Overview
- Plaion and SNK announced the near‑year postponement on Wednesday after deciding they could not produce enough units for the planned late‑2026 launch.
- The companies blame global component shortages, especially memory chips, combined with demand that exceeded projections for their decision to push the release date.
- Existing pre‑orders remain valid, keep priority in the production queue, and will not see any price increase from the previously advertised hardware costs.
- Plaion describes the AES+ as a hardware‑faithful re‑engineering using ASICs rather than emulation, with full original cartridge compatibility, low‑latency HDMI output, 1080p support, on‑screen BIOS and DIP switch options, and reported retail prices around $249.99 for the standard unit.
- Plaion says it will use the extra time to secure parts, scale manufacturing, add licensed games and include a Founding Supporter Bonus for launch buyers; observers note ongoing consumer skepticism about ownership ties and whether the re‑engineered ASICs will match original hardware authenticity.