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The Official NEO-GEO Thread!


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Hi guys,

 

  1. classic NeoGeo shmup Blazing Star is finally available for PS4! Eye-catching, finely drawn machinery abounds https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0571-CUSA11353_00-HAMPRDC000000001 pic.twitter.com/jywwb0oB7D

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Anthony...

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Hi guys,

  1. YES! gorgeous 1998 Yumekobo shooter Blazing Star finally joins the ACA NeoGeo PS4 library in North America from @HAMSTER_Corp https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0571-CUSA11353_00-HAMPRDC000000001

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Anthony

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Hi guys,

 

  1. 【SNKオンラインショップからのお知らせ】 売り切れ続出のコミックマーケット95限定商品はなくなり次第終了となります!ご希望の方はお早めにどうぞ!また、限定商品は再販が決まっていない商品が多いため、売り切れにはご注意ください…! #SNK #NEOGEO #KOF https://buff.ly/2sW3qZl pic.twitter.com/lcHxBOpndC

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    Translated from Japanese by Microsoft

    [News from SNK online shop] sold out after another comic market 95 limited product will be finished as soon as no longer! If you wish, please do as soon as possible! In addition, because there are a lot of products that a limited product is not decided resale, please be careful about the sellout...! #SNK #NEOGEO #KOF https://buff.ly/2sW3qZl

     

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Anthony...

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Hi guys,

 

  1. SNKグッズが盛りだくさんの“SNK Limited Store Festival!!”で東京巡りをしてみた https://appvs.famitsu.com/20190123_18744/ pic.twitter.com/w4mmd2Fo74

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    Translated from Japanese by Microsoft

    SNK goods are lots of "SNK Limited Store Festival!!" I https://appvs.famitsu.com/20190123_18744/ tried to tour Tokyo in

     

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Anthony...

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Hi guys,

 

  1. 1f3c6.png再入荷情報1f3c6.png おぐらえいすけ氏描き下ろしアクリルスタンド 庵 & マルコ 再入荷です1f525.png1f525.png1f525.png#NEOGEO_LAND #SNK #NEOGEO #ネオジオpic.twitter.com/idNidb46XI

    Translate Tweet
    Translated from Japanese by Microsoft

    Restock Information Tsuyuzaki Mr. Acrylic Stand Iori & Marco is #NEOGEO_LAND #SNK #NEOGEO #ネオジオ re-stocked

     

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Anthony..

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Hi guys,

 

  1. [1f525.png遂に入荷1f525.png] はんてん店頭入荷しましたー203c.png203c.png1f57a.png#NEOGEO 綿入りはんてん 通販1f449.pnghttp://indor-store.jp/shopdetail/000000000437/ #サムライスピリッツ 綿入りはんてん 通販1f449.pnghttp://indor-store.jp/shopdetail/000000000438/ 共に¥7,560-(税込)となっております1f918.png#NEOGEO_LAND #SNKpic.twitter.com/3y04CGIndv

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    Translated from Japanese by Microsoft

    [Finally in stock] over-the-counter is in stock now--cotton-to-the- ‼️‼️ #NEOGEO http://indor-store.jp/shopdetail/000000000437/ #サムライスピリッツ http://indor-store.jp/shopdetail/000000000438/ 7560--(tax-included) #NEOGEO_LAND #SNK

     

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Anthony...

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Hi guys.

 

Interesting Q&A with Eric Chung. CEO of exA-Arcadia says it will be the next Neo-Geo. Amazing read. Here it is folks. Enjoy.

 

http://shmupemall.com/interviews/interview-eric-chung-exa-arcadia-ceo-we-aim-to-be-the-next-neogeo-19145.html

 

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[interview] Eric Chung (exA-Arcadia CEO): « We aim to be the next NEOGEO »

La rédaction 17 décembre 2018 English articles, Interviews commentaires

After Spain and numerous public appearances in Japan, exA-Arcadia visited France during Stunfest 2018. Shmup’Em-All took this opportunity to interview the president of this new company, Eric Chung, in order to learn more about this ambitious new arcade hardware.

Une version française est disponible sur Shmup’Em-All.
– Can you introduce exA-Arcadia ?

 

Eric Chung: exA-Arcadia is a platform based on PC hardware; the specs are stronger than those of the PS4 Pro. I think we are more powerful than any existing consoles as of today. Our objective with exA-Arcadia is to make it easy for creators to make a game on our platform, since both console and arcade worlds tend to converge towards PC hardware. We could have made something like a FPGA system, but then no one would have developed games for us. That’s why we chose a PC-based system.

When you look at the history of arcade games worldwide, SNK’s NEOGEO MVS has been the most successful arcade platform in the world and we really looked at the MVS for inspiration. For example, this system held up to six cartridges at the same time. Likewise, the exA-Arcadia can hold up to four games. Also, like the MVS, having a system available worldwide at a price that arcades can afford is really important.

When you look at some places like South America, South East Asia or Middle East, some of these regions can’t afford the most expensive arcade games like Japan can. For example, the new Gundam game, Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. 2, that will come out later this year will cost $55,000. There’s no way a small arcade, even in Japan, could afford this.

That’s the main reason why arcade owners want to have a modular system where you can switch between different games, and that’s why exA-Arcadia will support four games. We really hope to become the next NEOGEO.

neogeo-mvs-1024x768.jpgNEOGEO MVS MV-1FZ – What is your relation to the arcade culture?

