SNK Corporation went bankrupt in 2001, and by 2004, their legendary NEO•GEO console had received its last game, a whopping 14 years after its home debut. For the rest of the decade, SNK went through a number of restructures, legal battles, and acquisitions, resulting in the company eventually re-emerging as SNK Playmore, with a new focus on arcade development for Sammy’s Atomiswave hardware.
Conception and Announcement
By the turn of the decade, it had been over ten years since the last SNK hardware had released, 1999’s Neo Geo Pocket Color. SNK Playmore had some success with digital sales through Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo’s Virtual Console, and with the rise of handheld emulators from companies like Dingoo and JXD, the idea for an emulation-based NEO•GEO started brewing.
Enter: Blaze Europe, from, well, Europe, and Tommo, an American video game publisher. Blaze had recently released the Game Gadget, a little known predecessor to the Evercade series of handhelds (more on those later), and had some experience in the hardware space. Tommo would go on to buy a number of Atari’s assets, but at this point was best known for publishing the Raiden series.
Launch and Initial Reception
The three companies conspired to create a new handheld NEO•GEO, and announced in 2012 that the device would come pre-loaded with 20 classic Neo Geo games, including favorites like Fatal Fury and Metal Slug. Early rumors suggested it would launch at a $700 price point, dulling some of the early buzz. By the time the NEO•GEO X was officially unveiled, it was priced at $199, a far cry from the original’s $650 price tag.
The NEO•GEO X was an attractive handheld, with a 16:9 aftermarket PSP screen, an SD card, micro USB charging, an 8-way directional stick (much like the aforementioned Neo Geo Pocket) and support for expansion cartridges (SD cards). By the end of its lifespan, the NEO•GEO X library was 35 games strong, though notably lacking Windjammers.
One of the main selling points for the NEO•GEO X was its docking station, an exact physical replica of the original NEO•GEO home console (seen in the lovely photos above, courtesy of Time Extension). The handheld plugged into an adapter inside the body, which opened and closed on a hinge, and came with a replica gamepad too.
Critical and Fan Disappointment
Praise mostly ended at the hardware though. The software was barebones, presenting the games identically to their original releases, with the only new feature being the ability to play the games at their native 4:3 aspect ratio, or awkwardly stretch them to 16:9. The device did not include save states, though these were promised in a later update that never appeared.
Interestingly, the modding community realized the device ran on OpenDingux and launched games in the Final Burn Alpha emulator, a setup which at the time supported save states. Thankfully, as would become the norm with retro handhelds, the community rose to the challenge and ported most available OpenDingux emulators to the device, creating what could be the ultimate Dingux handheld.
The Bitter End
Eventually, the relationship between Tommo and SNK Playmore would sour. In an October 2013 article, Game Informer reported that SNK Playmore had terminated its licensing agreement with Tommo and was demanding an immediate halt to the production and sale of all Neo Geo X hardware and accessories. In response, as reported by Ubergizmo, Tommo claimed that their contract with SNK was still in effect and that they would continue to sell and support the Neo Geo X.
The dispute escalated into a legal battle. with Polygon reporting in early 2014 that Tommo was planning to sue SNK for wrongful termination of the licensing agreement. This public feud sealed the NEO•GEO X’s fate, and it was discontinued less than a year later.
Tommo’s website is still live but hasn’t been updated in a decade or so. Blaze, on the other hand, are thriving. Their Evercade line of devices has amassed a huge library and is arguably doing more for retro game preservation than any company before or since. Better yet, their relationship with NEO•GEO continues to this day, with multiple game being rereleased on their Evercade platform, and a new collaborative Super Pocket handheld from their sister company Hyper Mega Tech.
What Did We Learn?
The NEO•GEO X can still be found secondhand, but it typically goes for over $500, or up to a thousand if you need that Prime guarantee. In the meantime, you can just emulate these delightful games, either through Evercade’s officially licensed devices, or one of the hundreds of Shenzhen handhelds we feature here daily. In the end, while the console itself is a cautionary tale, the legendary games it was built to celebrate have never been more accessible.
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