t1z4l

Tanita has been working on the production of a measuring device modeled after SNK's Neo Geo cabinets. The company has newly announced that the Neo Geo-like device, which will consist of a clock, thermometer, and hygrometer, will also contain BGMs from SNK's games like The King of Fighters '95.

In the Japanese announcement tweet, the company noted that it chose KOF '95 because its staff considered the game to be a hallmark in the series for introducing the Team Edit System. The same staff are also choosing specific tunes that would symbolize the entry.

The King of Fighters '95 will not be the only game to have its soundtrack featured on this device. Tanita has also shared teaser images for three more titles in the same announcement. As an example, the lower left image is based on the Japanese logo for Garou Densetsu Special, which is better known in the West as Fatal Fury Special.

Here is the source announcement tweet from Tanita's official X :

Tanita has also been working on more game-themed measuring devices with SNK. Previously in late 2024, it revealed a body composition monitor with a playable copy of The King of Fighters '98 that cost 2.2 million yen or around $14,340.

The Neo Geo-shaped measuring device that can act as a clock, thermometer, and hygrometer is still undergoing production. SNK has given its approval to mass-produce the device on January 21, 2025. However, it will still take more time until Tanita is ready to put the product up for pre-orders.

The post Neo Geo Hygrometer Will Include SNK Game BGMs appeared first on Siliconera.

SNK announced that a brand-new console will come from the company in 2021. The news comes from the company's official Japanese and global Twitter s.

Check out the announcement tweet in English from SNK Global below:

A brand-new console is coming from SNK in 2021!
A system to bridge the needs between ionate fans and console gaming enthusiasts! #SNK pic.twitter.com/wsFLqr0hti

— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) December 15, 2020

The Japanese tweet said something similar, but it was along the lines of "Stay tuned for an all-new product that meets the ion of game fans and the needs of console games." Details are light for now, as the information from the tweets are all we have from SNK.

During a 2019 investor relations press conference in Seoul, Korea, SNK announced plans for Neo Geo 2 and Neo Geo 3 were underway. The company made the announcement following the success of the Neo Geo Mini, but we haven't heard much about the two potential systems since then. One thing we do know is that both the Neo Geo 2 and 3 will be successors to the original Neo Geo and not the Neo Geo Mini, according to SNK.

In November 2020, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's MiSK Foundation purchased 28.8% of SNK shares owned by Hong Kong’s Zuikaku Co. Ltd., with plans to acquire the majority of the company's shares.

The post SNK Will Reveal a New Console in 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

A new barcade called Tokyo Video Gamers opened today in Akihabara. However, it's a different kind of barcade, that goes beyond the video game-themed bar & cafe, with licensed displays, decorations, collaboration menus, and goods from various developers. [Thanks, 4Gamer.]

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="848423,848422"]

Tokyo Video Gamers is located at the Seekbase shopping facility about a three-minute walk from the JR Akihabara Station. The first things that stand out are the neon lights and the ambient vibe.

What will catch your attention right away is the large table in the middle that is actually a set of two monitors. It displays footage of various retro games at all times. The design of the table is based on the older cocktail arcade machines from back in the day.

Tokyo Video Gamers has music and videos playing from titles released by Sega, SNK, Arc System Works, Jaleco, Data East, and Technos Japan. Among those are defunct video game companies, but management was able to get consent from the companies that currently own their rights. Most of the titles are retro games to bring nostalgic memories for the target audience customers of those in their 30s to 40s.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="848418,848417"]

The bar counter doesn't look like much of a game bar, but if you look up there's a set of monitors displaying The King of Fighters 2002 and other games.

There are six collaboration drinks, that include a non-alcoholic option. The exclusive glassware featuring the logos of the developers is available for 1,800 yen plus tax each.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="848415,848414"]

A collaboration drink comes with one of 26 special coasters for 1,300 yen plus tax.

The best part about the place is that arcade games are free to play for anyone who orders from the menu. If there aren't any other players, the staff will gladly take you on in any of the fighting games.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="848412,848411"]

If you can manage to get the high-score on the Space Invader machine by Arcade1Up, you get a free drink on the house. There are also arcade machines outdoors if you need some fresh air at the Akihabara barcade.