 

Eric Chung: As you may know, I’m a big collector and I work in the preservation of arcade games for MAME. It’s just a love for games. The first game I played in my life was an arcade game, Galaga, and since then I have been involved as a player in fighting games. I started with Street Fighter II like many players and then I discovered Virtua Fighter. I played Virtua Fighter 4 at a pro level, I was number one in the US and I got second at EVO 2004. I was really involved in the fighting game community and, even then, we had problems in the arcade market when Virtua Fighter wasn’t sold in America. We had Virtua Fighter 4, but there were numerous patches and upgraded versions; none of these had ever been sold in the west. And as a consumer I always felt Why is it this way?

Through my quest for boards in Japan, I met many people like Mikado Game Center owner Minoru Ikeda, and many other arcade owners as well as people who worked in the Japanese video game industry. I also used to be an executive in a very big video game company in Japan.

 

– In an interview published on the Arcade Belgium website, you said that the development of exA-Arcadia started in September 2017. In such a short period of time, barely a few months, you have managed to convince major developers like G.Rev, Tanoshimasu, and Locomalito to provide a more than impressive line-up. Can you honestly say when the idea of creating your own arcade system actually started?

 

Eric Chung: It truly was written in this interview [laughs], September 2017 is when we started. I know it seems like a very short amount of time, but I think it’s because we have such a good team that we have been able to make progress so quickly.

As for myself, I have a background in start-ups in the Silicon Valley and also in Japan. The people around us are well-connected to many different game companies. These people all understand the vision for exA-Arcadia and what we are aiming to change in the industry. All these creators want the same thing: to reach many people across the world so that they can play their games. With exA-Arcadia, we want to create that bridge between the creators and the players. Tanoshimasu, G.Rev, Locomalito and many others, they all understand this.

 

– During JAEPO, an exA-Arcadia cabinet was made available to the public on the Safari Games stand. Was it a temporary collaboration for this specific event, or is Safari Games an active part in the creation and development of exA-Arcadia? More generally, is exA-Arcadia a completely independent new arcade system?

 

Eric Chung: Safari Games is a subsidiary of Dimps. It’s their arcade distribution arm and we just happen to know people who work there. Many members of the staff at Safari Games are actually ex-SNK employees, and they’re not involved at all in the development of our platform. We are just friends with them and they were able to share space with us.

For the exA-Arcadia distribution in Japan, we may end up working with them, but it’s not decided yet. But yes, everybody was surprised when we showed up at their booth! [laughs]

SafariGamesStand.jpgAka to Blue Type-R at the Safari Games booth during JAEPO 2018. Source : @tanoshimasu_com

 

– Could you give us a list of development studios that are ready to partake in the exA-Arcadia adventure and promote it?

 

Eric Chung: We will in due time announce each studio that is working with us, but you can be sure that every major Japanese arcade developer, outside of the big guys, will join us. As you have seen today, M2 has officially joined with exA-Arcadia.

And even in the west we have many developers ready to support exA-Arcadia with more “indie” but fairly famous games people already know. These games may have been crowd funded or popular on Steam or other platforms. We will announce them in the near future. There are over 35 companies ready to support exA-Arcadia.

 

gekko: Is there a chance, even small, that CAVE may join you?

 

Eric Chung: We’d love to work with CAVE, but as you know their arcade division was closed a long time ago. It’s really up to them to see what’s possible. But now let’s say that for bigger companies like Capcom or Bandai Namco, the reason why they stopped making these kind of retro game we like, action games such as Makaimura (editor’s note : Ghosts’n Goblins Japanese name) or Contra for Konami, is because the cost for their staff to make these types of games is too big. The sales they would make are too small compared to what they could make by producing mobile games. It’s going to be very hard for them to just do everything on their own. I’d like people to keep that in mind. But, of course, we would like to work with CAVEand maybe we will have something that will surprise people later this year.

 

A message has been posted on Twitter inviting independent developers to contact you if they wanted to see their games ported on exA-Arcadia. What were the results of this campaign?

 

Eric Chung: I don’t have the exact numbers, but we had many developers, both Western and Japanese, who contacted us. So many that we didn’t have time to review every single submission that came to us [laughs]. But even though we may not have been able to reply to every single person, we take great care in reading the emails and playing every game that is sent to us. We had a lot of shooters, fighting games, and even racing games, which is really surprising. We got a very interesting racing game, actually.

Among those games, we have a few that will be coming with some changes. We are working with developers to retool their games to do well in the arcades, because it’s such a different environment compared to console and PC gaming.

 

gekko: Yes, like Super Hydorah AC which introduced a lot of changes compared to the versions we all know.

 

Eric Chung: Yes, I’ve personally been a fan of Locomalito for a long time. I contacted him many years ago about how his game should really go to the arcade, and I’m happy we can finally make it happen this time. With Super Hydorah AC we made some very deliberate choices in changing the balance of the games to better fit the arcade environment. In Japan, there are not many Steam users compared to other countries, so the number of people who know Hydorah is very low. When we first showed Super Hydorah AC in Japan, many users said it looks and sounds like an X68000 game, which is very adequate because it is inspired by the games of this era. I hope people will enjoy Super Hydorah AC, because I think there’s been a very bad reputation for Western shooting games since the Amiga and Atari ST days, where the games were really unfair.

 

gekko: Yes, to the point that the term euroshmup became kind of like an insult [laughs]

 

Eric Chung: Yes, and I think Super Hydorah is a really good start for the change of Western shooters.

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– For the moment, your line-up is mainly composed of shooting games. It may be considered risky, considering the fact that shmup has become a niche in the game industry.

 

What is your relation to the shoot’em up culture? Is this orientation a deliberate choice from your part? Will your catalogue be open to other genres in the future?

