Neo Geo Pocket Color: Taking On the King
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- Most think of Neo Geo as the arcade console powerhouse, but at the turn of the century it tried to give the Game Boy series a run for its money.
Source material:
-- "Neo Geo Pocket Color Coming to United States -- Sooner Than Expected", Business Wire. March 26, 1999.
-- Original SNK commercial uploaded by vectorman0 ( • SNK Neo Geo Pocket Col... ).
-- Game Boy Color advertisement uploaded by Tanooki's Stuff (www.flickr.com....
-- "Neo Geo Pocket Color -- You Can Keep A Good Platform Down", MultiMediaWire. April 18, 2000.
-- "Nintendo's Game Boy gets competition from private upstart SNK", Aaron Curtiss, The Fresno Bee. October 9, 1999.
-- "Nogo Geo", Jack Schofield, The Guardian. June 22, 2000.
-- Pachinko photo by Tischbeinahe (commons.wikime....
-- Neo Geo logo by Alforata (alforata.devian....
-- Frontlight mod images by KojiKendo (imgur.com/a/vHOvn).
-- NGPC print advertisement uploaded by vintagecomputing.com (www.vintagecomp....
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It's a real shame it wasn't more successful. I first got mine in the early 00's brand new for $30 with the Sonic game and because of the liquidation of all the games due to SNK going bankrupt it was really easy to get the plain carts really cheaply. I was taking Japanese lessons at the time and purchased a bundle of Japanese titles and used them as learning tools. Lots of great memories from it.
What a great video! The NeoGeo brand is practically unheard of here in the UK, so it was interesting to learn about the NGPC.
Reminiscent of the PS Vita. Ahead of its time. Technically stable. Well thought out. Just bad market entry.
harken lol
its a valid point ):
@jackthegamer It wasnt overpriced. I bought mine new at toys r us with metal slug, sonic, some card game and a couple fighting games for like dirt cheap. It just came out at a bad time. If it had come earlier it would have really given the gbc some competition. Its basically an awesome, more portable game gear.
@@DouglasThompson Dude, he was talking about the PS Vita.
@@penatio Yeah, the memory cards were stupidly overpriced, and the games were more expensive than the 3ds for most titles, it was a hard sell compared to the 3ds
To this day none of my other electronics can touch that 40hr battery life. Truly a 'Road Trip Warrior'.
It's a shame the platform never caught on, I play my Neo Geo Pocket Color all the time and consider it to be a fantastic machine. The thumbstick is amazing, if you like fighting games you owe yourself to buy one.
Kevin Standridge god damn it. I hope mine is not lost or not stolen by my family members. I should’ve brougjt it with me going abroad fuck nigha
The Neo-Geo Pocket Color is the PS Vita of its day; amazing hardware, offers a limited yet incredible library, and extremely underrated in the face of it's Nintendo competiton.
The thing with the NGPC is that it's library is filled with virtually no bad games. Even it's sports games are quite fantastic.
It's so sad the system came to an early death, as I feel it never reached it's full potential. The games we got were all amazing, but they were first generation titles. There were never developers who grew so accustomed to the hardware they could pull miracles like HAL did with Kirby's Adventure on NES or Wayforward did with Shantae on GBC.
I keep hoping that with the rise of homebrew gaming on retro systems, some talented developer will start producing new NGPC games. The system deserves more attention.
Are you someone who only looks at AAA games that cost tens of millions to produce? Because if so then the Vita isn't for you. The Vita is a system where development costs are lower to enable a wider scope of development from indies, mid tier devs and yes, those AAA devs as well.
The Vita excels at certain things far over the PS4 - platformers, visual novels, monster hunter clones, dungeon crawlers and music games are far better suited to the Vita than PS4. But there are other genres that are better on PS4. When I talk about the Vita's amazing library, I'm not talking about the situations where the games are the same on either and the PS4 version wins on account of being more powerful hardware. I'm talking about games engineered from the ground up for the Vita as portable experiences. They are all wonderful.
