 | |
 Headquarters in Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, since 2023 | |
Native name | 株式会社SNK |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Esu Enu Kei |
| Formerly |
|
| Company type | Kabushiki gaisha |
| Founded | July 22, 1978; 46 years ago (1978-07-22) (as Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation) August 1, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-08-01) (as Playmore Corporation) |
| Founder | Eikichi Kawasaki |
| Defunct | October 30, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-10-30) (original) |
| Headquarters | Suita, Osaka, Japan (1978–2023) Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, Japan (2023–present) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Revenue |  ¥3,105,000,000 (2017)[3] |
| ¥115,000,000 (2015)[3] | |
| Owner | MiSK Foundation (96.18%)[4] |
Number of employees | 286 (as of August 1, 2023)[5] |
| Divisions |
|
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | www |
SNK Corporation (株式会社SNK,Kabushiki-gaisha Esu Enu Kē)[6] is a Japanesevideo gaming and interactive entertainment company.[7][8][9][10] It was founded in 1978 asShin Nihon Kikaku by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developingarcade games. SNK is known for itsNeo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises during the 1990s, includingArt of Fighting,Fatal Fury,Metal Slug,Samurai Shodown, andThe King of Fighters; they continue to develop and publish new titles on contemporary arcade and home platforms. Since the 2000s, SNK have diversified from their traditional arcade focus intopachislot machines, mobile game development, and character licensing.
In 2001, due to financial troubles, the original SNK Corporation was forced to close. Anticipating the end of the company, founder Kawasaki establishedPlaymore Corporation, which acquired all of the intellectual property of the SNK Corporation. In 2003, Playmore Corporation was renamed toSNK Playmore Corporation. In 2016, SNK dropped "Playmore" from its name and reintroduced its old slogan, "The Future Is Now". It has been owned by the Saudi ArabianMiSK Foundation since 2022.
SNK was founded in 1973 as Shin Nihon Kikaku and reorganized on July 22, 1978 as a stock company (kabushiki gaisha) under the name "Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation".[11][1] When Eikichi Kawasaki noticed rapid growth in the coin-operated video game market, he expanded Shin Nihon Kikaku to include the development and marketing of stand-alonecoin-op games.
The company was nicknamed "Shin Nihon Kikaku" in katakana at first; however, since 1981, it has been changed to "SNK" by taking the initials from the Roman alphabet (Shin Nihon Kikaku). The English copyright notation was also "SNK CORPORATION". It established itself inSunnyvale, California, to deliver its own brand of coin-operated games to arcades in North America. SNK chose John Rowe to head its American operation.
The first two titles that SNK released wereOzma Wars (1979), a vertical spaceshooter, andSafari Rally (1980), a maze game. Game quality improved over time, most notably withVanguard (1981), a side-scrolling space shooter. SNK licensed the game toCenturi for distribution in North America. Centuri started manufacturing and distributing the game by itself when profits exceeded projections.[12] In part due to the success ofVanguard, SNK began to gain fame and reputation. An American branch opened on October 20, 1981, namedSNK Electronics Corporation.[13]
In April 1986, the company name was changed to the nickname "SNK", but the registered trade name had to beSNK Corporation.[14][7][8][9][10] This is because theMinistry of Justice at the time did not allow the registration of business names inalphabets.[a] In November 1986, the American subsidiarySNK Corporation of America[15] was born in Sunnyvale, California.[16][17] In March 1988, SNK staff moved to a building inSuita,Osaka, Japan.[18]
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 earlyconsoles. Between 1979 and 1986, SNK produced 23 stand-alone arcade games. Highlights from this period includeMad Crasher (1984),Alpha Mission (1985), andAthena (1986), a game that gained a large following when it was ported to theNintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987. SNK's most successful game from this time wasIkari Warriors, released in 1986. It was licensed and ported to theAtari 2600,Atari 7800,Commodore 64,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Apple II,ZX Spectrum, and NES. AfterIkari Warriors, SNK released two sequels:Victory Road andIkari III: The Rescue.[12]
At the time, Japan was affected by thevideo game crash of 1983. The console manufacturerNintendo remained in business throughout and after the crash. SNK became a third-party licensee for Nintendo's Famicom (alternative name for the NES) system in 1985. It opened a second branch in the US, called SNK Home Entertainment, based inTorrance, California. The branch handled the North American distribution and marketing of the company's products for home consoles. John Rowe had already left the company to formTradewest, which went on to market theIkari Warriors series in North America. Paul Jacobs took over Rowe's position over both halves of SNK America. He is known for having helped launch the company's Neo Geo system outside of Asia.[12]
