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■ Neo-Geo
Some games that I really want to play (like Galaga) is just not available, because the cart is sold out. I’m also interested in picking up the Neo-Geo cartridges (both of them), but guess what? It’s sold out. Sure, you can buy it for $50 from a third-party, but I would just rather wait for a restock and pay retail ($30 each).

Neo Geo AES+
plaion.com

Forget the upcoming Steam Machine or Xbox Helix or PS6, the hottest console that everybody is excited about is the Neo Geo AES+.

Originally the Neo Geo AES came out in North America in 1991 and sold for an ungodly $649.99 (that is like about $1,800 in today’s money). Games were about $200 each. No normal family could afford that asking price, so it was mostly marketed to the rental market.

The key thing is that this machine could play arcade-quality games, because they were basically using the same arcade system in their SNK arcade cabinets. The original Neo Geo AES was the most powerful system on the market, at that time.

Of course, when the pre-order were announced, retro video game enthusiasts, like the Weekend Gamer, were super excited about finally owning their re-released system. This new version uses the same original hardware and housing enclosures. A 1:1 replica. In addition, they are also re-releasing the original arcade sticks, gamepad, and memory card, as well as original Neo-Geo games for the new re-launch. The best part is that this new hardware will be able to run all the original 1991 games… so if you already own some games, you can play them on the new hardware.

The new hardware will feature some modernized changes, of course, such as HDMI-out, but also keeping its original RGB-video-out (if you still own an older television set).

The AES is coming out November 12, 2026, to the tune of $250. If you can spare an extra Benjamin, you can also get a white version, titled Anniversary Edition for $350. For the extra $100 in the Anniversary, you get it in white and it comes bundled with Metal Slug, a memory card, and a wireless controller. I think it is worth it.

As much as I want this, I don’t know if I can afford to invest in such an expensive new system. If I add five Neo-Geo games to my library, I’m looking at spending nearly $500 (a single game costs $90)… you know, for really old games! Games that I have already on Steam or GOG (especially all the Metal Slug games). If you add it up, for about $1,000, you can probably just get the next modern game console or put that money towards a better gaming PC.

Of course, if money is no object, yeah, sure, you know I’d love to get my hands on this. I still have a little time to change my mind, so who knows, I might buy this around November.

Dusk (Zelda: Twilight Princess)
twilitrealm.dev

Of course, Nintendo won’t do it, so fans have taken it upon themselves to port over The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess to the PC (with iOS and Android coming soon). They took everything from GameCube, Wii, and Wii U, and treated it with higher resolution, uncapped framerate, free cam, mirror mode, fast-climbing, skippable scenes, texture pack, and more.

How they are able to get around the whole copyright thing is that the software does not contain any copyright material. It is up to the user to provide the game data, in the form of an ISO file.

Like I said, Dusk does not contain any copyright material, but I still recommend downloading Dusk before Nintendo puts a stop to it. Nintendo is legendary for their litigious ways – suing (and winning) against their biggest fans.

No other company have done so much harm to their fanbase than Nintendo, it’s crazy nuts that they still have a massive fanbase. I used to love Nintendo, but they are an evil company.

Speaking of which, in recent news, Nintendo was forced to raise their prices for the Switch 2 from $450 to $500… at $500, it’s about the same price of a PlayStation 5 Digital! I already thought the original price of $450 was expensive (combining it with $90 games and subscription fee for chat), but now that it’s in PS5 territory … there’s no way I would buy a Switch 2 (especially since I never touch my original Switch anymore because of my Lenovo Legion Go and ROG Ally.