It plays games from three generations of hardware, which is always a plus. The Neptunia games on it are really great as well. It just doesn't get really hype-heavy titles is all.
the vita didn't sell because of its overpriced proprietary memory cards, they would've done so much better if it used sd cards like the 3ds
Actually the cost for making a game on the ps vita are a lot higher compared to 3ds/2ds and other previous handheld consoles. The vita didn't even have a sizable indie community because of the high cost and high risk for developing on an unpopular platform in the US/EU. A lot of the indie games were just ports of pc games or just another uninspired 2ds sidescroller. Even the mid tier game devs just release anime games. You tried really hard to make it sound like wanting a AAA game on a powerful system is bad but those are the typse of games that sell consoles. They're also kind of games that have depth and have more playtime the the couple of hours that indies have. The whole thing about games being engineered for the vita from the ground up for a portable experience isn't unique to the system. Every single popular handheld was like that.
Satoshi Matrix well said!!
I still have mine, which I got on release in the UK. Powered it on the other day and it worked right away. Card Fighters Clash was awesome.
I was one of those who bought this thing near launch. I still have it and a second one I found when they released the large packs a few years later.
Ah, the NGPC, one of my favorite handhelds. Just a fantastic little system with some really high quality games. I was pulled in by Metal Slug for this one. Got my Anthracite NGPC pretty much as soon as it launched in the US.
Man alive I like see through hand held I love the looks of the blue camo Neo Geo Pocket Color.
I love how you shot the scene with the gameboy advanced casting a massive shadow over the bro geo...that's was a extremely good idea love your work
He knows how to add drama and suspense to any scene lol 😁😁.
i have this system and bought this. it is awesome, i ordered many games off of ebay. i found only 1 game in a retro game store where i live and i got it since it was the only one i saw. i kind of wish some of these games were on the virtual console, since there are some excellent hidden gems this handheld had.
I believe the Fatal Fury variant is on the Switch if I’m not mistaken.
In the vein of lesser-known handhelds, have you considered a feature on Wonderswan? You've given great treatment to the NGPC, here.
fantastic video. I can tell you put in a lot of work
You really have a lot of talent when it comes to quality and style in your videos, btw I see those batteries a lot in your videos, are they that good?
Eneloop are really great and hold their charge when not in use way longer than any other rechargeable battery I've used.
Yes. The catch is, that Eneloop batteries are among the most expensive on the market. But like they say, you get what you pay for. The batteries are the best I've ever bought.
I used to avoid rechargeable batteries because they didn't perform very well. While the Eneloops still don't last quite as long as a pair of plain alkalines, they're about the best you can get. Mine have paid for themselves many times over.
i have eneloop batterys in my GBA right now and when fully charged it lasts 2 months. I think eneloop batterys are great
I admit, the Game Boy line was unbeatable, but if the Neo-Geo Pocket Color was marketed at the right time, yeah, it could be a serious threat to the Game Boy Color, if not kill the Game Boy Color squat. SNK makes quality hardware, they know their stuff, they do things ahead of its time. I'm just glad SNK is still alive, albeit under a new company.
I used to trash Sega and Neo Geo, Now I wish they were still competing. 😥
This was a great little handheld, and I'm glad it inspired the design of the GBA because prior to the GBA the GB was uncomfortable for anyone with large hands because they were so narrow.
I remember playing this on a kiosk setup at Toys R us (2nd floor) on yonge st in Toronto across from the eatons center. I was amazed at the quality of the games and how advanced it was at the time. It made nintendo's stuff look dated by comparison. The neo geo pocket deserved better. I play the games now on an anbernic rg350m and the games play and look great. Great video.
Yeah Toys 'R Us was one of the only stores that carried a fair amount of NGPC Systems and Games. Probably got over a dozen games from them.
That GBA shot at the end was slick.
I bought a NGPC yesterday at a retro store with a Pac Man game; absolutely love it and can't wait to try and find more games for it
a great channel for those geeks and retro fans. This channel needs more subscribers and views!. Wish you the best!
