When did Viewpoint release?

Viewpoint was first released on January 11, 1992.

Viewpoint

Jan 11, 1992ShooterArcadeNeo Geo AESSharp X68000Sega Mega Drive/GenesisPC (Microsoft Windows)

Viewpoint — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Viewpoint on?: Viewpoint was released on Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Sharp X68000, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, PC (Microsoft Windows), Neo Geo CD, FM Towns, PlayStation, Sega Saturn.
When did Viewpoint release?: Viewpoint was first released on January 11, 1992.

About Viewpoint

One or two players (in hot-seat or cooperative mode) control a spaceship equipped with a laser cannon which can be charged (by holding the shooting button down) for a stronger blast. Besides the main weapon, three special weapons are available: a wall of fire which wipes the screen up in a wave, a nova-like blast and a circle of spherical-green homing missiles.

Summary via IGDB.

Viewpoint on Wikipedia

Viewpoint is a scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Aicom and originally released in 1992 by Sammy and SNK for the Neo Geo hardware family. The arcade version was met with critical acclaim upon release for its cutting-edge visuals and hip hop-influenced soundtrack, though later ports for the Sega Genesis and Sony PlayStation saw much more mixed reviews.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Platforms: Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Sharp X68000, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, PC (Microsoft Windows), Neo Geo CD, FM Towns, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Developer: Sammy
Publisher: SNK
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Science fiction

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

67/100

from 9 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Fake risk
Neo Geo AES Details ↓	1992	$1,050	$1,083	—	Medium
Sega Genesis Details ↓	1994	$17	$50	$88	Low

The cheapest way to own it loose is the Sega Genesis version ($17).

Release timeline

Neo Geo AESJan 11, 1992
ArcadeJan 20, 1992
Sega Mega Drive/GenesisNov 1994
Sharp X68000Jan 20, 1995
Neo Geo CDFeb 25, 1995
PlayStationJun 1, 1996
PC (Microsoft Windows)May 31, 1999

First release on each platform, from IGDB’s records of this game’s ports and editions. Remakes are separate games with their own pages, so they are not listed here.

We haven’t priced or authenticated the versions without a section on this page yet.

Prices are per version and are not interchangeable, and neither are the reviews: conversions in this era were often built by a different studio than the original, so a score earned on one machine says nothing about how another plays.

Collector value & authenticity

Neo Geo AES · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-21

Loose

$1,050

few sales

Complete

$1,083

few sales

Sealed

—

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
US release (SNK of America)	$625	$971	—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a year
Complete: about once a year
Sealed: about once a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-21.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $1,214 in Jan 2021, $1,214 five years ago, and $1,050 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2021	$1,214	$2,671
Jan 2022	$382	$2,671
Jan 2023	$1,162	$1,528
Jan 2024	$675	$1,107
Jan 2025	$641	$1,107
Jan 2026	$641	$1,125
Oct 2026	$1,050	$1,083

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	NGH number
Japan	11 December 1992	NGH-051

Japan: SNK's identification number for the game, printed on its ROM chips and inserts; confirmed by both the NeoGeo Dev Wiki and MAME's software list.

Source: NGH numbers: the NeoGeo Dev Wiki's game pages, each cross-checked against MAME's Neo Geo software list (ROM chip numbers and printed serials); published only where both agree

Region: JP+NA
Released: 1992
Authenticity: Med

Not in ACA NeoGeo — other compilations and re-releases are not tracked hereMedium counterfeit risk

Neo Geo AES prices, all games & how to spot a fake

The Neo Geo AES version

A scrolling shooter that reviewers called the best on the system at the time, and one of the dearer carts from SNK's peak years.

Viewpoint is a scrolling shooter developed by Aicom and published by Sammy and SNK, and it was Sammy's only game on the Neo Geo MVS arcade board. Wikipedia says the Neo Geo version drew critical acclaim for its visuals and hip-hop-influenced soundtrack, while the later Genesis and PlayStation ports were more mixed. GameFan's reviewers called the Neo Geo console version the best game on the system so far.

