Uroko Sakanabito
Grand Master
everything else would be stupid af, pretty sure they will drop it on cart 
New NEO-GEO Aes will be released ?
- Thread starter pierpa86
- Start date
I don't care really, I'm hyped for this release. I have confidence that a company who exists for reproducing retro things has 3/4 of a clue what they are doing and what people will want. Jotego and furtek even remotely having anything to do with it, even if it's only in a consulting sense.... just enforces that confidence.
NEOGEO
NEOGEO
A new Metal Slug on modern platforms would not make you happy?everything else would be stupid af, pretty sure they will drop it on cart
XtraSmiley
Legendary
I'm in for a white one, but if they had the full set with the 10 games in white, I would have been tempted! For $350, it seems like a solid deal with 1 wireless joystick and memory card.
That being said, I wonder if the economy of scale here will apply to snap cases. A repro snap case for $60 is nuts, if they can get some of those available for like $20, I would be in love for some of my loose carts!
What makes me concerned of this whole endeavor is that the games are only $80, but the joysticks? Why the price difference? Also the the entire repro black system WITH joystick is only $250, so why the hell is the joystick alone so expensive?
That being said, I wonder if the economy of scale here will apply to snap cases. A repro snap case for $60 is nuts, if they can get some of those available for like $20, I would be in love for some of my loose carts!
What makes me concerned of this whole endeavor is that the games are only $80, but the joysticks? Why the price difference? Also the the entire repro black system WITH joystick is only $250, so why the hell is the joystick alone so expensive?
Or the Amazon listings are a cover for the crowdfunding.
If they don't use any copy protection they'll expose the original MOTW rom for the first time? Why can't it be ripped from any of the modern re-releases?
Well, for $80 they will be super light, and a different quality plastic, so sorry to burst your bubble there. Seems like a reasonable concession for the cost.
It's all about scale. Pixelheart will never be able to sell as many Neo Drift Out and Breakers Revenge re-release carts no matter how cheap they make it.
bought one and a couple games just to show my support for the direction they r trying to take reproduction consoles. idk if ill ever use it more than once since i have multiple neo 29s and darksoft multis, but its cool to have.
geekmiki
Enthusiast
You seem very sure about that.
Meanwhile, the Amazon product page says 750g (1.7lbs).
And just to be sure I put one of my AES games on a scale and it was 688g (shockbox+cart+manual).
i just have to say
- I already have like 18 ways to play every neo geo game ever made, including tons of real hardware
- there is no confirmed information about the rgb out, or its quality
- the controllers look like a wrist problem waiting to happen
- i don't even like turf masters
but i'm still think about ordering one of these...
can anyone tell me, are those controllers even comfortable to play on?
- I already have like 18 ways to play every neo geo game ever made, including tons of real hardware
- there is no confirmed information about the rgb out, or its quality
- the controllers look like a wrist problem waiting to happen
- i don't even like turf masters
but i'm still think about ordering one of these...
can anyone tell me, are those controllers even comfortable to play on?
I never played on the bean but the joysticks r pretty good gor the time. U can enjoy urself playing on them.i just have to say
- I already have like 18 ways to play every neo geo game ever made, including tons of real hardware
- there is no confirmed information about the rgb out, or its quality
- the controllers look like a wrist problem waiting to happen
- i don't even like turf masters
but i'm still think about ordering one of these...
can anyone tell me, are those controllers even comfortable to play on?
Good luck to you.
My point is you can't expect anything about the weight, considering the value proposition they are offering in 2026.
Kujako
Champion
Without a doubt, fingers crossed for some decent voltage regulation to handle the step down to 3.3v, that's a common source of failure for these inexpensive boards.Almost definitely something like this:
hatmoose
Enlightened
The cost of the carts seems very very low to me. My very limited experience making “stuff” is that the sum of all the parts and process adds up to big bucks.
the cost of software development = $0 which is the good news.
The cart shell is big, simple and injection moulded which is expensive in materials and labour, but cheap in process.
