Still no one want's to give Credit where it's due. For 300.00 you get the whole package, You dont have to buy a Mem card for 40.00, and there seems to be a shortage of them lately, could it be that sony Is Doing this to push up the Demand for their Own hard drive and Modem, remember you have to purchase this it's not free for being a Sony fan.
I own all the Game systems and It all up the Programers, without Capcom , Konami, Namco, and A few elite Others all Systems would be Crap!
Im not a fan boy Im just looking at the facts, Im in it for the Games, always have always will.

Nemezisx:See the Storm it's coming.....

NeoGeo2k2 · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by SPINMASTER X:
80% of the people on this board can suck a dick for all I care.

<hr></blockquote>

<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" />
LMAO

So you only care about 20% of the people in here?.......
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" />

BRANDI · Mar 1, 2002

A western console is the Neo of the 3D age?!?!?
<img src="graemlins/tickled.gif" border="0" alt="[Tickled]" /> <img src="graemlins/tickled.gif" border="0" alt="[Tickled]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/ohno.gif" border="0" alt="[Oh No]" />

CHRiZ-77 · Mar 1, 2002

X-BOX the 3D-Neo-Geo???

"HEY LOOPZ, WHAT KiND OF STUPiD FUNSTER YOU ARE???" <img src="graemlins/shame.gif" border="0" alt="[Shame]" />

FUCK THAT X-BOX...NEVER COMPARE A NEO-GEO TO THAT SHiT!!! <img src="graemlins/veryangry.gif" border="0" alt="[Very Angry]" />
WHO DO YOU THiNK YOU ARE, MAYBE YOU´RE WRONG HERE!!! <img src="graemlins/spock.gif" border="0" alt="[Spock]" />

SPINMASTER X · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by NeoGeo2k2:


<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" />
LMAO

So you only care about 20% of the people in here?.......
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[LOL]" /> <hr></blockquote>

yup, pretty much.

300 Meg Pro Gear Spec · Mar 1, 2002

Ok , then what is the Xblocks memory card for then ?

vincewy · Mar 1, 2002

Big difference between Xbox and Neo-Geo, Xbox is marketed towrad mass market, while Neo-Geo is not. MS never wants Xbox to be a elite system. If there's any next-generation system that comes close to Neo-Geo, it'd be Dreamcast. In case people haven't checked the sales figure, NGC sells about half of what Xbox sells in terms of number of systems.

Speaking of PS2 hard drive, NCS has just listed the HD requirement for FF11, it remains interesting to see how the market reacts to this, I've stopped playing FF after the 7th installment and Square is getting greedier by making a sequal every year, unlike Enix taking 3+ yrs to publish a new Dragon Quest game, to me, that's what sets Enix apart from all other companies.

chainsawyak · Mar 1, 2002

You make some good points, I never really thought about it like that.

The X-Box is more like the Neo than people probably want to admit, but they're still not identical by any means... The Neo's games weren't "niche" when it was released, they were as mainstream as they could possibly be at the time... The only thing that kept it a "niche" system was the price, and that has nothing in common with the X-Box.

Anyone that buys videogames nowadays can afford the X-Box, so that really sets it apart from the Neo.

And, yeah... The games really aren't that much better looking than GC or PS2 games, nowhere near as much as the Neo blew away the SNES and Genesis...

X-Box is also made by an American company, that could set it apart too..

I don't hate the X-Box, I really don't... I'll get one as soon as a game comes out for it that I can't get anywhere else, I said the same thing for PS2.

[ March 01, 2002: Message edited by: chainsawyak ]

kernow · Mar 1, 2002

"The X-Box is more like the Neo than people probably want to admit"

WHY?

its a completely different console by a completely different company..

what exactly ARE the similarities?

a) they both play games
b) they're both black

...

chainsawyak · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by kernow:
"The X-Box is more like the Neo than people probably want to admit"

a) they both play games
b) they're both black

...<hr></blockquote>

c) they're both big-ass systems with big-ass controllers...

I added something on to that sentence, did you catch it? My reasoning behind that statement was that Neo games were mainstream as hell when they were released, there was nothing "niche" about action, shooters, fighters or beat 'em ups back then...

moog · Mar 1, 2002

There is NO comparison at all.

Considering how completely different the video gaming industry is today compared with that of 10 years ago.

Microsoft are trying to out-sony sony, the whole point of the X-box is to tempt more people into gaming, so MS can make as many sales as possible.

The whole point of the AES was to provide a service to gamers that was unavailable at the time.

SNK were filling a gap in the market, Microsoft are trying to take it over.

SPINMASTER X · Mar 1, 2002

Originally posted by moog:
The whole point of the AES was to provide a service to gamers that was unavailable at the time.

SNK were filling a gap in the market, Microsoft are trying to take it over.<hr></blockquote>

I should make that my new sig.

Prepare to flame: Is Xbox the Neo-Geo of the 3D Age?

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