SNK Reveals NEO-GEO AES+ Console for 35th Anniversary

SNK has announced with great fanfare the forthcoming November launch of the NEO-GEO AES+ Console, developed in collaboration with distribution and marketing partner Plaion to celebrate the console’s 35th anniversary debut as the home console version of the legendary multi-game arcade system, the NEO-GEO Multi-Video System.

The Arcade Entertainment System was originally developed by SNK in 1990, initially as a rental-only unit consisting of 2 joystick controllers identical to its arcade machine layout, and a selection of arcade titles that became housed in large, black cartridges that otherwise housed the same arcade cards that were found in Neo-Geo arcade machines the world over.

So popular was the response to the home system that SNK decided to make the system available for sale in two versions, a Gold version for the equivalent of USD $999.99 in 1991 with two games, two joysticks and a memory card, with a less expensive Silver version for $699.99 with just the console deck and one joystick.

To say that this console was the epitome of Bubble-era excess is an understatement, as the world was very different in the Fall of 1991, with an economic recession underway in the US and the collapse of the Japanese Bubble economy just a year earlier in 1990.

Yet the AES endured in the Japanese marketplace, finding not only a dedicated playerbase, but a base that grew with the popularity of SNK’s franchise’s throughout the decade, as more players found the allure of the true arcade experience too attractive to ignore in spite of the high costs for games, which averaged the equivalent of $250-$500 due to the extremely high costs of Flash ROM memory at the time.

The NEO-GEO AES+ console is the culmination of those 35 years of fascination and awe, packaged in a 1:1 reproduction that not only revives the console for a new generation, but also includes 35 years of improvements in electronics technology that ensures these consoles will stand the test of time, with the key addition of an improved video output board that adds native and low-latency HDMI output alongside the standard analog video output for the CRT enthusiast crowd that wants to recreate or relive the arcade experience at home.

Related to the improvements in video display, the AES+ is not only a 1:1 recreation, the console is being built to the exact specifications as those when the console was shipped in 1991, right down to using the most updated and improved versions of the main chips, ASICs and capacitors used in the console’s manufacturing process.

This includes an updated version of the main CPU that allows for selectable clock speeds and modes for select games, enabling full use of the original arcade DIP switch programs to select everything from game speed to alternate languages found on each cartridge.

As a result, every AES cartridge manufactured since 1991 is fully compatible with the AES+, alongside official reproductions of the most popular AES titles being made available at a much lower cost, as well as official Memory Card support to save high scores and game progress.

The console is currently available for pre-order in three editions: an Ultimate Edition for $999.99 that will be available in limited and numbered quantities that will feature the NEOGEO AES+ game console, wired NEOGEO AES+ Arcade Stick, wireless NEOGEO AES+ Arcade Stick, wireless NEOGEO AES+ Gamepad, NEOGEO AES+ Memory Card and all ten game cartridges available at launch displayed in a custom designed game-rack display: Metal Slug, The King of Fighters 2002, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Big Tournament Golf, Shock Troopers, Samurai Shodown V Special, Pulstar, Twinkle Star Sprites, Magician Lord and Over Top.

A White Anniversary Edition will be available for $349.99 that will include the console in White with a White wireless Arcade Stick and a copy of Metal Slug finished in a matching white colorway.

Finally, a base model Original Edition will be available for $249.99 that includes the base deck and one wired Arcade Stick and will form the basis of the launch stock when the console releases in November alongside the Anniversary Edition, accessories and the aforementioned games which will also be sold individually for $89.99 each.