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Released at a time when gaming was dominated by consoles like the 8-bit NES and 16-bit Mega Drive, SNK's Neo Geo system was both powerful - and expensive. Launched in two flavours - MVS for arcade, AES for the home - the system offered coin-op quality visuals at a time when domestic gamers made do with pared-down arcade ports. The catch was the price - the console itself was a significant investment, while the games retailed for anything between £150-£200 a piece. Predictably, this relegated the machine to little more than a bit-part during the epic console wars of the early '90s, yet the mystique of the hardware endured regardless, thanks largely to extensive coverage in the magazines of the period. Titles like Fatal Fury 2 and Metal Slug were spoken about in hushed, reverent tones in playgrounds all over the world; this was a system that was on everyone's wish list, yet for the vast majority of players it was frustratingly unobtainable. The Neo Geo's cult status has remained constant, despite the passage of time and relatively low hardware sales and the format continues to enjoy limited developer support even to this day - something that is made possible by an incredibly active and passionate community.
Were it not for the Neo Geo's unique status in the world of video games, a product like the Neo Geo X simply wouldn't exist. This is a device which has been produced to scratch an itch that many gamers have had since 1990 - the yearning to own what was once referred to as "the Rolls Royce of video game consoles". The fact that your average smartphone is far more powerful - and probably perfectly capable of emulating the SNK hardware with little effort - is irrelevant; like no other brand in the realm of interactive entertainment, the Neo Geo is blessed with an appeal dedicated players seem to find irresistible.
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