 

Eric Chung: We are open to every genre. We want to have a balanced line-up for exA-Arcadia. When you look at the NEOGEO when it first came out, you had a very balanced line-up, with sports games like Baseball Stars Professional, action games such as Magician Lord, shooters like for example NAM-1975, and even beat’em up like Ninja Combat. Different genres were in there, and we want to accomplish the same thing.

neogeolineup.pngWhen released in 1990, the NEOGEO had very diversified line-up.

 

Obviously, we work with Tanoshimasu for Aka to Blue Type-R, which was the first game that was signed up and a very exciting one, a vertical danmaku shooting game with a very good DNA. It just so happens that all Japanese arcade creators love shooting games, and because it has been so many years since they last had the opportunity to make an arcade game, now that they have an opportunity, the first thing they all want to do is make a shooting game! It’s both a good and a bad thing, because if you have too many shooting games they will cannibalize each other in sales. So, we are controlling what we are doing and what we are going to release regarding shooting games. In fact, we have many shooting games in our pipeline, but we are not going to announce them all and release them right away.

We want other types of games and we recently revealed a fighting game, The Kung Fu vs Karate Champ. It won’t be the only one, we have other fighting games that are coming on exA-Arcadia, we will announce them soon. We also have another game we will announce soon, which is more of an action puzzle game like Puzzle Bubble, and we also have a sports game in development. We are really trying to have a line-up as diverse as possible.

One thing we really focus on with developers is to make 4-players games; games that many people can enjoy together, especially for the Western market, is something we’re seriously working on. We already have several 4-players games actually, we will announce them later this year.

 

 

– The Mikado game center really put a spotlight on the exA-Arcadia. For instance, there was a short location test for Aka to Blue Type-R and Super Hydorah. Has Mikado taken part in some way in the development of the exA-Arcadia?

 

Eric Chung: Mikado is the biggest independent arcade in Tokyo, so they have truly passionate customers who go there every week. Being able to make location-tests there gives us excellent feedback and allowed us to see how our games can perform. Minoru Ikeda, who is the owner of Mikado, and also the guitarist for the Aka to Blue original soundtrack, obviously knows games very well and he really understands the problems of arcades in Japan, which is normal since he owns an arcade, right? [laughs]

We work together really well on the location test and we were able to get feedback and test games at his arcade. We’re really grateful to him.

MIKADO2.jpgMikado Takadanobaba, the famous Shinjuku game center ! Source : hobiberita.com – Have you been contacted by game centers such as Round One or others? Do you have plans regarding distribution in occident, a potential exportation network?

 

Eric Chung: In Japan we have been contacted by Round One and many major chains. We will also probably work with a very big distributor who networks with Round

 

One, SEGA and Taito. We will probably make an announcement about that later this year. For other parts of the world like South-East Asia, we were contacted by the biggest local chain already; the same with Australia. For the United States, we already met with Dave & Buster’s. So for the US, Japan and South-East Asia, we have a pretty good coverage area already.

We’re here at Stunfest to really understand more about Europe and how the distributors are here. I know European customers are really concerned about the high taxes on customs if we sell to them directly from Japan, so we are trying to find a way around that. During Stunfest, we already talked to French distributors, and we are actually in contact with three to four French distributors. We will try to find something that will work for European users. It is really challenging because Europe is a really big place.

 

– Could exA-Arcadia become a dynamic element in the resurgence of arcade culture and game centers around the world?

 

Eric Chung: That’s why we’re doing it. It’s our hope that exA-Arcadia can be the platform to revive arcade in Japan where arcade owners are really struggling because of the revenue shares forced onto them by other companies.

We are going to create new ways for arcades to make money. Not just by putting coins in the machines; we will add additional services that we haven’t announced yet. We will probably announce them by next JAEPO in 2019. We are going to make it so that arcades can earn more money and engage their consumers better. No other system will have what we can do. Because arcades would like to make more money, I think they will buy more exA-Arcadia units.

That’s what we see in Japan, but also in countries like the US where we see more arcades opening every month. This is really surprising, and many people don’t know this, but if you take a look, the number of independent arcades keeps on growing! Even a chain like Dave & Buster’s is opening about one new store in the US every month. There’s Round One, a Japanese franchise, which recently arrived to the US, and they plan to open over 200 stores over there; they are very aggressive. And then there are independent arcades throughout every state, with more new places opening every month. Then there is China: many people don’t know this about China, but it’s the fastest growing arcade market in the world!

We feel like we could work with arcades in all these different countries, and others like Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, where there used to be a strong presence from Capcom or SNK, but they all left ten or fifteen years ago. We want to go back to those markets and let those people have new games. I went to Mexico in January and an arcade owner there told me, “If you have new games like NEOGEO games, we will buy them all.” It’s really exciting!

roundonecenter.pngIn Japan and the United States, it might be possible to find exA-Arcadia games at Round One. – The arrival of a new actor in the arcade world is a major unexpected event, considering you will have to face SEGA’s ALL.Net and Taito’s NESiCAxLive, two solutions that seem more flexible and commercially interesting for game center operation, since both these systems provide an online distribution. What features will exA-Arcadia offer that could compete with SEGA and Taito, and convince game center owners to give it a try?

 

Eric Chung: Many people don’t know that both ALL.Net and NESiCAxLive force a revenue share on the coins put in the machines, which ranges from 30% to 50%, depending on the game and platform. It’s a very expensive cost for the arcade owner: not only do they have to buy the cabinet and the unit, but there are also other charges. Actually, they have to buy the network equipment: router, server and then there is the monthly fee to access the network. It’s a very expensive proposition.

