Here comes a new challenger!
Before the NDS ruled with an iron fist, many companies wanted a piece of the portable gaming pie dominated by Nintendo's Game Boy... Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Bandai Wonderswan... all tried and failed to take a significant chunk out of Nintendo's over 90% market share.

In 1998, SNK threw itself into the fray by launching the Neo Geo Pocket in Japan and Hong Kong. The NGP boasted higher specs and longer battery life than the then currently available Game Boy, and promised a gaming experience on par with the SNK arcade pedigree.

Indeed, the NGP did offer great versions of their fighting franchises with titles like KOF R-1 and Samurai Shodown. Unlike their arcade counterparts, the portable titles adopted a super deformed graphic style but animated almost as smoothly with all the same moves and combos. Titles like Pocket Tennis along with card games and puzzlers rounded out the systems offerings.

The Neo Geo Pocket hardware also sported a more elegant industrial design than the Game Boy and was more comfortable to hold for long periods. The Neo Geo Pocket was also equipped with the best traditional control of any portable device before or since. The 8-way thumb stick made manipulating Kyo and Haohmaru, as well as cutting across the tennis court, a breeze.

However, Nintendo released the Game Boy Color just two months after the NGP made its debut. SNK quickly replaced it with the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999. Despite having a better screen, the NGPC had double the battery life of the previous system (40 hours on 2 AAs!) and was fully backwards compatible with the black and white titles. The only weakness of the NGPC was a non-backlit screen, though it's reflective LCD looks beautiful played under sunshine or a good light.

The Neo Geo Pocket color was also released in the United States and Europe this time around and met with great critical and fan acclaim with titles like Metal Slug 1st mission, KOF R-2 and Puzzle Link. The NGPC also received decent third party support with Sonic Pocket Adventure and Pac Man, and later Japan only titles like Ogre Battle and Cotton.

Some NGPC games would also support connectivity to the Sega Dreamcast via a specialized cable. Titles like SNK vs. Capcom for both platforms could swap points between each other to greatly speed up the purchasing of bonus content.

Get Pocket Power!
A solid system and game lineup means nothing if the machine is too pricey and has no exposure, but SNK delivered in that area as well. The Neo Geo Pocket Color system and games were in the same consumer price space as the Game Boy Color, with the NGPC going for $69.95 and games from $24.95 to $34.95. Wide availability at U.S. retail outlets like Toys'R'Us and Electronics Boutique allowed more people to be exposed to the system. The NGPC was also well marketed with TV and print ads touting it’s superior hardware and lineup of exclusive games for the 1999 Christmas season. Early on, NGPC sales were healthy and SNK was on its way to making a dent in Nintendo’s dominance.

Death by Pachinko
While the NGPC was doing well in the States, SNK’s other divisions were starting to lose money in Japan. The decline of arcades hit the company’s biggest revenue generator, MVS hardware. The Hyper Neo Geo 64, SNK’s foray into 3D hardware, was a flop and Neo Geo CD sales died in the wake of more powerful hardware like the Playstation and Dreamcast.

In late 2000, Aruze, mainly known for their Pachinko and Pachi-Slot machines, bought SNK. Aruze then proceeded to kill distribution of the NGPC in Western territories and eventually run SNK Japan into the ground. SNK under Aruze eventually filed for bankruptcy. Despite it’s initial success and strong game lineup, the Neo Geo Pocket Color (and SNK) was no more.

Game over man, game over...
SNK has been making a comeback in the portable arena with Metal Slug Advance for the GBA and the upcoming Card Fighters DS, but it's the Neo Geo Pocket and Pocket Color that will always live on in the hearts, minds and collections of true gamers. Its thoughtful design in hardware and software, as well as a broad range of titles from their arcade franchises to original games made the NGPC a rare enthusiast system that also made advances into the mass market.

Check out a few highlights from the Neo Geo Pocket Color library, below.

SNK vs. Capcom Match of the Millenium
Hands down the best fighting game for the NGPC with plenty of modes, perfect thumb stick control, and vibrant art and music for the perfect portable dream match. Fun minigames, vs. battles via link cable and connectivity to the Dreamcast rounded out the experience.

Metal Slug 1st Mission
1st Mission featured all the hallmarks of a good Metal Slug game; smooth animation, frantic action, and heavy boss battles. This is also the first Metal Slug to feature a life bar. Check out the gameplay video below.

Puyo Pop
Puyo Puyo makes a fine showing on the NGPC with it's trademark cuteness and puzzle dueling action. Puyo Pop was also one of the few NGPC titles to feature voice samples for the characters. Link up with for 2-player battles!

Sonic Pocket Adventure
Despite simplified graphics compared to the Genesis, Sonic Pocket Adventure featured all the speed, charm and even the 3d style bonus rounds of its namesake. Sonic Pocket Adventure also one-upped the home consoles by allowing you to save your progress - made possible by NGPC games being on flash carts.

Ganbare Neo Poke-kun
Coming late in the systems life (and only released in Japan) Poke-kun is one of the wackiest games ever created and a precursor to Wario Ware. Poke-kun lives inside your Neo Geo Pocket system and various combinations of button and thumb stick would alter his environment for good or ill. When Poke-kun is happy, you can hit B to take you to one of your earned minigames which are spoofs of popular 8 and 16 bit titles like Tetris and Fatal Fury.