Thumbs up for not sticking a couple of LEDs in there
it always seems that the better consoles always fail
Yeah with the specs it could kill a gb and probably even have competed with the GBA for a while since it's 16 bit it was powerful enough to last. Nintendo library and third party support killed them.
yeah like the Dreamcast
When it comes to portable consoles, it is not about having cutting edge technology. It is about being affordable, sturdy, having good battery life and being relatively easy to develop games for (as not many publishers are willing to put a lot of effort to develop for the portable market, which is seen as secondary).
vitor kk it’s always the games, Nintendo has Mario and other properties
Great content as always
I loved this video. Please do more in this style!
There was a Neo Geo monochrome too like the Wonderswans.
This channel has really consistent content... You deserve wayyy more subscribers
i love my NGPC, i have 3 of em, it didnt do very good in the UK i never spotted any TV advertising for it and if memory serves it was exclusive to Virgin MegaStore that mean i had to go to Oxford street in central London everytime i wanted a new game and they didn't really push it
I remember hearing stories like that, I also remember there was no marketing over here in UK, not a iaota.
I'm from the country where in the 90s we had only Dendy( Nintendo Famicom clone) and most luck folks had Sega Mega Drive 2. Nintendo GB was like a space ship to all of the kids my age, so I thank you for sharing the knowledge about those things I never knew! Today I have some retro games and it is great to see that someone knows more and is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge! Great Job and, looking forward some more videos =)!
Wow the Neo Geo looks amazing and I never saw it in Puerto Rico. I'm going to search for one because I like all the aspects of the console. Thanks for this amazing video Colin.
You're the man. Love these videos.
Beautiful videography!
I never really thought about the Neo Geo pocket color at the time of its release because to me it was another portable similar to the Gameboy color and to be honest I was disappointed in that system when I finally had a chance to try out some it games in the late 90's as a kid. My money was on the GBA, so I waited for that portable console to launch.
Fast forward 15 years and I decided to give the console a chance, I'm currently playing it on my cellphone with my Gamesir controller and I have to admit that it has some pretty good titles, still not as good as the GBA games that I normally play, but it is fun to pick up and play a quick game during commutes and free time.
Also some of the games from the NGPC have been ported over to the DS console. Benefits of playing this classic portable on the phone is the backlit screen which makes the colors pop and the hard to find games can be download from various websites (I never knew they had 83 games, so my search continues).
Great video, Colin! Dare I say, even bests the quality and research of the Gaming Historian!
Thanks for the kind words!
You have a great speaking voice and information. A lot of people hating the new algorithm has led me to great channels like this one.
Great video and excellent coverage of the NGPC.
I have been dying to get my hands on these. I have bid on a few but they always go above my price point. Awesome video, every time I see a video like this my respect for the consols and games grow.
Very good video, and I have to say the best way too play this system now without modding a console is getting the Android emulator NGP.emu, and pairing your phone with a Bluetooth controller that has a good analog stick, and d-pad(helps with games like Sonic), also after having spent time playing the games for both the original Japanese B/W Neo Geo Pocket, and the Pocket Color it honestly feels like I'm playing an 8-bit system, and not a true 16-bit system with how the games look, play, and sound, as even the Game Gear was pushing more on screen in terms of color, sounds, lit screen, etc.(or at least I think so) when it was released, as in Japan I think SNK was trying to cut into the Wonderswan's market more then Nintendo, and then failed to realize how big Nintendo was, and still is for that matter in western markets. Sad as it's such a good system, and with a few small changes like software support, better marketing, and even including a simple button or switch on the color units for an even LED front lit screen might have seen SNK giving some true fight to Nintendo.
Dude, your videos are so good. Thank you!
Neo Geo had the same ending as Sega in the console market unfortinatly…
I guess all those year of Nintendo making playing cards helped them play the right hand in the hand-held market. Then and now.
The Pumpking King I think that Nintendo won't go third party because they are thrifty
Good stuff as always :)
Though, there're a few things you didn't mention...
