why is NEO GEO system so expensive?
 

hi
i was just looking at some of ebay auctions and found out Neo Geo systems were selling at very high prices.
why??

there were several versions of Neo Geo systems, which one is the best model??

If I remember right, these went for $799 new and either included one cartridge (NAM 1975) or none at all. Each cart was around $200-$300. The reason why these cost so much is that at the time, SNK's arcade systems used the same board as in the Neo Geo. So, you could get yourself the arcade experience at home. The amt of sprites the console could push was far higher than the Genesis and SNES.

The original manufacturer, SNK, closed late last year. So, the consoles aren't being made anymore.

More info here:

http://www.neo-geo.com/reviews/NeoGl...eoglossary.htm

http://www.neo-geo.com

It was pretty much the arcade system, stuffed into a little console. I'm pretty sure the games were the exact same as their arcade counterparts. Considering that, the consoles were a lot cheaper than buying your own NeoGeo arcade cabinet.

The games were expensive because they used several times the amount of expensive ROM that were in the SNES/Genesis cartidges of the time. This was before CD-ROM's allowed for much higher storage space at a fraction of the cost.

As for why the systems go for so much even now, I would guess it's because there weren't that many of them made. I would like to get a NeoGeo CD system (same games, but on CD's), but I think those are even rarer.

Perhaps they are so high because there is a larger market for them? As in people who need replacement main boards for their Neo-Geo full-size arcade machines? I say, once you go MAME, you need never go back.

There is a great little article on the Neo scene as well as a little bit of pricing breakdown in the latest issue of
Bit-Age Times.

Some of the biggest carts were around 64-128 megabyte I think, which is bigger than any N64 cart (although they didn't use much compression on the data)

Chris

The ironic thing is it's easier and by far cheaper to get an arcade set up. You can get the main arcade board for like $60 for a single slot board if you're patient. A lot of games go for like $10 to $20. You just either need to have your own cabinet or modify a harness so you can hook it up to your TV.

Off topic: what does MAME mean?
Thanks in advance.

Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator

Oh...thanks again!
Edit: Just noticed, I am now a Senior Member!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

They are still making games for this system too. Videogames.com had an article which Capcom made some game announcments and one of them was Marvel vs. Capcom II, I believe.