The Japanese AES cart came in December 1992, a few weeks after the arcade release, and a Neo Geo CD version followed in 1995.

What the press said at the time

“It’s a beautiful game that drops the jaws of onlookers—but, for my money, the level of challenge is way too high.”
— Video Games & Computer Entertainment, January 1993

“It's a good shooter with a Zaxxon perspective. Includes such gadgets as having to shoot turn-wheels to open gates.”
— Video Games & Computer Entertainment, June 1992

Also on other platforms

Arcade · Genesis · FM Towns · X68000 · PlayStation · Sega Saturn

Before you buy

A cart for which loose and complete prices are close together, so the box adds little; the cart itself is what costs. The US cart from SNK of America sells for less than the Japanese one. At these prices ask for board photos, since a genuine AES board is marked NEO-AEG and an arcade board NEO-MVS, and check the case and manual are with it.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$17

Complete

$50

Sealed

$88

few sales

How often it sells

Loose: about once a month
Complete: about once a week
Sealed: about once a year

Prices marked “few sales” rest on about one recorded sale a year, so treat them as a rough guide: the next copy could sell well above or below. Expect to wait for one to come up.

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $2.95 in Oct 2007, $15.99 five years ago, and $16.93 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2008	$2.79	—
Jan 2009	$3.68	—
Jan 2010	$5.60	—
Jan 2011	$6.71	—
Jan 2012	$7.99	—
Jan 2013	$6.99	—
Jan 2014	$9.00	$10.75
Jan 2015	$7.00	$14.99
Jan 2016	$10.50	$25
Jan 2017	$10.73	$21
Jan 2018	$8.30	$26
Jan 2019	$13.81	$24
Jan 2020	$11.99	$28
Jan 2021	$15.99	$35
Jan 2022	$15.83	$56
Jan 2023	$23	$45
Jan 2024	$16.00	$53
Jan 2025	$16.49	$55
Jan 2026	$18.40	$60
Oct 2026	$16.93	$50

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Product number	Barcode	Known board
North America	November 1994	T-24096	039471907105	171-7147A · MPR-17357-SM

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA
Released: 1994
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

The Sega Genesis version

A North American-only Genesis port of a scrolling shooter that critics found much less impressive than the Neo Geo original.

This is the Genesis version of Viewpoint, a scrolling shooter that began on the Neo Geo. The Genesis port was developed by Nexus Interact and published by Sammy, and it came out only in North America, in November 1994.

Reviewers were cooler on it than on the Neo Geo game. Electronic Gaming Monthly's five reviewers gave it middling marks, and later coverage describes the home ports as getting mixed reviews. The Genesis version was one of the games on the Genesis Mini 2 in 2022.

What the press said at the time

“Granted, there is a ton of variety to what you're shooting at and the control is excellent, but the levels are redundant and the shooting turns dull.”
— Next Generation, March 1995

“American Sammy has done a good job at converting this Neo«Geo shooter. However, there is some bad slowdown, and the music comes nowhere near the original.”
— Electronic Gaming Monthly, December 1994

“Color loss and background music aside, this game has a type of playing perspective that has not been seen since the days of Zaxxon. All the stages from the arcade are here as well as the all-around intensity that shooter fans can relate to.”
— Electronic Gaming Monthly, September 1994

Also on other platforms

Neo Geo AES · Arcade · FM Towns · X68000 · PlayStation · Sega Saturn

Arcade. The Neo Geo version won rave reviews, including 95 percent from Computer and Video Games, while later home ports were more divisive.
Sega Saturn. A Saturn port was planned for 1996 but was cancelled.

Before you buy

Among US carts it sits above the middle. A US cart is the only original to look for, since it was released only in North America. A complete copy means the case, cartridge and manual.