Everybody thought the first announcement was a joke.
Then we read about the price and confirmed it.
The Neo Geo X, a new 'retro' portable, straddles the fence between so many sides it would walk bow-legged. It is a sleek, modern, savvy looking machine, designed to only play games from ten to twenty years ago. It is technically an official SNK (Playmore) product, yet its guts run an emulator and roms. The 20 pre-loaded games included are widely available in compilations and downloads, yet preorders include Ninja Master's on an SD card, a title known for rarity. It is a handheld that, once placed in a slick looking docking station, becomes a console with HDMI and full sized arcade sticks.
With as many people this sets out to please (and for as many reasons, drives people away or worse, be apathetic to its existence) you'd think the thing was running for public office.
It is a system that some of us here at RFG are undoubtedly curious over, and while I'm not the guy to ask about for the technical stuff, I can at least share my thoughts after tinkering with it over the first day.
The Good:
Its pretty.
Despite having a more square form factor than most modern portables, I enjoy the 'feel' of the NGX more than the Vita, PSP, or DS line. Completely subjective, of course, but between the face button placement and responsiveness, general heft and of course, trademark clicky digital 'stick,' I'd play just about anything on this. The screen quality is not as sharp and vibrant as the Vita, but these classic Neo Geo games look great on it.
The games included:
...in a pleasant surprise, aren't all fighting games. No complaints about including Samurai Shodown II, KoF '95, Real Bout Fatal Fury, or of course Ninja Master's (more on that in a moment) but I was thrilled to have Puzzled, League Bowlijng, Last Resort, Nam-1975 and a variety of other genres represented. For being largely (and understandably) known as the '2D fighting machine', most Neo Geo games I enjoy aren't fighters. (Here's to hoping Nightmare in the Dark and Over Top show up in future SD cards.) Speaking of which:
SD card slot:
Could be what really pushes the worth of this system. New games are supposedly in the works to be released on cards, and the firmware could be updated with more features. Not to mention what hackers are already doing with it.
The arcade sticks:
Many hardcore NG fans are claiming these to be the best thing to come out of the NGX. They may be lightweight and not compatible with the older hardware, but the sticks feel solid, and the USB ports allow PC and PS3 compatibility. (of course, there are limits; trying to play the PS2 SNK compilation on a BC PS3 failed without the PS3 guide button.) Some folks are just ordering the sticks themselves.
Ninja Master's:
This helped the value of the package for me, since not only is the game tougher to track down than most AES games, but my brief time with it revealed one of my favorite old school fighters on a system known for old school fighters. The combat is fluid, animation better than average, move list decent, and it has enough originality that I want to keep at it. Its just really, really fun to play! I was impressed.
Bad:
Price. Obviously the first consideration, since many of us would drop a few bucks on this just for the novelty. True to its lineage, its one of the most expensive devices in its market for what you get. The $200 Gold LE package included the portable with a preset 20 games installed, the AES mockup docking station, one of those nifty arcade sticks, an AV composite cable and an HDMI cord (can't use a typical one, it has a small device adapter at one end.) The LE includes the SD card of Ninja Master's, which in my opinion greatly helps the value. Its a lot of stuff, and truth be told, if you never touch emulators and roms, it really is an impressive deal compared to other methods of playing some of these games. (Of course, if you don't mind downloading roms, especially on a PSP, this thing is about worthless to you.)
It comes with a lot, but there is no wifi/online capabilities, and the games are straight up roms of the AES versions (that's right, no changing most settings, adding credits, or rom tweaking. Good luck beating Nam-1975 on default credits.
) Considering what we're used to from previous SNK compilations, and the lack of online play, this definitely limits audience interests. The idea of keeping it retro is perhaps admirable, but if a gamer is hard core enough to want these limitations, chances are they already own real hardware and are less interested in a portable that plays locked roms.
Using it as a console:
Despite owning a, AES, CMVS, and NGCD, the idea that I could plug this puppy up to a big-screen via HDMI and use the new arcade sticks was a big selling point for me. That didn't work out very well. The HDMI out has no video options, and just looks terrible on the three HD TVs I tested. We're not talking about charming pixelation and low-res; we know what to expect there. No, the rampant screen tearing, washed out colors, and terrible, terrible lag means this is not the way to play these games. Big disappointment.
Using the composite cables on a SD TV yielded better results, with less (but still present) lag and screen tearing. Colors were better, but reds bled and the picture was overtly dark. Quick reads on forums proved others were finding the exact same issues. The tech-heads claim that these are from poor emulation and could be improved with a software update; lets hope. As it stands, don't buy the NGX as your method for playing these games on a TV.
