The NEOGEO AES+ has been announced by Plaion, with a planned release date of November 12, 2026. It will retail for $249.99 / £179.99 / €199.99 and feature two distinct variants. Pre-orders are available now.
As well as the standard black edition, there will also be the NEOGEO AES+ Anniversary Edition, which is white, and also includes a copy of Metal Slug for $349.99 / £269.99 / €299.99; this variant is (likely) to be more limited, given the colorway.
Unlike some modern console revisions, such as the Atari 2600+, the NEOGEO AES+ features authentic hardware with re-engineered ASIC chips rather than relying on emulation, allowing it to natively play AES game cartridges, which are notoriously difficult to emulate properly.
Owing to this commitment to authenticity, the new NEOGEO AES+ doesn’t just feature HDMI as standard, but also bona fide AV output, making it ideal for gamers wanting the authentic CRT experience, complete with proper pixelation, rather than what a modern display delivers.
Included with either version of the upcoming console is a remade NEOGEO Arcade Stick, with its original four-button configuration. It’s wireless; however, a 15-pin cable is included, which confirms you’ll be able to use other gamepads here. Plaion will also be selling a new wireless version of the NEOGEO Gamepad.
A wealth of NEOGEO games have been confirmed for the AES+ as faithful recreations, too. They will cost $79.99 / £69.99 / €79.99. The lineup includes some of the system’s most coveted games like Twinkle Star Sprites, Shock Troopers, Pulstar, OverTop, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, and Samurai Shodown V Special.
An accessible way for people to play NEOGEO games
For as beloved as NEOGEO is as a brand, and for how coveted many of the games that originated on its console were, few people actually got to go hands-on. That’s because the 24-bit home arcade console was incredibly expensive at the time of its release, as was the software (which arrived on massive cartridges).
Around 156 NEOGEO games were released between 1990 and 2004, with the original AES (Advanced Entertainment System) becoming incredibly rare and exceedingly expensive. Prior to Plaion’s announcement of AES+, you’d spend anywhere from $300 to over $1,000 for a used console, and the games aren’t much cheaper, either.
It’s not uncommon to see the likes of Sonic Wings 2, Ninja Combat, ROBO ARMY, King of the Monsters, and other NEOGEO games sell for hundreds of dollars. In other words, it was an expensive novelty for collectors and alienating to those with just a casual interest in shoot-’em-ups, fighters, and side-scrolling games from this 14-year period.
The new configuration looks exciting, and it’s great to see authentic preservation that respects the history and people’s money. It’s pricey, sure, but nowhere near as much as legacy hardware. As a novelty or a key addition to your retro setup, the AES+ seems like one of the better modern console revisions hitting the market.