[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="848410,848409"]

In addition to the collaboration items, there are Tokyo Video Gamer glassware and coasters to purchase. The above is a look at the lunch and food menu, which consists of a variety of pasta, side dishes, and beverages. The lunch hours are 11:00 am to 3:00 pm JST.

Lastly, Akihabara barcade even has a nostalgic NeoGeo sign that people used to spot at rental shops across Japan.

You can check out more info on the Tokyo Video Gamers official website.

The post Tokyo Video Gamers is a New Barcade in Akihabara With Original Drinks and Goods Licensed by Developers appeared first on Siliconera.

The other day, SNK revealed that SNK Gals' Fighters, a 2000 Neo Geo Pocket Color release, would see a new port for the first time. 20 years have ed since its original release, so that's certainly cause for some sort of celebration. It seemed like the port would come to the Nintendo Switch, but the official word wasn't clear. Well, it's crystal clear now, as SNK Gals' Fighters just appeared on the Nintendo Switch eShop. You can buy it for $7.99. It's totally real.

You can check out the official Nintendo website for more information on the new SNK Gals' Fighters Switch port. Most striking is the interface, with the majority of the screen space straight up being a Neo Geo Pocket Color unit. It looks like you can even change the skin! Considering how pricey a physical Neo Geo Pocket Color can be these days, an endearing digital version made to retain an older handheld game's smaller resolution on a HD screen is pretty solid for eight smackers.

SNK Gals' Fighters is a fighting game featuring many of the notable women throughout the King of Fighters series, up to that point in time of course. There are even a few... surprises in the roster, despite its relative size compared to the core King of Fighters library.

SNK Gals' Fighters is available on the Neo Geo Pocket Color and Nintendo Switch.

The post Become the Queen of Fighters With SNK Gals’ Fighters on the Nintendo Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

DIO, a terrorist group, must be stopped, and the only way to do that is to take one of four characters and wade through a hail of bullets in Neo Geo top-down shooter Shock Troopers 2nd Squad, available now through Steam.

Each of the four characters uses their own specific weapon, which fires in different spreads/bullet arrays. They also have their own stats for speed, attack, defense, and evasion, creating the opportunity to play the game in several different ways.

Shock Troopers 2nd Squad features online and local co-op for those who don’t want to tackle DIO alone. It also has leaderboards if players wish to see how their terrorist-stomping skills stack up against players across the globe.

The post Shock Troopers 2nd Squad Brings Top-Down Shooting To Steam appeared first on Siliconera.

NG Dev Team has released a new video for its 16-bit run’n’gunner Kraut Buster that shows off its mask feature. In short, the various masks you can have your character wear grant them new abilities, weapons, and change the surroundings and enemy behaviors.

There are currently five masks implement in the game but NG Dev Team hopes to add between four to six more of them. These might include a "Vampire Hunter" mask that will give you a chain whip in the dictator's castle, a "Gunlord" mask that gives you “wheel bombs”, an "Uncle Sam", a "McKraken Nerd mask", and "Chainsaw killer mask."

The five that are currently in the game and that you can get a glimpse of in the footage above are as follows:

• Chicken mask: become John Chickenstein and rescued chicks will forces with their Gatling guns. You can also float slightly down with your feather power and drop big egg grenades.

• 13th Splatterguy mask: turn the fight into a blood carnage with your super charged long range machete. Rage flows early through your body. Knife throwing chick sidekicks.

• Wolf mask: supercharge your weapon power and make the grunts your little pigs. Rage flows early through your body. May have reduced scoring potential, but is easier to play.

• Pig mask: sniffle out secrets like a truffle pig and don't get eaten by the big bad wolves. Your tasty bacon body withstands a few bullet hits. Reduces difficulty in a ive way.

• Japanese "Tengu" demon mask: Jump as high and fast like a Ninja, use a Katana for close range attack and lay fused bombs (use them tactical). Also 3-way shuriken throwing ninja chicks.

OK, so to explain the whole chick sidekick feature, in Kraut Buster you’re shooting Nazis and rescuing chicks, except not that kind of chick, but you know, baby chickens. Once rescued the chicks may you and help out and, as detailed above, can be outfitted with various weaponry.

Other than that, Kraut Buster should feature several long sidescrolling stages with two to three scenarios each, 5-6 end bosses with several sub-bosses, more than one playable character with different abilities, 8-way aiming, lots of weapons including a particle shotgun and grenades (also you can carry two weapons at once), and two-player co-op.

