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Hyper Neo Geo 64

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Hyper Neo Geo 64
Hyper Neo Geo 64 system board and software
ManufacturerSNK Corporation
Product familyNeo Geo
TypeArcade system board
Release dateSeptember 1997
Lifespan1997—1999
MediaROM cartridge
StorageMemory card
PredecessorNeo Geo MVS

The Hyper Neo Geo 64 is an arcade system board created by SNK, and released in September 1997. As the successor of the popular Neo Geo (MVS), it was the first and only SNK hardware set capable of rendering in 3D, conceived to bring SNK into the 3D era that had arisen during the mid-1990s.

The system never managed to match the huge success of the 16-bit Neo Geo.[1] Only seven games were produced, none of which proved particularly popular,[2] and only one of them, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, has been ported to home systems. A home console version was rumored to be in development but was never confirmed by SNK.[3]

History

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The system was first announced in late 1995, and planned for release in late 1996.[4] It was officially unveiled at the February 1997 AOU show, though all that was demonstrated at the show was a videotape containing a few seconds of footage of Samurai Shodown 64, which SNK announced would be the first game for the system.[5] By mid-1997 test units were on display in Japan.[6]

The system was released, only in arcade form, in September 1997, featuring a custom 64-bit RISC processor, 4 megabytes of program memory, 64 megabytes of 3D and texture memory, and 128 megabytes of memory for 2D characters and backgrounds.[7] The first title released for the system was Road's Edge, with Samurai Shodown 64 and Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition following soon after. None were particularly well received. The system was a failure[8] and by 1999 was discontinued, with only seven games released in total. SNK resumed releasing games on their older Neo Geo system.[9]

Reportedly, SNK had been working on a successor hardware. This was reported in 2021 and dubbed SNK Millenium.[10][11]

Specifications

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  • Processors:
    • CPU #1 (main): 100 MHz NEC VR4300 (64-bit MIPS III)
    • CPU #2 (auxiliary, handles audio I/O): V53@16 MHz 16-bit microcontroller (V33 superset)
    • CPU #3 (auxiliary, handles communications I/O): KL5C80A12CFP@12.5 MHz 8-bit microcontroller (Z80 compatible)
  • Memory layout:
    • 0x00000000..0x00FFFFFF: mainboard RAM (16 MiB)
    • 0x04000000..0x05FFFFFF: cartridge RAM (16 MiB)
    • 0x1FC00000..0x1FC7FFFF: ROM (512 KiB)
    • Cartridge ROM mapping is variable.
  • Sound chip: 32-channel PCM sample-based synthesis audio, with maximum sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz (CD-quality) and 32 MB of sample RAM
  • Display:
    • Color palette: 16.7 million[12]
    • Maximum onscreen color palette: 4,096
    • 3D branch: 96 MB vertex memory, 16 MB maximum texture memory[12]
    • 2D sprite branch: 60 frames per second animation, 128 MB character memory[12]
      • Main functions: scaling, montage, chain, mosaic, mesh, action, up/down, right/left reverse
      • Sprites per frame: 1,536 sprites[13]
    • 2D scrolling branch: Up to 4 game planes, 64 MB character memory[12]
      • Main functions: scaling, revolution, morphing; horizontal/vertical screen partitioning and line scrolling

List of games

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Seven games were released, all developed and published by SNK.

Title Genre Release date Notes
Beast Busters: Second Nightmare Rail Shooter September 11, 1998 The only third-party game on the platform, developed by ADK
Buriki One Fighting May 21, 1999
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition Fighting January 28, 1999 Ported to Sony's PlayStation in 1999
Road's Edge Racing September 10, 1997
Samurai Shodown 64 Fighting December 19, 1997
Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage Fighting October 16, 1998
Xtreme Rally Racing May 13, 1998

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.theregister.com/2015/03/12/antique_code_show_25_years_of_neo_geo_console/?page=4
  2. ^ Zwiezen, Zack (March 18, 2021). "24-Year-Old Neo Geo 64 Prototype Latest Game To Be Found In A Field". Kotaku Australia. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Other Stuff". Gamefan. Vol. 5, no. 10. 1997. p. 152.
  4. ^ Webb, Marcus (December 1995). "Arcadia". Next Generation. No. 12. Imagine Media. p. 28.
  5. ^ "AOU" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 93. Ziff Davis. April 1997. p. 79.
  6. ^ "In the Studio". Next Generation. No. 33. Imagine Media. September 1997. p. 24.
  7. ^ "SNK rolls out 64-bit hardware". Edge Magazine. No. 48. 1997. p. 12.
  8. ^ Extension, Time (July 14, 2022). "Fighting Game Fan Goes To Insane Lengths To Play Obscure Neo Geo 64 Game". Time Extension. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "The History of SNK". GameSpot. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Lyles, Taylor (July 9, 2021). "Evidence of a Secret, Unreleased SNK Millennium Console Has Been Discovered". IGN. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Murray, Sean (July 12, 2021). "Gaming Collector Thinks They Have Found Evidence Of Unreleased SNK Millennium Console". TheGamer. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d "Hyper Neo Geo 64". Next Generation. No. 34. Imagine Media. October 1997. p. 21.
  13. ^ Webb, Marcus (November 18, 1997). "Arcadia: SNK to combine system and dedicated games" (PDF). Next Generation. No. 36 (December 1997). p. 33.
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