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- Jan 4, 2002
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Ok, so I have a BIG update in this story.
This comes with one of those big discovery you feel stupid to stumble upon, since you had it just before your very eyes for so long yet you never ever noticed.
Fact is, when NEOGEO first came out in Japan on 4 April 1990, AES games were NOT boxed with carton cases, as previously assumed, but with classic plastic ones.
How can I tell? Well, if you just run an easy check yourself, be it on the real things or on with Internet scan/pics, you'll find the simple yet final evidence: on the spine of the very first five NEOGEO titles, JPN AES plastic version, you can spot such a writing just under the NEOGEO logo:
超ド級レンタルゲーム『ネオジオ』
Which is: Choudokyuu RENTAL GAME 'NEOGEO'
So basically that's true for NAM-75, Majaan Kyouretsuden, Magician Lord, Baseball Stars Professional and Top Players Golf -just those five, plastic box ONLY.
The carton box version of the very same games do NOT sports the 'rental' bit anymore. And most noticeably, both Magician Lord and Majaan Kyoretsuden at least also got a later plastic box reprint with an updated insert also cleaned of the 'rental' thing. I'm still trying and see if an updated plastic version of the other three also exists,
So yes, 'carton boxes' are NOT the original NEOGEO AES cart packaging. And, at this point, how did things really went during the very first two years of the NEOGEO?
Needless to say, I went deeper and searched for more information. The result is, once again, plain and simple. I'll try to sum up the story for you all.
1) NEOGEO, both MVS and AES, debuted on the JPN market on 4 April 1990. AES was supposed to be a rental *only* system. AES carts were priced just as the MVS carts, and had same release date as well. Out of the five launch titles, just Top Players Golf didn't make in time and was delayed about a month for some reason, yet still counting as a 'launch title' on official flyers, etc. Fromt his very beginning, AES games were released with regular plastic boxes, with the 'RENTAL' line printed on their (insert) the spine.
2) Soon enough, SNK realized hard core gamers were actually (crazy enough to go on) buying AES stuff even if it was aimed (and priced!) for rental operators. As a result, SNK quickly got rid of the 'rental' label on AES games. Nothing changed though: AES and MVS carts maintained same prices and same release dates.
3) SNK released a total of 11 titles in 1990. The AES system was still officially marketed for rental, yet actually both rented and bought by gamers. Up to this date, the NEOGEO box was 'white and green striped', coded as NEO-0. Some unit also made it in Europe though SNK European arcade distributors, to be supposedly rented.
4) By the end of 1990, the NEOGEO AES was officially distributed in the US. Games were all plastic boxed. Console was 'white and red striped', coded as NEO-AEC. Rather then rental, the system was a pushed for consumer sale.
5) In 1991, SNK halted the release of AES titles. They were preparing the Japanese re-launch of the system for consumer sale.
6) On 1 July 1991, the NEOGEO AES was re-launched in Japan. Priced was reduced for both system and games, rental business was officially terminated and the system was now marketed as a 'normal' consumer home videogame console. On the very same day, all the previously released 11 games were re-released as well with 'new' carton box package, supposedly used to distinguish the new and old stock carts (which were differently priced). Six new games were also introduced: Minasan no Okagesama Desu!, ASOII, Sengoku Denshou, King of the Monsters, Raguy, Ghost Pilots. Since this date, AES releases were also delayed from the MVS ones.
7) On 9 August SNK released the first game since the NEOGEO re-launch: Burning Fight. It was market with plastic box since its debut, meaning SNK had given up carton boxes already. Basically, carton boxes existed only for the NEOGEO AES Japanese re-launch on 1 July 1991. Out of the six new titles launched on that day, only Minasan no Okagesama Desu! got a plastic re-print, while the other five had been so over-produced never got any reprint, thus existing in their original carton box format only.
And that's it.
Now, coming to the much debated (?) issue of the 'multi-ROMSET carts', things become much more logical and intelligible.
ROMSET1, the original one, is supposedly to be found in JPN and US plastic boxes. On the contrary, carton boxes reprint for the first 11 titles should have the revised ROMSET2, just as any further plastic re-re-release, be it JPN or US. The carton-box-only games may have their original ROMSET1, eventually updated to the later ROMSET2 revision.
What follows is the updated breakdown list of the actually verified copies from this thread, which now appears to be outdated by the new discovery.
Please keep coming any new entry for any game we can certify multiple ROMSETs for!
Hope you enjoyed to read the real story. It's amazing how things are still foggy about the birth of the NEOGEO, and how misconceptions are still around.
