- Joined
- Nov 5, 2002
- Posts
- 13,556
You got into the neo at a great time, but I think your mileage with it varied from mine.
The neo, as “bad ass” as it was back then circa 92-95, was not the “be all - end all” of high end gaming. Not even close. As much as it turned heads, and had several “can’t put it down” titles, it was always getting outshined & 1-up’d by my SuperGun. Granted, I fell in love with the concept from day one. “play arcade games in your home”. Hell, I was dreaming about that since the 80’s Atari days for that matter. But at the end of the day, it only played SNK arcade games. So it didn’t quench the thirst. The hottest arcade titles were by Capcom, Konami, & Midway. PERIOD. Those were the MOST bad ass games at the arcade and those were the ones you had to have if you wanted to impress.
As great as Fatal Fury, World Heroes, Art of Fighting, and Samurai Showdown were during that time period, Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat 2 were TEN TIMES better. And I mean like no contest man. For every 2 hours we played the neo, we played 10 hours of SF2 & MK2.
It was a very different time back then. Nothing like today. Today, anyone can play anything at anytime and anywhere, and for free. Computers, lap tops, net books, emulators, smart phones, iPads, portable gaming devices, etc. It’s all out there now. It isn’t special anymore. Hasn’t been for years. It has no value and it holds nobodies attention. Back then it turned heads. It took center stage. It was a presentation that was both impressive and memorable. There was no internet as we know it. The average person couldn’t even find a SuperGun, let alone buy or build one. And even the few that took the time to do the research, would then hit the next brick wall; which was crushing prices. $649 for a neo console and then $200 for a Fatal Fury or Samurai Showdown cart was a fucking JOKE compared to $2,000 for an NBA JAM or an MK2 board.
So yes, having acquired a SF2 cart for the neo back then would have been cool, but it wouldn’t have even come close to solving the problem. Because even though from 91-92, SF2 was the king, by 93, MK had gained ground, and once MK2 hit the scene at the end of the year, the neo started collecting dust within the circles that I was running.
Mate I was playing neo geo games at the arcade from the outset so I got into the system around 1990. What I mean is, and I don't mean to be rude, I don't need a history lesson from you about the arcade\gaming scene.
The best games where coming out left right and center. I didn't care who was making them. I adored FF1, later AoF, World Heroes, etc.
The supergun was not just price prohibitive, as attractive a prospect as it was, that SNK made a home console that played the games that where at the arcade was audacious as fuck, and with the neo you knew games such as KoF and Last Blade would eventually be made. And they where for a time the be all end all, for me anyway.
Thanks though