And then you look at NESiCAxLive, it runs on an older Taito Type-X2 hardware launched with Windows XP. Nowadays it’s becoming more and more difficult to develop on this hardware and I don’t expect many developers to be able to support it. Also, one of the biggest problems with these systems is that they have so many games on them. NESiCAxLive has a lot of great games on the platform, but in reality it becomes a bit like the App Store or Google Play: you don’t know how to find the games. Many players go and see the menu, and they never scroll past the first screen, so they never know what’s available on the machine.

nesicaxliveinterface.jpgNESiCAxLive game selection screen. Source : Arcade Belgium

Another big difficulty with NESiCAxLive is that some games are one-player only, not two-player, but in Japan, as you know, many cabinets are set head-to-head for versus fighting games. In that case, if it’s not set on two-player mode, that means several games are not available on the platform. I have been told that there are only 40 two-player cabinets in all of Japan for NESiCAxLive.

 

gekko: That is surprising! From a western perspective, NESiCAXLive and ALL.Net seemed to have a much larger place in Japanese game centers.

 

Eric Chung: They have good features like online distribution, but when you have online distribution and so many games it becomes a problem managing to find the game available, like when you open Steam for example.

And as you know, NESiCAxLive and ALL.Net are not available outside of Japan, and that is one of the biggest problems. When you go to an arcade in South-East Asia for example, they are not equiped to provide continuous and stable connexion. And so, if you require a network at all times and charge them for it, there is no way to run the cabinets. That’s why we think we can tackle both Taito and SEGA, because we are targeting a market they are not in, and we are enabling arcades to make more money than they do today.

Concerning ALL.Net, they have only one announced game left and it doesn’t seem like they will aggressively support the platform anymore. And if you look at the other manufacturers like Bandai Namco and SEGA, they basically left the traditional arcade game industry and now only focus on « deluxe » dedicated cabinets. They are not making “normal” games anymore, only Taito is still in this space.

 

– For the moment, all the games announced for exA-Arcadia are already available on PC or consoles. How will you manage to create the desire to buy and play games already known and owned by most gamers? Will these arcade ports have something more to offer or will they be direct ports of their home versions?

 

Eric Chung: I’d like to point out that Aka to Blue is not on PC or console, but on smartphone [laughs]. But yes, there is a requirement for any game on our platform to have exclusive content for the arcade that will not be released anywhere else. Without it there would be no reason to buy these versions, is there not ?

Aka to Blue Type-R will not be released on any other platform, it will be arcade only. Super Hydorah AC is a specially tuned version for the arcade. Infinos Exa is getting a rearranged soundtrack by Hyakutaro Tsukumo and also a lot of changes inside the game. I think the original game, to me anyway, was kind of easy so it will be tuned for a more “arcade difficulty ». There have been graphic changes to the bosses as well, and to the patterns too. All our games are like that. With Strania EX, there is a rearranged soundtrack by Keishi Yonao, and the game balance itself will change taking in account users’ feedback over the years,among many other things we will announce later (editor’s note: During CAX, a new game mode has been revealed for Strania EX: Hell Mode)

 

The Kung Fu vs Karate Champ will have exclusive characters and stages never seen anywhere else, and I think people will like these exclusive characters quite a bit.

While we are promoting these games in the arcades, the next set of games is already in motion. Like we announced today on stage, we are working with G.Rev on three games, and one of them will be crowdfunded and it’s a sequel to a game people want.

 

gekko: No… I don’t think it can be what I believe it is ? …you are kidding, right!?

 

Eric Chung: [laughs]

 

– In the long run, do you intend to release games exclusive to exA-Arcadia system?

 

Eric Chung: Aka to Blue Type-R will be an exclusive game, but what we want is to enable creators to create the whole arcade ecosystem again: first you release the game in the arcades, and then you release it on consoles. That way developers maximize their revenue, and this will enable them to create more games. We want to enable that, but at the same time arcades need to have content that is not available anywhere else.

In the past, Capcom, for example, released Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, and so on, but three months later after the games hit the arcades, there was already a home version and then nobody bothered to go to arcades anymore. And, especially with what I told you about the revenue shares, it made the situation really difficult for the arcades, many of them would refuse to buy an update for the game, because they knew they would never make their money back.

 

– Could you tell us more about exA-Arcadia architecture and specifications? On what media will exA-Arcadia games be distributed, and what about compatibility, compatibility and screens? (analog, digital, tate, yoko, 16:9, 4:3, etc.)

 

Eric Chung: exA-Arcadia is PC-based, we are using Windows to make it easier for creators to make games on our platform. About the physical media, it’s going to be in the form of cartridges. It will be possible to attach four cartridges to the motherboard, but you will have to wait to see what they look like.

 

gekko: Will the cartridges have the same size as an MVS game?

 

Eric Chung: It will be smaller, think of a CPS3 cartridge. And regarding connectivity, exA-Arcadia is fully JVS-compliant (editor’s note: JVS stand for JAMMA Video Standard). We have tested it with every JVS board I think now. There are many of them available. We even tested our system on Namco’s CYBER LEADor Konami’s Windy II, which are very minor when you look at the sales! [laughs]

The reason for this is that, in Japan, there are so many LCD cabs in use and not many CRT cabs left. But when you look at the western market, there are still many CRT left, and we need to be able to work on both. It is a requirement to all developers to support CRT and LCD. 16:9, 4/3, Yoko and TATE : all of these need to be supported. We also have an optional adapter to work with 31kHz and 16kHz screens.

cartoucheCPS3-1024x768.jpgAn exA-Arcadia game cartridge should be around the same size of a CPS3 game. – Will exA-Arcadia be available to non-professional customers such as hardcore arcade fans, as well as professional game centers tenants? How will we be able to buy an exA-

 

Arcadia kit in occident? Have you managed to set a distribution network yet?

