X68000

I’ve just tried running Daytona through the Xbox 360 emulator, Xenia and have it running at 60 fps locked and 4K resolution on a very average PC. It looks amazing, so with this in mind I’m not desperate for a recompiled version.

This will be some crappy third party budget hardware with a Sega logo slapped on it.

It’s a sad state of affairs that Sega would allow their name to be used, but they’ve done it time and time again over the last 20 years.

@BionicDodo apologies for the late reply. I have it here. Comes in a 2 game slipcase.

It looks the part and supports the ps2’s progressive mode, but I always found the steering too twitchy. The same feeling I had when playing Daytona CCE or Daytona 2001. Both controlled horribly using the pad, but were great with the wheel.

I played Sega Rally Plus on the Saturn a couple of months ago for a solid hour in time attack using the regular d pad and it just felt perfect to me.

A shame the Shienryu port is based off the inferior psx version, rather than the Saturn game. The PSX version is missing textures, it suffers from slowdown and has glitchy audio.

Although for pure ease, I cannot understand why they didn’t just use the arcade version.

Namco arcade hardware looked incredibly dated next to Sega Model 2 at this time.

Their hardware was the absolute best in the late 80’s with their System 21 boards and very early 90’s with the likes of Winning Run, Starblade and Solvalou making super scaler games look dated, but once Sega introduced Model 1, Namco never really caught up.

Classic is an interesting way describing this absolute pile of a platformer.

@Damo you need to have a look on the Neo geo subreddit. If a cart can be bought for the cost of 2 carts, it must make an impact.

From what I've read there is a good amount of interest in the console providing it is flash cart compatible.

I guess the biggest concern will be if a generic clone of a flash cart is made in China and sold for half the cost again.

After Sega Rally 2 the rest no longer had that handling feel which made the series famous.

Sega Rally Plus on Saturn is to this day an amazing top tier game.

@DiacloneFx true, however there seems to be hope that Plaion will be supportive of potential new 3rd party releases and collaboration with rights holders of other Neo Geo games.

@Damo Reading some of the Neo Geo subreddit posts, it is clear that there are many prospective customers who are waiting for a cheap-ish flash cart before they purchase.

Like yourself, I have a large cart collection and a SD pro and will pick everything up that plaion release, however you know as well as I do that a reasonably priced everdrive will severely impact software sales.

I guess that's the issue with resurrecting a 35 year old console - an established 'scene' already exists. However, I do think since it's effectively a current system again, you have to give it every chance of succeeding and positive promotion of a flash cart probably doesn't help it's cause.

@ambifx so TE should be positively promoting a piracy tool for a brand new system?

Interesting take.

@damo Should TE be covering a piracy device as a godsend for AES owners? This will negatively impact the officially licensed system.

Stating that a 2026 release is, ‘Even better news’ shows that you aren’t just reporting the news but expressing your own excitement at the prospect.

I don’t recall any of your partner sites such as NL excitedly anticipating the release of software or hardware mods that allow pirated games to run on a current game system.

The AES+ is definitely current. It’s so new it’s not yet released and a Everdrive cart would be incredibly damaging to game sales, future releases and the ongoing sales of the system itself.

Surprised there isn’t a mention of the PIF of SA having a 10% share in Square Enix via it’s Savvy Games Group.

Fully agree with razieluigi, no element (apart from the soundtrack) is exceptional, but once played as a whole, it all comes together beautifully.

@Sketcz @slider1983 since TE haven’t covered this massive update… see below……. Source r/neogeo

Jotego reveals new Neo Geo AES+ details: ASIC Hardware, 100% Original Compatibility, and SNK Licensing

Hey everyone, some interesting new details dropped regarding the Neo Geo AES+ during the Retrópolis 2026 event. Jotego (José Tejada Gómez) shared specific details about the internal hardware and the philosophy behind this new console.

Who is Jotego?
For those unfamiliar, José Tejada Gómez (Jotego) is a legendary figure in the FPGA preservation scene. He is the lead developer behind some of the most accurate arcade cores for platforms like MiSTer FPGA and the Analogue Pocket (including the famous JT cores for CPS1, CPS2, and Neo Geo).
He is officially collaborating with Plaion to develop the technical foundation of the new console.

Here is a summary of the key takeaways from his talk:

Hardware & Engineering

ASIC over FPGA: Unlike most modern clones, the AES+ will use two custom ASIC chips. They chose ASIC over FPGA to lower costs for mass production and to ensure the console runs natively at 5V (modern FPGAs run at lower voltages), which is crucial for 100% compatibility with original cartridges.
The "Jotego" Core: Plaion UK officially licensed Jotego’s Neo Geo core. While his core is open-source, Plaion opted for a commercial agreement to avoid the legal requirement of making their specific hardware modifications public.
Perfect Video Output: They have painstakingly recreated the original DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) to ensure that the brightness and color palette are identical to the 90s hardware. They had to buy a lot of chips from the 90's to finesse everything.
Dual Output: It features perfect RGB for CRT purists and HDMI for modern displays. The HDMI output includes a specific frequency "trick" to handle Big Tournament Golf.
Compatibility & Production

