With the current state of the console gaming world, I can’t help but feel there’s something missing. There used to be more competition, and there was such a thing as an extremely premium console: the Neo Geo. So where’s the modern equivalent?
The Neo Geo Was a Super-Expensive Enthusiast Home Console
In 1990, SNK Corporation released the Neo Geo. This was literally the same hardware that you’d find in SNK’s arcade cabinets, but in a home console. For the princely sum of $649 (almost $1500 in today’s money!) you could literally bring the arcade home. Needless to say, only the richest kids had a Neo Geo, and little over a million units were sold during the entire run of the console, but if you wanted the pinnacle of what was possible in a home console system, there was no substitute.
While Neo Geo hardware never sold in huge numbers, the games were also of extremely high quality, and they live on today thanks to official (and unofficial) emulation. I love grabbing my arcade stick and playing some Metal Slug to blow off steam after a hard day of writing about the games I wish I were playing.
8Bitdo Arcade Stick for Switch
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I was only four years old when the Neo Geo launched, so by the time I even knew of its existence, it had already passed into history, but I recognized what made it great, and I’d love it if there was some modern equivalent to the Neo Geo of old.
The PlayStation 5 Pro Is Not It
I’m sure most of you reading this immediately thought of the highest-spec console you can buy as I write this: the PlayStation 5 Pro. The thing is, the PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t follow the same philosophy as the Neo Geo. It’s not an uncompromising system that wants to offer the state of the art in console form. It’s a slightly more expensive version of the PS5 that has clever optimizations to give you the most bang for your buck at 4K.
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That makes the PlayStation 5 Pro a fine product with a clear purpose, but it doesn’t make it the spiritual successor to the Neo Geo!
Cheaper Than a Gaming PC but Far Better Than a Console
What would a modern-day $1500 console be? It could certainly outperform a $1500 PC by a long shot. It would be a system that incorporates the latest and greatest technologies such as AI upscaling and ray tracing, but also underpins it with enough raw performance so that those technologies are merely the icing on the cake.
Unlike the PS5 or current Xboxes, this hypothetical console doesn’t have to be based on PC technology. I’ve said it before that I think Apple could make a truly excellent premium console based on their Arm Apple Silicon. If I look at how well my M4 Pro MacBook Pro runs video games without so much as a whiff of fan noise, I can only imagine what a purpose-built console could do.
That said, I don’t care who has the chutzpah to bring a premium console in that $1500-$2000 price bracket to market. Honestly, I think these days, where people happily spend thousands of dollars on FPGA systems and GPUs, there’s a big enough niche for a product like this.
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Why FPGAs Are Amazing for Retro Gaming Emulation
The MiSTer and Analogue Pocket are two examples of FPGA hardware-level emulation you might have heard of.
Alternatively, with SteamOS now spreading its wings to more systems, I can envision a custom-built Steam Machine that would thoroughly whip any of the current consoles, but leave most of the things console gamers don’t like about PCs out of the equation. Especially if you only stuck to the most compatible games.
I’d Buy One if It Existed
We don’t really have arcades where the most aspirational versions of games exist any more. That’s now a slot occupied by high-end PCs, but there’s such a large gap between consoles and the premium PC experience that I feel that’s where you would have found the Neo Geo back in the 90s.
In fact, I’d go as far as saying that if such a premium-tier console existed I’d be tempted to go with that instead of a similarly priced or more expensive PC, but all I can do is dream until some mad person somewhere decides it’s worth bringing back the ultra-premium console segment.