Looks like the two parts of the shell will need to be hand assembled which is error prone and expensive. Also hard to imagine an automatic process for the stickers, so those might be applied by hand too
The boards are huge and thick by modern standards, and there are two of them. Gold/hardened fingers and edge bevel are expensive processes. And there are multiple custom components that need to be specify programmed before being installed (or maybe flashed after assembly), PCBA is cheapish but all of these steps add up.
The cases are enormous by modern standards, and it’s a multi-part process to stick the clear plastic on the front, again unlikely that there is an off-the-shelf machine to stuff the inserts, so that’s probably going to be manual too.
Then we put the correct cart in the correct language in the correct case, box it and ship it.
If the quantities are absolutely huge (100,000+ per SKU) it might be possible to hit that $90 price point. But 10 SKUs in 2 languages times 100,000 is an awful lot of AES carts to sell…
the cost of software development = $0 which is the good news.
The cart shell is big, simple and injection moulded which is expensive in materials and labour, but cheap in process.
Looks like the two parts of the shell will need to be hand assembled which is error prone and expensive. Also hard to imagine an automatic process for the stickers, so those might be applied by hand too
The boards are huge and thick by modern standards, and there are two of them. Gold/hardened fingers and edge bevel are expensive processes. And there are multiple custom components that need to be specify programmed before being installed (or maybe flashed after assembly), PCBA is cheapish but all of these steps add up.
The cases are enormous by modern standards, and it’s a multi-part process to stick the clear plastic on the front, again unlikely that there is an off-the-shelf machine to stuff the inserts, so that’s probably going to be manual too.
Then we put the correct cart in the correct language in the correct case, box it and ship it.
If the quantities are absolutely huge (100,000+ per SKU) it might be possible to hit that $90 price point. But 10 SKUs in 2 languages times 100,000 is an awful lot of AES carts to sell…
Ape Cosplay
Grand Master
As @Kujako said, let's hope for something better than that. The cart in the picture isn't even using a proper 3.3V regulator, just diodes to drop the voltage.Almost definitely something like this:
It also interfaces 3.3V devices directly on 5V busses, no level shifters at all.
kazuo
Champion
I think there are two things going on here that are not really being discussed or considered:
1) Economy of scale. They are almost certainly betting on these selling by the truckload. Will that happen? Who knows. It is the only way the math adds up. Until you consider...
2) Saudi Oil Money. It is entirely possible that Saudi Nihon Kikaku is happy to subsidize the project and give Plaion a soft landing if their sales projections don't shake out. Again, only way it makes sense.
I personally find the conspiracy theories about "shadow crowdfunding" to be very strange, there is no way they announced this with a 6 month window to produce and ship all of this stuff without having the funds to begin production (or even not having already started). Embracer Group (Plaion's parent company, which has an investment from the Saudi PIF) and SNK (which is majority owned by the Saudi EGDC, another Saudi investment fund) are not hurting for cash.
1) Economy of scale. They are almost certainly betting on these selling by the truckload. Will that happen? Who knows. It is the only way the math adds up. Until you consider...
2) Saudi Oil Money. It is entirely possible that Saudi Nihon Kikaku is happy to subsidize the project and give Plaion a soft landing if their sales projections don't shake out. Again, only way it makes sense.
I personally find the conspiracy theories about "shadow crowdfunding" to be very strange, there is no way they announced this with a 6 month window to produce and ship all of this stuff without having the funds to begin production (or even not having already started). Embracer Group (Plaion's parent company, which has an investment from the Saudi PIF) and SNK (which is majority owned by the Saudi EGDC, another Saudi investment fund) are not hurting for cash.
Lswanson1049
Student
I have a hard time seeing this really sell volume. I understand as collectors most of us here are use to expensive aes prices, but 90 dollars is more than a lot of triple a titles nowadays, for games that would probably be recoeved as dated by your average consumer. Not trying to hate, I just think its wise to act with swiftness if you want it.