will there ever be a neogeo clone system?

[ThunderPrince]

I was thinking about this earlier today, with the wealth of Atari/NES/SNES/Master System and Genesis clone systems will we ever see one of those "30 in 1" built in game consoles of the neogeo? Given its age and popularity all over the world, along with the ease in emulation you would think it would have happened already. Clone genesis/SNES pcb's can fit in the palm of your hand, even handhelds can emulate it perfectly. What is stopping them from profiting off of this?

controllers for it however would be the biggest hurdle.

[marurun]

The Neo Geo was much more advanced and powerful hardware than any of the systems you've named that have been cloned. The video hardware, especially, was a very custom job. Although it probably won't be long before any Neo Geo patents would be expired, if they haven't already.

[sneth]

patents are never really an issue, since it's they are all done in Lawless China.

The main processing units are similar to most of the 16bit era. I guess it could be done, but it's still a big piece of hardware.

[superlarz]

I dont know how much interest there is in something like this. People who were into those kind of games probably had the system back then, and still have it today. The other clones are successful (to an extent) because the nostalgia factor for people who long ago sold off their 8 or 16 bit hardware

[marurun]

patents are never really an issue, since it's they are all done in Lawless China.

Makes it easier to sell it legally in the US if the patents aren't in effect any longer, however.

The main processing units are similar to most of the 16bit era. I guess it could be done, but it's still a big piece of hardware.

Yeah, the CPUs and such are commodity, but the graphics hardware is completely unique. Replicating the various quirks of the graphics hardware could be a challenge.

[racketboy]

Most of the cost is in the games. Buying an AES isn't my concern.

[superlarz]

Most of the cost is in the games. Buying an AES isn't my concern.

When I originally read the topic I thought there is no way that a clone AES could be commercially successfu due to game cost, but they could move some units if they had a 30 games built in type deal as the original poster mentioned. I still dont think the demand is there for something like this. The people who want a Neo Geo want to have an AES sitting as the centerpiece of their collection.. Or an MVS cabinet.

[kingdomheights777]

I dont know how much interest there is in something like this. People who were into those kind of games probably had the system back then, and still have it today.

You hit the nail on the head

[sneth]

when was the last time you bought a legit clone??

even boots are still expensive.

[elvis]

The Neo Geo was much more advanced and powerful hardware than any of the systems you've named that have been cloned. The video hardware, especially, was a very custom job. Although it probably won't be long before any Neo Geo patents would be expired, if they haven't already.

You sure about that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_Geo_(c ... ifications

M68K and a Z80 aren't what I'd call "very custom" at all. They appeared in a tonne of other stuff, including the Megadrive/Genesis, Amiga, and buckets of arcade titles. I can buy them for about $10 from my local Jaycar (substitute "Radio Shack" or whatever is your local equivalent).

Unless Wikipedia is missing some magic "custom" chip, it looks like a pretty damned simple console/system to clone.

For the record, I get emails about once a week from certain Chinese distributors with 20-in-1 and more recently 108-in-1 NeoGeo games on a single cartridge (both AES and MVS compatible). I wait eagerly for the clone systems to appear, and I'll turn one into an arcade machine.

[edit]
http://www.welink.cc/e/product/product_ ... brand_id=3

China... how I love thee.