“Great game consoles don’t die; they’re just reborn in much more affordable and convenient packages,” said Tommo CEO Jonathan Wan. “The NEOGEO X GOLD is a love letter to one of my favorite consoles of all time, and working with SNK PLAYMORE to acquire the NEOGEO license, Tommo Inc. looks to provide gaming and entertainment enthusiasts with a classic arcade experience both at home and on the go.”

Holy cats – not only was I right about the price of the unit NOT being the outrageously misreported nonsense other sites had listed a few months back, this is turning into a rather SUPERB value for SNK fanatics. Here’s a pic of the NEOGEO X GOLD In all its glory:

Not only do you get a handheld unit with a 4.3″ screen, expandable card slot, built-in stereo speakers and a headphone jack, the NGX GOLD comes with a base unit and arcade controller modeled after the original AES console allowing you to turn the handheld into a home system! Spectacular, and at $199.99 US, it’s a steal, and a great one at that. December 6, 2012 is the launch date and I expect this one to be a huge holiday hit this year. So much so, that it’s the first entry in this year’s Holiday Gift Guide. What’s in the box are the fun stuff above and 20 pre-installed games listed below the jump (and clipped from the press release, as I’ve been up too long working on some stuff and am about to keel over with a big grin on my face at this fantastic news).

Oh yeah, memo to SNK Playmore: If you can get as many NEOGEO Pocket games as possible AND Samurai Shodown RPG on the NGX GOLD at some point, you’ll make a LOT of fans very, VERY happy. Get on it (please!)…

 From the press release:

The NEOGEO X GOLD entertainment system comes complete with the NEOGEO X Station, the NEOGEO X Handheld with 20 pre-loaded NEOGEO classic titles, and the NEOGEO X Joystick. In addition to coming pre-loaded with 20 NEOGEO classic titles, the NEOGEO X Handheld device features a crisp 4.3″ LCD display, an expandable game card slot, internal stereo speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for a personal gaming experience you can take anywhere. The NEOGEO X Handheld device works with the NEOGEO X Joystick and NEOGEO X Station to charge the handheld device and transfer the action directly to a television set or monitor, via HDMI or A/V out, for a true arcade experience right at home.

The full list of NEOGEO X Handheld pre-installed games is as follows:

3 COUNT BOUT

LEAGUE BOWLING

ART OF FIGHTING II

MAGICIAN LORD

ALPHA MISSION II

METAL SLUG

BASEBALL STARS II

MUTATION NATION

CYBER LIP

NAM 1975

FATAL FURY

PUZZLED

FATAL FURY SPECIAL

REAL BOUT – FATAL FURY SPECIAL

THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’95

SAMURAI SHODOWN II

KING OF THE MONSTERS

SUPER SIDEKICKS

LAST RESORT

WORLD HEROES PERFECT