Original Hardware Support: It is fully compatible with original AES cartridges and original Memory Cards.
German-Made Cartridges: The new game cartridges are being manufactured in Germany, not China. This is because they require very specific memory chips to maintain the original physical dimensions and performance.
The Cartridge Challenge: Plaion actually makes the least profit on the cartridges (because of size, manufacturing...).
Licensing and risks

SNK Licensed: The project is officially reviewed and approved by SNK.
Production Risks: Because ASIC chips cannot be reprogrammed once manufactured, Plaion has budgeted for a "one-time mistake" margin. If the first batch has a hardware bug, they have the funds to scrap it and start over once, ensuring the final product is flawless.
Link to the full interview:
https://youtu.be/fLB7JMCFpBA?si=CtXPUz2QRGG67nm2&t=3239

Why would you want to add performative activism into this article which could hurt a minnow in the gaming space such as Evercade?

@Damo appreciate those links. So to clarify.......

Plaion (EU company with PIF 8% stake) release a SNK branded console and games under licence and they receive a moral audit by TE.

Hamster corporation release 10 separate 10 game carts for a Nintendo system (PIF 7.54% stake) of SNK Neo Geo titles and.......absolutely no mention made.

Links below...

SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 1 And Vol. 2 For Switch | Nintendo Life https://share.google/s0eJNYhAMY6M4Sh5y

SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 3 And Vol. 4 For Switch | Nintendo Life https://share.google/fKo4O5aZsa4Ylb3fk

SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 5 And Vol. 6 For Switch | Nintendo Life https://share.google/l5hAOCiz5tgcTgb2C

SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 7 And Vol. 8 For Switch | Nintendo Life https://share.google/33DOwJZFXjoz9accB

SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 9 And Vol. 10 For Switch | Nintendo Life https://share.google/eVg8WSZAlIFiM5oc8

Plaion Replai are a minnow compared to Nintendo and you have went all out with your opinion piece and subsequent reporting. I can't imagine a single article about the Plaion reprints or any other SNK licence will be reported without the Saudi caveat going forward.

@Damo Would appreciate if you could reply to this. Why not mention the shareholding the PIF have in Nintendo, Capcom et al when you're covering their games and systems?

@kevin_kochen as an avid reader of the magazines this website is emulating through its coverage of retro games media, myself and and many others expect to read about just that. Not the politics surrounding the ownership of certain game companies. That information is readily available through traditional political news sources.

@Damo fair enough. However, coverage has escalated to a point that it has taken the shine off your otherwise great website for many of your readers and contributors.

Polarising your target audience seems to be a misstep in my eyes for the longevity of your site.

@Damo see my comment above. SNK are not manufacturing or selling these products. Plaion Replai are. It's nothing more than a name.

@leogames you're not buying from SNK. You're buying from Plaion Replai. They have paid for the use of the brand via a standard licensing agreement.

OK, Plaion's parent company are 7% PIF owned, but as already discussed, Nintendo, Capcom etc have similar arrangements.

It is no different to buying a SNK compilation on Nintendo Switch. The publisher have paid SNK to be able to release these via their chosen platform.

Either way, you're not buying from SNK but TE have decided to grow a conscience on this occasion after covering SNK for years with no mention at all.

If you are considering boycotting this product due to the discussed ties, are you also going to boycott Time Extension? They are still profiting from the sale of this range of goods with their affiliate links on the below article.

https://www.timeextension.com/guides/where-to-pre-order-the-neo-geoplus-aes

@Sketcz he'll definitely receive some expert advice.

If he wants to sell them in one bulk lot, I'd always make him a fair offer.

@Sketcz some of the AES stalwarts are a bunch of grumpy old men. Collecting AES is unsurpassed in their eyes and nothing else quite matches up. Not a caring sharing bunch.

As far as my MVS knowledge goes, just ask away. I've sold hundreds of AES and MVS carts over the years through work but never collected any until now with these rereleases.

@damo do you not find this piece remotely hypocritical considering you have an article telling the readers where they can buy a neo geo along with multiple affiliate links you benefit from financially?

The Time Extension About Us page..

The Time Extension team is dedicated to bringing you the biggest news and features from the world of retro and classic gaming.

While other sites out there are constantly looking to the future and the promise of the "next big thing", here at Time Extension we do the exact opposite – we're looking back into the past to uncover hidden gems, proclaim stone-cold classics and shed a light on the human stories behind some of our favourite games, companies and systems.

Time Extension will aim to bring an exciting mixture of news, features, interviews, reviews, guides and much more. Rather than relegate retro and classic gaming news to a footnote as so many other sites do, we want to elevate stories to the next level by talking to the people behind the news – be they developers or fans – and providing the definitive perspective on events in the sphere of classic gaming.

We will seek to link the old with new when it comes to covering the many remasters and re-releases that occur within the games industry, as well as 'new' retro hardware – be that the latest micro-console from the likes of Sega, controllers for old systems or even advanced gear, like Optical Drive Emulators and FPGA-based systems.

That all sounds great. It's why we all come here. So can we just stick to that and leave the politics for the current affairs news sites.

