"CD doesn't count you poseurs."
On the surface, I would agree with that statement but to be honest, being in the scene from 99/2000 makes a solid argument against it. SNK USA proper had a special sale where you would get a system & four games of your choice for a great package price. That was one of the best purchases I ever made. Then came the flood of NOS & it was like Christmas spread out over the coarse of the next few years.
Plus, when the CD was first released the first gen titles only had one initial load plus superior A/V out so playing the likes of Nam, Magician Lord, BB Stars 2 would have been just as great in 94/95, etc.
Anyway, in keeping with criteria of your thread, I can can't say exactly which game & where/when but I do have a general memory of the first handful:
- Sam Sho: On an MVS cab at the now defunct go kart track & batting cages over in Centereach as a kid when there with friends. The facility is still there on the property & has been abandoned for years. I stopped by there a few months back as I had to stop by a business next to it. It is all run down & decaying. Checked out the room where the arcade (and that cab) was just cuz & it was a shame to see the place in the state it fell into. Eh, time moves on.
- Sam Sho 3: Played it on an MVS cab as a kid at a camp ground that my family & I were staying at. The small arcade setup was in an upstairs space in one of the front buildings when you would check it. I remembered being impressed with that game. The graphics were amazing for the time & the dark atmosphere made a mark. SSIII will always be one of my fav's.
I also remember playing Sengoku on an MVS cab VERY early on but I cannot remember where.
There was this great arcade here in Smith Haven mall back in the early 90's, but I can't remember playing any Neo games there. I know I played me some Final Fight.
Later on & rocked allot of Metal Slug at my local Sports Plus plus, then came China Town Fair & there was a plethora of MVS games there plus those were the days of the new releases of the early 2000's so having those fresh in the cabs with the players waiting their turn was tits.