Official SNK Neo-Geo Book: NEOGEO: A VISUAL HISTORY ネオジオ〜目で楽しむ軌跡〜 (Publisher Bitmap Books)

frazer99

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Official SNK Neo-Geo Book: NEOGEO: A VISUAL HISTORY ネオジオ〜目で楽しむ軌跡〜 (Publisher Bitmap Books)

I'm pleased and proud to announce the upcoming officially licensed SNK Book: NEOGEO: A VISUAL HISTORY ネオジオ〜目で楽しむ軌跡〜

For a good while now I've been working with Bitmap Books (@bitmap_books) to produce a book that documents the official history of the Neo-Geo focusing in particular on the design and art of SNK/Neo-Geo.

I've not been working on this alone, two respected members of this forum, Massimiliano (Massi) and NeoTurfmasta have also been key contributors and their input has been invaluable many thanks guys.

For those of you who haven't heard of Bitmap Books, Sam Dyer has produced a number of quality high quality publications notably on the Commodore 64, Super Famicom and very recently the NES/Famicom: a visual compendium. His work and design is of such a high standard, SNK were happy based on an initial concept pack to trust Sam to create a product which is befitting of the Neo-Geo.

In keeping with other Bitmap Books, this will be in hardback form however the quality has been lifted even higher to ensure this really is the ultimate Neo-Geo book.

It will feature an initial history section and then move on to game art, concept works, box art, advertising and stunning high quality photos of SNK hardware and the software. The book will conclude with interviews from key personnel at SNK - Yasuyuki Oda, Tatsuhiko Kanaoka (Falcoon) and Hideki Asanaka (Sha-V) and a round table interview with Massi, Brian and I.

The book will be A4 format and will be available in both standard edition and a collectors edition which will come in a metallic gold slipcase.

We expect the book to be available for pre-order in May 2017 with a publication data of Summer 2017.

Announcement notice here: http://eepurl.com/cCq7Vj

Im sure there will be a lot of interest in this book worldwide. I will be online for the next few hours and will aim to answer any questions.

Many thanks,

Frazer

Launch%20image_zps3ee37ubt.jpg
 
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SNK_Pro

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Awesome stuff Frazer, well done. (And of course Massi and NTM as well!) Will be straight on the preorder when it goes up!
 
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xsq

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Hey, this is great! Congratulations for getting SNK to back you guys on this.

Is this the same project as was initially proposed through Kickstarter? I had heard good things about Bitmap Books, but never knew that very respectable members of this community were involved - and to have Oda, Falcoon and Sha-V interviews in there will sure be interesting.

What will the content of the interviews with SNK personnel be like?
Are there any chances to get other SNK employees perspectives into the book?
Why do you think a roundtable with you guys should be in there?
The book will be in English, right? Why is the subtitle in Japanese?

The announcement at Bitmap Books mentions you have had some kind of access to "the SNK archives".
Did you find any material not yet released?
Will the book clear up questions that have plagued the minds of this community for decades?
Have you gone over to SNK personally?
What are those archives like? Is there a secret vault? Where are they located (Japan, China, ...)?


I'm stoked for the book and will sure try to pick it up - as a cheap MVS gamer I didn't get to see too much of the art yet ;)
 
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frazer99

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Hi xsq,

Glad your happy about the book. I will try and answer as many of your questions as I can at this stage:

Firstly we are not linked with the Kickstarter project which is a translation of an existing French NeoGeo Book. The Bitmap Book is a separate project, licensed and supported by SNK.

What will the content of the interviews with SNK personnel be like? - We have submitted a number of questions to the SNK personnel - these cover their involvement with SNK, their thoughts/perspectives on the NeoGeo as well as covering the detail of their work - the tools they use, influences etc.

Are there any chances to get other SNK employees perspectives into the book? - SNK put forward their suggestions if you will. I can confirm that Yutaka Noguchi will write the foreword.

Why do you think a roundtable with you guys should be in there? - we've had a lot of input into the book. The images in the book are from our collections and we've helped contribute to the design but we also wanted to contribute the fans view - again what does the NeoGeo mean to the fans/what were those early days like when the NeoGeo launched in the UK, USA, Italy for example.

The book will be in English, right? Why is the subtitle in Japanese? - Yes english. Duel language was considered. If popular a Japanese translation may be an option. Although published by Bitmap Books, SNK Japan are 100% behind and support the book - they are as excited by the book as we are!

The mentions you have had some kind of access to "the SNK archives" - Yes Bitmap Books have access to the SNK assets.

Did you find any material not yet released? - we have items in the book that we anticipate people outside of SNK may not have seen before yes.

Will the book clear up questions that have plagued the minds of this community for decades? - We've been trying hard to try and secure the answers to some of the outstanding questions yes.

Have you gone over to SNK personally? - Not in respect of this book. I would like to go to SNK later in the year and SNK have confirmed that is fine. I'm aware Massi has visited SNK previously for a separate project.

What are those archives like? Is there a secret vault? Where are they located (Japan, China, ...)? - as we didn't go personally I can't say but I sure they are in Osaka, Japan.

Hope that helps.