One of the problems that lead to the failure of the NeoGeo Pocket was the fact that there was a previous, monochrome model which was sold for only about a year before SNK noticed their own short-sightedness and came out with a Color model (that lost them a bit of money...)
Aditionally, their US branch had TERRIBLE management at the time, and AFAIK, they did a very poor marketing job.
Sure, GBC was a gargantuan rival, and the GBA was looming on the horizon, but still, more could've been done and there are a lot of stories floating around on the internet on how the now-infamous Barone family did a shoddy job with managing SNK USA.
BTW, don't know if you are aware, but there is also a "slim" version of the NGPC, which is easy to identify by the "COLOR" on the screen corner being in cursive writing, said to be even more confortable ;)
Pokemon alone had to be a reason people bought so many Game Boy Colors despite the Advance was already announced.
SNK was and is one of my favourite videogame companies for making high quality products. too bad they are not that successful, probably because of lack of marketing. it wasn't really avaliable here in germany.
Great video as always, the Neo Geo Pocket Color is a great handheld, a shame it sold so bad.
The NGPC was so much better then a gbc or gba... Speedy fighting games, shooters, and platformers with a spiffy clicky joy stick.
KokoroNoSama GBA? Not sure about that.
come on man.GBA is 10x better than this.
it bested the gbc I'll give you that, gba however had a lot of advantages
It had precisely 1 shooter and 1 platformer so lets not go overboard with the hyperbole.
The GBA has sholder buttons for one
I love the control stick on this thing.
When I played SNK vs. Capcom for the first time I remember being wowed by how amazing it was!
40 HOURS!!! I WANT ONE!!
Heads Up: Videogames New York has these in stock, as well as a TON of games.
So much drama in this video... you can wipe a tear in the end.
Transparent cases always look cool!
The production quality on your videos are honestly top notch
Your voice is so soothing. I feel very relaxed watching your videos. I subscribed recently. Excellent content.
Your presentation was good, you covered a lot of important points about the system, and you even cited your sources. Great job. I do wish you would've at least briefly covered the bottom of the system. Anyone who doesn't know about the system already might've wanted to know.
Correction at 2:08 ~ the first Majorly successful handheld to have code in its chip/board was the PSP, since it was more successful than the DS when it came out. The DS was definitely the first though since it came out before the PSP.
Beautifully made and edited video, Colin.
Wow, what I great channel. I have just subscribed. Keep up the good work.
great music in the video, wish I could still use the links in the description to find them!
I had been using a neogeo mini controller that I modded myself to have microswitches for use on a MiSTer, and I gotta say, you're pretty much right about the controls being odd for platformers, but Metal Slug Advance did great and so did many other games, even some platformers.
I remember my parents buying me the Silver sonic edition at a Target as a kid, they didnt have game boy colors in stock so i ended up getting the neo geo color, i loved it but only had the bundled sonic game. They had a pacman version too. Sadly i never seen any game releases for it in stores.
That's because of poor sales, but I can remember about a year or so after launch my local EB at the time had repackaged bundle deals of the console, and games in basic blister packages with about 6 games per pack(SNK recalled unsold stock for repackaging, and even flashed some unsold Japanese carts and printed new labels to go into the packs for resale in western markets to try, and stay afloat) but it was a hard sale at $100 when the GBA was out with new games being released, but now I kick myself for not picking one up lol!
Commodorefan64 now that i remember i have seen those 6 repacks alot at l.a shops.
When I saw this as a youth. I wanted one. It was pricey compared to other offerings.
Good video, I like the editing. I just had one small comment: I think the Game.Com had built in features like Solitaire.
great little console. very underrated.
Amazing channel love it.
5:48 is definitely spot on, I'm trying to find replacement parts and I'm not sure where to search anymore. I guess I will have to wait and see how my luck goes with casting stuff?
Great video, it has many information about the console, thanks.
You deserve more subscribers.
i love your videos ! You are doing amazing job in each one!
