The Neo Geo AES was SNK’s home version of its MVS arcade board, released in Japan on 26 April 1990, and it ran arcade games on a console at an arcade price.
Why it matters
The AES used a 12 MHz Motorola 68000 and a Z80 sound processor with sprite hardware that could put 380 sprites on screen, the same as the arcade cabinet. It was expensive, with the Gold System at $649.99 and games around $200, so only 410,000 consoles were sold, but SNK kept releasing games on it until 2004.
What to check before you buy
- Check the board revision; some give weak RGB or checkerboard video that needs a mod.
- Test the video and sound for capacitor faults.
- Look for fake or bootleg cartridges; prices are high and copies exist.
- Check both controller ports and the memory card slot.
- Confirm the region, since Japanese and US consoles are not interchangeable with every cartridge.