 

Eric Chung: Anyone can buy this system. We are not going to be prejudiced against individuals and collectors. We want them to be able to buy it all over the world. Initially for the West, we will manage sales through our website, we are going to start the preorders for Strania EX soon.

We are looking into each region about how to manage sales there. For example, we are going to do a partnership in China with local companies and distributors. Of course, if as an individual you want to buy an exA-Arcadia unit, you can buy it. Please buy it! [laughs]

 

– Do you intend to create a « consolized » version of your arcade system, such as Neo Geo AES?

 

Eric Chung: At the moment, no, we are not considering making a consolized exA-Arcadia. We feel that if you are an arcade collector you probably already have the means to play this at home. Also, supporting a home version makes it a bit more difficult for the creators as well. It induces more overhead to make these things, and our aim is really to support arcade. So no, it’s not a priority right now.

 

– At what price do you intend to sell an exA-Arcadia kit? And what about games?

 

Eric Chung: We have not really announced a price yet, but you can expect one kit, motherboard plus game, to cost around US$2000. And then, depending on the game, around $1000 to $1500. We are still looking into this to see what the price will be. But as you know, a new CAVE shooting game was sold around $1800, so it’s more or less the standard price in Japan.

 

– When will exA-Arcadia be available on the market?

 

Eric Chung: It will depend on the region, because we have distribution deals. The goal is to have it available as soon as possible, but it will be different depending on market conditions. In Japan, because of the distribution system we’re going to have, we have a certain strategy on how to sell exA-Arcadia to different arcades. In the West, it will probably start with mail orders for collectors by the end of summer.

What we are going to do is that each game will have a limited edition. Very small limited edition for collectors. So maybe 20 to 50 copies, and it will include extras: signed box, special case, photograph of the developers, like Hiroyuki Kimura from Tanoshimasu signing the box of the game. It will also include things like soundtrack and posters. Each game will have a special edition, and we can say that Aka to Blue Type-Rwill have a super limited edition. We will announce its content later, but there will maybe only be five of them made for the whole world. You know Enemy Zero on SEGA Saturn by Kenji Ino?

gekko: Yes, of course!

 

Eric Chung: He did a very super limited edition in Japan only, which he hand-delivered directly to the buyer. It came in a very large box. Google it! We are going to do the same thing! [laughs]

 

gekko: [laughs]

 

Eric Chung: Kimura-san from Tanoshimasu will make the hand deliveries in Japan, but obviously we can’t do that overseas. [laughs]

 

– After JAEPO 2018, FightCade Offline 2.0 and Stunfest 2018, what were the reactions of the players who had the chance to try Aka to Blue Type-R or Super Hydorah on

exA-Arcadia?

 

Eric Chung: It’s been very positive. People are happy to have new shooting games again. Obviously Aka to Blue Type-R is a danmaku vertical shooting game, so people have been waiting for a new one like this. It’s been six years since DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou, so I think people were very excited and they gave us very good feedback. We haven’t really heard anything negative about the game at all.

gekko: People seem to have a hard time understanding the mechanics of Aka to Blue, though.

 

Eric Chung: One of the things Tanoshimasu will change, and it is a new requirement for all our games, is to provide a NEOGEO-like explanation of the controls and game system when the game starts. Super Hydorah AC already has it and obviously that was not there on the previous console and Steam releases.

Speaking of Super Hydorah AC, we tested this game in Japan quite a bit just to get a lot of feedback from different users. I think that both Aka to Blue Type-R and Super Hydorah AC are difficult games, especially Super Hydorah AC, but when you understand them, they’re not that difficult. I think people have the wrong mentality, like trying to kill everything and get everything on screen, but Super Hydorah is not that type of shooter. Back in the day, it was more Gradius-like, where you can’t do everything, you must survive and do what you can.

 

Anthony...

Edited by fdurso224
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Heard some of these things on exA-Arcadia i heard some of these things on exA-Arcadia in the past, just my thoughts.

$2000 for a motherboard kit or $1500 may not attract additional content. Cave did release one of there last titles like this, but there Black version was around 7K in 2014. Also Cave 1000 boards had fpga so they could hardware emulate old hardware features. Hard to tell if this will have any pickup especially since Japan's Arcades have been pretty much static in generating revenue for a very long time.
Also other markets like the US, and the other Americas have very different requirements for game arcade systems to be successful.
They do support certain cellphone features and social media like game streams like other Japanese boards.
Sounds like it possible to hook up these boards similarly to a NAOMI if anyone wants a idea on how to set one up on a Cab or supergun.
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Hi guys.

 

Interesting Q&A with Eric Chung. CEO of exA-Arcadia says it will be the next Neo-Geo. Amazing read. Here it is folks. Enjoy.

 

Anthony...

 

OMG! This is amazing news. True arcade games might actually make a come back. :)

I would love for Sega to come on board and bring it back to their roots with fighting, racing, sports and shmups. <3

 

2,000 for a set up, I could see Anthony getting one. ;)

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Recent pickups of 3 Neo Geo games. I got these from the original owner for real low cheap. He was a kid when he got them and still has his system. Just one of those unicorn children that had a dad who bought them Neo Geo like it was Nintendo. So amazing. Look at the original prices!!


