Although we've got a more in-depth interview tomorrow, I couldn't resist myself. Almost wholly by accident, I managed to stumble into a lengthy conversation with Mr. Ben Herman, president of the newly-reformed SNK NeoGeo USA. He was unexpectedly responsive, friendly, and open to the obsessive Insert Credit style of curiosity.
In brief, here are some of the most prurient items of discussion.
It appears that Mr. Kawasaki, the current head of Playmore, was the original chief of SNK. The new "Playmore" name for his post-Aruze venture is tied into the whole legal mess dealing with Aruze's dismantlement of SNK and absorption of all related properties. In short, Aruze owned the SNK name. It wasn't until recently that Playmore reclaimed the property -- thus the new SNK NeoGeo branches in Korea, Hong Kong, and the US.
I speculate that this snafu might also explain the conspicuous removal of any trace of the SNK logo in the recent King of Fighters DC ports.
At any rate, the current Playmore is made up almost entirely of former SNK staff. Mr. Herman was unsure about exactly what happened to Brezza, or who precisely was behind some of the more recent projects -- SVC CHAOS, Metal Slug GBA -- but they're all familiar faces, nonetheless.
I voiced some concern about SNK's famously mysterious nature. For a company with such obsessive, passionate fans, SNK has never really given its audience much tangible process on the faces behind the games. I know that I'm not the only one who would love to know the original composer for the King of Fighters series, for instance.
In terms of future releases, we've got a tantalizing mix of the typical maybes winks and smiles, with some wholly unexpected revelations.
There will be a King of Fighters 2003. Well, maybe. Probably. "It would make sense", as Mr. Herman put it. What is certain, however, is the upcoming "King of Fighters 3D", for PS2. Whether this is a wholy original project or a port of Uno Technology's King of Fighters Online, we have yet to clarify.
While the game hasn't yet been given the okay, Mr. Herman is vocally enthusiastic about a new version of Baseball Stars. From his tone, it's apparent that he really wants to see this game made.
The announced GBA SNK vs Capcom game is indeed a fighter, as generally assumed. There are no current plans for a new version of Card Fighters Clash, although my question seemed to come as a surprise.
It was an even trade. In response to a question about Ikari Warriors, Mr. Herman revealed a series of upcoming classic SNK ports for the Xbox. The Ikari Warriors games are a probability. Athena? Psycho Soldier. Maybe. Sure. Any pre-Neogeo stuff (at least) seems to be game.
Playmore does not intend to support the Gamecube, however, putting into question the recent rumors of multiplatform ports for SVC CHAOS. "As much as we love Nintendo's hardware," Mr. Herman frowned, "it just costs too much." They're waiting for Nintendo's next system before investing themselves.
Mr. Herman was coy about the murmurs of new SNK hardware, although he admitted that it sure looks like something's going on.
As a final note, Mr. Herman is still visibly irritated about the old NGPC problem -- as much as any SNK fan. As far as it went, he considers the system a success. It was a matter of pride for him. If this kind of passion continues, I think that the second time might just be the charm for SNK.
Eric-Jon Waugh
