Neo Geo Pocket Color

Neo Geo Pocket Color (ネオジオポケットカラー^?) is a 16-bit color handheld video game console released by SNK in March 16, 1999 in Japan, August 6 in the United States and October 1 in Europe. It is a successor to SNK's monochrome Neo Geo Pocket.

Its catchphrase in Japan was "I'm not BOY. There comes a time when someone leaves BOY." (I'm not BOY. 誰だってBOYを捨てるときがくる). It started off strong, but a large number of factors prevented it from doing much else. In mid-2000, Aruze bought SNK and proceeded to have the Color canceled in the US and Europe, though Japanese sales continued into 2001. It was SNK's last video game console, as the company went bankrupt on October 30, 2001.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

US release[]

The US version of the Neo Geo Pocket Color had an exclusive launch on the website eToys in 1999. eToys also sold the initial launch titles in the preferred plastic snap lock cases. The system debuted in the United States with six launch titles (20 promised by end of year) and retail price of $69.95. Six different unit colors were available: Camouflage Blue, Carbon Black, Crystal White, Platinum Blue, Platinum Silver, and Stone Blue.

Before SNK was bought out, the Neo Geo Pocket Color was being advertised on US television and units were being sold nationally in Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Toys "R" Us, and other large retail chains.

Post-Western discontinuation[]

Remaining stock was bought back by SNK for repackaging in Asia. In June 13, 2000 SNK of America (and Europe) tried recalling most of the back-stock of systems and games to be flashed and re-sold in Asia where the system would continue to be sold and supported.^[8] Some of the back-stock of US NGPC hardware and software started showing up back on the marketplace in the US and Asia in 2003. These units frequently appeared bundled with six games stripped of their cases and manuals. Two games often included, Faselei! and The Last Blade were never previously released in United States, meaning that they have no US-localized box or manual; however, these titles did receive a European release, incorporating an English translation.

After SNK went bankrupt on October 30, 2001, all intellectual property rights were transferred to the successor company SNK Playmore (later the second generation SNK), but the development of Neo Geo Pocket Color was discontinued after the bankruptcy.

NEW Neo Geo Pocket Color[]

NEW Neo Geo Pocket Color (NEWネオジオポケットカラー), abbreviated as NNPC, is a redesigned, slimmer version released by SNK in October 21, 1999 only in Japan.^[9] It is 13% smaller than the original Neo Geo Pocket Color, with dimensions 125 x 73 x 27 mm, and also features improved sound output, but it is fully compatible with all previous units, software, and accessories.^[10]^[11]

Legacy[]

The system enjoyed a greater success than any Game Boy competitor since Sega's Game Gear. However, it was hurt by several factors, such as the Neo Geo heads' (the Barone family) notorious lack of communication with third-party developers, and anticipation of the Game Boy Advance. The NGPC is listed on Gamespy.com's Top Ten Handhelds that Never Made It with the number one ranking.^[12]

Technical specifications[]

CPUs: Toshiba TLCS900H core (16-bit), 6.144 MHz, Z80 at 3.072 MHz for sound.
RAM: 12 k for 900H, 4k for Z80
ROM: 64 kbit boot ROM
Interfaces: SIO 1 channel 19200 bit/s, 5-pin serial port
Resolution: 160x152
Colors: 16 palettes per plane, 48 palettes. 146 colors on screen out of 4096.
Sprites: 64 sprites per frame, 4 colors per sprite.
Scrolling: 2 scrolling planes, 8x8 character tiles, 4 colors each.
Sound: PSG 6 tone simultaneous output. Stereo sound.
Cartridges: Maximum 4 MB (32 Mbit) with 4-16 Mbit flash memory.
Batteries: 40 hours on 2 AA batteries. Lithium CR2032 battery backs up memory and clock.

The system has an on-board language setting, and games display text in the language selected (provided the cartridge supports that language). Other settings can be set on the handheld such as time and date, and the system can provide customized horoscopes when one's birth-date is entered.