This comes with one of those big discovery you feel stupid to stumble upon, since you had it just before your very eyes for so long yet you never ever noticed.
Fact is, when NEOGEO first came out in Japan on 4 April 1990, AES games were NOT boxed with carton cases, as previously assumed, but with classic plastic ones.
How can I tell? Well, if you just run an easy check yourself, be it on the real things or on with Internet scan/pics, you'll find the simple yet final evidence: on the spine of the very first five NEOGEO titles, JPN AES plastic version, you can spot such a writing just under the NEOGEO logo:
超ド級レンタルゲーム『ネオジオ』
Which is: Choudokyuu RENTAL GAME 'NEOGEO'
So basically that's true for NAM-75, Majaan Kyouretsuden, Magician Lord, Baseball Stars Professional and Top Players Golf -just those five, plastic box ONLY.
The carton box version of the very same games do NOT sports the 'rental' bit anymore. And most noticeably, both Magician Lord and Majaan Kyoretsuden at least also got a later plastic box reprint with an updated insert also cleaned of the 'rental' thing. I'm still trying and see if an updated plastic version of the other three also exists,
So yes, 'carton boxes' are NOT the original NEOGEO AES cart packaging. And, at this point, how did things really went during the very first two years of the NEOGEO?
Needless to say, I went deeper and searched for more information. The result is, once again, plain and simple. I'll try to sum up the story for you all.
1) NEOGEO, both MVS and AES, debuted on the JPN market on 4 April 1990. AES was supposed to be a rental *only* system. AES carts were priced just as the MVS carts, and had same release date as well. Out of the five launch titles, just Top Players Golf didn't make in time and was delayed about a month for some reason, yet still counting as a 'launch title' on official flyers, etc. Fromt his very beginning, AES games were released with regular plastic boxes, with the 'RENTAL' line printed on their (insert) the spine.
2) Soon enough, SNK realized hard core gamers were actually (crazy enough to go on) buying AES stuff even if it was aimed (and priced!) for rental operators. As a result, SNK quickly got rid of the 'rental' label on AES games. Nothing changed though: AES and MVS carts maintained same prices and same release dates.
3) SNK released a total of 11 titles in 1990. The AES system was still officially marketed for rental, yet actually both rented and bought by gamers. Up to this date, the NEOGEO box was 'white and green striped', coded as NEO-0. Some unit also made it in Europe though SNK European arcade distributors, to be supposedly rented.
4) By the end of 1990, the NEOGEO AES was officially distributed in the US. Games were all plastic boxed. Console was 'white and red striped', coded as NEO-AEC. Rather then rental, the system was a pushed for consumer sale.
5) In 1991, SNK halted the release of AES titles. They were preparing the Japanese re-launch of the system for consumer sale.
6) On 1 July 1991, the NEOGEO AES was re-launched in Japan. Priced was reduced for both system and games, rental business was officially terminated and the system was now marketed as a 'normal' consumer home videogame console. On the very same day, all the previously released 11 games were re-released as well with 'new' carton box package, supposedly used to distinguish the new and old stock carts (which were differently priced). Six new games were also introduced: Minasan no Okagesama Desu!, ASOII, Sengoku Denshou, King of the Monsters, Raguy, Ghost Pilots. Since this date, AES releases were also delayed from the MVS ones.
7) On 9 August SNK released the first game since the NEOGEO re-launch: Burning Fight. It was market with plastic box since its debut, meaning SNK had given up carton boxes already. Basically, carton boxes existed only for the NEOGEO AES Japanese re-launch on 1 July 1991. Out of the six new titles launched on that day, only Minasan no Okagesama Desu! got a plastic re-print, while the other five had been so over-produced never got any reprint, thus existing in their original carton box format only.
And that's it.
Now, coming to the much debated (?) issue of the 'multi-ROMSET carts', things become much more logical and intelligible.
ROMSET1, the original one, is supposedly to be found in JPN and US plastic boxes. On the contrary, carton boxes reprint for the first 11 titles should have the revised ROMSET2, just as any further plastic re-re-release, be it JPN or US. The carton-box-only games may have their original ROMSET1, eventually updated to the later ROMSET2 revision.
What follows is the updated breakdown list of the actually verified copies from this thread, which now appears to be outdated by the new discovery.
Please keep coming any new entry for any game we can certify multiple ROMSETs for!
Hope you enjoyed to read the real story. It's amazing how things are still foggy about the birth of the NEOGEO, and how misconceptions are still around.
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