In response to strong sales of the company's NES ports, SNK began to dabble in the development of original software designed specifically for the NES console. Two games came out of this effort:Baseball Stars (1989) andCrystalis (1990; known asGod Slayer in Japan). In 1989, two home video game consoles were released in North America: theSega Genesis, andNEC andHudson Soft'sTurboGrafx-16. Nintendo followed suit with a new system in 1991, theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES, SNES). SNK as a whole did not become involved in the "system wars" of the early 1990s. Instead, it refocused its efforts on arcades. Other third parties, such asRomstar andTakara, were left to license and port SNK's properties to the various home consoles of the time with help from SNK's American home entertainment division. With console ports mainly handled outside the company, it moved on to developing SNK-branded arcade equipment.[12] SNK also licensedTiger Electronics to markethandheld electronic games from some of its brands.
In 1988, SNK created the idea of a modular cabinet for arcades. Up to that point, arcade cabinets typically contained only one game. When an arcade operator wanted to switch or replace that game, it would have to completely remove the internals of the existing cabinet or exchange the entire setup for another game. SNK's new system, called theNeo Geo MVS (short for Multi Video System), developed byFatal Fury andThe King of Fighters directorTakashi Nishiyama, featured multiple games in a single cabinet and used a cartridge-based storage mechanism. The system debuted in 1990 and could contain one, two, four, or six separate games in a single cabinet. To swap in a new game, all the operator had to do was remove one cartridge and exchange it for another. The MVS was an immediate success. It greatly shortened the setup time needed for each game, minimized floor space for cabinets, and reduced costs for new cartridges to US$500—less than half of what a traditional arcade unit cost at the time.[12]
SNK wanted to bring arcade games to people's homes without makingCPU andmemory performance compromises that typical home consoles were forced to make. In 1990, the Neo Geo family was created. The company released a home version of the MVS, a single cartridge unit called theNeo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (Neo Geo AES). Initially, the AES was only available for rent or for use in hotel settings, but SNK quickly began selling the system through stores when customer response indicated that people were willing to spend money on home versions. Several franchises of games derived from it, includingSengoku,The King of Fighters,The Last Blade,Super Sidekicks,Art of Fighting,Metal Slug,Burning Fight,Savage Reign,Samurai Shodown, andFatal Fury. TheKing of Fighters,Samurai Shodown, andMetal Slug series were continued on later consoles. SNK also helped publish third-party Neo Geo games such asADK'sWorld Heroes andAggressors of Dark Kombat,Visco'sBreakers andGanryu,Noise Factory'sRage of the Dragons andSengoku 3,Sunsoft'sGalaxy Fight: Universal Warriors andWaku Waku 7,Sammy'sViewpoint,NMK'sZed Blade,Psikyo'sStrikers 1945 Plus,Aiky/Taito'sPochi and Nyaa,Paon/Eleven/Gavaking'sNightmare in the Dark, Face'sMoney Puzzle Exchanger,Data East'sSpinmaster andStreet Slam, andTechnōs Japan'sDouble Dragon andVoltage Fighter Gowcaizer. During this time, SNK also released stand-alone arcade games, some of which were ported to home consoles, includingVanguard,Alpha Mission,Athena,Ikari Warriors,Psycho Soldier,Touch Down Fever,Time Soldiers,P.O.W.: Prisoners of War,Beast Busters, andStreet Smart.[12]
Compared to other consoles at the time, the Neo Geo AES had much better graphics and sound;[12] It debuted at $599 (equivalent to $1,383 in 2024), sold with two joystick controllers and a game (eitherBaseball Stars Professional orNAM-1975). Within a few months of the system's introduction in North America, SNK increased the cost to $649 and changed the pack-in game toMagician Lord. Alternatively, the console could be bought for $399 with one control stick and without an accompanying game. Other games cost at least $200 each. Joystick controllers contained the same four-button layout as the arcade MVS cabinet. The quality of AES games varied. Some, such as theSuper Sidekicks series, were all-new creations, while others were updated versions of earlier successes, such asBaseball Stars Professional. SNK games were graphically bold and bright. Games such asTop Hunter: Roddy & Cathy and the famousMetal Slug series were distinctive and instantly recognizable, contributing to the system's success in arcades.
