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- Jan 4, 2002
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As many of you would most likely know, it's fairly known and accepted than the NeoGeo AES came just after the NeoGeo MVS, namely the MVS debuted in the Japanese arcade in 1990 April 26, while the AES debuted in stores on July the 1st.
This is basically what most of the western (and even Japanese) sources about NeoGeo info says.
Well, I always found it a bit odd. As a matter of fact, two points at least seemed to suggest me that was quite nonsensical. Namely:
1) The 1991/7/1 lauch in Japan say 17 titles (all the carton boxes) supposedly released at once. Have you ever seen a gaming system debuting in stores with a 17 titles line up?
2) Puttin almost a year and a half inbetween the MVS launch and AES launch seemed quite odd per se, as AES datas were into the MVS carts since the very beginning, hence the logical assumption the two systems were developed by SNK under complete parallel schedule.
Yet I had never find any confirmation of my guesses...
UNTIL SOME DAYS AGO! :chimp:
As a matter of fact, I've been in the middle of writing an extensive 'NeoGeo Collector Guide', which is supposed to collect all the bits of NeoGeo knowledge I've been gathering through years into a single document. For this very reason, I'm not only editing all the info already in my possession, but also trying my best effort to double-check and expand pretty much every bit of my knowledge in the field. I've been searching, translating and working on many many Japanese websites and various other sources for all this summer.
It was just some days ago that I finally came across an intresting bit of info: according to some Japanese sources, the first AES carts originally came out with the very same release dates than the MVS. This amazed me to say the least, so I went down and down, deep and deeper into the inssue just to finally find out, double check and confirmirm wht I am now annoucing to the whole community.
MVS and AES both came out in Japan in 1990/04/26!
They both were lauched with four titles: NAM-1975, Majaan Kyouretsuden, Super Baseball Star Pro and Magician Lord.
AES console price was 58.000yen.
AES titles price was JUST THE SAME of MVS, spannin from 28.000yen to 32.000yen.
And so it was for the full year 1990, AES and MVS games had identical release dates and prices, for a total of 11 unique titles at the end of the year! The only exception was Minasan no Okagesama Desu!, which came out in MVS on 7/25/90, but apparently did not have an AES release in 1990.
If you're wandering how that can be possible, and why the AES prices and release dates eventually came to differ from MVS's, the reason is very simple: for the whole year 1990 the NeoGeo was a RENTAL ONLY game machine, which was supposed to be bought just for commercial (rental) purpose. I'm talking about the original Japanese NeoGeo system boxed in the 'white and green striped' box. The AES games were all carton boxes of course.
So basically the idea of the AES following the MVS of of the arcade success it's completely wrong! The NeoGeo system debuted in BOTH FORMAT, and the original slogan (original advertise with Ge-manto) was "Sugoi ge-mu wo motte kaerou!", which should trasnlate as "Let's bring the COOL games back at home!". So basically the original idea, concept and philosophy of the NeoGeo was to allow the arcade gamers to bring the arcate 'real deal' at their home, though a super pricy (thus rental) home console identical to an arcade counterpart.
Well, things changed in 1991.
What SNK didn't ever planned or expected happened almost since the very beninning: hard-core gamers just starded buying the system in rental shop, rather than renting it. Basically die-hard arcade gamers were avalaibe to buy NeoGeo items at a full 'operators' prices.
Upon this reality, SNK was almost forced to step forward and go into the consumer market. They just halted the distribution of AES for the 1991, while MVS went on. Then they re-launched the NeoGeo AES as a 'consumer sale' game console. The launch date was that famous 7/1/1991.
In that date, the price for the console dropped from 58.000yen to 48.800yen. Also, the box of the system meet is final desing, the back one, complete with pictures and all.
Not only that, on 7/1/1991 SNK also:
- Released six games never befor published in AES, namerly Minasan no Okagesama Desu!, Sengoku Denshou, ASOII, Raguy, King of the Monsters and Ghost Pilots. These six new release were still all carton boxed, but never existed in 'rental form', and came to be sold at a much lower price of the MVS (price cutted of about 35%).
