NEOGEO X GOLD Limited Edition

by Neogeo x

• Limited Edition - Includes the Neogeo X Ninja Master's game card.
• Play anywhere - At home or on the go.
• 20 pre-loaded classic Neogeo games.
• Home arcade experience with the Neogeo X Station when the Neogeo X Handheld is docked inside and the Neogeo X Arcade Stick is plugged in. Outputs to TV via HDMI or A/V out.
• Contents include: Neogeo X Station, Neogeo X Handheld, One Neogeo X Arcade Stick, and Ninja Master's Neogeo X game card

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0093G9VOI
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 20 x 4.6 inches ; 5 pounds
• Media: Console
• Release Date: December 18, 2012
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,033 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

 

LIMITED EDITION BONUS: NINJA MASTER'S

Advanced Docking Station with HDMI capabilities

Revolutionary "System-within-a-system"

Play NEOGEO Games at home or on the go!

Expandable Game Card Slot

Authentic Arcade experience with the NEOGEO X Arcade Stick

The NEOGEO X story:
In 1992, the NEOGEO AES (Advanced Entertainment System) console was released, ushering in a groundbreaking new home system that brought arcade-quality games to the home for the very first time. Now, The 20th Anniversary reboot of this Retro Gaming Classsic, The Limited Edition NEOGEO X Gold has a worldwide release date of December 2012.

If you're old enough to know what the NEOGEO was, then this news is for you! If you have never heard of the NEOGEO, then you are in for a treat!

So to celebrate the system's 20th anniversary, the NEOGEO X Gold comes pre-loaded with 20 of the most well-known titles from the console's history.

"Great game consoles don't die; they're just reborn in much more affordable and convenient packages. The NEOGEO X GOLD is a love letter to one of my favorite consoles of all time, and working with SNK PLAYMORE to acquire the NEOGEO license, Tommo Inc. looks to provide gaming and entertainment enthusiasts with a classic arcade experience both at home and on the go," said Tommo CEO Jonathan Wan.

The original NEOGEO home console was released in 1990 in Japan by SNK (now known as SNK Playmore). Its arcade-quality home software set it apart the competition; NEOGEO games were identical to arcade ones because the hardware was the same. Of course, all that came at a price: At $650 (over $1100 today), it was too expensive to be popular. Back in the day, if you could have afforded the equivelant to the NEOGEO X Offering (And let's face it, very few could), everything offered in the NEOGEO X Gold system would have set you back a whopping $6000! No wonder people call the NEOGEO the Bugatti brand of gaming!

There is something about Retro Games that have a totally timeless appeal that is enjoyed by all. For those of us who grew up playing on the Atari or Sega Megadrive/Genesis, playing great old-school titles not only presents an unbeatable sense of nostalgia but also a greatway to pass time. Some argue that Retro Games were the best ever made... then along came SNK and the NEOGEO AES. They changed the face of gaming forever in every possible sense. It is amazing that even brand new gamers are becoming fans of the classic Retro Games from the 1990s, proving that these simple-but-addicting games have not been replicated, even with today's more powerful technology.

 

LIMITED EDITION BONUS:
For a limited time, the PRE-ORDER ONLY NEOGEO X GOLD LIMITED EDITION will come with a free NINJA MASTER'S NEOGEO X Game Card while supplies last!

 

Experience all the magic of the 20 pre-loaded classic NEOGEO games at home or on the go!
The NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system comes complete with the NEOGEO X Station, the NEOGEO X Handheld with 20 pre-loaded NEOGEO® AES classic titles, and the NEOGEO X Joystick. In addition to coming pre-loaded with 20 NEOGEO classic titles, the NEOGEO X Handheld device features a crisp 4.3" LCD display, an expandable game card slot, internal stereo speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for a personal gaming experience you can take anywhere. The NEOGEO X Handheld device works with the NEOGEO X Joystick and NEOGEO X Station to charge the handheld device and transfer the action directly to a television set or monitor, via HDMI or A/V out, for a true arcade experience right at home.

