It’s sad that every action SNK takes nowadays further proves how Chinese the company is.
Sup Digmac. I think I understand what you’re saying brother, but when it comes to comparing both post-bankruptcy SNK era’s they seem to be doing much better now overall despite some odd project decisions.
To be fair, after the situation with Aruze reducing SNK’s intellectual properties to pachinko subjects, SNK Playmore ironically used the characters to do the same thing later on. Even in the later “Playmore” era, SNK released tons of pachislot machines, mobile games, and products designed for new audiences that longtime fans disliked**.
SNK Playmore era:
- Neo Geo collections and rereleases
- Neo Geo X console**
- 3D KOF MI series**
- 3D Metal Slug**
- KOF EX series
- Metal Slug Advance
- Metal Slug 7/XX
- Doki Doki Majou Shinpan series**
- Days of Memories series**
- KOF Sky Stage games**
- KOF XIII
- Pachislot**
- Tons of mobile games (Metal Slug Assault, Rhythm of Fighters, etc)**
SNK current era:
- Neo Geo collections and rereleases
- Neo Geo Mini/ASP consoles**
- KOF XIV
- Samurai Shodown (2019)
- Tons of mobile games (Kimi wa Hero, KOF for Girls, etc)**
If nothing else, aside from the current abundance of merchandise and side projects, SNK’s output appears to be more focused and collaborations under their new ownership appears to have actually grown their audience. These in particular:
ACA Neo Geo success (especially on switch)
Terry Bogard’s Smash Bros. inclusion
Samurai Shodown’s reception and success
I miss the old SNK that I grew up with in the 80’s and 90’s, and the current company is certainly different, but I am just glad that they are still around. Not all their new projects are winners but I’ll gladly excuse projects like these if it means they can fund more titles like Samurai Shodown (2019).