None of the games came with manuals so if anyone has them please help me out!!!!!!!!!



My%20New%20Neo%20Geo%20Games_zpsp6b1oien
New%20Neo%20Geo%20Games%202_zpskl1k37il.
New%20Neo%20Geo%20Games%205_zpsej3wtw6o.

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Hi guys,

 

Great Q&A with Arcade Attack, Arcade Adriano and myself regarding Bitmap Bureau Ltd. We talk about the establishment, Xeno Crisis, and more. Enjoy. :)

 

 

  1. @BitmapBureau's Xeno Crisis has got everyone in the #retrogaming community on tenterhooks. The brand new Mega Drive/Genesis game is also being released on Dreamcast and NeoGeo!! We spoke to the Bureau's Mike Tucker to find out a lot more:

    https://www.arcadeattack.co.uk/xeno-crisis/

    Dxm6gO5WsAE-W_Q.jpg
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    Arcade Attack
    Xeno Crisis – Indie Feature

    arcadeattack

    18th Jan 2019AA Articles, Indie FeaturesLeave a Comment
    Xeno-Crisis-Banner.jpg?zoom=1.5625&fit=6

    Xeno Crisis has been tantalising taste buds since the (successful) Kickstarter was launched. As everyone knows, we’re big fans of the Mega Drive (and Atari Jaguar) homebrew scenes and Xeno Crisis looks to be spawning a Dreamcast and a Neo Geo version in addition to a MD/Genesis version. All very exciting, and with the launch imminent our Adrian (with the help of Anthony) sent a lot of questions to Bitmap Bureau’s Mike Tucker who thankfully sent us back some great answers. For anyone looking to buy the game – head here. Time to get HYPED:

     

     

     

    It’s a pleasure conducting this Q&A with you Mike. Please tell us a little about yourself and your fellow team. How did Bitmap Bureau. Ltd. come about? Tell us what the routines you and your co-workers do on a daily basis.

    Thanks for having us! I founded Bitmap Bureau with my friend Matthew Cope some three years ago now – we’d previously worked together at one of Europe’s most successful mobile game development studios, IOMO (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOMO), although when that studio closed down in 2008 we went in different directions. However, Matt got back in touch 3 years ago asking if he could help me out with the game I was the working on (88 Heroes), and thanks to his technical expertise we were able to take what was an AIR game very quickly over to Unity, allowing us to bring the game to PS4, XBox One and Switch, so I’m very thankful to him for that!

    As for our daily routines, myself and Matt generally work together in our office in Southampton, England most days, although we both have kids so there’s times when it’s more convenient to work at home, particularly for me when I need to take my daughter to school and pick her up afterwards. I guess we roughly work 9 to 5 ish, although I’m something of a night owl and feel more creative beyond 9pm (don’t ask me why), so there’s times when I just get stuck into something at home and will work until 1 or 2am. I’m not really sure about the other people we work with – we generally just tell them what we need and let them work on it as and when it suits them!

     

    Is Xeno Crisis the first game you have worked on?

    It’s the first full Mega Drive title I’ve worked on, but I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved in the videogame industry from the age of 19 back in 1995 (the glory days of CD-ROM gaming…), and so I’ve worked on around 80 titles in various capacities including tester, designer and programmer. Many of those were fairly simple mobile phone games (black and white ones!), but I guess they all count! I don’t think Matt’s worked on quite so many as he’s more of a technical programmer than me, and has worked with many different types of hardware such as the Nintendo DS, the Sony PSP, and probably every mobile phone you can think of – he even wrote some software that could take Java code and cross compile it to run on a multitude of systems – it’s all very clever and you can read a bit more about it here if it’s of interest:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metismo#Bedrock

     

    xc_1.jpg?zoom=1.5625&resize=400%2C266&ss

     

    Xeno Crisis looks intriguing. Would you be able to give a brief description for those that are unfamiliar with this title?

    Xeno Crisis is a new game developed originally for the Sega Mega Drive, and takes inspiration from classics such as Smash TV, Contra, The Chaos Engine, Out Zone, Mercs, Shock Troopers and several others. Your mission is to head to a distant research colony which has suddenly become overrun by hostile alien lifeforms, engaging the enemy and rescuing any survivors you come across. The core gameplay is quite similar to Smash TV in that you must destroy every enemy before you can exit the current room, although we’ve made some key changes such as allowing players to dodge roll, throw grenades and also upgrade their marine between areas. On top of this you also have to collect ammo occasionally, so you won’t be able to hide in the corners for too long!

     

    What inspired you to create this type of game?

    When Matt suggested we create a Mega Drive game, a top-down arena shooter came immediately to mind – I’d made a few top-down games at game jams over the previous few years, but I had yet to release a commercial title using that perspective. So we already had an engine in place and I knew I could very quickly come up with a compelling prototype. On top of this, I felt like Smash TV on the Mega Drive could be improved upon, particularly if the game was designed for the Mega Drive from the outset, with the 3 button controller taken into careful consideration. Given the Mega Drive’s colour palette and gritty FM sound, an “Aliens”-esque theme seemed entirely appropriate, so we put the idea to the legendary pixel artist Henk Nieborg (https://twitter.com/pixelhenk) and he very quickly came up with an amazing look for the game!

     

    The Kickstarter for Xeno Crisis was backed by funds of 362% That’s an astonishing percentage for a new game. Were you and your team expecting it to be at this large of a number?

