Everyone knows at least one person who’s absolutely obsessed with Christmas. I’m talking fully knitted white and red sweaters, potent eggnog, stuffed stockings and handmade Chrissy cards galore – all that and more, obsessed over potentially months before the big day. I’m sure you can picture at least one individual.

Well, if they also happen to be a fan of the Neo Geo, you can rest assured knowing that their present is now secured. The Neo Geo Mini, an interesting take on the miniaturised retro console craze since it’s in the form of a desktop arcade with a 3.5” screen, is releasing a Christmas edition – reindeer and all.

While it’s the exact same shape and size of the standard and international variants that were released in July, it will instead be primarily red with a gold joystick and buttons. It will also be covered in festive decals that include the likes of snowflakes, gold flecks and, of course, the reindeer. It even says “Merry Christmas” just below the controls, just in case the theme wasn’t obvious.

As well as a suitably themed box, controllers and cables (as well as celebratory stickers) there are also extra games included to entice you if the spirit of Christmas isn’t enough. The full list numbers 48 and mixes games that were found on the standard and international version, but also an additional nine not found previously. These include a smattering of Fatal Fury games (1-3 and Real Bout), Savage Reign, Soccer Brawl, The Super Spy, Ninja Combat and the one, the only, League Bowling. Here’s a handy image listing the full line-up:

There’s no release date as of yet, but I’m sure we can assume this isn’t intended for Christmas 2019. I’d expect it to be available within the next few weeks at the very least.

Brendan Meharry Brendan Meharry (149 Posts)

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.