SNK also produced theNeo Geo CD home console, theHyper Neo-Geo 64 arcade system, and twohandheld game consoles, theNeo Geo Pocket andPocket Color. Several more famous franchise titles, originally created for the MVS and AES systems, have been ported to other consoles such as theGenesis,Saturn andDreamcast; SNES;PlayStation andPlayStation 2;Xbox; andWii.
The Neo Geo Pocket was SNK's original handheld system. It was released in Japan in late 1998 and featured amonochrome (one-color) display. Because its sales were fewer than the expected number, it was discontinued in 1999 in favor of the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was later released in North America and Europe.
In 1999, SNK opened the Neo Geo World Tokyo Baysideamusement park as part of thePalette Town entertainment complex inOdaiba, Tokyo equipped with attractions such as Ferris wheels and roller coasters. A large-scaletie-in was established with theFujisankei Communications Group, owners of the nearby television stationFuji TV, and was frequently promoted in various media.
However, by the late 1990s, the 2D fighting game boom, which had been behind much of SNK's recent success, had come to an end, and both the Neo Geo CD and Hyper Neo Geo 64 failed to meet sales expectations. At the same time, the Neo Geo Pocket, while initially selling well, began to fall behind in the market after the release of theGame Boy Color, and Neo Geo World Tokyo Bayside quickly lost attendance after the re-opening ofYokohama Cosmo World a few months later, with the park considered to be a massive failure. In addition, the arcade game magazineGamest, one of the biggest promoters of SNK titles, ceased publication after its publisherShinseisha declared bankruptcy in 1999.
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, as well as the move to 3D, they were unable to adjust to the changing market. Their newer 3D hardwareHyper Neo Geo 64 was a large failure and the amusement parks opened in Japan also proved to be failing.[19]
SNK tried to develop more titles for the third-party home console market, such asShinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden,Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life,Koudelka, andCool Cool Toon, but as none of them sold well it left the company's financial situation in a dire state. In January 2000, SNK's poor financial status led to its acquisition byAruze, a company known for itspachinko machines and the parent company of its competitorSETA. Instead of developing video games using SNK's intellectual properties, Aruze manufactured pachinko machines that featured popular series such asKing of Fighters. SNK saw little success in the video game market.[20]
The same year,Capcom agreed to create a series of fighting games featuring both companies' fighting game characters. TheCapcom vs. SNK games were a success, however most of the profits went to Capcom because it developed and published the games. SNK releasedSNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium andSNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Combined, the two games sold around 50,000 copies.
