During the 80s and early 90s, video games were dominated by arcades. Trends were created in the machines, and outside of them, consoles and computers were more of a curiosity than anything else. Starting in the second half of the 90s, however, arcades began to decline. The reason was that the separation between arcade and home video games started to become smaller, or even nonexistent, causing the industry to focus on the latter. Part of the blame for this lay with a company called SNK.

SNK Corporation, founded in 1978, was a company dedicated to arcades. Although it made a name for itself in arcades from the second half of the 80s, what made it successful was that in 1990 it created the NeoGeo MVS arcade board. This board allowed for the exchange of different cartridges, significantly reducing the production and distribution costs of games.

This made SNK one of the dominant forces in arcades during the following decade. With titles like Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, or The King of Fighters, they managed to put even a giant like Capcom on the ropes. Especially in the Middle East, Latin America, and in their home country, Japan. The problem is that, due to a series of poor financial decisions, they ended up going bankrupt in 2001, disappearing and reappearing repeatedly over the years, but never managing to re-establish themselves as a company competing in the video game industry again.

The arcade goes home

One of the most unique ideas of SNK was to create a system that would allow the same video games to be used at home, since the cartridges were interchangeable. Thus, the NeoGeo AES was born. An prohibitively expensive console that never became as popular as the NeoGeo MVS format, which would be released a year later than the arcade, in 1991. But that exorbitant price, with costs that were double or triple those of SEGA or Nintendo games, but promised to be perfect replicas of the arcades, is how a legend was created around the console. This is how the idea that the NeoGeo AES was the Rolls Royce of video game consoles was born. And many people who wanted to have it back then, but couldn’t, over the years wanted to get their hands on it.

There is a problem. Although getting a second-hand console is not particularly expensive, acquiring its video games is. Costing between 2,000 and 4,000 euros on average for each of its games, with the most expensive ones ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 euros, it is a prohibitive console nowadays. It has become a legend for those who could not have it. While the NeoGeo MVS boards are, comparatively, much cheaper, they do not have the mystique that the NeoGeo AES has.

Now, SNK has decided to reissue the NeoGeo AES again. Under the name NeoGeo AES+, it is a replica of the original console based on the schematics created by experienced fans of the console’s architecture, aiming to replicate the experience of the original console. Although not exactly. By adding modern ports and ensuring it has all the comforts one would expect from a modern console, its interest lies in combining the modern and the old: it can be used with your modern devices, with your old games, but it remains the same console.

With a price of 200 euros and 10 games announced, at 80 euros each, these are high prices, but in line with what the NeoGeo AES is. A luxury console. This has led many people to wonder, will this cause their collections to depreciate?

The problem of collecting

Many people have collections of NeoGeo AES games for various reasons. As we have mentioned, the games for the console are worth between 2,000 and 4,000 euros on average, and in some cases, they can rise to as much as ten times that amount. For some players, it is concerning that the re-release of these titles could cause the value of their games to drop because, even if they play them and do not just collect them or value them as an investment, they are aware of their price: they will be worth less than what they paid for them. For their peace of mind, if history has taught us anything about collecting, it is that this will not happen.

This is a reissue. The new titles have obvious differences compared to the originals in their presentation, emphasizing that they are not the same game. Something important. Why? Because it creates a difference: it creates generations of titles. A Metal Slug from the NeoGeo AES that came out in 1991 is not the same as one that comes out in 2026. And their prices will vary accordingly.

In collecting, the date matters. The fact that a title is original and is a first edition of Metal Slug or Fatal Fury will make it worth a significant amount of money simply for being so. Its value lies in the fact that it is scarce, even more so if its condition is optimal or good, given the difficulty of that happening due to the passage of time. But doesn’t that negate the fact that it is reissued? No, because what is being paid now is not the fact that it is this or that title of NeoGeo AES, but rather how scarce it is, how valued it is, and whether it is in better or worse condition. Something that will not change at all, regardless of how many new copies of the game are printed.

There may be a slight price drop on some games, but it doesn’t seem likely that prices will crash. Not in the long term. And with more people accessing the platform, it’s more likely that prices will rise due to renewed interest in it, rather than the opposite. But to know for sure, we will have to wait until November 12, when this new NeoGeo AES is released. And for those who can’t wait, you can always get a board from the much more affordable NeoGeo MVS, the true NeoGeo experience for the people.