Alter all the business, a sitdown dinner was enjoyed. Shown at the Mont D'Argent (left to right) taking a relax are Electrocoin's John Stergides, SNK's Paul Jacobs & General Vending's Mal Steinberg.

leave that game and then resume play exactly where he left off later on (and on any Neo•Geo machine at any location that offers the same game). "The card can save data on up to 27 different game titles," Jacobs outlined. "The hardware system here is quite powerful."

SNK's American Operations Director Neal Zook described the hardware as a "leap ahead." The horsepower is provided by a powerful 16 bit CPU running at 12 MHZ, coupled with a dedicated sound CPU. Each game cartridge will contain up to 64 megabytes of ROM to allow for the ultimate in visual detail and true CD-quality sound effects. The system can reproduce photographic quality images using any combination of colors from a huge 65,536 color palette, 4096 of which can be displayed simultaneously. The hifidelity sounds come from stereo speakers located in the upper corner of the upright.

The company anticipates shipping their first production model into the American and Canadian markets by the end of April. The first five cartridges will be available at the same time. As the program continues along, operators will be able

The brand new Search & Rescue upright. This dedicated game will be SNK's last such entry for some time, as they concentrate on the new Neo•Geo system. the game, however, is a solid entry, especially when considering its price. SNK also says it's "powerfully programmed" as well. See it at ACME.

to add, subtract, rotate and "library" titles exactly the same way they run their phonograph operations.

JAPANESE DEBUT

Neo•Geo made its premiere on Jan. 31 in a ballroom at the Esaka Tokyu Inn, located about three blocks from SNK's Osaka offices. The reception ran from 11:00AM until 5:30PM and the attendance figure reached 1047 persons, including all major Japanese operators and distributors.

Prior to the open house, a private showing was held in SNK's offices for its foreign distributor guests at 9:00AM the same morning. President Eikichi Kawasaki and Director Shinichi Ikawa presided at the meeting. Individual dealer meetings took place the following day.

The rank al.d file Japanese operators saw the new system for the first time at the Feb. 27-28 AOU Shows in Tokyo, and European distributors are expected to premiere it to their customers at private showings in April.

TO ACME

Besides Neo•Geo, the ACME display staged by SNK will also debut their latest (and last, for a while) upright. Called Search & Rescue, it's a space adventure outing that's moderately priced. SNK will also show its triple-gun Beast Busters, now into its third production run and doing well in the field. The game is being built to distributor order.

Search &Rescue features a spaceship that has vanished from its projected course. Two men are sent to investigate and find the cause of the disappearance. This cooperative 2player comes with d 19" monitor, "works in a drawer" cabinet manufactured by 3-KOAM Co. of California. The game uses SNK's own rotary joystick, but operators can change these to standard 8-way sticks if they wish by the flip of a dipswitch.

So, make the SNK display a must on your ACME "dance card." Check out this "price" upright and certainly lay eyes on Neo•Geo ... a brand new multi-game system SNK contends will be a "rock solid investment that will put the sizzle back into the word system."   0