@Sketcz It is a hostile old school forum with a massive divide between collectors. They have an unofficial 100 plus cart club mentality, aes collectors snearing at mvs, aes vs cd and so on.

Toxic but rather amusing.

Does anyone have a moral dilemma filling their car with petrol or supporting games by Nintendo, Take Two or EA? At what point does moral outrage begin? Shareholding over 10% perhaps?

I think Damo should stick to reporting gaming news and leave the politics out of this retro gaming website before people start looking elsewhere for their news.

@Sketcz the neo geo .com forum aren't overly embracing their influx of new members. There's more than a few AES elitist collectors who are less than impressed

@Farmboy74 Viewpoint was definitely released for AES.

If they are doing only 1 Super Sidekicks, I’d go for the original.

Would love some Soccer Brawl too, great 2P arcade action.

@OorWullie Ive already ordered the ultimate set. I think the OCD is kicking in again! Crivvens!!

The games are all multiregion in the same cart and region can be changed on the console itself , so should be no issue.

I've just preordered the 10 carts from Amazon Japan with the better full size box art and saved £30 compared to the UK prices. This includes all taxes and 2-3 day DHL shipping. By combining them, shipping worked out £6 per game.

Tried to preorder the Japanese white console but that is the only item geolocked to Japan on Amazon JP.

@-wc- it appears to be a 2.4 ghz RF unit plugged in to the controller port.

@Sketcz you can load directly from the rom itself but it has to load into RAM which can take from 10 seconds upto a minute for larger titles. The four slots once filled are instant and you can nominate any of the slots to boot directly to a game from switching on bypassing the on screen menus if desired.

You can also boot CD games if that interests you.

@Sketcz the NeoSD Pro is 569 on their website and includes a digital copy of Vengeance Hunters. You can store 4 games to flash memory at any one time to reduce loading times. A luxury flash cart with a price to match. I guess it was a fraction of the cost of 1 premium cart release, but we now can have 8 games for the same!

As far as the wireless sticks are concerned, they are all bundled with extension leads so the wireless should be a great choice no matter which way you want to play.

I’m genuinely more hyped for this than any current gen system. Cannot wait for further info.

@Sketcz I’ve gone for the ultimate set along with the white edition and an extra white controller. I’ve went all out. Overkill but……..

I have a terraonion pro aes cart so will test on launch. Can’t see why it won’t be compatible.

One of the finest video games of all time. It’ll be the first game I fire up when it all arrives.

The US website was sold out of the Ultimate bundle earlier this morning then becoming available for preorder again.

On a side note, has anyone else noticed that only the EUR-UK game cases are showing an age rating on the front cover. The Japanese and US boxes are currently without that info and look far better for it. Im sure they'll also follow suit.

@Sketcz as a lifetime fan of Newcastle United I have to listen to the same sanctimonious waffle from multiple directions on a daily basis. I’m not going to suddenly stop supporting my football team on their command, nor should you stop taking pleasure in the world of Neo Geo ownership.

These are the same hypocritical people who are enjoying playing their shiny Switch 2’s (7.54% PIF owned) without any moral issue.

On a side note, I’d love to get my hands on Shock Troopers and Over Top for the figures mentioned in the article. These prices are for cart conversions, not the real thing. You can add another £15,000 on top of the already quoted amounts.

@Titntin it is £70 for an official boxed reissue of a game which now sells for £5000.

It is an absolutely fantastic route to collecting Neo Geo for the masses who could otherwise not afford to do so. Even a repro pirate cart would set you back double this price.

Try not to confuse a basic rom with this official release for the genuine hardware.

@Sindayl you have a Switch 2, so you’re giving the PIF and MBS far more than a single penny. They own 7.54% of Nintendo.

Konami need to rerelease the rebirth series in a single pack. It’s absolutely criminal that 3 classics have had such little exposure.

I have owned the Japanese version called Big Tournament Golf for 30 years and was never aware of a 5th course. MIND BLOWN!!

These games aren’t worthy of a rerelease. They were bordering on average when released and should be left where they belong, on a dusty shelf.

@Sketcz I fully understand the annoyance and frustrations which have manifested due to his lack of gratitude. Personally, I’ve always found him wooden and unengaging.

For your own health and sanity, you need to let go of the whole situation. This started over a decade ago and is still causing you distress. If it had happened to myself, I would have been fuming but life is too short to hold a decade long grudge over something in the grand scheme of things that doesn’t really matter.

Hopefully, you can now draw a line under the situation and put your thoughts of him where they deserve to be, in the recycle bin.

@RetroMasters in the rest of the world, Fila are a very recognisable sports brand.

In fact, Nintendo used to be a front of shirt sponsor for Italian Football team Fiorentina and guess who made those shirts?

That’s right, Fila!

I had this as a kid on the MSX, it was awesome then and remains so to this day.

@city952 what's this 'website' ye speak of?

@city952 it’s still in its outer brown shipping box unopened. I hope it’s in there.

AFAIK I may have been FOMO’d but IIRC YOLO

The Mega Drive is almost 40 years old and has more interesting releases than some of the current gen consoles.

It was and remains a staggeringly good piece of hardware.