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Neo-Geo is the name of a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system created by the Japanese game
company SNK. The system was years ahead of its time, offering a huge colorful 2D graphics and
high-quality sound. The arcade machines had a memory card system by which a player could save a game to return to at a later
time, or remarkably, to be used to continue play on the SNK home console of the same name. (The arcade version of the hardware is
often referred to as the "MVS" system to distinguish it from its console counterpart, the "AES.)
SNK continued to produce arcade systems (and limited console cartridge runs) using the exact same 1980s technology all the way
through 2002, proving the longevity of its forward-thinking design, although critics
consider this a negative issue. The last game for the system, Samurai Spirits Zero Special, is scheduled for release in Q3 2004.
One downside of the system's staying power is that it has no effective copy protection; although this was not so much a problem when the system debuted in the early '90s, it is
now an issue of very real concern to SNK. To this end, SNK's most recent releases, including SNK vs. Capcom Chaos and
Samurai Spirits Zero have been originally released only as complete JAMMA system
boards that incorporate both the MVS and cartridge circuitry into a single unit.
Several home console systems were created based on the same hardware as the arcade games, as well as two handheld systems
under the name Neo Geo Pocket.
Other Neo Geo systems
See also
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