 

Handheld Portable Video Games Console & HDMI Entertainment Docking Station & Authentic Arcade Experience Joystick.

• Play Anywhere - At Home or on the Go!
• Advanced HDMI Docking Station with USB ports that also charges the NEOGEO X handheld system.
• 2-Player mode possible with a second NEOGEO X Joystick (Sold Separately).
• 4.3" Screen on the NEOGEO X handheld.
• 20 Pre-loaded classic NEOGEO AES games.
• Expandable Game Card Slot.
• Rechargeable Battery: 4-5 hours of play time.
• Authentic Arcade Experience Joystick.

 

20 Pre-Loaded NEOGEO AES Games:

View larger

LIMITED EDITION BONUS: NINJA MASTER'S

3 COUNT BOUT

LEAGUE BOWLING

ART OF FIGHTING

MAGICIAN LORD

ALPHA MISSION II

METAL SLUG

BASEBALL STARS II

MUTATION NATION

CYBER LIP

NAM 1975

FATAL FURY

PUZZLED

FATAL FURY SPECIAL

REAL BOUT - FATAL FURY SPECIAL

THE KING OF FIGHTERS '95

SAMURAI SHODOWN II

KING OF THE MONSTERS

SUPER SIDEKICKS

LAST RESORT

WORLD HEROES PERFECT

 

Product Description

The Neo Geo Gold X entertainment system comes complete with the Neo Geo X Station, the Neo Geo X Handheld with 20 preloaded Neo Geo classic titles, and the Neo Geo X Joystick. The Neo Geo X Handheld features a crisp 4.3" LCD display, an expandable game card slot, internal stereo speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for a personal gaming experience you can take anywhere. The handheld works with the Neo Geo X Joystick and Neo Geo X Station to charge and transfer the action directly to a television set or monitor via HDMI or A/V out for a true arcade experience right at home.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Neo Geo X, in hand and played December 18, 2012

By Stephen M. Lerch TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

For those wanting a quick review: If you like the classic Neo Geo fighting games, shooters and others, this system includes 20 classics (+1 if you score Ninja Masters) in a hand held package. It really is just an emulator in a hand held video game system, but does a near perfect emulation of the classic system. You are limited to USA Neo Geo home console (AES) restrictions of 5 continues and no blood in most games, but the games are fun regardless of the stupid 90s censorship. RECOMMENDED for fans of "retro" game systems.

For the longer review:

Unboxing:

Unboxing the Neo Geo X is pretty simple. The main display box contains two smaller white boxes of approximately the same size. Each one, in a very cool touch, has a Neo Geo logo sticker on it to indicate whether it has been opened or not. They could have put a simple piece of tape over the box, so this is a nice little flourish.

The hand held console, the faux console docking station and instructions are in one box, while the power adapter, RCA cable, Neo Geo stick and, if you get the LE version, Ninja Masters SD card, are in the other. Also included with the instructions is an HDMI mini to HDMI cable. This is a nice touch, as most systems these days seem to want to let you fend for yourself when it comes to HDMI cables in the box.

They are well packaged and nicely shielded from any possible damage.

Hand Held:

Powering on the system from power off to game selection screen takes 25-30 seconds total. Not horrible, but not instant on that some people might expect given other digital devices feel or are "instant on." The power switch is responsive and just a simple switch.

Volume is controlled through button on the bottom of the device.... The speakers on the system are... anemic. I connected headphones (and a FiiO headphone amp if you care) to the system and headphones sound great coming out of the hand held. As far as I can tell, this is MVS/AES perfect sound. On screen display shows the volume level when you press the buttons.

The face buttons, the ABCD buttons, are in the Neo Geo CD gamepad configuration and pretty easy to get used to. The L1/L2 and R1/R2 buttons, well, I'm not really sure why they are on the system. Sure, the L1/L2 buttons control the aspect ratio on the handheld, but outside of that functionality, the buttons serve no purpose. Perhaps a firmware update will allow you to map say, multiple buttons to one of the shoulder buttons to make special moves easier? I'm not sure.

Brightness, also along the bottom like the volume, is controlled via an up and down button. The control was responsive and you have a clear indicator of the brightness on screen.

