Source: http://www.retrocollect.com/News/darksofts-neo-geo-aes-a-mvs-flash-cartridges-nearing-release.html Darksoft’s Neo Geo AES & MVS Multi-Cartridge Development Thread
Really cool seeing this project getting to fruition. However with it's 400$ price tag, it's mainly interesting for AES owners as where many MVS releases are quite affordable, so before you reach 400$ in MVS cartridges you might already have enough to play anyway
Actually, there's more interest for MVS than AES in a separate thread that's spun off to investigate how many Darksoft will have to aim to build. According to Darksoft AES will come later. I assume that although MVS carts are cheaper than AES that the convenience of having one cart permanently in your arcade cab means that you don't have to keep plugging carts in and out (even if you have a 4 slot or 6 slot, you'll still want to change at some point). No-one's quite sure yet about the menu, will it be a basic menu .bin that loads when the cart starts that allows you to browse your games? - will there be a physical screen with a menu or dip switches...? It's very exciting and I can't wait! My AES is going to be played to death.
Many are unaware the AES had its very own flash cartridge 20 years ago. But this is certainly good news and hopefully a step in the right direction.
He's talking about the MGD. It's a Chinese copier that supports multiple systems. You have a 'base' which provides basic copier functionality and attachments for different systems with the appropriate RAM modules for it. While the idea was ambitious, I think the actual execution was kind of terrible. You required a lot of pieces to get this to work, and even so, you could only copy the basic games.
A video specifically showing the NeoGeo MGD: (from the Arcade-Projects forum for those not following it.)
It's too bad it didn't have more memory. Who wouldn't have wanted a game like Metal Slug 3 or King of Fighters 98 on around 70 floppy disks! You could spend a hour loading your game. The MGD2 is a pretty cool device though.
Nope but this one is (well will be in Jan but you can preorder now) https://www.neosdstore.com/shop/index.php?id_product=11&controller=product&id_lang=1
its not expensive and if you think it is then you should maybe look at other systems as the Neo Geo can get pricey very quickly. if you think its too much to pay €435 for a flash cart than can play absolutely everything (plus some more stuff like possibly have NGdev games on it too) then consider this, its cheaper than buying these 2 games on the MVS: Pleasure Goal (€250) Pulstar (€200) prices from here
It's expensive if you consider a bootleg multi-cart is a lot less and can still net you a vast amount of games. Not saying this isn't going to be far better, but you certainly will be paying for it. NeoGeo is expensive so you are right that it's fitting in that way. These flash carts are expensive in part since you can't just slap a big flash memory or dram chip in them. You have several separate memory buses to deal with. So parts wise it's certainly more expensive than a flash cartridge for typical home consoles.
It's simple - it's for those who desperately want to play all games on their AES systems but don't want to spend several thousands. If you just want to play on real hardware - MVS + multicart is the way to go. If you want just to play the game as cheap as possible but close to real arcade - emulator + RGB CRT TV/monitor + arcade stick - it can be cheaper than one AAA game on Steam.
i own a neosd and its working fantastic on my mv1b. darksoft card load instantly the game while neosd have to flash the game,but i dont care about that. Its like super everdrive and sd2snes. they are working on the software side to make it even better,load times are faster with the newer firmware. but it has to be released yet,they are carefully testing before release anything. im verry happy with it and can play the whole library now. neosd is really worth the buy,great service also if you have problems. you can contact them via neo-geo.com or on their website. its a superb product.
-Ten times faster loading -4-slot and 6-slot compatible (NeoSD isn't) -4-game loading with native multi slot MVS support. Flash 4 games and instantly switch between them. -Higher quality and more versatile FPGA based -User customizable menu system
4 and 6 slots are working on neosd,higher quality,i must even see the darksoft neo geo flashcard,so where you get that from that its higher quality??? they are now speculations,once its out you can test both. i have a neosd with firmware 1.05,and its great,they keep improving it.
