The Nintendo Classic Edition re-released consoles have been some of the hottest commodities in gaming over last couple years. Now, several of the most nostalgic names in the business are following suit. We already know Atari will release its own gaming hardware later this year and Sega finally announced it was getting into the miniature vintage console market earlier this week.
While excitement for the Sega MegaDrive Mini is at an all-time high, another popular Japanese gaming company is ready to go mini in celebration of its 40th anniversary.
SNK has long been known for its stellar fighting games as well as titles like the Metal Slug series. The company released an alternative to the Super Nintendo and Sega consoles with the high-end Neo Geo machine back in the 90’s. While it carried a price tag well over the casual gamer’s budget back then, it also played some of the most convincing, exclusive lineup of arcade titles of its day. And now the company looks to be readying a Classic Edition-style console packed with iconic Neo Geo titles.
While details are still hard to come by here, SNK took to its official Japanese Twitter account to announce the new console with a teaser image. We don’t know what it will look like or really all that much about it, but it’s safe to say it will be pre-loaded in some way or other with many of SNK’s classics.
For those unfamiliar, that would include titles from franchises like the King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown and likely the Metal Slug games.
Back in 2012, SNK licensed the rights to Tommo to create a handheld Neo Geo re-release. It was also pre-loaded with titles but offered up additional game packs to expand the machine’s library. While it has since been discontinued, this might be a sign of how titles will be treated on the 40th anniversary machine, whatever it might end up being.
Either way, most of the popular Neo Geo titles are scheduled to hit the eShop store for Nintendo Switch in the fall. Sega just announced it would be doing the same. While some are already available via the Hamster’s Arcade Archives collection of classic titles, the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection should bring a more thorough lineup of Neo Geo classics to Nintendo’s latest hardware. You’d think companies like Sega and SNK would have all of their classics ready for the day Nintendo and Sony launched a new console like the Switch, but I guess it’s better now then never.
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