The Menu and start buttons are kind of small, but easy enough to get to and easy enough to press.

Booting a game from the menu to the Neo Geo splash screen takes 8-12 seconds. Samurai Shodown was 8 seconds while Fatal Fury took me 12. On subsequent load of Fatal Fury it was in the 8-9 second range, so this should be taken with a little skepticism. I would say to expect about 10 seconds average for loading a game, so 45 seconds from power on to the point of a game starting. Not bad, not amazing.

The joystick on the hand held is a joy to use. It reminds me of the Neo Geo Pocket Color stick. It clicks when you move it left/right/up/down and it registers quickly and easily in game. Very nice.

The screen is high quality as well. One thing that you will note is that the screen is widescreen, though the games were originally done in the 4:3 standard of the 90s. The nice part is you can press one of the shoulder buttons to go from widescreen to standard. The only problem I have with this is that it is reset after every single game. Why can't I have an option to just tell the system to default to 4:3 for everything? Hopefully a firmware update will correct this. It should be noted that when you put the system into 4:3 mode there will be big bars on the left and right in black, and also a few pixels deep of black on the top and bottom to maintain the original aspect ratio.

The screen is glass, and as such is a massive finger grease magnet. Be prepared to wipe it off frequently.

The hand held is fairly light weight and feels like a quality device. The back is rubberized with a really cool SNK silver logo embedded in it.

It's easy to hold and easy to use.

Some have wondered if there is the ability to display "scan lines." For those not "in the know" this is the method of putting lines in the video to make it appear as though you are playing on an old school CRT TV. The quick answer here is no, there is no way that I've found to display scan lines on the system, neither on the hand held nor on an external display.

Overall I am impressed with the quality of the buttons, the screen and the feel of the hand held.

One thing to note is that there is NO CAPABILITY TO SAVE GAMES. For games like Magician Lord this is potential video game company brutality on its customers. The original home console could read memory cards and pre-release hope was that since they are doing simple emulation with this system that save states would be utilized. This is NOT the case.

EDIT- it should also be noted that the system does NOT save high score information either. This is also annoying, but not so much as not having save capability in game.

Battery life seems a little limited to me, especially since you have to consider you will need to carry the dock in order to charge this. 5 hours is what I pulled off on a full charge, though that wasn't me playing the entire time. I left it powered on while sitting on the table between plays before the battery indicator turned red. So you might ask, why not just charge via USB like other devices? It's plastered all over the hand held's screen protector and in the manual "only charge with the dock." The Neo Geo X website says the same thing. The official unboxing video I saw makes the comment as well. What will happen if you charge via USB? I don't know, but having paid for this and not wanting to damage it, I am following their advice. No idea what they will do when they release just the hand held on its own without the dock/controller...

Also of note is that the BIOS on this system is US based. This means: no blood. No Mai "bounce." It also means 5 continues (except for games with special codes, I guess) per game. I'm hoping someone can hack the system to allow us to use, if nothing else, the European BIOS settings that allow for the violence and bounce, while also being in English. The ultimate would be Unibios capability, but that most likely would only happen through a user based hack, if it ever does happen. If you don't know what the Unibios is, do a search on the 'net for it. It's a great "homebrew" BIOS that allows a user to perform all kinds of cool functions, including cheats of a sort.

The Dock and Playing on a TV:

Where I think the set falls down a little is the docking station. The dock itself looks like an original AES (Neo Geo Home) console, which is neat. It is supposedly 20% smaller than the original console.

The problem is, overall it feels like cheap plastic. It is very light weight, which is nice since you can only charge the hand held using the dock (more on that above), but the way it is hinged you press the open slider and it opens half way. That's OK, but then you open the lid completely and let go and... it closes a little. It's nothing that would keep me from buying the system, it just seems to cheapen the experience. The other problem is closing the lid. You almost have to slam it, unless you ensure you ALWAYS firmly press it closed. Once you find a good spot to just press it, so you don't have to slam it, this doesn't become an issue.

