The Neo Geo Pocket is a monochrome

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the co ...

released by SNK. It was the company's first handheld system and is part of the Neo Geo family. It debuted in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in late

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

but never saw an American release, being exclusive to Japan, Asia and Europe. The Neo Geo Pocket received lower than expected sales and it was discontinued in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, immediately being succeeded by the

Neo Geo Pocket Color The is a 16-bit color handheld video game console manufactured by SNK. It is a successor to SNK's monochrome Neo Geo Pocket handheld which debuted in 1998 in Japan, with the Color being fully backward compatible. The Neo Geo Pocket Color wa ...

, a full color device allowing the system to compete more easily with the dominant

Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...

handheld, and which also saw an American release. Though the system enjoyed only a short life, there were some significant games released on the system such as ''

Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place ...

'', and '' King of Fighters R-1''.

Technical specifications

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

Toshiba TLCS-900H high performance core

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculati ...

/16-bit register bank configuration at 6.144 MHz * Virtual screen 256×256, 16 palettes per plane, 64 sprites per frame * Z80

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data buses ...

CPU to control the soundchip *

SN76489 The SN76489 Digital Complex Sound Generator (DCSG) is a TTL-compatible programmable sound generator chip from Texas Instruments. Its main application was the generation of music and sound effects in game consoles, arcade games and home compute ...

soundchip equivalent (three square-wave tone generators, one white-noise generator, and direct access to two digital-to-analog converters) * I/O serial SIO, one channel at 19200 bit/s *

4-bit In computer architecture, 4-bit integers, or other data units are those that are 4 bits wide. Also, 4-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers, or data buses of that si ...

internal memory Neo Geo Pocket cartridges are smaller than Game Boy cartridges.

Games

The Neo Geo Pocket is

forward compatible Forward compatibility or upward compatibility is a design characteristic that allows a system to accept input intended for a later version of itself. The concept can be applied to entire systems, electrical interfaces, telecommunication signals, ...

with the majority of Neo Geo Pocket Color titles, although games for the color system will play in monochrome on a Neo Geo Pocket. Likewise, the Neo Geo Pocket Color is

backward compatible Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially in ...

and the entire Neo Geo Pocket library can be played on the color system. Only ten monochrome games were released for the Neo Geo Pocket before it was discontinued: * ''

Baseball Stars ''Baseball Stars'' is a baseball video game developed by SNK. It was released for the NES in 1989. It became a major hit in many countries worldwide, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Features ''Baseball Stars'' w ...

'' * '' King of Fighters R-1'' * '' Melon-chan's Growth Diary'' (no EU release) * ''Neo Cherry Master'' (no EU release) * ''Neo Geo Cup 98'' (no EU release) *''Neo Geo Cup 98 Plus'' (no JPN release) * '' Pocket Tennis'' * ''

Puzzle Link ''Puzzle Link'' (Japanese: 連結パズルつなげてポンッ！ Hepburn: ''Renketsu Puzzle Tsunagete Pon!'') is an Arcade-style puzzle video game for the Neo-Geo Pocket and Neo-Geo Pocket Color. It was developed by TUG and published by SN ...

'' (no EU release) * ''

'' * '' Syougi no Tatsujin - Master of Syougi'' (no EU release) After the release of the Neo Geo Pocket Color, several of these titles began receiving re-releases, updated to include color. All but King of Fighters R-1, Melon-chan's Growth Diary, Samurai Shodown and the original Neo Geo Cup 98 (the "Plus" version was updated instead) were eventually re-released for the color system. When playing the Monochrome Samurai Shodown in the color system the game will play in color.

References

{{Portal bar, Video games, Electronics 1990s toys Computer-related introductions in 1998 1999 disestablishments in Japan Fifth-generation video game consoles Handheld game consoles Japan-only video game hardware Monochrome video game consoles Products introduced in 1998 Regionless game consoles