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Before I get started, I'd like to point out that at the time I'm writing this, SNK has simply announced that a 32-bit NeoGeo is in development. The words "handheld" or "portable" were never mentioned. But, in this age of last-generation 32- and 64-bit games along with the ushering in of the 128-bit Dreamcast, hopefully we can assume that the 32-bit NeoGeo will indeed be a portable and not a home system.

With that assumption in mind, I'll continue.

I'd like to think that the NeoGeo Pocket and Game Boy markets are pretty much separate. The mainstream choice of gaming is very clearly Nintendo. The hardcore/niche choice will go with SNK. I don't think that this is really a choice between one or the other for most people. They're either in it specifically to play NeoGeo games (like me), or they're going to go with the mainstream choice. I believe that SNK has said themselves that they aren't really directly trying to compete with Nintendo, which lends credence to this. If they didn't say that, they should still follow it if they want to keep reality in mind. And for those who want both GBs and NGPs, each system is pretty cheap, making owning both affordable for anyone with at least a part-time job.

My point is that I don't think that a lot of people who own NGPs were really considering Nintendo instead of SNK. (They may still opt for both.) They wanted an NGPC to play handheld NeoGeo games, plain and simple. I'm sure there's plenty of exceptions to this, but I think I have the general rule down pretty well.

Now, what's my point in mentioning this? It's my belief that NGPC gamers like their NGPCs based on its own merits as opposed to tracking it against GB. This should indicate that SNK should NOT play the "my system is better than yours" game. It's great that the NGPC is more powerful than the GBC, but in the end, that's not why I'm playing my NGPC. I think with this hardware race here, SNK can't win. Nintendo is simply provides way too much competition.

Because of this, SNK's recent announcement about a 32-bit NeoGeo is unwise. Already people are afraid that support for the NGPC will be abandoned. And with this, it's safe to assume that some people are afraid to purchase any NeoGeo system because they aren't sure if it'll be supported a year later. Perhaps if they mentioned a release date for the new system, these fears would be reduced.

Even if SNK continues to support the NGPC once the 32-bit system comes out, they are still dividing up their own market much too quickly. This leaves several questions. Can SNK actually support 2 systems at once? Will most gamers want to own both systems and buy games for the system with inferior hardware? With questions like these in mind, people start to get frustrated and are again more likely to abandon SNK altogether.

If SNK simply waited a bit longer to make their announcement, a lot of these fears among gamers would be replaced by anticipation.

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