You have 2 options for displaying this on your TV. You can go completely "old school" and use the AV out (red/white/yellow), which will work well on a CRT for the original look of the games. I tried this out and it works pretty well. No complaints there.

The other option, the one I will be using because I have an HD TV where I want to use this system, is HDMI. One thing I've noticed on my HDTV is screen tearing is present. I don't know if this has to do with up scaling to 480p to 720p of the native resolution of the TV, or if it is an issue with emulation. I tend towards if being my TV because I didn't see this when connecting via the AV cables to a CRT.

Video out from both AV and HDMI is in standard 4:3 format, NOT 16x9/widescreen. If you want the games to fill your HDTV, you will need to set your TV up for stretch mode. I prefer this as I prefer playing the games int he original aspect ratio. Your mileage may vary here though, so keep that in mind.

The AES style controller if flawless. The micro switches, casing and parts are all using the same setups as the original home console sticks. It just FEELS right to be using these controllers.

Game selection:

The system comes with 20 games built in, with the ability to put future games in via the card slot on the hand held. The cards are actually just SD cards, but the NGX doesn't seem to read a standard card, so unless someone hacks this, you can't just load up a ROM from the Internet and play.

The 20 games included cover much of all the games previously released for Wii Virtual Console, XBox Live and PSN/Neo Geo Station. Multiple genres are covered, from fighting to sports to side scrolling shooters.

Tommo/SNK Playmore have claimed more games are coming, however there is no announcement at this time about what these plans might include. I personally hope they do game compilations, such as Samurai Showdown 1-5 on one cart (even though SSII is included), or KoF '94-'03 and similar. Having to pay $10 per game will be a touch annoying, though being a Neo Geo fanboy I'm likely to purchase them anyway...

What I don't like:

The AES dock feels cheap.
You can only charge with the dock. That's great guys, I have a handheld for a reason, and now you're telling me I have to lug this dock around when I travel if I want to play more than 5 hours? Dumb. Hopefully firmware will fix this. EDIT - You can charge via a USB charger, according to the updated NeoGeoX FAQ on the main Neo Geo X homepage.
Having to switch to 4:3 for every game - give me the option for 4:3 all the time.
No high score saving.

What I like:

Hand held quality seems high
Clicky joystick on hand held
AES stick
Closest thing to AES gaming outside of buying a used home system (unless you buy a consolized arcade board, but that's a different league than this)

Overall:

I am quite pleased with the system. It has some minor nitpicks, but I can easily look past them and see the system for what it is: an attempt to recapture the spirit of Neo Geo home system game play, along with allowing portability without resorting to hacking a PSP.

So if you are a fan of classic Neo Geo games, and the game list has even 2 or 3 games you know you enjoy, it's probably worth checking this little system out.

EDIT- after playing for some days, I have to say I'm not overly happy with the video output, either through HDMI or composite. There is screen tearing to be seen left and right. The problem seems to be an issue with the refresh rate through HDMI not being correct, along with upscaling from 320x224 to 320x240, makes for some ugly video out. Still, I enjoy the handheld quite a lot, and since that's my primary focus at the moment, I'm still fairly happy overall. Not sure I'd buy the Gold or wait for just the handheld at this point anymore though. Read more ›

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Flawed But still nice December 21, 2012

By Barney Gumble

Amazon Verified Purchase

The system has quite many flaws ( Console : Joystick lagging, late response, bad HD Video out, picture is tearing on screen, sound problem with the Hdmi Cable ) For the Handheld its quite different : no lag, no tearing, but short batterie life and missing safe / sleep feature. Also the 16:9 screen seems quite useless as the Neogeo games are all 4:3 ( stretched to 16:9 doesnt look really good ).

And the future is still unclear - are the rest / Other Neo Geo Titles coming ?

