Famicom Dojo Podcast: Neo Geo X

by Sean "TheOrange" Corse, filed in Famicom Dojo Podcast, Podcasts on Aug.17, 2012

It costs more than a 3DS XL and just as much as a Wii, contains (at least a few) games available more cheaply on either the eShop or Wii Virtual Console, and comes with a dock that looks like the AES, but doesn’t actually play Neo Geo carts. And yet we still want one. Or two.

Sean and Vinnk wonder what the heck is wrong with them that they’d blow their hard-earned cash on such a frivolous item. Is it because it’s sexy and iPhone-like? Is it because of nostalgia? Is it because they’re stodgy old-timers who are fed up with a constant parade of uninspiring new games? …nah, but it’s fun to wonder!

Leave your own voicemail at 608-492-1923, or just share your thoughts in the show notes at FamicomDojo.TV:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/59

“RPG” theme song by the Imari Tones:
http://imaritones.net

Order their new album, Japan Metal Jesus, including :R.P.G.”:
Buy on iTunes

Bring home your own copy of the Famicom Dojo Season 1 DVD today:
http://famicomdojo.tv/store/fdojos1.php

Tags: Keith Apicary, Neo Geo, Neo Geo X, Nintendo, Pokemon, SNK

Crade Lit

Your comments section no longer works in IE 8.. Booo.

Love the old man stuff!

It’s funny that you guys are thinking of that Neo Geo X as 10$ / game,
I kindof considered getting one for a bit, and I was justifying the price because of the hardware you would get, handheld + docking station + arcade joystick and I was thinking it might not be a bad deal depending on the quality of that stuff.
The thing that turns me off is the unknowns.. Will there be more games for it? What format? how much?

That and, if I’m honest, I don’t like any of the neogeo games I’ve played for the system except metal slug.. Ok, the fighting games are fine, but the few I got on virtual console all feel the same to me. Obviously when I was young I didn’t play neogeo at all. They didn’t even have any in our arcade that I can remember.

Unfortunately, for me the best thing this thing has going for it is that it looks cool and says neogeo on it.. and I don’t think it’s enough.

http://www.famicomdojo.tv/ Sean “TheOrange” Corse

Yeah, unfortunately that’s all controlled by Disqus and their JavaScript code, so we can’t help if if they don’t want to support something! :/

But glad you’re at least considering the Neo Geo X…? Maybe?

Crade Lit

Maybe. Probably not right at launch, but maybe after some more info comes out about how it works.

http://www.famicomdojo.tv/ Sean “TheOrange” Corse

Yeah, ditto.

Andrew Thorson

The problem with future release of games falls in the hands of the gamers who adopt the NGX. I’ve heard it way too many times when people say they don’t know if they are going to buy it because of the unknowns about the future of the console. Well, I don’t think the console will have a future if people are relying on waiting for news about that future support.

But, gamers have every right to be worried about it. They don’t want to put the money down and never get any support in the future. I think if Blaze was wise they would get some ideas from SNKP as for games that they could possibly release in the future. This way they could at least drop a media releases, so potential owners of the NGX wont feel so uneasy about purchasing the unit. neogeometropolis.blogspot.com/

Œlk Stadtbahner

You know, I’m mostly not at my computer when listening to your podcast (Work and stuff). But I knew of the Neo Geo Neo Geo X. I’ll wait for the first reviews about built quality and upcoming services. As Vinnk said, where are the compilation sequels?

But still, I think I’ll use that money to buy some MVS games (Blazing Star, King of Fighters ’98, Metal Slug X). Lots and lots cheaper than AES.
Vinnk

The official site updated and it now says this:
“2 Player play on all compatible games when the NEOGEO X Handheld is connected to the NEOGEO X Station! (2nd Joystick sold seperately)”

So that answers the question posed in the podcast about 2-player support.

http://www.famicomdojo.tv/ Sean “TheOrange” Corse

Nice! Remind me to add that to the show notes.

vomitHatSteve

“I don’t think [1337band] ever had a drummer who actually knew how to play drums.” Hey! Just because that’s completely accurate doesn’t make it less hurtful!
I never did get my hands on a copy of that album. Vinnk and/or Sean, you guys should post the 1337band discography somewhere!

In the end I DID get the Ouya. When it gets here (in friggen’ March), I’ll let you know how awesome it is!

