Neofun Alpha

The Neofun Alpha is a home video game console developed and manufactured by Neofun. It was released on March 11, 2002 in Saleria, May 25, 2002 in European territories, July 9, 2002 in North America, September 30, 2002 in Japan, and on June 19, 2002 in Oceania. The Alpha was Neofun's first video game console since the Neo TV Game in 1974. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Theorysonic's Pyramid, and other consoles during the sixth generation.

The Neofun Alpha gained positive reception due its controller, somewhat powerful hardware, its library of games, and its price tag. Over 45 to 60 million units were sold worldwide before the console's discontinuation in 2010.

A successor to the Neofun Alpha, the Neofun Nitro, was released in 2007.

Development
The development of the Neofun Alpha started in 1998 under the codename Alpine. Neofun partnered with ATi Technologies, Inc during the console's development.

Initial details of the console were first revealed during a press conference in Saleria. According to Neofun, the console would have a PowerPC-based processor (performing similar to the then-released Nintendo Dolphin), ATI Radeon 3D graphics, DVD drive, Dolby Digital surround sound support, and online play.

The console was officially unveiled under the name Neofun Alpha during the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The console's pricing was later announced during a press conference in Australia.

Neofun created a marketing campaign for the Neofun Alpha with the slogan "Feel the game. Feel the Alpha."

Release
The Neofun Alpha was released on March 11, 2002 in Saleria, May 25, 2002 in European territories, July 9, 2002 in North America, September 30, 2002 in Japan, and on June 19, 2002 in Oceania. During the first week of launch in Saleria, over 200,000 to 300,000 units were sold out of the 500,000 initial shipments.

Discontinuation
In September 2010, Neofun announced that the Neofun Alpha had been discontinued in order to focus on the Neofun Nitro. First-party developer support for the console was discontinued in 2011, while third-party developer support for the console was discontinued in 2014.

Marketing and distribution
In Saleria and European territories (except in Italy), the console was distributed by Neofun. In Italy, it was distributed by GiG Electronics until 2006, where its distribution rights were bought by Neofun. In North America, it was distributed by Neofun USA, while in Japan and Oceania, it was distributed by Neofun Asia.

Technical specifications

 * CPU: 700MHz IBM PowerPC 750CXe
 * GPU: Custom ATI Graphics Processing Unit, running at 162 MHz and capable of running up to 10 GFLOPS (based on the Radeon R100 architecture)
 * RAM: Up to 64MB of system memory
 * Audio: Custom 16-bit DSP with 64 simultaneous channels, 48KHz sampling frequency, ADPCM encoding, and Dolby Digital Surround Sound output
 * Video Modes: 480i60, 480p60 (NTSC games only), 576i50 (PAL games only), 720p (select games only, can only be connected via either Component or D-Terminal)
 * Connectivity:
 * 4 controller ports, 2 memory card slots
 * 1 serial port for a broadband or modem adaptor
 * 1 expansion port
 * Analog AV Out: S-Video (NTSC consoles only), composite, RGBS (SCART) (PAL consoles only)
 * Digital AV Out: Component, D-Terminal
 * Storage:
 * 12 cm DVD-R-DL disc (approximately 8.5GB)
 * Memory card (up to 32MB in capacity)
 * Power: DC 12V, 3.25 A

Storage
The Neofun Alpha features two memory card slots. Over the console's lifespan, there are official, Neofun-manufactured memory cards ranging from 2MB to 32MB. In addition to that, third-party memory cards that feature capacities higher than 32MB are available. Recently, memory cards with SD card slot are also available, which they're designed to run backups and homebrews.

Controller
The Neofun Alpha controller features a design that shares similarly to the Sony PlayStation 2, the redesigned original Xbox controller and the Nintendo GameCube. The controller features two analog sticks, four shoulder buttons (L1, L2, R1, R2), a D-pad, action buttons (A, B, X, Y), SELECT and START buttons, and a FUNCTION button.

Official and third-party controllers for the console are available. A official wireless controller was released under the name Neowave Alpha.

First-party/officially licensed

 * Neofun Alpha DVD Player Add-On - Allows the console to play DVD-Video discs with that add-on.
 * Neofun Alpha Broadband/Modem Connector - Allows the console to connect to the Neonet online service and play with other users on the Internet.
 * NeofunTV - Allows the console to receive analog and digital TV signals. Two versions of the add-on were released, one for NTSC consoles in North America that supports analog NTSC and ATSC signals and another for PAL consoles that supports analog PAL and DVB-T signals. A DVB-T2 model was later released in PAL territories in 2011, one year after the console's discontinuation.
 * Logitech Speed Force Racing Wheel
 * Neoboard Keyboard Controller
 * Hori Fighting Stick

Reception
During its launch, the Neofun Alpha received positive reviews from critics and journalists. The Daily Saleriaian gave the console a 4.5/5 rating, noting its inexpensive price, its selection of games, has a good controller design, and a relatively powerful hardware. Some reviewers compared the console to the Nintendo GameCube due to its somewhat similar specifications. The console gave a "Product of The Year Award" at the 2002 Saleriaian Consumer and Trade Expo.