Acessories[]

	Neo Geo Pocket Link Cable (ネオジオポケット専用通信ケーブル) is a cable used for communication between the two Neo Geo Pocket. Used for battles and data exchange.
	Neo Geo Pocket/Dreamcast Setsuzoku Cable (ネオジオポケット/ドリームキャスト接続ケーブル) is a cable released in 1999 by SNK that connects the Sega Dreamcast to Neo Geo Pocket Color for data transfer between a few compatible games.
	Neo Geo Pocket Wireless Communication Unit (ネオジオポケット専用無線ユニット) is a device that uses radio waves to connect other players to share data instead of the communication cable. Compatible with some games only, and cannot be used for games that require responsiveness, such as fighting games.

Videos[]

Neo Geo Pocket "I'm not BOY" (1) Japanese Commercial

Neo Geo Pocket Color "I'm not BOY" (2) Japanese Commercial

Neo geo pocket intro

References[]

↑ エス・エヌ・ケイフォーエバー. エス・エヌ・ケイ (29 October 2001). Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved on 30 October 2023.
↑ SNK FOR EVER. SNK (29 October 2001). Retrieved on 12 November 2023.
↑ SNKが大阪地裁から破産宣告 (Japanese). ZDNet JAPAN (2 November 2001). Archived from the original on 19 November 2001. Retrieved on 7 February 2024.
↑ アルゼがSNK株主より損害賠償請求 (Japanese). ジーパラドットコム (2 November 2001). Archived from the original on 24 December 2001. Retrieved on 14 March 2024.
↑ Seyoon Park, Andrew (29 October 2001). SNK Corporation closes its doors (English). GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2 November 2001. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.
↑ Lake, Max (30 October 2001). SNK says Goodbye (English). Nintendo World Report. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.
↑ https://www.angelfire.com/ga/engallo/copy_of_evil.html
↑ Trueman, Doug (13 June 2000). SNK Confirms Western Withdrawal (English). GameSpot. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.
↑ https://archive.kontek.net/sngp.classicgaming.gamespy.com/news/archive/newsarch_9_1999.htm
↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200109131840/https://archive.kontek.net/sngp.classicgaming.gamespy.com/hardware/nngpc/nngpc_specs.htm
↑ http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/ngpcentral/whatis.html
↑ The Top Ten Handhelds that Never Made It (English). Gamespy.com (29 September 2004). Archived from the original on 29 September 2004. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.

External Links[]

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[1] エス・エヌ・ケイフォーエバー. エス・エヌ・ケイ (29 October 2001). Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved on 30 October 2023.

[2] SNK FOR EVER. SNK (29 October 2001). Retrieved on 12 November 2023.

[3] SNKが大阪地裁から破産宣告 (Japanese). ZDNet JAPAN (2 November 2001). Archived from the original on 19 November 2001. Retrieved on 7 February 2024.

[4] アルゼがSNK株主より損害賠償請求 (Japanese). ジーパラドットコム (2 November 2001). Archived from the original on 24 December 2001. Retrieved on 14 March 2024.

[5] Seyoon Park, Andrew (29 October 2001). SNK Corporation closes its doors (English). GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2 November 2001. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.

[6] Lake, Max (30 October 2001). SNK says Goodbye (English). Nintendo World Report. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.

[finalup-7] ttps://www.angelfire.com/ga/engallo/copy_of_evil.html

[8] Trueman, Doug (13 June 2000). SNK Confirms Western Withdrawal (English). GameSpot. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.

[9] ttps://archive.kontek.net/sngp.classicgaming.gamespy.com/news/archive/newsarch_9_1999.htm

[10] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20200109131840/https://archive.kontek.net/sngp.classicgaming.gamespy.com/hardware/nngpc/nngpc_specs.htm

[11] ttp://www.angelfire.com/pa2/ngpcentral/whatis.html

[12] The Top Ten Handhelds that Never Made It (English). Gamespy.com (29 September 2004). Archived from the original on 29 September 2004. Retrieved on 6 October 2023.

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