The NEO GEO cartridges of Kraut Buster are available to buy on the NG Dev Team website but most of them have sold out already. You can find out more about the game on its website.

The post NEO GEO Run’N’Gunner Kraut Buster Shows Off Its Different Mask Abilities appeared first on Siliconera.

German indie studio NG.DEV.TEAM has announced that pre-orders for the Limited Edition homecarts of its 2D hyper shooter Razion for Neo Geo AES will go live in October.

You’ll have to very quick if you want to grab one, however, as the pre-orders for the Collector’s Edition carts sold out just seven hours after being available on September 2nd for €499 each (approximately $655).

That’s not too surprising considering there were only 100 carts available to pre-order worldwide. Unfortunately, there will only be 50 Limited Edition carts available in October. The pre-orders will go up on the NG.DEV.TEAM store and you should keep an eye on the developer’s Twitter for the news.

Razion is a typical game from NG.DEV.TEAM, who specialize in high quality fast-paced 16-bit shooters for Neo Geo and Dreamcast in the style of Japanese arcade classics.

It’s a horizontal shooter with its scoring system being based on growing gold cubes from fallen enemies to charge up a powerful high-damage beam. It has three modes (Novice, Normal, Maniac) and six dramatic stages with an epic end boss and seven sub bosses across the breadth of the game.

There’s more information about Razion on its official website.

The post Neo Geo Hyper Shooter Razion Starts Limited Edition Pre-Orders In October appeared first on Siliconera.

Gunlord has you do exactly what it promises on the cover: "Jump. Shoot. Explore". From the moment you start the game, main character Gordian Gaiden (yep) can fire a stream of bullets that would make Metal Slug's heavy machinegun jealous. There's no way (or reason, really) to upgrade any weapon you have, but the various powerups that pop out of the (occasionally invisible until the first bullet hits them) powerup boxes will change your shot type.

The three normal types are a spread shot, a higher-powered but more focused flame shot, and then a bizarre mix of the two that will fire spreading shots that rebound off walls if you tap the fire button and fire a focused forward stream.

Gordian also has two special shot types that can only be used for a short time after. The first is a really handy rocket launcher that splits into multiple rebounding projectiles on impact. The second is an incredibly fast beam that has the unfortunate side effect of locks your generally multidirectional aiming to just left and right. Considering that enemies will approach you from all sides, this can be incredibly annoying.

Fortunately, this directional handicap can be remedied by using Gordian's Snakebeam. The beam locks Gordian in place as you aim it, but it can also tear through walls and ceilings. Due to its default controller mapping (R, on the Dreamcast controller), I didn't use the this at all at first, and was having an awful time, getting killed by enemies that were out of my reach or firing bombs from above me. While the Snakebeam isn't terribly powerful and is limited by a recharging energy bar, it's absolutely vital for getting rid of enemies who otherwise feel like they'd be getting in cheap hits.

If this sounds familiar at all, you've probably played Super Turrican. Gunlord mimics those mechanics right down to Gordian using screen-clearing blasts of energy (well, assuming you have the ammo for it) and transforming into a ball and dropping quickly-exploding bombs.

The exploration aspects of the game, which I found pretty extraneous at first, can get pretty creative. While the majority of exploration is rewarded with the gems that litter the level, or one of the rarer bigger gems, the real reason that I found exploration worthwhile were the 1-ups and health scattered throughout the levels. In the first level alone, I had to use invisible powerup boxes (which couldn't be stood on until shot) to climb a column to catch an ascending one up and draw out an enemy attack and use him as a platform to reach a higher, hidden part of the level. While generally it seems safer to stick to a set path (particularly if it's marked with "exit" and "go" arrows), when you understand a level well enough to explore it a bit, there's some interesting stuff to be found.

While this all sounds good on paper, there are a number of little things that made my experience with Gunlord frustrating. First and foremost, I don't feel as though the game takes enough advantage of its art direction. The game's manual and the game's intro and cutscenes have a lot of character and color, but when you get into the game proper, most of the enemies you fight just look like blobs of one-color metal. Gray (or maybe "gunmetal?") enemies will blend into the backgrounds, taking off one of your three units of health if you step into them. This lack of color even extends into the powerups, with the three main shot types all dark colors in gray frames.

When I first played the game, I didn't even realize that the powerups were different colors. I thought it was just luck of the draw what shot type you got. Bosses, however, are usually a welcome departure from this problem.

