For a brief few years in the early 1990s, the NEOGEO was the pinnacle of video gaming. An elite, tremendously expensive and exclusive console that didn't aim to emulate the arcade experience – like the other 8 and 16-bit consoles – it gave you the exact arcade experience, pixel for pixel on your TV at home. Born in the days before polygons, the NEOGEO was a staunchly 2D system that gave birth to some of gaming's most iconic franchises such as Fatal Fury, THE KING OF FIGHTERS, Samurai Shodown and of course Metal Slug.
It was the ultimate video game console. Even though its sales were low when it was released (due to the high cost), it has since developed a cult following.
This is the first officially licensed NEO-GEO art book of its kind released in the English language. A visual celebration of everything NEO-GEO with the book split into dedicated chapters, covering Hardware, Box Art, Character and Concept Art and Pixel Art and more. It also features official interviews with key staff integral to the NEO-GEO’s history, including producer Yasuyuki Oda, composer Hideki Asanaka (sha-v) and artist Tatsuhiko Kanaoka (Falcoon).
The book is hefty, solidly crafted and made of high-quality materials. It comes in 400 pages, A4 in size in Hardcover form only. Metallic gold ink is used throughout with threaded binding rather than glue, making it much more durable with the ability to be opened flat. Produced using the very best in print techniques, it is a stunning addition to any gamer's coffee table.
NEO-GEO: a visual history is a bona fide collector’s item for all fans of the NEO-GEO system or those interested in gaming history and retro-consoles. It is a window into the mysterious and exclusive world of the NEO-GEO console – something that was mostly unattainable for many people back in the 1990s.
Bitmap Books has produced a number of quality high-quality publications notably on Arcade Cabinet Art, the Super Famicom and very recently the NES/Famicom: A Visual Compendium. Their publications are of such a high standard, that the SNK Corporation was happy to officially license Bitmap to create a product which is befitting of the Neo-Geo.
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