The Ugly:
Its really tough to know how to feel about the NGX. As a portable, its fantastic, with a great feel, moderate (3-4 hour) battery life, nice screen, and some classics built right in. Using it as an HD console through the dock is an exercise in frustration and is not recommended, although playing on a SD TV was workable. As a gamer who rarely plays on downloaded roms, the NGX has me in mind, but since it is using roms itself but without the customization, it almost comes across as the worst of two worlds. The device takes about 30 seconds to boot up and a few seconds between loading games, a steadfast reminder of its Linux brains. The irony is that hackers are certainly going to blow this wide open with better firmware, customization, more games, and better features, but by then I could just hack my PSP and get similar results. I want to support the original hardware, but this is an interesting hybrid.
Am I glad I got this? Yeah! Not only am I a collector and Neo Geo fan, its just darn fun to play on. Getting it as a Christmas gift was perfect, as any buyer's remorse is negated, and I am very excited to see what games will be released in the future. As is, the twenty (one) games included mean even if I never get another game for it (or indeed, if no more are released) I still have a nice portable Neo Geo collection. And Ninja Master's is such an unexpected delight.
Should you get it?
...just know what you are getting into. Most can safely pass it by, some of us hardcore collectors will get a big kick out of it.
For what its worth, I already like it more than our Vita.
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I miss my biggest complainment. I really hate the fact the system standard boots in 16:9 ratio, they should hve kept the handheld 4:3 as it's the native resolution.
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@sharp: I agree it would be the better default for the TV out; however, it would look kinda silly for the machine to only use 3/4 of the screen for everything, every time it boots. Once again, an odd design choice; the widescreen is very modern and pretty, but by nature of its ratio it somewhat distorts its native source material to use it all. Truthfully, though, after playing it in widescreen for awhile, now it looks squashed when I revert to the original. Guess I'm not hardcore enough 
My personal biggest complaint for the portable, and one I neglected to mention in my overview, is that there is no save or standby feature. Sure, not many original Neo Geo titles used a memory card for anything past high scores, but this is a portable we're talking about! I want to be able to stop and start at a moment's notice, and with the limited battery life, just leaving the thing on isn't an option. Considering the crazy, arcade difficulty many of these titles feature, not even having a self-erasing one-shot save-state is a seriously unfortunate oversight. I'd take some way to pick up where I left off even over a fixed TV out at this point.
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I got mine and I enjoy it allot... I have the hardware add submitted but I think they need to add a new Neogeo x category for the games that may come out in February. im ordering me another arcade stick, but reading what they have found out on the Neo-geo forum it may get other system games added also.
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@douglie007:
We already added the NEOGEO X console earlier today.
You may need to resubmit it against that console, or maybe we can switch it in the queue.
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It would have been an interesting purchase, but I just bought a Wii U a month-ish ago and if I tried to explain to my wife why I need another $200 handheld I might not have a wife anymore  One day after I can pick up a used one on eBay for half that price, maybe then I can justify it.
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Thanks for posting your thoughts on the NeogeoX. I'm still undecided between a WiiU, 3DS or Neogeo X.
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@Addicted:My vote there is the 3DS. The WiiU will come down in price or have better bundles by the time a killer app comes along, and there are already excellent games in the 3DS, and you can get an XL cheaper than the NGX. Hopefully the NGX will have some hardware/software revisions to correct some of the glaring issues. Still, if there are games on each you want to play, they're all fun.
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@slackur: Thanks. I was leaning towards the 3DS, but the bundles this year are terrible. I'm hoping there might be a Luigi's Mansion 2 bundle.
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I'll second the 3DS, but make sure you get the XL. It is improved over the original 3DS in nearly every aspect.
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So how does the analogue stick stack up against the NeoGeo Pocket Color? I got the NGPC just for fun but thanks to the analogue control and some cool games it is still my favourite handheld experience to date.
To be honest, if the analogue stick is identical, they threw in an extra arcade stick (for 2 players) and promised a Faselei! remake someday I'd buy this right now.
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There's a quick comparison. I'd say the NGX nub is around twice the size of the NGP, and the NGCD nub is around 20% bigger than the NGX. All have the same great 'clickiness' to them.
(As a notable point, they are all digital, just to be sure, although they have a similar feel to modern analogue sticks.
The Gold LE package comes with a single stick, the second is extra, although I only recommend playing it as a console on a standard def TV, and even then there is some lag and color issues, as previously mentioned.
As for Faselei!, great as it would be, since the NGX is dedicated to the AES hardware, a remake of a rare NGP title would be unusual. Then again, the whole NGX is pretty unusual, so there is always hope...
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I'm sold on the [quote]same great 'clickiness' to them[/quote].
Wish I still had the kind of money I did back when I still lived at home working a 12 hour job. I would buy one of these right now. I don't miss working those hours though. The NeoGeo X is on my radar now though and I do hope to get one at some point.
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I just saw the NeoGeo X team are currently looking for feedback over at http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/15yppk/neogeo_x_team_looking_for_your_feedback/
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@Cobra:It's good to hear that the developers are planing on addressing the most glaring known issues (video out, game saving, screen tearing, etc.) and that further game cards are supposedly on the way. I'll just have to be patient. In the meantime Puzzled and Ninja Master's will help me with the wait...
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