Man, back in middle school, I managed to get the ball stuck in the Midevil Madness pinball machine back in the Davies Center arcade. I got something like 3rd place from that. I miss that arcade… also that building now I guess?

http://www.famicomdojo.tv/ Sean “TheOrange” Corse

Hahaha, take a picture! Tell me if its awesome. 😉

I definitely have all the 1337band albums somewhere. I should at least load them onto my iPhone…

http://zacshipley.com/ Zac Shipley

The thing that interests me most about this console is that it attempts to preserve an artistic history unlike any compilation disc could.

Virtual Console and Live Arcade and emulation all let you get your hands on older games, usually functionally identical to the way they were on screen. But this has the HARDWARE! A joystick to match the old New Geo stick. Virtual Console’s NES offerings put you with a wii remote sideways, which hardly matches the intended gameplay fit of the NES. My hands are a lot bigger today than they were when I was 9 and got an NES, and the Wii’s smaller d-pad isn’t making the intended gameplay possible, let alone what I remember.

Neo Geo interests me in the same way the Sega Saturn did a few years ago. I never had one, but always was interested in the games people talked about. I eventually bought a Saturn. Neo Geo remains fairly pricey, and the re-issue isn’t much different. If Neo Geo X has some kind of download store or the ability to load more games, I’d be interested. As it stands now, I’ll keep any eye on it for a good deal.
uglyjoe

This makes me wonder if there’s a market for dedicated emulator boxes.

What if Nintendo released a new machine that looked like an SNES, but was just a low-powered PC that just had a simple SNES emulator in it? What if they sold “cartridges” for this machine that looked like SNES carts, but were really just a very low capacity flash storage unit with lots of extra plastic? Would gamers swoon over that? Would collectors be okay paying for an emulator and individual roms if there was simply something physical boxed around it?
uglyjoe

This makes me wonder if there is a market for dedicated, single-system emulator consoles.

What if Nintendo released a small computer that looks like an SNES, but only booted into an SNES emulator? What if they sold “cartridges”, which were just a tiny flash media with a single SNES rom on it stuffed into a big plastic case? If it looked like an SNES and played like an SNES, would people buy it? Would collectors buy an emulator and individual roms if they had something physical wrapped around them?

http://zacshipley.com/ Zac Shipley

I wouldn’t buy a cart with a single rom, but I’d buy a SNES looking set top box that only played SNES games. HDMI out, with either an SD card to transfer Virtual Console games or a dedicated store to download titles.

Sadly since Nintendo can’t be bothered to update the virtual console they have, a niche market item like this is impossible.
Will Talley

Not sure if this is what you’re thinking, but there is a Korean device called the gamepark Caanoo. It’s basically an open source handheld, and people mostly load it up with old emulators.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAANOO It’s not available in the U.S< but you can find it for reasonably cheap on sites such as play-asia.com which sell imports.

uglyjoe

Not really what I was talking about at all 😀

Devices such as the Caanoo are more-or-less how I see the Neo Geo X, though. The big differences are that the Neo Geo X has the SNK logo on it and the “gold” package has the pseudo-console to go with it. I guess I see the entire thing as merely an emulator and some roms, but with a really high price point.

That led me to ask my question. Many collectors dislike emulation because it’s “not the authentic experience” or “it’s all digital so it’s a waste of money” or some such. I was just wondering if, by getting an official endorsement of the original hardware manufacturer and by wrapping the digital products into physical products, if those collectors’ arguments get voided. Personally, I don’t think so, but I was curious of other collectors thought differently.

http://www.famicomdojo.tv/ Sean “TheOrange” Corse

That’s a really good question. I think people expect old games well outside of their initial life cycle to not cost very much. On the other hand, Nintendo probably made a bunch of money repackaging its NES content on Game Boy Color for $20 a pop and SNES content on GBA for, I think, a bit more. I guess the difference is that even though it was the same game on a new game medium, it was for a console they already own. Trying to sell a virtualized version of an actual console seems insane.

And yet that’s exactly what the Neo Geo X is.

Hmm…

Mo Rahman

You guys forgot to mention the “expandable SD card slot”.

Vinnk

We mentioned it in passing. And of course it will be needed for more games. But until SNK or someone tells us what we can do with it, it’s still a big mystery. But yeah, that intrigues me.

Andrew Thorson

Yup I plan on buying 2 of them. I’m getting the Gold version in December and then the $130 flavor one a few months later. I love Neo-Geo and feel that this console has great potential as a collectors item. neogeometropolis.blogspot.com/

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