Neo Geo Pocket Color

Also known as NGPC · New Neo Geo Pocket Color

  • SNK
  • Handheld
  • Fifth generation

39 Neo Geo Pocket Color games, all playable free in your browser.

The Neo Geo Pocket Color is SNK's color handheld. It went on sale in Japan on March 19, 1999, in North America on August 6, 1999 and in parts of Europe on October 1, 1999, replacing the monochrome Neo Geo Pocket only a few months after that model's debut and remaining compatible with its games. A smaller, lighter New Neo Geo Pocket Color followed in Japan in October 1999.

First released · Japan
1999
CPU
16-bit
Games in the library · all playable
39

TIMELINE

1999–2001

JPNAEUEND19981999200020012002
  • JPJapan
  • NANorth America
  • EUEurope
  • ENDDiscontinued (Japan)
On sale Games in the library, by release year
Games per release year
NGPC games in the library by release year
YearGames
199925
200014
Where the NGPC sits in history: first release to discontinuation, next to the other systems in the library
  1. N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
  2. CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
  3. NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
  4. GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
  5. NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
  6. PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
  7. WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
  8. GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
  9. OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
All 36 systems
  1. Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
  2. SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
  3. ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
  4. Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
  5. VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
  6. NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
  7. SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
  8. MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
  9. Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
  10. Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
  11. Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
  12. X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
  13. PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
  14. CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
  15. GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
  16. PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
  17. Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
  18. LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
  19. Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
  20. Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
  21. SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
  22. Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
  23. CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
  24. Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
  25. 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
  26. PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
  27. N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
  28. CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
  29. NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
  30. GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
  31. NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
  32. PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
  33. WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
  34. GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
  35. OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
  36. TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today

A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.

UNDER THE HOOD

Technical specifications

Graphics

160×152

Colors on screen
146
Palette
4,096 colors
Sprites
64
Screen
2.6″ reflective color TFT LCD (no backlight)
640×480160×152
Drawn to scale
On screen: 146 colors · Palette: 4,096 colors

Below: Genesis 61 colors · Above: WonderSwan 241 colors

Processor

6.14MHz

CPU
Toshiba TLCS-900/H
Core
TLCS-900/H (16-bit)
Word size
16-bit
  • Zilog Z80 — sound CPU · 3.07 MHz

Below: Game Boy 4.19 MHz · Above: PC Engine 7.16 MHz

up to 6.144 MHz

Memory

12KB

Main RAM
12 KB
Z80 RAM (shared)
4 KB
Tilemap RAM
4 KB
Character RAM
8 KB
BIOS ROM
64 KB

Below: PC Engine 8 KB · Above: Atari 5200 16 KB

Sound

6channels

Chip
T6W28 (enhanced SN76489) + two 6-bit DACs

3 square-wave tone channels, 1 noise channel and 2 DAC channels; stereo through headphones

Media

Cartridge

Cartridge
up to 4 MB

Launch price

¥8,900

Japan
¥8,900
North America
$69.95

Power

40h

Batteries
2 × AA (plus a CR2032 cell for backup and clock)
Battery life
about 40 hours

Family line

Before
Neo Geo Pocket
This system
Neo Geo Pocket Color

THE STORY

About the NGPC

The system is remembered for its microswitched thumb stick, a reflective color TFT screen and about 40 hours of play from two AA batteries. Its 73 games lean on SNK series such as The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury and Metal Slug, with third-party support including Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, Namco's Pac-Man and the SNK vs. Capcom crossovers; a cable also linked it to the Dreamcast.

Against the Game Boy Color and the WonderSwan the console struggled for shelf space and third-party games. After pachinko maker Aruze bought SNK, operations in North America and Europe closed on June 13, 2000, and sales in Japan ended with SNK's bankruptcy in October 2001.

  • Shows 146 colors at once from a 4,096-color palette at 160 × 152 pixels.
  • 64 hardware sprites, with no fixed per-scanline limit.
  • A microswitched thumb stick gives precise eight-way input.
  • Launched in the United States at US$69.95, at first only through eToys.com.
  • Includes a clock, calendar and horoscope as built-in PDA-style tools.
  • More than 100,000 units were sold in Europe by the end of 1999.

THE LIBRARY

39 NGPC games on Back2OldGames

39

games, all playable right in your browser

Release years 1999–2000

<p class="lib-span">15 developers</p>

Players

  • 2 players24 100%

24 games with a known number of players.

Regions

  • World21 54%
  • Europe18 46%
  • USA9 23%
  • Japan3 8%

THE GAMES

The NGPC library

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NGPC ARCHIVETITLE · CREATOR · PUBLISHER
39 games

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Sources

Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.

  1. Neo Geo Pocket — Wikipedia
  2. ネオジオポケットカラー — Wikipedia (Japanese)
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