SNK getting back into handhelds with Neo Geo Pocket follow-up?

SNK has not confirmed as of yet whether there really is such a thing as a Neo Geo Portable Device so please treat this as rumor.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, wouldn't it be great? I mean, I have little intention of buying another handheld, and especially not one who's biggest selling point is that it plays Neo Geo games. Still, wouldn't it be cool to have a machine build around these old franchises? What if they are straight ports of the 24-Bit Neo Geo games we all remember and not the underwhelming 16-bit Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis ports we've been subjected to up until now.

Even better, with all the smart phone and tablet "taking over the gaming world" talk pundits have been engaging in the last couple of years, isn't it great to see a former hardware maker like SNK decide now is the perfect time to jump back into the hardware business. And on top of that it is doing so with a slick piece of alleged hardware that centers around its own library of games.

Dubbed the Neo Geo Portable Device by whomever is leaking or making up this story, the system does have decent sounding specs. It sports a 4.3 inch screen, 2GB of internal storage, an SD card slot, a headphone jack and an A/V out jack. It will also come pre-loaded with 20 Neo Geo titles. Naturally there is no sign of Windjammers on this list—but you know it is coming—but there are classics like Nam-1975, Fatal Fury Special, Magical Lord, Metal Slug and Samurai Shodown to make the initial investment a bit easier to swallow.

There is no word on what kind of processor will be powering this machine. How many bits will the processor be? 24-Bit? 32-Bit? 64-Bit? 128-Bit? 256-Bit? Does it really matter? Yes!—this is a Neo Geo machine after all, it seems only natural that we talk in bits. In all seriousness, it would have to be at least on par with the Nintendo 3DS or the Sony PlayStation Vita to be taken seriously. But there is plenty of time for that. Until then enjoy the screenshots and that trip down memory lane this story probably evoked.

Here is the so-called game list:

• Art Of Fighting
  
• Baseball Stars Professional
  
• Cyber Lip
  
• Fatal Fury
  
• Fatal Fury Special
  
• Frenzy
  
• King Of Monsters
  
• Last Resort
  
• League Bowling
  
• Magical Lord
  
• Metal Slug
  
• Mutation Nation
  
• Nam-1975
  
• Samurai Shodown
  
• Sengoku
  
• Super Sidekicks
  
• The King Of Fighters '94
  
• Top Player's Golf
  
• Ultimete 11
  
• World Heroes
  

Source: Joystiq