What do you get when you cross a Neo-Geo and a Sega Genesis? A pretty vintage case mod. [Brett] used a variation of the 16-bit console (known as the Mega Drive II) as the base of his project. With an original Neo-Geo motherboard and a few other components (such as a power indicating LED), the ‘Geosis’ was born. [Brett] removed a few of the unnecessary parts from the mobo, like the power-amp, and set it up to work with a regular 5V DC wall adapter. The PCB also had to be clipped so it would fit into the Mega Drive chassis.
Though it may not be the case, some Neo-Geo motherboards in circulation have been salvaged from arcade machines. An enclosure would be essential for protecting them during standalone use – something [Brett] plans to do a lot.
Clarification: NEO-GEO MVS motherboards come from arcade cabinets. The NEO-GEO AES is the home version. They take different cartridges. (The one pictured is an MVS cart)
Thanks for the info. I should have been more clear about the fact that I was unsure whether or not it was salvaged. I guess that makes the hack more practical.
Looking at the pictures on neo-geo.com (a forum that should really be avoided if you have any brain cells) the board is the top loading one slots (mv-1c) that came later in the neo-geo’s life. Just before SNK started rolling out all-in-one boards for games like SNK vs Capcom.
All of the MVS boards come in an enclosure, the earlier board come in a metal case, the later ones come in a plastic case.
MV-B1 is the best to consolise in my opinion…
Mine (http://tinyurl.com/lbg9yy) is a bit messy, really long wires so I can still just about get the case off, but it’s pretty easy to get all the ports, a DC-DC supply and audio amps into the MV-1B case. Switching supplies need really good filtering though, that’s one thing I’ve got to do to mine.
W-hy-TF do people keep calling the NeoGeo 24 bit? Nothing inside there is 24bit.. the 68000 has a 24bit address bus, but that’s it!!
@cantido
if i remember correctly it was marketed as a 24 bit system. i obviously opened mine and discovered the lie. a 68000 processor, just like in the genesis.
@JB
I’ve read that SNK advertised the system as 24bit somewhere (16bit 68k + 8bit z80) but never actually seen it myself. Thing is the m68k isn’t 16bit, it’s 32bit! I have a feeling if it was ever advertised for its “bitage” that would have been SNK America..
“The industry’s lowest cost 32-bit microprocessor, the MC68000 offers an excellent low cost entry point to the M68000 Family.” – Freescale
@cantido
you are right about it being 32 bit. however back then they used the data bus width as the number of bits on the consoles to advertise. that’s why sega’s genesis was 16 bit (not 32) and neo geo did that weird addition with the z80 and came up with the 24 (or were they referring to the address bus?)
still have a few 68000 cpus (just in case) and my old neo geo and atari st in working order :)
Nice looking finish!
That is a pretty polished looking product by the end. Great work.
Gotta love arcade hacks.
Shame those NGCD pads need constant up-keep to work properly, SNK really only got the click-stick right in the Neo-Geo Pocket and Pocket Color.
cantido, why all the hate for N-G.c?
@danadamkof
Because he’s a twat.
@danadamkof
It’s far too fanatic by a long shot. Like flaming people for using bootleg carts. Flaming people for using emulators. Then there’s shit like everyone ripping each other off (happens on all the retro forums though) like picking up carts off ebay and selling them on for twice the price..
The only more fanatic community is the Amiga community, some of those guys are seriously scary.
@af
Nice going. You’re one of those people that pays ridiculous prices for plastic boxes of mask roms aren’t you?
Suit yourself but N-G actually tends to run off price-gouging sellers.
Also I’m a MVS fan myself so I don’t pay ridiculous prices for plastic boxes, I’m actually lamenting that it’s not 2002 anymore since almost all the carts are way cheaper, and you almost spoil yourself with how little you pay for a game like KOF 98, Metal Slug X, etc.
@cantido
Wanna know why bootlegs piss them off so much? Putting aside all the piracy arguments that should really be left up to personal moral judgment seeing as how the games are no longer in production and the original SNK is defunct, it’s because by the simple fact that bootlegs exist (And by extension the fact that people want them) there will always be unscrupulous cunts who sell you boots as genuine, which is fine for people who don’t care, but not for people who want legit carts.
As for emulation… Eh. I couldn’t care less. I occasionally play a few rare games or games I’m thinking of buying in Kawaks. And emulation, unlike the market for cheap bootlegs, doesn’t really affect anyone else.
Quite frankly though, it’s simply not the same. I always find it worthwhile to play it on the real hardware.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the attitudes on the forums either; too much elitist bullshit and prick-waving. But as someone who has ended up with a couple bootlegs, I can understand why that might stick in their craw.
As for me, I own over a dozen single-slot boards, a pair of two-slot boards, and a four-slot that I’m building a cabinet for from parts. And I’ve never paid more than $50 for any of my ~25 games, and usually less than $30.
You see all sorts of idiotic shit on neo-geo forums, not just neo-geo.com. If someone has bootlegs, fair enough they own bootlegs, you don’t need people telling you off. The Amiga guys have this issue too. They’d rather let the remaining working hardware go to waste than share software that has been out of print for decades.
The people that lament others for having that sort of thing probably sit at home all day stroking their collection of carts. Yes, phoenixed CPS2 boards aren’t “real” either.
bootlegs exist because arcade operators want cheap games,.. I went into an apparently “sega” franchised place in Spain once and saw a row of 5 neogeo’s playing hacked KOF’s and 100-in-1 carts. The amount of collectors in comparison is rather small. Some of the bootleg arcade stuff is actually fairly interesting.. like making one game run on totally different hardware. But fanatics aren’t interested in that.
I’ve never bought a bootleg arcade board unintentionally, and I haven’t even tried to avoid them.
So, save yourself the time and head aches and buy carts from decent dealers. If you’re a major collector you can probably save enough money buying legit carts from a real dealer in Japan to cover the shipping or a flight over here to get them.
People like the real hardware, but then mod the hell out of the machines to remove behaviours that make the real hardware what it is..
Yup, that’s my major gripe with all of this. everything is a contest. I have the most carts, I have the best RGB encoder..
This is why there is legislation in most countries to protect buyers from counterfeit goods.
Well, I’d glad there’s at least one other person that isn’t totally insane.
I think the most I’ve paid for a game was 4000 yen, and that was a full kit. What I hope will happen one day is that some dealer will find a big ole box of metal slug 1/ and whack um up on ebay.
Great project!!! Loved your idea for making a simple solution to a simple problem. I hope you get many years of enjoyment out of this thing. As for the other BS piling up around here, just put your boots on and ignore it.
Well Done!!
Great work ! I like what you’ve done here and I agree with or_muddslinger completely.