SNK closed all American, Canadian and European operations, on June 13, 2000.[21][22] The company sold rights to distribution in North America for MVS arcade systems and Neo Print photo systems. It licensed North American localizations of some console releases to outside companies. With low morale and an unclear future, many of the company's employees left their jobs.[11] Some joined rivalsCapcom andArc System Works, and others moved on to found the developerDimps. Kawasaki, along with five other former SNK executives, funded the formation of BrezzaSoft, which continued to develop Neo Geo games such asThe King of Fighters 2001.[12]
With a total debt of about 38 billion yen, SNK gave up on voluntary reconstruction, and on April 2, 2001, SNK applied for the application of the Civil Rehabilitation Law to the Osaka District Court.[23] The application was accepted, and the revitalization procedures were once proceeded, and the head office returned to Suita City, Osaka Prefecture.[24][25] The district court decided to abolish the civil rehabilitation proceedings on October 1, of the same year,[26][27] and declaredbankruptcy on October 30.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34] Licenses for SNK's game production and development rights to its franchises were sold to several other companies. These included BrezzaSoft, which producedThe King of Fighters 2001, such as South Korean-basedEolith, which producedThe King of Fighters franchise between 2001 and2002, andMega Enterprise, which producedMetal Slug 4.[12]
Established asPlaymore Corporation on August 1, 2001.[35][36] It was originally an affiliate of the former SNK. Initially, it was a legal company specializing in copyright management services, and it would be incorrect to refer to the former SNK as its predecessor company. On October 30, of the same year, the company won the company'sintellectual property rights in a bid made during the bankruptcy of the former SNK.
To re-establish its presence in the gaming market, Playmore acquired BrezzaSoft and its former SNK developers, as well as Japan-based Neo Geo developerNoise Factory. Sun Amusement, a Japanese commercial games distributor, was acquired by SNK to provide the company with an arcade distribution outlet in Japan. International offices were established in South Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States under the name SNK NeoGeo for commercial and, later, consumer gaming distribution.[37] In July 2003, with the permission of Eikichi Kawasaki, the founder of the former SNK company, and after it reacquired the rights to SNK trademark from Aruze, the company changed its name toSNK Playmore Corporation.[38][39] In the same year, SNK purchasedADK shortly after it filed for bankruptcy. Previously, ADK was a third-party company that had been heavily associated with SNK since the late 1980s. SNK Playmore's operations in Japan already largely resembled the original company: SNK employed many employees who left after its bankruptcy filing and occupied its former building.[12]
In October 2002, Kawasaki sued Aruze for copyright infringement, claiming 6.2 billionJapanese yen (US$49,446,510) in damages. He cited that Aruze had continued to use SNK's intellectual properties after Playmore re-acquired them. A preliminary decision in January 2004 by the Osaka District Court favored SNK Playmore, awarding it 5.64 billion yen (US$44,980,374).[citation needed]
In the fall and winter of 2003, SNK Playmore obtained an injunction against a group of four different companies, causing hundreds of AES cartridges to be seized. In the following year, SNK Playmore struck a compromise with two of the companies. The two were allowed to sell AES cartridges, under the conditions that the cartridges would not be modified again and that any legitimate materials would be returned to SNK Playmore.
Within the same year, SNK Playmore would discontinue the AES system, preferring to publish video games in cooperation withSammy. Using its arcade boardAtomiswave, SNK Playmore gained a more secure and modern platform for new arcade releases.[40] In 2004, SNK Playmore officially became licensed to manufacturepachislot machines (Japanese slot machines played in pachinko parlors). The company released its first two machines that year:Metal Slug andDragon Gal. Pachislots would be more heavily featured in SNK Playmore's product lineup for the next decade.[41]
In September 2006 at theTokyo Game Show (TGS), SNK Playmore announced that it had ceased producing games on the Atomiswave, favoringTaito's Type X2 arcade platform. To counter the decline in the commercial gaming industry, the company shifted some of its development focus to consumer games, including original games for the PlayStation 2,Nintendo DS,mobile phones, and other platforms. Games continue to be ported to the PlayStation 2, mostly in Europe becauseSony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) did not approve most SNK Playmore games, and more rarely to the Xbox. In Japan, SNK Playmore released theNeoGeo Online Collection for the PlayStation 2, which contained some of its older games. It featured emulations, and online play was available through theKDDI matching service. The company also released original titles based on existing franchises such asMetal Slug and theKOF: Maximum Impact series.
