Neo Geo Pocket - A case in idiot marketing.

[MarkIII]

Unrepentent from my message in the Tell us when you buy old junk thread. I would like to state my opinion on the Neo Geo Pocket.

Now if I was the Chairman of SNK at the time I would have given the designers and marketing people of SNK a tanto each and told them to commit seppeku.

Stupid design issue 1 - Make the screen monochrome. At the time seemed like a good idea, however the Gameboy *COLOR* was released in the same time frame so that ruined it.

Stupid design issue 2 - 2 Buttons, I mean WTF do you designers not look at the Machine that made SNK famous? I can't see any design issues with having 4 buttons but no lets go back to the NES days guys and have two buttons. Anyone that says two buttons is enough is smoking strong weed.

Stupid Marketing issue 1 - Make lots of hardcore games for the machine. For the hardcore gamers it is heaven, sadly the causals are more important in the world as they have the money, there is a reason why Pokemon is the best selling game of all time.

Stupid Design issue 3 - Decide that the Monochrome version was a bad idea and do a color version. Look guys look at the Neo Geo CD and decide it is a bad idea. Look Bandai who have lots of things that they can licence and have a ton of money more then you are doing their own console and it's designed by Mr Gunpei and it is released in the same time frame you bunch of geeky dorks.

Stupid Marketing issue 2 - Release the colour in the UK and US way after the event. The Sales figures against the Gameboy Pocket were pathetic.

Stupid Marketing issue 3 - Decide that the UK and US market is worth **** and pull the machine but still waste a ton of money doing new games. Clever you stupid dorks!

Okay maybe the Hyper Neo Geo 64 was also another waste of effort but the Neo Geo Pocket was just laughable in it's timing.

And the games, yes there are one or two nice games on the system but the beat 'em ups just feel to much like SD Nonsense fighter X, lets face it Fighters just don't work on handhelds for a number of reasons and anyone who things they do is deluding themselves. Neo Turfmasters is a nice golf game but you're spoilt for choice of golf games on the Gameboy, even Metal Slug isn't going to save it. Still if you get bored you can always play the many Pachislot games on the NGP. I have a spare Tanto is anyone wants to buy one.

[Baseley09]

You are dead inside!

Fighters don't work on a handheld........that's just a lie, imo the NGPC are awsome for the most part, i think it's a great machine with strong games in a few important genres.

Granted mistakes were made on the way, comparing it to Wonderswan?........now that has **** (at least for the most part unplayable for westerners) games.

Shame about the marketing support.....like you aluded too, it should have perhaps been more advanced a machine.

[sj33]

Nothing MarkIII has said is incorrect as such.

But wasn't the comment in the other thread specifically about the quality of the machine/games compared to the GameBoy? This thread seems to critisize the marketing of the machine, which is a totally different matter. Bar the comment on fighters.

[Commander Marklar]

Anyone who thinks the NGPC competes with the Gameboy/Colour regarding quality game releases is completely barking. It even has a better Reversi game

Thank you.

[MarkIII]

The Wonderswan was sold as a Japanese machine and had more games that casuals, women and kids could play. Total number of WS Black and White units (that ignores the numner of Color and Crystal machines sold...) sold in Japan was 1.55 million, thats 1,550,000! Total number of Neo Geo Pocket machines (all of them) sold worldwide did not even reach a million, I am sure that it just managed to get over half a million units. I think that settles that one.

Whats barking anyway? The GB and GBC did have a wider choice and I think more playable games, yes it did have a lot of rubbish too but overall the GB is a much more pleasing experience with the right games.

[Kubrick]

Unrepentent from my message in the Tell us when you buy old junk thread. I would like to state my opinion on the Neo Geo Pocket.

Now if I was the Chairman of SNK at the time I would have given the designers and marketing people of SNK a tanto each and told them to commit seppeku.

Stupid design issue 1 - Make the screen monochrome. At the time seemed like a good idea, however the Gameboy *COLOR* was released in the same time frame so that ruined it.

Stupid design issue 2 - 2 Buttons, I mean WTF do you designers not look at the Machine that made SNK famous? I can't see any design issues with having 4 buttons but no lets go back to the NES days guys and have two buttons. Anyone that says two buttons is enough is smoking strong weed.