Frazer
 
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[OCEAN]

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Well, now we know what happened with the other Kickstarter!
Hope this one is as ambitious as the other one was supposed to be. Having members from this community participating makes me quite excited about it, looking forward more news about its contents!
I got the Super Famicom book from Bitmap Books and have mixed feelings about that one: the pictures and edition are absolutely gorgeous, but the writing is really poor IMHO.
Any love for the NGP in the book? ;)
Best of luck with this!!!
 

frazer99

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Well, now we know what happened with the other Kickstarter!
Hope this one is as ambitious as the other one was supposed to be. Having members from this community participating makes me quite excited about it, looking forward more news about its contents!
I got the Super Famicom book from Bitmap Books and have mixed feelings about that one: the pictures and edition are absolutely gorgeous, but the writing is really poor IMHO.
Any love for the NGP in the book? ;)
Best of luck with this!!!

Bitmap Books are more about the Art/Design so much of the focus is to include the best quality images of the hardware/software and rarities :) It's not trying to cover absolutely everything as that would end up a bit like a scrap book. We have however put a real focus into the history, hopefully debunking a few myths - we want to include info that even the most hardcore collectors have not heard about or seen rather than just rework existing content and material that's out there. The pocket will feature but only briefly as the core content is ROM/MVS/CD. Will take the point about the writing and hope we can meet your expectations.

Cheers,
Frazer
 

[OCEAN]

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Bitmap Books are more about the Art/Design so much of the focus is to include the best quality images of the hardware/software and rarities :) It's not trying to cover absolutely everything as that would end up a bit like a scrap book. We have however put a real focus into the history, hopefully debunking a few myths - we want to include info that even the most hardcore collectors have not heard about or seen rather than just rework existing content and material that's out there. The pocket will feature but only briefly as the core content is ROM/MVS/CD. Will take the point about the writing and hope we can meet your expectations.

Cheers,
Frazer

Thanks for the clarification, very glad to read it will feature some previously unreleased and original material.
 

mathieu4d

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Hey !

Glad to see that this is a serious project, and that this is actually happening !
And very glad to read that you might have some exclusive content to share.

Now my question : do you have an idea at this point of the % that will be art/design, and the % that will be text/exclusive content ?

Any way a new project is good news !
Count me in, I could have 10 books talking about the neogeo as long as each one has its own approach and is worth reading :-)
 
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frazer99

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Hi Mathieu,

I can't say the %age at this stage as we are still working on the design. We have a lot of material so currently working through this and prioritising what will make the grade, but so far the book and content is stunning.

Thanks,
Frazer
 
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xsq

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Hope that helps.
thank you for all of your answers, looking forward to more info in the future.

Like [OCEAN] I'm a big fan of the NGP(C), so it's good to know there will an honorable mention of that system in there as well.

Whishing you all the best for this project, which could very well become the definitive book on the Neo!
 

frazer99

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thank you for all of your answers, looking forward to more info in the future.

Like [OCEAN] I'm a big fan of the NGP(C), so it's good to know there will an honorable mention of that system in there as well.

Whishing you all the best for this project, which could very well become the definitive book on the Neo!

Thanks xsq - much appreciated.
 

rcantor77

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Great stuff Frazer and everyone involved... I know this has been a big piece of work to undertake.

This is something that the Neo-geo has been lacking and deserved so I can't wait to place my pre-order...
 

oliverclaude

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Is your book the reason why the translated french production was legally stopped?

Originally Posted by massimiliano

to elaborate, it is understandable why SNK had issues regarding this initiative, far from content quality... it is indeed a misfortunate coincidence that leGeek wanted to publish an English book, during the same time frame... maybe after..

Originally Posted by frazer99

The French version was OK'd by SNK. English version is a totally different ball game. There will be an announcement soon from SNK.

Asking merely to clarify things, since I couldn't enter massi's link for reasons that are way above my pay grade.
 

frazer99

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Great stuff Frazer and everyone involved... I know this has been a big piece of work to undertake.

This is something that the Neo-geo has been lacking and deserved so I can't wait to place my pre-order...

Thanks Roger, I agree - can't wait for the book to be completed and the orders to open!
 

frazer99

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Is your book the reason why the translated french production was legally stopped?

Asking merely to clarify things, since I couldn't enter massi's link for reasons that are way above my pay grade.

The kickstarter/french book is an issue between SNK and Geeksline - all I can say is that the Bitmap Book is the only official and licensed SNK Book.
 

StevenK

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Other bitmap compendiums seem to be around £25 on their site. If the neo book is a similar price I'll be on the pre order for sure.

Good work gents.
 

oliverclaude

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The kickstarter/french book is an issue between SNK and Geeksline - all I can say is that the Bitmap Book is the only official and licensed SNK Book.

Thank you, it's good to be sure. By the way, which is the right side of the Pennines now? ;).
 

daithidownunder

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Congrats, it's nice to see the involvement of forum members with this project. It sounds like it's going to be an excellent production and it's great that it's being officially endorsed by SNK.

I'll be pre-ordering this for sure.
 

frazer99

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Other bitmap compendiums seem to be around £25 on their site. If the neo book is a similar price I'll be on the pre order for sure.

Good work gents.

Pricing is to be confirmed but I expect there will also free shipping in the UK too Steven.
 

frazer99

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Congrats, it's nice to see the involvement of forum members with this project. It sounds like it's going to be an excellent production and it's great that it's being officially endorsed by SNK.

I'll be pre-ordering this for sure.

Thanks for your support - much appreciated.
 

SNK_Pro

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The kickstarter/french book is an issue between SNK and Geeksline - all I can say is that the Bitmap Book is the only official and licensed SNK Book.

Careful you don't start to sound like Dion Dakis mate. ;) :D
 
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