That's a bit odd: as an european Sega-kiddie at the time I couldn't wait for the official release of the NGP/C, which should be linkable to the DC besides the inclusion of Sonic Pocket Adventure - the 1st Sonic handheld game since the Game Gear. But while I waited non of the magazines I read back then (Video Games, Man!ac, Mega Fun) could ever announce a release date for the NGP/C until the party was over. That video is the 1st medium I ever witnessed that said (and showed "proof" in form of an newspaper article) it was released in Europe.
I love your videos, man. I was looking at one of these yesterday with its box. It was so tempting but I passed on it as I'm not familiar with it or its library. I may have to pick one up when I get the chance again.
Bit of a sad story really. I always had the Gameboy line, and the NeoGeo home console was just far too expensive for me to buy. I would have loved a poket Geo back then, but I don't even think they were released in Australia. Keen to drag out my old taco style advance again now :)
Very good video! Thanks.
I love mine. Got a second used unit for when a full size LCD replacement comes out.
These would look great on the Analogue Pocket.
great video, I love hearing about game and gameboy related info. (I have a gameboy pocket).
I got myself a pocket color about 2 months ago at my retro game store in Atlanta. Only 34 dollars because it didn't have the clock battery. Snk be Capcom MoM cost me double the consoles worth.
Anthony Raffa indeed it would, it's a bloody good game lol.
That is a sexy Neo Geo my friend, now i want one :v
Defiantly subscribing, great videos! I loved my Geo pocket, I should but another.
this was a great console.. it might has a small game library. but it has a great amount of quality games..
i played neo geo pocket games on my psp via emulator..
i wish i had one..
Schroeder M. Schulz get an emulator for your phone and a portable Bluetooth gaming controller, download your favorite games and enjoy.
and tomorow, you have a 3D Neo Geo Pocket Micro XL Color.
Great video style. I never looked into the Neo Geo pocket, always figured it was similar to Neo Geo which I already got a set of games . but gotta try some of these out
Very well done!
In are area, there is this retro gaming store and they have LOTS of Neo Geos.
shoutouts to fresno and the fresno bee.
Awesome vid!!!
Was there an earlier, black and white Neo Geo Pocket?
There was indeed. Neo Geo ended up rushing the NGPC to market as a way to combat the Game Boy Color.
It was around for literally a few months before the NGPC came out, but it did exist.
I just wish mine still worked. It just up and refused to read carts one day.
Nifty looking console. It would be fun to mod.
I have one correction: sonic pocket adventure was actually developed by SNK, and supervised by Sonic Team and Yuji Naka. So it's actually a first party game.
CHIPS everything that has to do with 3rd party companies are 3rd party games.. despite being developed by the 1st party company
love your videos :D
AS much good nintendo has done I'm really fed up they snuffed out so many cool different consoles like this.
Nintendo are the handheld mafia, they always always kill the competition 😔😔😔.
Trough while the cpu is a 6mhz 16bit cpu, but sadly i,ve discovered that it has to do most things on it's own,while it does have a 3mhz Z80 chip for sound,however despites the atari lynx has a 4mhz 8bit cpu,but it's gpu is an astonishing 16bit chip at an blazing 16mhz,so the lynx became a beast.
But this handheld does have awesome games,but amezingly no street fighter 2.
Superb video for a gem of a handheld. I have a frontlight modded one but they're all kind of crappy since most are SP screens jammed in :/
Im so glad you're covering the NGPC. It's my favourite handheld.
You should do a video like this on the GBA. That is a console that allegedly did really well but I have no real context on
would have been nice to see the display next to a GBC's. i remeber it looking a tad more blocky, but quite a bit more vibrant and contrasty, but i've never seen them side by side.
I love the intro every time I watch your videos, keep the music. Maybe just update the intro maybe
Excellent video, it's a shame you only cover hardware. I'd love to see what info and trivia you'd dig up about games for those consoles too. You could do 1 a month or something for a few months, see if your subscribers respond well to them :) - Just an idea!
Pesky bee!
Lol dhmis
I love the neo geo pocket color. I would really like to see you do a video on a front light mod for it, even if a sp frontline is needed though possible alternatives would be interesting to hear about.
THE CLICKY STICK