Stupid Marketing issue 1 - Make lots of hardcore games for the machine. For the hardcore gamers it is heaven, sadly the causals are more important in the world as they have the money, there is a reason why Pokemon is the best selling game of all time.

Stupid Design issue 3 - Decide that the Monochrome version was a bad idea and do a color version. Look guys look at the Neo Geo CD and decide it is a bad idea. Look Bandai who have lots of things that they can licence and have a ton of money more then you are doing their own console and it's designed by Mr Gunpei and it is released in the same time frame you bunch of geeky dorks.

Stupid Marketing issue 2 - Release the colour in the UK and US way after the event. The Sales figures against the Gameboy Pocket were pathetic.

Stupid Marketing issue 3 - Decide that the UK and US market is worth **** and pull the machine but still waste a ton of money doing new games. Clever you stupid dorks!

Okay maybe the Hyper Neo Geo 64 was also another waste of effort but the Neo Geo Pocket was just laughable in it's timing.

And the games, yes there are one or two nice games on the system but the beat 'em ups just feel to much like SD Nonsense fighter X, lets face it Fighters just don't work on handhelds for a number of reasons and anyone who things they do is deluding themselves. Neo Turfmasters is a nice golf game but you're spoilt for choice of golf games on the Gameboy, even Metal Slug isn't going to save it. Still if you get bored you can always play the many Pachislot games on the NGP. I have a spare Tanto is anyone wants to buy one.

I own a Neo Geo Pocket and a Neo Geo Pocket color and I have played a lot of games and I have two words to say to you people. Wonderswan and Gameboy (thats the original one...).

Puzzle Bobble and Puyo Puyo? Check mostly on both systems (Puyo Puyo on WS, Puyo 1 & 2 & Sun on GB, Puzzle Bobble, taller then wide screen? certainly sir on the Wonderswan), Magical Drop sir? Wonderswan sir? Suit you sir.

Fighters? GB had a number called Deadheat Fighters that included KOF, FFRB, Toshinden, Samurai Spirits all played as well as most of the fighers on the Neo Geo Pocket.

Puzzle games? Feel free to count the number of decent puzzle games on one hand for the Neo Geo Pocket...

Why did the Neo Geo Pocket fail? Well in Japan after SNK spent ages working on the machine they decide to release it on the 27th of October 1998, sadly they ballsed that up as Nintendo release the Gameboy Color on the 21st of October 1998 which meant that apart from SNK fanboys the general public generally bought the Gameboy Color as it 1) had more software (even ignoring backward compatability) and 2) It had color... Cue 5 months down the line when SNK release the Neo Geo Pocket Color and yet again it gets ignored and why was that? Ah the release of the Bandai Wonderswan a few weeks earlier, seems the SNK didn`t have much luck at getting releases. The lack of third parties doesn`t really help either as most of them signed up to Nintendo and or Bandai... A few token guestures from Sega, Capcom and Taito don`t do much either... And 100,000 Units sold in the UK? So? If an average game sells 20,000 units then that`s hardly going to raise that much money for new project now is it... Might pay for two of the programmers salaries...

In all fairness the SNK were doing stupid mistakes (Hyper Neo Geo 64 anyone...) and were losing money faster then you can say `Atari in 1983`, the Neo Geo Pocket should have been better thought out and a more cohereant plan of action been thought up...

Still the Wonderswan only ceased last year...

What is it with people who have Sega consoles for usernames?

[m0nk3y]

Inevitably, the NGP was always going to fail against the power of the GBC and Pokemon. However as the machine goes, I thought it was pretty damn smart. The mini-jstick/d-pad jobbie was the best d-pad on a portable ever. The screen on the NGPC was quality too. It's just a shame about the lack of shooters. MS 1 & 2 and Cotton just ain't enough. Had we had a Pocket sequel to Last Resort or BlazingStar/Pulstar or even a new franchise I'd be happier. And the NGPC-DC connectivity was a wasted opportunity.

[Kizzycrew]

All I have to say, is that it was bad marketing, and I have PROOF!

I was a younger gamer back then, but a gamer indeed, appreciating the difference between the Playstation and Saturn, but I had never heard about the NGP/C until A LOT more recently.

