Editing SNK (section)

=== Neo Geo and other hardware ===
SNK designed and released the Neo Geo (stylized NEOGEO) on April 26, 1990, an arcade cabinet that could store multiple games in one. It used swappable cartridges as opposed to other arcade machines at the time, and this was a factor in its popularity, a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace. The system, known as MVS (Multi Video System), was a big success for SNK and it was the platform from which many of SNK's big franchises originated from. The hardware features comparatively colorful 2D graphics. The hardware was in part designed by Alpha Denshi (later ADK).<sup>[''unreliable source?'']</sup>

The Neo Geo also had a video game console variant, often named the AES (Advanced Entertainment System), using the same cartridge media. Initially, the home system was only available for rent to commercial establishments, such as hotel chains, bars and restaurants, and other venues. When customer response indicated that some gamers were willing to buy a US$650 console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market. A CD-based equivalent home console was later released, called Neo Geo CD. SNK produced the Neo Geo until 1997 while new software continued to be released for it until 2004. Reincarnations of the Neo Geo continue to be made to this day both by SNK and officially licensed third-parties; the first of these was the Neo Geo X handheld released in 2012, followed by the Neo Geo Mini in 2018.

The company developed and produced a number of other hardware during the 1990s after the Neo Geo, all of which were short-lived and commercially unsuccessful. The Hyper Neo Geo 64 arcade board, released in 1997, was designed to be a modern follow-up to Neo Geo with 3D graphical capabilties, however it was a significant failure and few games were made for the platform. SNK then developed and released the handheld game device Neo Geo Pocket for the Japanese market, and its follow-up Neo Geo Pocket Color with a color display, released globally; both of these were discontinued by 2000 in the West, and then in 2001 when the original SNK went bankrupt.