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The Neo Geo is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK. The system offered comparatively colorful 2D graphics and high-quality sound. A major platform for arcade games at the time, the system was also available as a costly home console. The two versions of the system were known as the AES (Advanced Entertainment System, the home version) and the MVS (Multi Video System, the arcade version). The Neo Geo was marketed as 24-bit, though it was technically an 8/16/32-bit multiprocessing system.
Initially, the home system was only available for rent or for use in hotel settings, but SNK quickly began selling the system through stores when customer response indicated that people were willing to spend the money. Compared to the other consoles of the time, the Neo Geo had much better graphics and sound. This likely helped the system to survive the longest life of any fourth-generation video game console, outlasting the popular Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis.
 The home system featured two CPUs: a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000 main processor running at 12 MHz and an 8-bit Zilog Z80 coprocessor running at 4 MHz. A custom video chipset allowed the system to display 4,096 colors and 380 individual sprites onscreen simultaneously, while the onboard Yamaha 2610 sound chip gave the system 15 channels of sound with seven channels reserved specifically for digital sound effects. However, the screen resolution for the games were slightly lower than comparable games at the time, and the MVS cabinet used in the United States also had unusual video hardware which made the games visuals appear slightly more dark and contrasted than other games.
In the United States, the console was planned to debut at $599 USD and included two joystick controllers and a game (either Baseball Stars Professional or NAM-1975). However, this plan was quickly scrapped and when the system had its American launch, it debuted at $649.99 with two joysticks, a memory card, and a single pack-in game, Magician Lord (the early Neo Geo boxes had a gold sticker announcing the inclusion of Magician Lord over the initially planned choice of two games). This package was known as the "Gold System." The system was also released in a "Silver System" package for $399.99, which included one joystick controller and did not include a game or memory card. Other games were priced at about $200(and up). With these "premium" prices, though, most gamers weren't able to afford the system, so the console was only accessible to a niche market.
The Neo Geo was driven into cult status partially by changing mainstream tastes, which soon demanded flashy 3D graphics. Even after the console ceased production for the home market, the quality of Neo Geo games kept it alive in arcades, particularly in Japan, where the newest installment of its flagship franchise, The King of Fighters, caused a stir with every new release.
The last game by SNK for the Neo Geo system, Samurai Shodown V Special, was released on October 19, 2004. SNK decided to abandon the hardware due to the rampant piracy of games built for the system, which SNK believed was partially responsible for its bankruptcy in 2000. SNK ceased to manufacture home consoles by the end of 1997, but software for both home and arcade hardware was produced for many years after. Measured from the introduction of the arcade hardware in 1990 to the release of the last home cartridge in 2004, the Neo Geo's fourteen-year official span of support from its manufacturer makes it the second longest-lived arcade or home console system ever produced. Only the Atari 2600, which was supported from 1977 until 1992, had a longer lifespan.
A new cartridge-based game called Last Hope was released for the home console in 2006 by the independent NG:DEV.TEAM, running at 60 fps and showcasing the continued ability of the Neo Geo even sixteen years after its debut. The game features both hand-drawn and CG graphics with transparency and lighting effects as well as a techno soundtrack.
On August 31, 2007, SNK stopped offering maintenance and repairs to Neo Geo home consoles, handhelds, and games However, they will continue to repair their arcade hardware.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_Geo_(console)
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