Neo Geo X Gold Retro Gaming Console Gets December Release Date

Officially announced in March, the Neo Geo X Gold is now set for worldwide release on December 6 at an MSRP of $199.99. Its availability coincides with the 20th anniversary celebration of the original Neo Geo home console. Unlike its predecessor, the Neo Geo X Gold entertainment system is designed to be both a home console and a handheld gaming device.

The system comes with the Neo Geo X Station, Neo Geo X Handheld, and the Neo Geo X Joystick. Spec information is slim at this point, but so far we know the handheld will include a 4.3″ LCD display, SD card slot, internal stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and 20 pre-installed games. The Station features HDMI and A/V outputs, allowing users to play games on the big screen via the Joystick, with the Handheld docked.

The list of pre-installed games includes 3 Count Bout, League Bowling and Art of Fighting II. Also included are Magician Lord, Alpha Mission II, Metal Slug, Baseball Stars II, Mutation Nation, Cyber Lip, NAM 1975, Fatal Fury, Puzzled, Fatal Fury Special, Real Bout – Fatal Fury Special, The King of Fighters 95, Samurai Shodown II, King of the Monsters, Super Sidekicks, Last Resort and World Heroes Perfect

While there is no mention of the availability of other games, or how they would be purchased or obtained, the company refers to the SD slot as an “expandable game card slot”. This is a good indication there will be more games announced in the near future. Currently, there is no word on the system’s local multiplayer abilities or if they will offer additional Joysticks for sale separately. There is also no mention of WiFi or Ethernet capabilities.

The original Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System was introduced in 1991 at a hefty MSRP of $649 (over $1000 when adjusted for inflation), a significant premium over its rivals, the NEC TurboGrafx ($250), Sega Genesis ($190), and Super Nintendo ($200). Game cartridges for the original system also ran in excess of $200 a piece. While it was arguably the most advanced system of its generation, its pricing relegated it to relative niche status.

It’s over 20 years later, but if you’re like me and are still able to remember trying to convince your parents to buy you one, it’s hard to not be nostalgic for the Neo Geo X Gold. At $200 (less than $125 in 1991 dollars), the retro gaming system seems to be offering all of the greatness of the original Neo Geo while adding the extra convenience of portability, at a fraction of the cost. Whether or not it can deliver on this promise remains to be seen.