Why a Neo Geo port of Doom is functionally impossible
Sprite-based graphics architecture makes first-person 3D a challenge.
Here at Ars, we've taken pleasure in reporting on versions of Doom that run on everything from wireless earbuds and printers to Windows' notepad.exe and even inside Doom itself. So when we hear that a piece of game-playing hardware from the '90s (or later) can't run Doom, our ears perk up.
That hardware is the Neo Geo, an early '90s game console that players of a certain age will remember for its eye-watering launch price and its relatively strong pixel-pushing power for the time. Despite that relative power, though, a fascinating new video from Modern Vintage Gamer argues that the Neo Geo's architecture makes it particularly ill-suited for a port of id's famously easy-to-port game.
At first glance, the Neo Geo seems like it should be up to the task of running Doom. The Motorola 68000 CPU inside the console is the same one powering the Commodore Amiga, which has seen quite a few homebrew Doom ports over the years.