    We were somewhat anxious when we launched the Kickstarter campaign in December 2017, fearing that it was too close to Christmas, but we were hopeful that we might at least get the £20k we were looking for. To hit that target in just 40 hours was a real surprise, and it meant that we had to very quickly consider stretch goals! To eventually hit 362% funding was a massive boost to us and the project, and we’re extremely thankful to everyone who’s got involved!

     

    xc_2.jpg?zoom=1.5625&resize=400%2C266&ss

     

    You mentioned some earlier but which games mostly helped inspire Xeno Crisis?

    I would say Smash TV is the biggest influence on the game in terms of the basic structure and flow, but I would also add Shock Troopers for the controls, roll function and grenade attack, Mercs for the overall pace and also the shop seen in the Original Mode, Out Zone for the visual style in places, but then there’s also elements of Zombies Ate My Neighbours (the ammo counter and hostages), Alien Syndrome, The Chaos Engine, Skeleton Krew (additional controls), and many others I’ve probably forgotten about.

     

    You have an excellent taste on choices for Xeno Crisis to be played. The Mega Drive/Genesis, Dreamcast, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and even Neo-Geo? That caught those off guard in the community. How did the Neo-Geo become part of the lineup?

    For us it made a lot of sense to bring Xeno Crisis to the Neo Geo from the Mega Drive – they both share the same screen resolution and also CPU (more or less), meaning much of the code can be ported over without too many headaches – this is more Matt’s area though. I also think that aesthetically it’s a great fit for the Neo Geo too – it does loud, gritty action games very well, in a similar vein to the Mega Drive – more so than the Super Famicom or PC Engine I’d say. The Neo Geo version almost certainly wouldn’t have happened without the help of HPMAN though, who did a lot of the groundwork for us!

     

    Not many indie developers are currently developing games for the Neo-Geo. The Neo-Geo is known for being part of a niche market since the beginning of it’s release almost 30 years ago. Did you at Bitmap Bureau have concerns for it since the games are known to have a much higher than usual production cost and the MSRP prices for the consumers to go along with it?

    Producing the PCBs, cartridges and cases certainly is very expensive, and we can understand why few people are doing it. Given the popularity of Xeno Crisis though and the similarities between the Mega Drive and Neo Geo, we thought we should go for it.

     

    Are there any graphical or gameplay differences between the different versions of Xeno Crisis?

    We’re planning to add a number of enhancements that just aren’t technically feasible on the Mega Drive version be that due to lack of ROM space, CPU performance or other Mega Drive limitations.

    These enhancements will include an arcade attract mode, the ability to join in as the second player at any point, extra sprite frames, colour depth, palettes that we couldn’t quite squeeze in on the Mega Drive, more speech, sound effects, as well as full integration with Neo Geo hardware for features like coin/credit support, memory cards etc.

     

    What are your future plans after Xeno Crisis?

    We have several options on the table but can’t say too much just yet!

     

    xc_boss_0.jpg?zoom=1.5625&resize=400%2C2

     

    Where is the best places for our readers to get the latest info and updates on Xeno Crisis and other future projects?

    You can follow us on social media here:

    https://twitter.com/BitmapBureau

    https://www.facebook.com/BitmapBureau/

     

    When do you hope to get Xeno Crisis released?

    The initial platforms (Mega Drive, Dreamcast, Switch, PS4, XBox One, PC, Mac and Linux) should all be released more or less simultaneously in Q1 2019, with the Neo Geo version following in Q2 dependent on manufacturing times.

     

    Are you also working on other projects at the moment?

    Mike finished work on Xeno Crisis some weeks ago and has moved onto a new project which we’re keeping quiet for now – Matt’s totally focussed on completing work on the Mega Drive and Dreamcast ports though.

     

    What are your favourite game consoles and top 3 games of all time?

    My favourite consoles would have to be the Sega Mega Drive, Neo Geo AES and PlayStation 1. Top 3 games…the first two are easy – Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Initial D Arcade Stage Version 3 (both arcade). The third…possibly Ultima V on PC.

     

    If you could be transported into any one of your video games, and live there for a day, which game would you choose and why?

    That would probably be an old Flash game I made called “Knightfall”, as you actually start the game in the “Home Tavern” which is the pub that myself and my colleagues would head to some evenings after work in Eastleigh. So yes, I’d probably just stay in the pub – the game itself is full of all sorts of nasty creatures which I wouldn’t want to encounter!

     

    xc_update_screenshot_2.jpg?zoom=1.5625&r

     

    What is your advice for newcomers that are thinking about establishing their own independent game development company?

    I would say forget about the company until you’ve got a solid demo under your belt which you’re happy with – then get other people to play it and see if they enjoy it – ideally people you don’t know! The games industry is very tough to break into these days, particularly if you’re looking to go independent. With hundreds of games being released each month across so many devices, it’s harder than ever to get noticed, and I think you have to do something special to stand out. You don’t necessarily need to create something unique (that’s almost impossible these days), but your game needs a hook to draw people in. So yes, I’d be more concerned about making a great game before even thinking about creating a website or renting an office, and in fact I would seriously consider talking to publishers too – you need all the help you can get as an indie these days.

     

    If you could share a few drinks with any video game character, who would you choose and why?

    It would have to be the bard from the original Bard’s Tale – I’m sure he would have a few fine stories to tell, and I’ve heard he likes a drink! Would be great if Guile could make it too.

     

    Thanks for all the info Mike, we can’t wait to get our hands on the game! Readers, place your orders here.

     

    Adrian & Anthony

 

Anthony...

Edited by fdurso224
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Hi guys,

 

Great Q&A with Arcade Attack, Arcade Adriano and myself regarding Bitmap Bureau Ltd. We talk about the establishment, Xeno Crisis, and more. Enjoy. :)

 

 

 

Anthony...