[whatmeworry]

I love my NGPC - its a nice clean design, good quality screen (for the time) and hosts 2 of my favourite handheld games (in fact games full stop) - Metal Slug First Mission and SNK vs Capcom MOTM.

But to actually be on topic - yes it was poorly marketed - it just didnt have the names necessery to compete with the Gameboy behemoth.

[Mayhem]

The NGPC was the handheld version of the Dreamcast; powerful, cool, lots of great games to play, but vastly overshadow by the more popular company's product in the same market.

[buster_broon]

Stupid design issue 1 - Make the screen monochrome. At the time seemed like a good idea, however the Gameboy *COLOR* was released in the same time frame so that ruined it.

Stupid design issue 2 - 2 Buttons, I mean WTF do you designers not look at the Machine that made SNK famous?

didnt the gameboy *COLOR* have only 2 buttons as well?

its a shame it didnt do well but snk in the west have always been ****e and they still make serious feck ups when it comes to releasing games - even on the xbox/ps2 etc

but the NGPC had a better screen that the original GBA and the d-pad is absolutely brilliant which no other handheld has matched yet

Neo turfmasters is just a class game - as is densha

definately one system worth owning and i missed its uk release, didnt even know it existed until maybe about 2003

how i longed to go back in time and buy 10 pocket reversi's from dixons

[^Katsu]

Stupid Marketing issue 1 - Make lots of hardcore games for the machine. For the hardcore gamers it is heaven, sadly the causals are more important in the world as they have the money, there is a reason why Pokemon is the best selling game of all time.

Have you ever played & understood the essence Pok?mon? It appeals to the masses of kids out there granted....
But if you looked beyond its candy covered coating you may just see one of the greatest & tactically diverse battlefield games ever created! In fact im stunned to see the growth, evolution & continuation of the series gamewise after the death of the Tv phenomenom? (I stopped watching after the 3rd movie... *cough*) The last title I got for the GBC was Crystal.

I fired up the N64 only the other day just to redo "Silver" stadium 2 style for some pok?mon ability fine tuning and the wife is going crazy as I haven't stopped playing the game since! NINTENDO DS - FAULT:1 GBC Carts dont fecking fit in!
But thats ok I can buy the GBA pok?mon's, another GC, a GBA SP, and Pok? Colosseum eh!

As for the NGPC its a great handheld for a gamer full stop, poorly supported but still an excellent attempt only too late!

[Duddyroar]

As several other people have picked up on, the 'marketing' of a machine and its actual gaming worth are two very different things.

I bought into the NGP early on, with a Japanese mono system and KOF R1. I have to admit I was a bit annoyed when the colour unit was released not long after but thankfully I was able to trade my mono system in at CEX for the Colour version. I got SNK Vs Capcom: MotM with it, and never looked back.

Anyone who says fighters can't work on handheld is clearly a few cans short of a six pack. SVC on the NGPC is a joy to behold, sure it's not as deep as the home console fighters of the time but it's playable as hell and the microswitched joystick made pulling off special moves a doddle. Compared to the utter, utter crap being peddled on the Gameboy at the time, SVC is god-like. Compare it to the terrible conversions of SNK's fighters that found their way onto the GB - the difference is amazing. The GB games end up looking like pathetic, shambling excuses for fighting games.

The problem for SNK was that they were a small fish in a big pond that was owned pretty much exclusively by Nintendo. SNK have never been as big a company as Nintendo, Sega or even Bandai, so it was obvious that unless the machine was an instant success then the writing was on the wall. If Nintendo had released the NGPC they could have put money behind it until it succeeded, but poor old SNK had very small pockets and trying to launch the machine worldwide was a mistake. But I'm grateful SNK took the chance - it was a brave move that also indicated that they took the West seriously.

The machine gave me many happy times and it's one of the few consoles I've decided to hold onto during my recent 'sell-a-thon'.

[dataDave]

I remember the funky ads they ran in the likes of FHM. Not bad really.

Tons of good stuff on the machine - along with one of the best 2D fighters ever! (MOTM)

[Duddyroar]

I remember the funky ads they ran in the likes of FHM. Not bad really

Yeah the ads were actually quite good, and at least SNK tried to do something different with handhelds by aiming the machine at young adults, but TBH they might have been better off trying to sell it to the nippers rather than FHM readers.