While the levels are built around exploration, even running through a level as quickly as possible feels overlong. The first level took me almost 20 minutes to beat the first time I played, and while subsequent plays have whittled that down to about 8, it just feels like too much for a game that uses "credits." Combine this with the somewhat uninspired art, and it makes what should be a celebration of everything that makes run-and-gun games fun feel like a drag.

Food for Thought:

1. I absolutely love the cheesy writing in the game's intro. "You can't escape, you have no gun" is some of my favorite logic I've ever seen in a game.

2. While the game has a default layout for the Dreamcast arcade stick, I personally preferred the game on a controller after I made a couple of tweaks.

3. While the enemy sprite work wasn't my cup of tea, certain elements of Gunlord look beautiful. The mountains in the back of the shmup-style stage 2 and the cherry blossoms in stage three are particular standouts.

The post GunLord Playtest: Retro Run-and-Gun With A Slice Of Frustration appeared first on Siliconera.

Neo Geo and Dreamcast games are still in development. Gun Lord, a “Eurostyle platformer” developed by indie developer, NG:Dev.Team, is headed to the Neo Geo this month, and the Dreamcast later in summer. It’s a 2D game with 9 stages and 45 diferent types of enemies. Here’s a lengthy look at how it plays:

Gun Lord is slated for release on the Neo Geo MVS on March 26th. The Dreamcast version will be released on June 14th. A release for the Neo Geo AES is planned for release in Q2 2012 as well.

NG:Dev.Team have released another game for the Neo Geo and Dreamcast, too. Some of our older readers may a bullet hell shooter called Fast Striker, which they released in 2010. This game is available on iOS as well.

The post Gun Lord To Strike Out On The Neo Geo And Dreamcast Very Soon appeared first on Siliconera.

Neo-Geo.com has posted a digitized development manual from SNK’s old system and Gamasutra have posted an article that highlights some of the more interesting portions of it. Here’s a section on development guidelines:

Another section outlines the flow of a game after you boot it up. Yet another after that provides instructions for how to handle situations related to Continue screens:

The full development manual is over 200 pages in length, covering everything from guidelines to technical specifications. You can find it via the articles linked to above.

The post Excerpts From The Neo-Geo Development Manual appeared first on Siliconera.

Fast Striker for the Dreamcast and iPhone? Now that the iPhone version is out, the game’s developers, NG:Dev.Team, are focusing on their next title: Gun-Lord. So far, only four tiny screenshots of this game have been revealed.

Gun-Lord is simply described as a “Eurostyle platformer” for the Neo Geo and Dreamcast. The game is planned for release sometime this year.

The post Gun-Lord Is Ready To Blast The Neo Geo And Dreamcast This Year appeared first on Siliconera.

Most of the SNK compilations for PlayStation 2 such as Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Vol. 1 and Samurai Shodown Collection included online play in Japan. And that feature won’t be around much longer.

KDDI is pulling the plug on September 20, which will make the Neo Geo Online Collection titles just like the North American counterparts, which never had an online mode. Service went live in 2004 so it lasted about six years.

That’s not too bad, but SNK sold Neo Geo Online Collection box sets on December 28, 2009. Each compilation cost 9,980 yen ($115) and online play was touted as a selling point.

The post Neo Geo Online Collection Games Go Offline Next Month appeared first on Siliconera.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Neo Geo, SNK will be resuming repair operations on Neo Geo systems and peripherals. Note that this doesn't include Neo Geo CD, Neo Geo CD-Z, Neo Geo Pocket or the Neo Geo Pocket Color. If you're in Japan and interested (or maybe want to enquire if they'll repair and ship your system overseas), head over to their repair inquiry page.

To coincide with this, there's also a nice price-drop for the Neo Geo Online Collection Complete Box Vol. 1 for PS2 on Amazon.jp. The price is down from 9,980 to 5,549 yen. Vol.1 includes:

Fatal Fury: Battle Archives vol. 1

Fatal Fury: Battle Archives vol. 2

Garou: Mark of the Wolves Art of Fighting

Samurai Shodown Anthology (1-6)

Sunsoft Collection (Galaxy Fight & Waku Waku 7)

The post SNK Resume Neo Geo Repairs, Online Collection Complete Box Drops In Price appeared first on Siliconera.