SNK has really been making the rounds recently, haven’t they? Not only have they released new games such King of Fighters XIV and SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, their take on the mini-throwback console craze, the Neo Geo Mini, has been a resounding success. SNK is back, baby!
Compounding on this, they recently announced on their various Twitter streams the Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro. Not a lot is known about the stick so far – in fact, almost nothing has been released yet (although we’ve been promised new information shortly) other than SNK describing it as a “Pro-Gear Spec Advanced Entertainment System” and that it’s “FOR ALL NEOGEO FANS”. They also point out that the design is based on the Neo Geo CD controller. An uncanny resemblance. But, on that note; let’s get speculative! All aboard the express speculation train! Hoot, hoot!
We can probably assume that this has been made to compete with Capcom’s new Capcom-logo-shaped arcade stick to some degree, but there are a few hopeful indicators that it might not just be a plug and play stick keeping it in line with Capcoms offering – although a few sources are stating that it will be compatible with the Neo Geo Mini. A few others also mention a USB-C power supply and 720p output by HDMI, and you can sorta at least see (what are probably) two USB-C ports along with a headphone jack on the bottom of the stick.
There are also plenty of other buttons scattered around, both on the right-hand side and in-between the stick and action buttons, indicating some sort of UI. The fact that it has eight-buttons is an eyebrow-raiser too since early Neo Geo games only required four at most.
So, here’s hoping that it comes preloaded with all sorts of goodies, including some sort of ARM-based processor to power it all (as is the usual case with modern devices like this). But, let’s end this speculation. Go on, get off my train. There are no details yet like the price, release date and what or if games will be preloaded. Let’s hope it is the case, however, as we eagerly await more information from SNK towers.
Growing up while the fifth generation of consoles reigned supreme meant that Brendan missed out on much of the 80’s and early 90’s of gaming the first time around. He either lacked the cognitive ability to play them, as naturally, he was a baby - or he simply didn’t exist yet. Undeterred, Brendan started a blog called Retro Game On in 2011. This followed his exploits as he collected and played everything he could get his hands on no matter what the release date. While RGO is mainly YouTube focused these days concentrating on video reviews and historical features, the itch to do some old fashion writing never went away. More recently, Brendan has been a staff writer for the gaming website, GameCloud, mostly focusing on the indie gaming scene in his locale of Perth, Australia.