In 2007, SNK Playmore USA released its first game on theXbox Live Arcade, titledFatal Fury Special.[42] SNK Playmore also began supporting Nintendo'sVirtual Console service on the Wii in the US withFatal Fury,Art of Fighting, andWorld Heroes. In 2007,The King of Fighters XI andNeo Geo Battle Coliseum were released. SNK Playmore also released its first adult-themed game franchise,Doki Doki Majo Shinpan!, the first for any handheld console. In 2009, the company releasedThe King of Fighters XII, which was not well-received by the public and critics alike due to polemic changes in the game's graphics and structure. In 2010, SNK Playmore released a sequel,The King of Fighters XIII, which was considered a much better game than its immediate predecessor. It either won or was nominated to multipleGame of the Year awards.
SNK has developed a great number ofmobile games since 2009.[43] It has licensed its characters for Chinese and other Asian games, mostly mobile.
In December 2012, SNK Playmore released theNeo Geo X, a relaunched mobile Neo Geo console. On October 2, 2013, SNK Playmore terminated its licensing agreement with the console's manufacturer,Tommo, effectively ending production of the Neo Geo X less than a year after its release.[44][45] Tommo disputed the termination, stating that its contract was extended until 2016 and that it performed every obligation of the licensing agreement.[46]
In June 2013, theVIGAMUS, a museum of video games in Rome,[47] hosted an event dedicated to the history of SNK, tracing back the origins of the company and explaining the evolution of its games. Yamamoto Kei, Kiyoji Tomita, and Ogura Eisuke participated at the event and were interviewed. Ogura also drew two original illustrations to exhibit at the museum.[48]
In March 2015,Leyou Technologies Holdings submitted a disclosure of interest document to theHong Kong Stock Exchange, highlighting a "possible investment in a renowned Japanese video game developer".[49] Later in August, it was announced that Chinese web and mobile game giant37Games, and asset management firm Orient Securities had formed a joint venture to invest in Ledo Millennium, a subsidiary of Leyou. Through Ledo, the venture acquired Kawasaki's 81.25% stake in SNK Playmore for $63.5 million. The reason given for the acquisition was to gain rights to SNK Playmore's intellectual property, and further develop them by followingMarvel Entertainment's approach to mass media. The joint venture planned to integrate games, comics, film, and television in a media franchise.[50][51]
With the purchase completed, SNK Playmore signaled a shift in the company's strategy, which had previously been focused more on the production of pachislot and mobile games than its traditional area, console and arcade games. In November 2015, SNK Playmore announced that it was withdrawing from the pachislot market,[52] choosing instead to focus on console and mobile gaming, as well as character licensing[53] using its popular characters such asMai Shiranui, Ukyou Tachibana,Nakoruru, andHaohmaru. Additionally, all of the aforementioned characters made their appearance as guest characters in a mobilemultiplayer online battle arena (MOBA),Wangzhe Rongyao, roughly translated to English asHonor of Kings, which is the world highest-grossing game of all time as well as the most downloaded mobile app globally.[54]
On April 25, 2016, SNK officially dropped the "Playmore" name from its corporate logo and reintroduced its old slogan, "The Future Is Now", to signify "a return to SNK's rich gaming history".[55] A legal name change from SNK Playmore Corporation to SNK Corporation followed on December 1, 2016,[6][56] to more firmly establish SNK Playmore as the successor to the old SNK brand and legacy.[38]The King of Fighters XIV, the first entry in its series in more than half a decade, was released in 2016. In July 2018, SNK released the NEOGEO Mini, a miniature console based on the design of the company's Japanese arcade machines. It was pre-loaded with forty classic Neo Geo games.[57]
In June 2019, the 12th entry in theSamurai Shodown[58] series was released for thePlayStation 4 andXbox One, followed by an arcade version in October and aNintendo Switch version later in the year.
