Neo Star

The Neo Star is a video game console design that was planned for release but was cancelled.

Description
The Neo Star was the tentative name for a next-generation game console that was to be the successor to the Neo Geo, boasting a series of advanced features, such as a dual CD-1/CD-ROM for playing special games, wireless infrared joystick controllers, and a new card disk storage system whose capacity is 20 times as that as the original memory card. This new memory card was also rumored to be usable in a planned home-banking service that would've been available for Japanese users. Another feature of the Neo Star is an expansion port allowing the use of new add-ons to follow the release of the console. The exact specifications of the console were shrouded in secrecy at the time it was announced.

It was proposed to be a 32-bit system using a RISC processor claimed to be running at 14.5 MHz, making it five times faster than the original Neo Geo. It was also meant to be capable of a 640x480 resolution, and used a Super-SCART system that enhanced the resolution of any display that it is plugged into. The Neo Star was also aiming to be 3D-capable, generating polygon graphics, leading to speculation that the Neo Star would become the first 3D games machine to feature truly interactive VR-style games. CD-1 allows for movie-quality sound and graphics that one would have played with video game interaction via cartridges. The CD-ROM dual feature would have allowed bigger-capacity games to boast extra content stored on special CDs.

In addition to the infrared joysticks, the Neo Star also had physical ports for standard Neo Geo controllers, thus allowing for four-person multiplayer gameplay. The machine's infrared joysticks were made to be lighter, as well as being more comfortable to hold via palm grips, in addition to headphone jacks. Special surround sound sockets were also included on the Neo Star, allowing it to be hooked up to a Hi-Fi for enhanced sound quality. The expansion port had the most potential, especially with suggestions of a cable/TV modem connector for multiplayer gameplay, home-banking features, a 3D goggles system, and even a keyboard facility that was speculated to be used in conjunction with the aforementioned home-banking features.

For AES owners not wanting to give up their machines, there was to be a CD add-on system that can be plugged into the AES. This add-on would've had some of the Neo Star's features, and was considered to be launched before the Neo Star was to be released.

Unfortunately, both the Neo Star or the CD add-on for the AES would never see the light of day.

Trivia

 * The infrared joystick controllers of the Neo Star has a striking resemblence to that of the Neo Geo Controller Pro controllers, except that it had three additional buttons above the four face buttons, along with a headphone jack on the side.
 * This leads to a possibility that the Neo Star may have been retooled into the Neo Geo CD, which did not feature anything mentioned in the above description, but it is still a CD-based console.