NEOGEO AES is delayed until September 2027 (Image: PLAION)
Outside of GTA 6 and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake, the new video game release I’ve been most looking forward to this year is the launch of the NEOGEO AES+. A dream retro gaming device, the AES+ is a faithful recreation of the legendary NeoGeo console from the 1990s, complete with a cartridge slot to play games from the original system.
It was originally pencilled in for a November 12 release date, alongside an arcade stick, controller, memory card and ten iconic games. Sadly, however, this is no longer the case, because SNK and PLAION have been forced to delay the release of the AES+ by almost a year!
Indeed, due to popular demand, the NEOGEO AES+ has been given a new release date of September 16, 2027.
According to a PLAION spokesperson, the new date will allow the company to secure more memory chips and expand manufacturing to keep up with demand.
While the delay will come as a major blow to retro gaming fans, the good news is that existing pre-orders at the likes of Argos and early purchases from Very won’t be affected. Likewise, PLAION has confirmed that there are no plans to increase prices.
This means if you’ve already pre-purchased the console, you don’t have to do anything except wait.
To make up for the delay, PLAION is giving existing pre-order customers a special “Founding Supporter Bonus” at launch.
The bonus will be included with all launch stock, but only while supplies last, and not in future manufacturing runs.
Likewise, customers who purchase Standard or Anniversary Editions from the launch production run will receive a free NEOGEO AES+ Gamepad.
Ultimate Edition customers, meanwhile, will receive a 30% discount voucher, which is said to be redeemable against any NEOGEO AES+ game on the PLAION REPLAI website.
Interestingly, this is said to include future NEOGEO AES+ game releases beyond the ten titles available at launch.
“Alongside the ten launch titles already announced, PLAION REPLAI is in discussion with other licensors to bring more games to the platform, reinforcing its commitment to the NEOGEO AES+,” the company explains.
In the long-term, the delay also means that supply will hopefully be able to keep up with demand.
A PLAION spokesperson explains more: “We explored every option to maintain our original timetable. In the end, we concluded that launching with severely constrained availability would not be fair to our community.
“Taking additional time allows us to secure more memory chips while expanding our manufacturing. Most importantly, everyone who has already pre-ordered keeps their priority place in the production queue.
“Had we launched in November, we would not have been able to deliver NEOGEO AES+ to customers at anything close to the scale we believe the community deserves. The truth is that demand far exceeded even our most optimistic expectations. The retro gaming community truly is fantastic.”
As a reminder, the AES+ comes with AV output for use on CRT television sets, as well as HDMI support for 1080p gaming.
That’s on top of a low-power mode and DIP Switches for the ability to change settings and display modes, plus leaderboards.
Launch games include the likes of Metal Slug, The King of Fighters 2002 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
That’s on top of Big Tournament Golf, Shock Troopers, Samurai Shodown V Special, Pulstar, Twinkle Star Sprites, Magician Lord and Over Top.
