Neo Geo CD
A CD-based Neo Geo with lower game prices but long load times.
The Neo Geo CD, often shortened to NeoCD, is a home console from SNK that hit the market on September 9, 1994. It runs on the same hardware as SNK’s cartridge-based Neo Geo from 1990, but swaps cartridges for cheaper CDs—games cost around $50 each, a huge drop from the $300 price tag of some cartridges. Instead of the AES model’s joystick, the Neo Geo CD came bundled with a control pad, though it still works with AES controllers. The console struggled to catch on, mainly because load times dragged on for 30 to 60 seconds per game, and it lacked 3D graphics at a time when 3D was becoming standard. By September 30, 1997, only 570,000 units had sold worldwide. SNK stopped making all Neo Geo consoles in 1997, but new games kept coming for the arcade MVS system until 2004.
SNK first showed the Neo Geo CD at the 1994 Tokyo Toy Show. It uses the same CPU setup as the arcade and cartridge Neo Geo systems, making ports easy. SNK planned to release CD versions of every Neo Geo game still in arcades. The original price was set at $299. To fix complaints about slow loading, SNK initially planned a double-speed CD-ROM drive for North America, while Japanese and European models used a single-speed drive. The North American launch was set for October 1995 but got pushed to January 1996. SNK never explained the delay, but they admitted their Japanese division had made too many single-speed units, and upgrading them to double-speed was too expensive. So they sold the single-speed stock first and postponed the double-speed model. By May 1997, GamePro reported that SNK had quietly discontinued the console.
Even before launch, critics worried about load times. Electronic Gaming Monthly noted that a demo of Fatal Fury 2 at the Toy Show took 14 to 28 seconds between rounds on a single-speed prototype. About a month after launch, SNK said they’d sold the entire first shipment of 50,000 units. In a late 1995 review, Next Generation gave the console 1.5 out of 5 stars, praising SNK’s fun games but arguing that the lack of 3D kept it from being cutting-edge, limiting it to the same small cult following as the AES, even with cheaper games.
The hardware runs on a Motorola 68000 main processor at 12 MHz (often a Toshiba TMP68HC000) and a Zilog Z80 coprocessor at 4 MHz. It displays 4,096 colors on screen from a palette of 65,536, at a resolution of 304 x 224.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- SNK
- Generation
- Fourth
- Release Date
- JP · September 9, 1994 · EU · December 3, 1994 · AU · December 23, 1994 · NA · January 15, 1996
- Discontinued
- 1997
- Units Sold
- 570,000
- Cpu
- Motorola 68000 @ 12 MHz
- Media
- CD-ROM
- Predecessor
- Neo Geo AES
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Neo Geo CD was first unveiled at the 1994 Tokyo Toy Show. It uses the same CPU set-up as the arcade and cartridge-based Neo Geo systems, facilitating conversions. SNK planned to release Neo Geo CD versions of every Neo Geo game still in the arcades. The system was launched with a bundled control pad instead of a joystick like the AES version, but was compatible with controllers from the AES.
The Neo Geo CD met with limited success due to long loading times that could vary from 30 to 60 seconds depending on the game, and its lack of 3D graphics capabilities at a time when 3D graphics were becoming ubiquitous. In response to criticism, SNK planned a double-speed CD-ROM drive model for North America, but after missing its planned October 1995 launch date, they announced a January 1996 launch and stated they had decided against using a double-speed drive because their Japanese division had produced an excess of single-speed units and modifying them was too expensive. Production of all Neo Geo consoles was discontinued in 1997, while new software continued to be released and backported by the Neo Geo MVS until 2004.
Three versions of the Neo Geo CD were released: a front-loading version only in Japan (25,000 units built), a top-loading version marketed worldwide as the most common model, and the Neo Geo CDZ, an upgraded faster-loading version released only in Japan on December 29, 1995. The CDZ included a double-speed CD-ROM drive and different CD controller circuitry. All three versions have no region lock but are region aware, and some games display English or Japanese depending on the console's region setting.
Reader's Guide
The Neo Geo CD's significance lies in its attempt to make Neo Geo games more affordable by switching from expensive cartridges to CD media, with titles priced lower than the cartridge versions. However, its legacy is defined by its technical limitations: long loading times that ranged from 30 to 60 seconds and the absence of 3D graphics capabilities at a time when 3D was becoming standard. These factors, along with production issues that delayed a planned double-speed model, contributed to limited commercial success, with 570,000 units sold worldwide by September 1997. The system's library of 97 games consists primarily of ports from the MVS and AES formats, though it includes a few arcade games not released for the AES and eight exclusive titles. Despite the console's discontinuation in 1997, software continued to be backported from the Neo Geo MVS until 2004. The Neo Geo CD remains notable as a CD-based iteration of the powerful Neo Geo hardware that failed to gain broad market traction due to its loading times and lack of 3D support.
Did You Know?
- Only 25,000 units of the front-loading version were built, and it was only released in Japan.
- Eight games were released exclusively for the Neo Geo CD, including Ironclad and Samurai Shodown RPG.
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