Wow, I'm impressed. It's getting a Mega Drive, NeoGeo AES and Dreamcast port as well as modern consoles? This is looking and sounding really amazing. I'm interested in a Mega Drive and PS4 copy. :)

 

I didn't know how close the Genesis and the AES were spec wise, that gives me a better appreciation for it.

 

If I could pick a game character to have a drink with? It would probably be Samus Aran.

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Always good to hear more on xeno crisis. I'm looking forward to the mega drive MVS versions.

 

I've been watching a lot of their early level demo video, and I'm excited about how fast it moves. It seems faster than any of the games it takes inspiration from. Characters move fast, individual screens go fast, and whole levels go fast. I do wish there were more simultaneous enemies--kind of like smash TV, but they've only released video of early levels, so maybe it gets crazier.

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Since Samurai Shodown 2019 should be out in few months, I decided to start a serie of videos on Samurai Shodown Legacy: Road to Samurai Shodown 2019, featuring multiple games of the serie, spin-off and crossover.

 

My first video feature Hanzo in The King of Fighters 2006 (Maximum Impact 2), one of the few times a Samurai Shodown character make it into a KOF game. Enjoy!

 

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Wow, I'm impressed. It's getting a Mega Drive, NeoGeo AES and Dreamcast port as well as modern consoles? This is looking and sounding really amazing. I'm interested in a Mega Drive and PS4 copy. :)

 

I didn't know how close the Genesis and the AES were spec wise, that gives me a better appreciation for it.

 

If I could pick a game character to have a drink with? It would probably be Samus Aran.

That's right Dan. I mean the more they went into detail, the more I've been thinking of other Genesis/Mega Drive games from indie developers would be interested on developing games for the Neo-Geo. :)

 

Great Q & A. I am really thinking about getting this on the MegaDrive and Dreamcast now.

Thank you Glynn. I think it would be great you would like to pick up both. The more the merrier bro. :)

 

Always good to hear more on xeno crisis. I'm looking forward to the mega drive MVS versions.

 

I've been watching a lot of their early level demo video, and I'm excited about how fast it moves. It seems faster than any of the games it takes inspiration from. Characters move fast, individual screens go fast, and whole levels go fast. I do wish there were more simultaneous enemies--kind of like smash TV, but they've only released video of early levels, so maybe it gets crazier.

 

Glad you enjoyed it Reaper. Thank you for stopping by. I never seen the early demo video of it. Now I have to check it out. :)

I've been supporting this game every way I can lol.

Awesome f34R. Can't wait for it to come out too. :)

 

Can't wait for Xeno Crisis, a brand new Neo Geo game this year! And the CD version is sold at a really decent price.

That's right NGCD. The price is like the same for the Dreamcast. Nothing to lose, but a whole lot to gain. :)

 

Anthony...

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Also it is closer to 10 Games that will be releasing in 2019 from what I'm hearing. Though most will have a Steam release.

 

They are also releasing info at Japan main JAEPO Expo this week.

 

 

Hear Devil Engine will be released

 

WOW. Interesting video of Hear Devil Engine enoofu. Thanks for looking this up for us. Really nice. :) :thumbsup:

 

Anthony..

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Since Samurai Shodown 2019 should be out in few months, I decided to start a serie of videos on Samurai Shodown Legacy: Road to Samurai Shodown 2019, featuring multiple games of the serie, spin-off and crossover.

 

My first video feature Hanzo in The King of Fighters 2006 (Maximum Impact 2), one of the few times a Samurai Shodown character make it into a KOF game. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for sharing this great video of Maximum Impact 2 for the PLaystation 2 NGCD Got this one myself and glad that you enjoy it just as much as we do bro. :)

 

Anthony..

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Recent pickups of 3 Neo Geo games. I got these from the original owner for real low cheap. He was a kid when he got them and still has his system. Just one of those unicorn children that had a dad who bought them Neo Geo like it was Nintendo. So amazing. Look at the original prices!!

 

 

None of the games came with manuals so if anyone has them please help me out!!!!!!!!!

 

Whoa! :-o What an amazing pickup haul you got there evile. I'm in the market for a Japanese Baseball Stars 2 and glad you have the English one in your collection. Well done. :thumbsup:

 

If we find the manuals for it, will let you know. I'm sure there out there for you to have my man. Thank you for sharing this with us. 8^)

 

Anthony..

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Hi guys,

 

  1. [☆新作情報☆] ・ギース落下コースター&グラス 落下していくあのシーンを再現203c.png グラスを持ち上げると少しずつギースが小さくなっていきます1f4a8.png2935.png 是非見にきてください1f440.png#NEOGEO_LAND #SNKpic.twitter.com/CRcNb8p4Kd

    Translate Tweet
    Translated from Japanese by Microsoft

    [ ☆ new information ☆] Geese Fall Coaster & Glass to reproduce the scene that will fall the ‼️ geese gradually become smaller when you lift the glass ⤵️ please #NEOGEO_LAND #SNK come to see

     

    DxptG6_VsAMDOGN.jpg
    DxptHeSVAAAOnFs.jpg
    DxptIC-UwAAH8r3.jpg

Anthony...

Edited by fdurso224
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Hi guys,

 

  1. Small preview of our current season schedule. This is not a final list but at least gives a rough estimate of events and stops we will do this season. Most up to date list can always be found on our website including the list of currently qualified players for the finals.pic.twitter.com/mdmFk0653i

    DxX0RyjVAAA4KtR.jpg

Anthony...

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