- Re-released all the 11 AES games previously published in 1990 as 'rental games'. These games also got cutted in price, so to distinguished the two version SNK introduced the PLASTIC BOX version for the first 11 titles.
As you can see, out of the 6 carton titles originally sold on 7/1 (so basically not in need of any 'double version', for their rental version never existed), 5 are the infamous 'carton box only' releases. This is not by case as you can see. The reason why Minasan was eventually re-released in plastic box it's still a bit of a mistery, yet I suppose the fact the distributor originally was MONOLITH and not SNK/ADK play a role in this case.
Well, since then, the MVS and AES market were dived. MVS got earlier released, and AES, now ofically a consumer item, got cheaper prices.
The first AES game to be released directly in plastic box form, so the first title published by SNK after the 7/1 re-launch lot, was Burning Fight, hitting the stores in 8/9/91 (MVS had debuted in 5/20).
***
So basically this is the TRUE STORY of NeoGeo, MVS and AES.
I've used extra-care to double and triple check EVERY bit of data, and not trusting 100% any online source I went and check magazines of the times. Thanks to the help of my friend GEMANT I've personally found mag advertize selling AES in 1990 with their 'rental price', and I've also seen the advertise for the 91/7/1 re-launch day, including price cutting and all.
If anyone want to update the Master List, well, that would probably be for the better, for what's reported on that document is WRONG. The whole idea the we Westeners had of the NeoGeo history was WRONG till today, and that's a fact.
* * *
Some bits of infos are still lacking BTW, especially about the western distribution of the NeoGeo.
It seems that the NeoGeo was officially sold in the US just after the 7/1/91, but I wonder if the original US box (the 'white red striped' one, coded as 'NEO-AEC') was some kind of rental model that leaked before that date.
As a matter of fact, I've myself an European (PAL) version which had been sold in the original 'white green striped' JAPANESE box, yet is an European model.
Possibly in 1990 some AES 'rental model' were distributed by SNK in the west thoughout their local sellers/distributors, using who knows which boxes, etc.
Any comment about this and that always welcome.
This is basically what most of the western (and even Japanese) sources about NeoGeo info says.
Well, I always found it a bit odd. As a matter of fact, two points at least seemed to suggest me that was quite nonsensical. Namely:
1) The 1991/7/1 lauch in Japan say 17 titles (all the carton boxes) supposedly released at once. Have you ever seen a gaming system debuting in stores with a 17 titles line up?
2) Puttin almost a year and a half inbetween the MVS launch and AES launch seemed quite odd per se, as AES datas were into the MVS carts since the very beginning, hence the logical assumption the two systems were developed by SNK under complete parallel schedule.
Yet I had never find any confirmation of my guesses...
UNTIL SOME DAYS AGO! :chimp:
As a matter of fact, I've been in the middle of writing an extensive 'NeoGeo Collector Guide', which is supposed to collect all the bits of NeoGeo knowledge I've been gathering through years into a single document. For this very reason, I'm not only editing all the info already in my possession, but also trying my best effort to double-check and expand pretty much every bit of my knowledge in the field. I've been searching, translating and working on many many Japanese websites and various other sources for all this summer.
It was just some days ago that I finally came across an intresting bit of info: according to some Japanese sources, the first AES carts originally came out with the very same release dates than the MVS. This amazed me to say the least, so I went down and down, deep and deeper into the inssue just to finally find out, double check and confirmirm wht I am now annoucing to the whole community.
MVS and AES both came out in Japan in 1990/04/26!
They both were lauched with four titles: NAM-1975, Majaan Kyouretsuden, Super Baseball Star Pro and Magician Lord.
AES console price was 58.000yen.
AES titles price was JUST THE SAME of MVS, spannin from 28.000yen to 32.000yen.
And so it was for the full year 1990, AES and MVS games had identical release dates and prices, for a total of 11 unique titles at the end of the year! The only exception was Minasan no Okagesama Desu!, which came out in MVS on 7/25/90, but apparently did not have an AES release in 1990.