If not - I think we are all hoping the emulation scene will find an give this system a better "Customfirmware" and some software beside NeoGeo only titles.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat disappointed... (UPDATED) December 19, 2012

By D. Williams

Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 2.0 out of 5 stars   

(SEE UPDATE BELOW)

I have the original AES so I was mainly getting this for the handheld, but also for the games I didn't already have. As a handheld, it's very good. Controls are fine, the thumb controller is "clicky" and couldn't be better. Screen is a tad dark even with the brightness all the way up, but works fine for indoors. Sound is loud enough but thin, headphones work well. Of course, the requirement to charge it in its docking station is a giant load of baloney and hurts portability. Maybe a compatible wall-wart charger will be offered in the future.

As for using it on a TV... um, not so hot. Pretty bad, actually. The screen tearing mentioned by others is definitely noticeable using either HDMI or A/V, more so with HDMI--I wouldn't call it slight, either. When testing it with Alpha Mission II, HDMI looks cleaner on static images than with A/V, but scrolling backgrounds suffer a more obvious jerking and stuttering along with the screen tearing. Nowhere near as smooth as the AES.

Worse than the video issues--the joystick has lag. I am sure of it. I've played the original AES enough to know. The lag is sufficient to affect gameplay on a game like Alpha Mission II. Using the handheld alone, its controls seem responsive. I do have a second joystick I bought with it that I haven't tried but I'm guessing it's not the controller. I considered boxing this up and sending it back because of this, but I do like the handheld.

Finally, (less important but thought I'd mention it), unless I have something up with my speakers I don't know about, the audio's left and right are actually reversed. At least using the HDMI cable, I didn't test this with the A/V cable (I would just switch the L and R outs anyway if it were the case).... Plugged headphones into the handheld and they got the audio right. Maybe someone else can verify this?

So... if you're wanting a handheld that plays Neo Geo titles, you'll probably be happy with this. If you'll mainly be playing it on a TV, be aware of the screen/joystick lag issues. I do tend to be "picky," so your mileage may vary.

-------

*UPDATE*

I'm bumping my original 3 star rating down to 2 and sending the unit back for a refund. I wrote to the support email address mentioned in the manual a week ago and got no reply. I can only conclude there is no support to speak of and the issues that I and many others experience will never be addressed.

Purchase at your own risk. Read more ›

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful system with some major design flaws December 20, 2012

By Nick Vasile

Fun: 3.0 out of 5 stars   

I want to start off by saying this is a beautifully built handheld! feels very strong and sturdy. I was really excited to recieve the console but I do have some concerns that should be noted.

1. No sleep mode, none that I can see anyway. Its frustrating to me I can not play for 10 minutes and put it to sleep. You have to power it off then back on.

2. No way to add credits to games!. This is frustrating, for one, you cant even save but now you cant even add credits. Level 5 in metal slug and died? too bad, back to square one!. This is the worst for some games, you only have 3-5 credits and for a casual gamer like me it isn't enough to enjoy the game. It does make it become more hardcore, which some gamers may like, but not me. Also I see they added the L and R triggers, which both R1 and L1 pause and R2 and L2 change aspect ratio, why not make one insert coins?. I feel this will not be addressed as I don't think we will ever see an update come for the console.

3. No independent charger for the handheld. You have to put it IN the DOCK TO CHARGE IT. Lets be honest, 10 year old technology can play and charge at the same time. Granted, they could add it later but it punishes the early adopters. Feels like they rushed to have it on shelves but do not think about the end user having this trouble. Sure, you can use your droid charge but then it wont charge and play, simply charge only and not allow you to play until its unplugged.

4. Joystick lag. Just as another viewer mentioned there is a slight lag on input. it isn't going to be frustrating to most but to me I see it. Drives me nuts when I need a quick reaction!...

all in all, the games are fun but the console needs to be more polished or updated in order for it to be effective against its competition, the 3DS and PSVita (Even the CFW PSP). It could CRUSH all of them but its the flaws most gamers will notice that own these consoles such as sleep mode, saving, etc. I have hopes for this console and pray they update it to address the credit issue and maybe add a sleep option to the menu. I think in February when just the handheld is launched they will release a stand alone charger then but that is quite a stones throw away from now. I would say maybe pass and see if these concerns are addressed if your a casual gamer like me. If you are hardcore then its everything you would want challenge-wise. Read more ›