When Atari released its Video Computer System (also known as the Atari 2600) in 1977, it became the very first successful home video game console. This would pave the way for a multibillion-dollar industry to be born, and home video games would never be the same again. Unfortunately, Ataris success was short-lived due to a disastrous decision to sell the company to Warner Communications, which allowed a glut of low-quality games to enter the marketplace. Atari also faced massive competition from upcoming competitors, most notably the Mattel Intellivsion and Colecos infamous Colecovision. This set the stage for what is commonly known as the great video game crash of 1983. Consumers were tired of the amount of product being made just to capture their dollars with no regards to the quality of the games being produced. For every memorable game like Asteroids, Missile Command, or Pitfall, countless others were produced that either disappointed or bored the end consumer. As a result, home video games were seen as a passing fad, and Atari was left near bankrupt. It would take two full years for a relatively unknown Japanese company named Nintendo to finally be able to convince retailers that its new product, aptly named the Nintendo Entertainment System, had what it takes to reignite excitement in the home video game market once again. By 1987, Nintendo had managed to capture close to 90 percent of the home video game market in the United States, and countless competitors took notice. Sega became Nintendos fiercest and closest competitor of the late 1980s and 1990s with the success of its 16-bit Sega Genesis system. The console boasted twice the graphical capability of the original Nintendo and launched in late 1989 in North America. With a back catalog of Sega arcade titles that could easily be recreated for the system and a catchy advertising slogan telling buyers that Sega does what Nintendont, Sega had an advantage. This is when arcade game creators saw an opportunity to begin creating more and more of their arcade titles for home consoles. Unfortunately, though, arcade video game machines were much more powerful than most home video game systems at the time. This meant that true arcade quality games would not be fully possible on most home video game systems. As a result of this, one lone Japanese arcade company saw an opportunity. Shin Nihon Kikaku is a Japanese arcade company better known as SNK. Its name roughly translates to New Japan Project in English. In the 1980s, the company was a publisher of various Nintendo games and was known to arcade patrons due to its incredible success with the Ikari Warriors game franchise. SNK was secretly working on an arcade video game system that would allow one single arcade game cabinet to use multiple different games contained on a cartridge. This would allow arcade operators to save money by simply changing out the individual games rather than having to order brand new machines. SNK had an incredible idea to create an elaborate home video game system using this same idea and test it in the rental market first to see if the concept was viable. The result was the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System that would be nothing like ordinary home video game consoles. After a moderately successful roll out in rental outlets across North America and Japan, SNK officially launched the system, which would have an estimated retail price of $649.99, in 1991 under the name the Neo Geo AES. Additional game cartridges could be purchased for about $149.99 each. Now you may be wondering, who would buy a system for close to $700 in 1991 knowing that for each additional game purchased they would have to spend another $150, when your average Nintendo or Sega video game at the time cost $49.99 and competing systems could be had for well under $200? Well the reason the Neo Geo was so expensive was because, unlike other home video game systems at the time, the Neo Geo was the arcade! The same games being produced for the arcade version of the Neo Geo called the MVS (short for Multi Video System) were being converted into home Neo Geo games. The cost was a problem due to the amount of memory and chips that both the systems and games used (in the 1990s cartridge-based games were very expensive to produce). Pundits and industry insiders at the time loved the system for what it represented (a true home arcade experience), but noted it would most likely fail. However, diehard enthusiasts clamored to own the system, and SNK managed to continue supporting it well into the early 2000s even as the company emerged from bankruptcy. Like most pop culture oddities and vintage video game technology to come out of the 1990s, the Neo Geo stands as one of the most collectible video game systems ever created. Thanks to its cost, certain games that originally came out for the system were produced in record low numbers. Some of these games only had a production run of a few hundred pieces and can be seen selling today for tens of thousands of dollars on the secondary market. And as nostalgia driven collectors rediscovered this system of yesteryear, a lot of these highly sought-after games have steadily increased in value and demand over the years. Unfortunately, since the 1990s, SNK went through several restructurings and a bankruptcy, and the actual rights to its technology and games are now owned by a subsidiary of the Misk Foundation since 2022. As a result, all hopes of a revival were seen as dim, until one glorious day in April 2026. Thats when the internet started buzzing with rumors of the Neo Geos triumphant return. And then it happened! The company who owns the rights to the system and games showed off a perfect recreation of the original system for a price of $250, this time with games only costing $90 each and a release date of November 2026. As word spread, eager fans were excited while hardcore collectors were left wondering what is now going to happen to the cost of the original games on the secondary market with re-releases only costing $90? And that is why we are having this discussion; because the internet incorrectly believes the relaunch of this system is going to make the original hardware and games fall in value. And to those who think that, it is possible over the short term that many collectors may hold off paying thousands of dollars for an original game fearing that prices could collapse. But these are re-releases, and if the U.S. Mint, or Topps the baseball card company, or even Marvel Comics for that matter decided to reproduce some of their most sought-after collectibles in the year 2026, how would it affect the market for the originals over the long term? It wouldnt, because reproduced collectibles are just that, not original. And that is why we are having this discussion. So, if you are a diehard Neo Geo fan like me, November 2026 is almost upon us, and preorders for the system and games are available now. Collectors of the originals? Over the long term, these re-releases will have little impact on the true value of your original games, so lets all welcome the return of the Neo Geo! Shawn Surmick has been an avid collector since the age of 12. He currently resides in his hometown of Boyertown, Pa., and is a passionate collector of antiques and collectibles. His articles focus on various topics affecting the marketplace.