On September 4, 2019, Nintendo announced thatFatal Fury protagonist andThe King of Fighters characterTerry Bogard would be added as a downloadable, playable character toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, with a planned release in November 2019.[59] Terry was made available on November 6, alongside aThe King of Fighters-based stage and 50 songs from various SNK series.[60]
In November 2020, theMiSK Foundation, a non-profit organization owned by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia,Mohammed bin Salman, acquired a 33.3% share of SNK from the Chinese company Ledo Millenium through its subsidiary, Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), with the intention to acquire a further 17.7% share at a later time as to gain controlling interest in the company.[61][62]
In April 2021, three board members dispatched from Saudi Arabia were appointed. EGDC announced its intention to acquire 51% through additional purchases.[63] In February 2022, EGDC's ownership share was increased to 96.18%.[4][64][65] In May, of the same year, SNK notifies the delisting of its shares on theKorea Exchange (KOSDAQ) and EGDC's future plans to acquire all of the company's shares becoming its wholly owned subsidiary.[66] On March 20, 2023, SNK relocated its main headquarters toYodogawa-ku, Osaka.[67]
In June 28, 2024, SNK opened aSingaporean branch calledSNK Games Singapore, and is currently re-expanding its global reach.[68]
On December 30, 2024, SNK announced the establishment of a new division known as KOF Studio to develop future projects in their fighting game franchises.[69]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(February 2025) |
SNK is best recognized for its 2Dfightingarcade games, most of which were released during the 1990s on their ownNeo Geo arcade system. The first of these was 1991'sFatal Fury: King of Fighters — the first title of theFatal Fury series — after which numerous other fighting games were released includingWorld Heroes,Art of Fighting,Aggressors of Dark Kombat, and the popularSamurai Shodown. This then led to what is often seen as the company's most famous franchise,The King of Fighters — the first title in this series was 1994'sThe King of Fighters '94.[12] These franchises also consist of numerous notable characters that have since become icons of SNK, such asTerry Bogard,Kyo Kusanagi andMai Shiranui. In other genres, theMetal Slugrun and gun series is also one of SNK's most well known franchises.
.jpg)
SNK designed and released theNeo Geo (stylized NEOGEO) on April 26, 1990,[70] anarcade cabinet that could store multiple games in one. It used swappable cartridges as opposed to other arcade machines at the time, and this was a factor in its popularity, a key economic consideration for operators with limited floorspace. The system, known as MVS (Multi Video System), was a big success for SNK and it was the platform from which many of SNK's big franchises originated from.[12] The hardware features comparatively colorful2Dgraphics. The hardware was in part designed byAlpha Denshi (later ADK).[71][unreliable source?]
The Neo Geo also had avideo game console variant, often named the AES (Advanced Entertainment System), using the same cartridge media. Initially, the home system was only available forrent to commercial establishments, such as hotel chains, bars and restaurants, and other venues. When customer response indicated that some gamers were willing to buy a US$650 console, SNK expanded sales and marketing into the home console market. ACD-based equivalent home console was later released, calledNeo Geo CD. SNK produced the Neo Geo until 1997 while new software continued to be released for it until 2004.[12] Reincarnations of the Neo Geo continue to be made to this day both by SNK and officially licensed third-parties; the first of these was theNeo Geo X handheld released in 2012,[72] followed by the Neo Geo Mini in 2018.[73]
The company developed and produced a number of other hardware during the 1990s after the Neo Geo, all of which were short-lived and commercially unsuccessful. TheHyper Neo Geo 64 arcade board, released in 1997, was designed to be a modern follow-up to Neo Geo with3D graphical capabilties, however it was a significant failure and few games were made for the platform.[74] SNK then developed and released the handheld game device Neo Geo Pocket for the Japanese market, and its follow-upNeo Geo Pocket Color with a color display, released globally; both of these were discontinued by 2000 in the West, and then in 2001 when the original SNK went bankrupt.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
