We've just gotten word from the lovely folks at Hamster Corp. in Japan that the ACA Neo Geo series of games has now sold 200,000 games on Nintendo Switch worldwide. That's a pretty monumental achievement, but then we have seen some excellent games so far, including Metal Slug 3, Samurai Shodown IV, Waku Waku 7 and lots more irrestable titles.
Of course, there isn't any real retro competition on the Switch yet until Nintendo itself figures out what it is doing with Virtual Console. Once the usual slew of NES, SNES and N64 games pop up, we'd expect the rate of Neo Geo games to slow down a bit. It's looking very likely that GameCube games might pop up on Switch, too.
The team at Hamster have assured us that lots more arcade hits are on the way soon, including the lovely horizontal shmup Blazing Star this week. Let us know what you think about the ACA Neo Geo Series on Switch with a comment below.
Comments 47
Wow, impressive.
Keep running, Hamster !
Would be great if these titles eventually saw a physical release as a collection.
This is a clever idea by Hamster. Have a retro Neo Geo collection available before the retro Nintendo games.
I'm buying a lot of indie eshop stuff with the Switch, so I'm accumulating a fair pile of MyNintendo gold coins.
Most likely I'll be using those to pick up discounted Neo-Geo and VC releases when that happens.
I'm definitely considering games like Metal Slug because there isn't the competition of a full VC yet. Kudos to Hamster for bringing these games, especially the legendary fighters.
I'm glad for them that this is a success and hope it will convince others (even Nintendo 😉) too
Thats pretty impressive, they've been quite clever in getting on early and targeting that retro market before nintendo launches a virtual console service. I've enjoyed Metal Slug and I will get Samurai Showdown once I get my pro controller and SF2
Deservedly so.
How many games have they put on there? It's at least double figures.
Hopefully once they're done with Neo Geo games they'll bring some of the other arcade classics they brought to Xbox and Playstation.They've released loads in the last couple of years.
"It's looking very likely that GameCube games might pop up on Switch, too."
What makes you say that @Dazza ?Have you heard something?
Sorry, but they haven't gobbled up any of my money yet. Nothing interests me so far. Probably nothing will.
Again it has to be said that third parties are leaving money on the table. Other publishers should follow hamster lead and forget about waiting for VC. Get your games ready for release now.
@OorWullie just what the little birdies are saying, nothing more than that!
@OorWullie ha I picked up on that too! All in good time I suppose, fingers crossed in the meantime!
Btw, is Dance Dance Revolution Arcade during 1st Mix - Extreme counted as Classic Arcade, consider that game was released on PS1 & PS2 too ?
Love these NeoGeo classics. And they're quality VC if you ask me. Can do save states, change all kinds of settings and screen sizes and filters and you name it.
Gonna go great alongside the official VC.
Even more amazing considering the Switch doesn't even have a d-pad.
Always been a huge fan of Neo Geo games so I have been lapping these up. I have KOF 98, Shock Troopers and Neo Turf Masters so far and will be picking up Blazing Star this week. Will also get the Metal Slug games soon along with Samurai Shodown (I wanted to give it a few weeks to see if II arrived before buying IV).
I'm lovin' it so far!
Give me Samurai Shodown II, Garou: Mark of The Wolves and Metal Slug X and I'll be golden.
Keep it coming! Definitely getting Blazing Star this week, so I'll then be 1 game away from filling up the menu. Or if I end up grabbing an eShop card on payday, I'll pull the trigger on Metal Slug 1 and have a full menu bar of NEOGEO games!
I have bought 4 of these already and they run really well (they look good too if you turn the filters off). I would say that you need the pro controller to get the most out of them, a good d-pad is essential. Blazing star is a classic can't wait for that and please hamster bring us neo drift out over top is good but drift out is better.
These are brilliant games. I know people are waiting for NES and SNES, but these are just as good, if not better. Everything I've played so far improves the more you play it, and the more skilled you become at it.
Incidentally, I've found the Joy-con's d-pad fine for most of the games, but not the vs. fighters. It can do diagonals, but it's hard to roll a movement that includes a diagonal.
But anyway, keep the arcade games coming, and please can we have Double Dragon?
Keep em coming.
Not sure how Hamster broke away from the vc program with Nintendo, but they deserve the success they've seen so far for their efforts!! If it wasn't for them, then retro wise the Switch would have nothing doing!! I have metal slug 3 and over top so far. Definitely getting Blazing Star today! All the others are in my wish list!! I wish Sega would jump in!! The waters fine! 😃
Which are the best ones?
The reason is lack of Switch games
It's great to see many Neo Geo releases. If only Nintendo would release separate joycons with D-pads on them for the slew of fighting games available
That number seems so low. I'm surprised they haven't sold closer to the number of Switch systems sold if not more, considering the number of great games they've released. I've already bought 4 myself.
@samuelvictor legend. Thank you!
Remember the Neo-Geo X? It was basically like the Switch, a handheld with a TV dock, except this did it infinitely better.
As a rabid neogeo fan I shall keep throwing my quarters at Hamster in gratitude. Played samsho to get through the DMV line yesterday.
I seriously hope this inspires Capcom to release their awesome old arcade/fighting games on the Switch. I'd buy one right now if Rival Schools or Project Justice was released for it.
Maybe I'm just old, but when did "shooter", an actual word, get turned into "shmup"? I clearly must be in the minority here, but I find the term grating and stupid. It's not like shooter was difficult to say.
Nice! Keep them coming. Nintendo, you need get after it with the VC!
That's good, SNK is one of my favorite video game companies. Awesome games.
Nice to see!
I'm happy to see Nintendo leave some space for others this time around.
I think for the crowd they're hitting with the Switch currently, NEO GEO certainly wasn't a bad choice.
@nab1 - Absolutely. I'm hoping for some CPS games from Capcom - Final Fight especially - plus some System 16 and System 32 games from Sega, particularly the two Golden Axe titles.
Neo Geo was the out-of-reach King of Consoles back in the day. So glad to see their library coming to the Switch.
"...until Nintendo itself figures out what it is doing with Virtual Console"
You would think a multibillion dollar company would have a plan and just haven't made it public yet, but not on Nintendo Life. Here, Nintendo haven't figured out what to do with Virtual Console.
Wind jammers please!
3 count bout please!
Now King of Fighters '96, Wind Jammers, Last Blade and Fatal Fury 3 please. I want the best to buy, otherwise I'm not gonna open my wallet.
@Joekun I'm old too, but I like the term shmup. Regardless, I believe the term actually goes back a while and is not such a recent thing. I imagine it grew in popularity once "shooter" came to mean first or third-person shooter. I think it's more worthwhile to differentiate the two than to fight a losing battle over the word shooter.
@sdelfin I don't intend to make a big deal out of it going forward. The term just bugs me, it seems pointless when we had a perfectly serviceable word for the genre, and I wanted to say so . I haven't heard anyone refer to FPS as a shooter (isn't that why it's FP?), but as you say, it doesn't really matter.
I bought Metal Slug and Metal Slug 3. Still waiting on Metal Slug 2 (or X). Kind of hoping that actual VC games make their way on to the system soon too though. As others have suggested CPS-1 and 2 games would also be a nice addition (rather that than SNES ports of arcade games personally).
Hah, same here! Makes going shopping with the wife much more tolerable! First games I bought witch was the Japanese verof KOF, and I flipped my lid when Samurai Shodown came out. Truly loving Wonderboy as well.
Hah, loving these games. Was kind of fun to track down some Yen to get KOF 98 from the Japanese Eshop. Lol Samurai shodown, wonderboy, and KOF have made shopping with the wife so much more tolerable!
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