If you're wandering how that can be possible, and why the AES prices and release dates eventually came to differ from MVS's, the reason is very simple: for the whole year 1990 the NeoGeo was a RENTAL ONLY game machine, which was supposed to be bought just for commercial (rental) purpose. I'm talking about the original Japanese NeoGeo system boxed in the 'white and green striped' box. The AES games were all carton boxes of course.
So basically the idea of the AES following the MVS of of the arcade success it's completely wrong! The NeoGeo system debuted in BOTH FORMAT, and the original slogan (original advertise with Ge-manto) was "Sugoi ge-mu wo motte kaerou!", which should trasnlate as "Let's bring the COOL games back at home!". So basically the original idea, concept and philosophy of the NeoGeo was to allow the arcade gamers to bring the arcate 'real deal' at their home, though a super pricy (thus rental) home console identical to an arcade counterpart.
Well, things changed in 1991.
What SNK didn't ever planned or expected happened almost since the very beninning: hard-core gamers just starded buying the system in rental shop, rather than renting it. Basically die-hard arcade gamers were avalaibe to buy NeoGeo items at a full 'operators' prices.
Upon this reality, SNK was almost forced to step forward and go into the consumer market. They just halted the distribution of AES for the 1991, while MVS went on. Then they re-launched the NeoGeo AES as a 'consumer sale' game console. The launch date was that famous 7/1/1991.
In that date, the price for the console dropped from 58.000yen to 48.800yen. Also, the box of the system meet is final desing, the back one, complete with pictures and all.
Not only that, on 7/1/1991 SNK also:
- Released six games never befor published in AES, namerly Minasan no Okagesama Desu!, Sengoku Denshou, ASOII, Raguy, King of the Monsters and Ghost Pilots. These six new release were still all carton boxed, but never existed in 'rental form', and came to be sold at a much lower price of the MVS (price cutted of about 35%).
- Re-released all the 11 AES games previously published in 1990 as 'rental games'. These games also got cutted in price, so to distinguished the two version SNK introduced the PLASTIC BOX version for the first 11 titles.
As you can see, out of the 6 carton titles originally sold on 7/1 (so basically not in need of any 'double version', for their rental version never existed), 5 are the infamous 'carton box only' releases. This is not by case as you can see. The reason why Minasan was eventually re-released in plastic box it's still a bit of a mistery, yet I suppose the fact the distributor originally was MONOLITH and not SNK/ADK play a role in this case.
Well, since then, the MVS and AES market were dived. MVS got earlier released, and AES, now ofically a consumer item, got cheaper prices.
The first AES game to be released directly in plastic box form, so the first title published by SNK after the 7/1 re-launch lot, was Burning Fight, hitting the stores in 8/9/91 (MVS had debuted in 5/20).
***
So basically this is the TRUE STORY of NeoGeo, MVS and AES.
I've used extra-care to double and triple check EVERY bit of data, and not trusting 100% any online source I went and check magazines of the times. Thanks to the help of my friend GEMANT I've personally found mag advertize selling AES in 1990 with their 'rental price', and I've also seen the advertise for the 91/7/1 re-launch day, including price cutting and all.
If anyone want to update the Master List, well, that would probably be for the better, for what's reported on that document is WRONG. The whole idea the we Westeners had of the NeoGeo history was WRONG till today, and that's a fact.
* * *
Some bits of infos are still lacking BTW, especially about the western distribution of the NeoGeo.
It seems that the NeoGeo was officially sold in the US just after the 7/1/91, but I wonder if the original US box (the 'white red striped' one, coded as 'NEO-AEC') was some kind of rental model that leaked before that date.
As a matter of fact, I've myself an European (PAL) version which had been sold in the original 'white green striped' JAPANESE box, yet is an European model.
Possibly in 1990 some AES 'rental model' were distributed by SNK in the west thoughout their local sellers/distributors, using who knows which boxes, etc.
Any comment about this and that always welcome.
