Tuesday, August 14, 2012

I'd seriously consider buying the Neo Geo X Gold Entertainment System if ...

In early December, Tommo, Inc., in partnership with SNK Playmore, will release the Neo Geo X Gold Entertainment System, which includes a Neo Geo X handheld (pre-loaded with 20 "classic" Neo Geo titles), a Neo Geo X docking station (which allows owners both to charge the handheld and to play its pre-loaded titles via a monitor or TV) and a Neo Geo X joystick.

As much as I like any console that includes the words "entertainment system" in its name (see: the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System and the Nintendo Entertainment System), I'm currently not planning to add this one to my ever-expanding collection.



There are a couple of reasons for that. One, I'd personally consider few of the 20 pre-installed games to be "classics." Two, although it sounds like Neo Geo X owners eventually will be able to add additional titles via memory card, the folks at Tommo have yet to explain when or how that will occur. (Basically, if I won't be able to play Blue's Journey, Nightmare in the Dark, Puzzle Bobble, Spinmaster, Twinkle Star Sprites and Zupapa! on this thing, there's no way I'm going to buy it.) Oh, and the third reason I'm straddling the fence when it comes to picking up the Neo Geo X Gold Entertainment System:  Its $199.99 price tag.

Anyway, I don't suppose this appeals to any of you?

12 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

This is a pretty sweet deal, I think! Not for me, to be sure, since I was never really into Neo-Geo, but it's a great offer. And I LOVE the idea of having a handheld that plugs into a dock so you can play it on your TV. That needs to be the wave of the future.

Unknown said...

I'm with you. I have wanted this for a long time, but I can't justify buying it if I can't play additional games. 20 built-in games with no solid plan for playing other more obscure titles that I love is not very compelling.

Everything about the hardware looks super, though!

Bryan Ochalla said...

I think it'll need to be a bit cheaper to nab more than total Neo Geo nerds (I use that term in a loving, positive way, of course), Justin, but other than that, I agree with you.

RE: the whole 'handheld that plugs into a dock' idea -- I love it, too. In fact, I really wish Nintendo would embrace it at some point. I can see why they haven't so far, as it would mean losing a revenue stream, but I'm guess they'll have to do something like this eventually...

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Curtis! Oh, yes, the hardware is *very* sweet, isn't it? Making the dock look like the old Neo Geo AES is especially awesome, I think.

That said, yes, there's going to have to be a way to buy and add more games to the system, otherwise what's the point? Like I said in the post, the list of 20 pre-loaded games isn't that great, and most of the folks who buy one of these systems are going to want to add their own fave NG titles to their memory cards. So, hopefully Tommo/SNK have something in mind here and will let the rest of us know about it shortly...

Kimimi said...

I like the look of it a lot and the idea of legally being able to play Neo Geo games on the move is a tempting one... but not for $200. That sort of money could buy me a few games for the Neo Geo hardware I already own, it's too steep for a handheld repro (especially as there's currently no info on screen or emulation quality).

Bryan Ochalla said...

Kimimi: Oh, yes, hearing about the quality of the screen and especially the emulation will be important, I think. If the emulation sucks, what's the point?

Also, Tommo really needs to share with people if/how/when they'll be able to add more games to the memory card. Also, will all old Neo Geo games be made available, or just some? I'd really like/need to know that before jumping in.

Kimimi said...

These are all perfectly sensible questions that we will probably have to wait until somebody buys one to find out :/

Purely going off those similar Mega Drive/Game Gear Blaze handhelds I imagine everything will be OK but not great. Of course this is not acceptable for a $200 device and if the quality really is going to be that much better then they need to shout about it sooner rather than later in my opinion.

Bryan Ochalla said...

That's really too bad if that's the case, though -- why wouldn't Blaze/Tommo answer these questions now, before the system is released?

I understand and agree with your fears related to this system based on Blaze's previous releases, BTW. I've never owned or played any of them myself, but I've read enough bad reviews to know we should be at least a bit skeptical in the case of the Neo Geo X.

Darwin said...

Count me in! That swanky dock sold it for me. Always wanted a Neo Geo, and this is close enough.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Darwin! So happy to see you here again :) How funny that both you and Curtis -- who also hasn't commented here in a long time -- both showed up on the same day?

Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're on board! Will you let me know what you think of it?

I agree about the dock, BTW. That was a genius move on the part of Blaze/Tommo/SNK, if you ask me. Assuming you can buy/add additional games to the handheld's memory card, I may join you aboard the Neo Geo X train :)

Josef said...

I simply cannot understand who this is for, outside of rabid Neo-Geo collectors desperate to throw huge amounts of money at stuff just because. If the joystick is of how quality I can at least kind of understand how that'd push the price up, but $200 still sounds way, way too steep in my mind.

If you want to play Neo-Geo games on the go, that money is plenty to buy a PSP, and either an SNK collection or two, or simply hacking it and putting whatever you want on there. If playing them on your TV is what excites you, you could also spend it on a PC powerful enough to emulate these games, or, hell, even an AES system, for that matter.


I WAS excited for this thing when it first surfaced, but there's absolutely no way I'm spending 200 bucks on it, especially since it only comes with the same mediocre 1989-1994 games SNK seems intent on shoving down everyone's throats.
The joystick does nothing for me, and I can't say I'm dying to play any of the games they're putting on the thing.

Get rid of the joystick, lower the price by half, and put stuff like Windjammers, Super Dogdeball, Twinkle Star Sprites, Pulstar and Metal Slug X on the thing, and maybe I'd consider it. (there's of course plenty of great fighters they could put on there too, but I'm not really interested in playing them on a device like this)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Ha! I like your spunk, Josef :) Also, I agree with you. This product sounded awfully enticing when it was first announced. Now that we know the intended price point and the names of the pre-loaded games, though, it's become a lot less enticing in my eyes. I guess we'll have to see if the price will drop eventually and if the folks who are releasing it will allow owners to add additional games to the device in some way. Should both of those things happen, I may still pick one up -- but I'm not going to plan on it at this point.