35 Facts About SNK

SNK Corporation is a Japanese video game hardware and software company.

SNK is known for its creation of the Neo Geo family of arcade, home, and handheld game consoles in 1990.

In 2016, SNK dropped the name Playmore from its logo and reintroduced its old slogan, "The Future Is Now", officially changing its corporate name back to SNK.

Traditionally, SNK operated primarily as a video game developer, publisher, and hardware manufacturer with a focus on arcade games; however, it has ventured into developing console and PC games.

In 2004, SNK started manufacturing pachislot machines, but the company withdrew from the market in 2015.

Related searches

Classic SNK franchises include Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade, World Heroes, Twinkle Star Sprites, and The King of Fighters.

SNK was founded in 1973 as Shin Nihon Kikaku and reorganized in 1978 as a stock company under the name "Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation".

SNK licensed the game to Centuri for distribution in North America.

At this point, the Japanese operations of SNK Corporation had shifted their focus solely toward developing and licensing video games for arcade use and later for early consoles.

SNK became a third-party licensee for Nintendo's Famicom system in 1985.

SNK is known for having helped launch the company's Neo Geo system outside of Asia.

SNK licensed Tiger Electronics to market handheld electronic games from some of its brands.

SNK wanted to bring arcade games to people's homes without making CPU and memory performance compromises that typical home consoles were forced to make.

SNK released a home version of the MVS, a single cartridge unit called the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System .

SNK produced the Neo Geo CD home console, the Hyper Neo-Geo 64 arcade system, and two handheld game consoles, the Neo Geo Pocket and Pocket Color.

In 1999, SNK opened the Neo Geo World Tokyo Bayside amusement park as part of the Palette Town entertainment complex in Odaiba, Tokyo equipped with attractions such as Ferris wheels and roller coasters.

SNK had focused on the booming arcade industry for the 1990s, but as interest in arcades fell in favor of home and portable consoles going into the 2000s, they were unable to adjust to the changing market, with their recent hardware releases selling poorly and attempts to diversify into new markets such as amusement parks failing.

SNK tried to develop more titles for the home console market, such as Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden, Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life, Koudelka, and Cool Cool Toon, but as none of them sold well it left the company's financial situation in a dire state.

The Capcom vs SNK games were a success, however most of the profits went to Capcom because it developed and published the games.

SNK sold rights to distribution in North America for MVS arcade systems and Neo Print photo systems.

Kawasaki, along with five other former SNK executives, funded the formation of BrezzaSoft, which continued to develop Neo Geo games such as The King of Fighters 2001.

SNK then began to bolster its assets and re-hire former SNK employees.

Sun Amusement, a Japanese commercial games distributor, was acquired by SNK to provide the company with an arcade distribution outlet in Japan.

SNK cited that Aruze had continued to use SNK's intellectual properties after Playmore re-acquired them.

SNK released its first two machines that year: Metal Slug and Dragon Gal.

Related searches

In September 2006 at the Tokyo Game Show, SNK Playmore announced that it had ceased producing games on the Atomiswave, favoring Taito's Type X2 arcade platform.

In Japan, SNK Playmore released the NeoGeo Online Collection for the PlayStation 2, which contained some of its older games.

SNK released original titles based on existing franchises such as Metal Slug and the KOF: Maximum Impact series.

SNK Playmore began supporting Nintendo's Virtual Console service on the Wii in the US with Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and World Heroes.

In 2010, SNK Playmore released a sequel, The King of Fighters XIII, which was considered a much better game than its immediate predecessor.

SNK has developed a great number of mobile games since 2009.

In December 2012, SNK Playmore released the Neo Geo X, a relaunched mobile Neo Geo console.

In June 2013, the VIGAMUS, a museum of video games in Rome, hosted an event dedicated to the history of SNK, tracing back the origins of the company and explaining the evolution of its games.

In 2015, SNK Playmore announced that it was withdrawing from the pachislot market, choosing instead to focus on console and mobile gaming, as well as character licensing using its popular characters such as Mai Shiranui, Ukyou Tachibana, Nakoruru, and Haohmaru.

In July 2018, SNK released the NEOGEO Mini, a miniature console based on the design of the company's Japanese arcade machines.