Time and time again, we hear people use the term "rare" and "collectible" just for the sake of using the word. But in the general scheme of real collectors items, there are some items which are by far, and without a doubt, the REAL and ULTIMATE in such collectible items. And with that in mind, we bring you pictures of some of the most amazing and rarest items to ever appear before the world of NeoGeo collectors, and within our own grasps. Behold, we are now proud to present and show to the public some of the actual OFFSET PRINTING PLATES used by the now defunct SNK Corporation of Japan to print NeoGeo AES cartridge packaging.

We will start off by showing to all what we feel is the most important find in all of the NeoGeo gaming history, the original offset plates for the English release of The King of Fighters 2000. As many may already know, the KoF2000 was an exclusive and super limited joint release by the former SNK-Japan and NeoGeoFreak/NGF-USA. It is already deemed the most rare and collectible AES cartridge to exist on the NeoGeo. 

For all the people who were smart enough to buy the game when it was released for $550, they are now being rewarded. The game quickly escalated in a price to $800, $1400, and even $2000 in the after market / collectors scene. **As of Spring 2011, the English KoF2000 is now selling between $3550-$5000 depending on condition. We can see this game jumping up in value to the likes of $8000 to $10,000 soon.

You can clearly see the pictures of the insert, full manual, and sticker on these offset printing plates. One of the manual plates NGF staff likes is the third one pictured above. It shows the prologue page, controller page, and a character page showing Kula, Mai, and Leona. A nice look at the inside pages of the manual. This clearly proves that the manual cover, as well as all the manual pages, the sticker, and of course the beautiful insert were all printed by SNK-Japan. 

Other plates we have include:
Japanese: AoF2, FFS, Fire Suplex, KoF99, Metal Slug 2, NeoGeo Cup 98, SS2, Shock Troopers 2.
English: FFS, KoF99, KoF2000, Last Blade 2, Metal Slug X, MotW, 3 Count Bout, WH2Jet.

We'll finalize other pages showing these collectors plates soon. Keep checking back to see them.

**Some of these plates are all being sold as is to any and all NeoGeo fans who may want own one of these highly collectible and sought after items. No prior status approval needed. Prices range from the low $300s to the high $2000s, depending on game and specific plate. For example, the plate for page 3 of FFS-J was sold for only $400. The Plate for a the insert of FFS-E was sold for  $1000, depending on plate ink color (C,M,Y,K) with black being the highest at $1100. Pictures available upon request. Serious inquiries only.

****NeoGeoFreak / NGF-USA categorizes these original offset printing plates as "SUPERFREAK" items****

* These offset printing plates can not be used for reproduction purposes. They are made to only to be used once. And many of the plates have overrun ink stains on them which further inhibits reproduction. That coupled with the fact that some of these sets are not 100%complete. Some are missing certain plate colors (C,M,Y,K) and some of the manual page plates are/have been lost. But the key factor is the cost involved would be staggering for a reproduction. And needed would be a sign off for the trademark allowance. These plates will be sold "AS-IS" and without reproduction trademark agreements.