It's no surprise that the Neo Geo AES+ is raising a few eyebrows, especially given its promise to recreate the retro console without using emulation or FPGA. However, it turns out the arcade system's ASIC chips are based on existing FPGA code, and one developer says Plaion is pulling a "bait and switch."
For context, the Neo Geo AES+ is set to replicate the board of the '90s console using ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) programmed for one specific task. In this instance, the chips will be serving in place of SNK's original graphics chips that handle sprites, color pallets, and communication with other components like the CPU, but FPGA developer Pramod Somashekar believes Plaion is "basically the mister core" that's divided up into separate ICs.
