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

Dampfwalze

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Number of pages is expected to be around 300. Bitmap Books are more focused on the art/design rather than reams of text and detail so expect more emphasis on concept and pixel art, large images and high quality photos, both single pages and spreads. At this stage I can't say what the ratio will be with certainty but I hope this helps.

Thank you.
I hope there will be enough text in it to make it a worthwile reading. Pictures are nice but if I am finished with reading the book after one hour, it would be more like an art book.
Will there be a kickstarter, like with the Sam Dyer books?
 

xsq

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I have another (not so important) question: Why now? Why not sooner? Was there a change in SNKs policy?
 

BlackaneseNiNjA

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I have another (not so important) question: Why now? Why not sooner? Was there a change in SNKs policy?

+1
The last time a significant japanese initiative was taken to dive into SNK's past to share information and historical insights was the All About SNK dvd set. Although that set was great and contained a ton of information, the set was sadly not officially released outside of japan.

I hope this is a sign that SNK is finally ready to take more proactive steps to acknowledge their global fanbase as a whole. Over the course of the past 2 years SNK has been releasing new promotional items such as shirts and items bearing the logo and the "100 Mega Shock" tag in japan. I know they are presently rebranding under the snk rebirth concept; I just hope this is an indication of a more global approach to fan interaction than the company has been known for in the past.

Super happy about this project :buttrock:
 
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Flagshiphero

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100% buy. Really excited for this, as I'm a big fan of SNK art and have been collecting posters and artbooks for a long time.
 

frazer99

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Thank you.
I hope there will be enough text in it to make it a worthwile reading. Pictures are nice but if I am finished with reading the book after one hour, it would be more like an art book.
Will there be a kickstarter, like with the Sam Dyer books?

As you'll no doubt be aware Bitmap Books' USP is Artbook so it would be wrong of me to suggest that won't be a big feature of the book - in fact the title, a Visual History is meant to indicate this. The way I see it is that we have a history section iniitally, then the art/design stepping through the years from 1990-2004 and then the interviews plus the intention is to have a definitive masterlist. Will there be more images than text - absolutely. I understand your point on finishing the book in an hour, all i'll say is the focus is on quality not quantity in that respect but accept that if you really don't like the artbooks then it may not be for you. I'm hopeful however that we won't disappoint.

I can confirm the book will be 100% funded by Bitmap Books so there will not be a kickstarter.

Thanks,
Frazer
 

frazer99

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I have another (not so important) question: Why now? Why not sooner? Was there a change in SNKs policy?

SNK said they had been thinking about a NeoGeo Book. Quite why this hasn't happened before I can't answer. However it does feels there is a bit of a renaissance at SNK with the recent rebranding and I'm aware they do see the book as a sort of corporate portfolio.

Frazer
 

Dampfwalze

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._._._._.
I can confirm the book will be 100% funded by Bitmap Books so there will not be a kickstarter.

Thanks,
Frazer

Thanks again. Well I think I will buy it anyway. You can't please everyone and many collectors may prefer pictures over text.
And I prefer a book with less text over no book at all. :)
Wish you much success with this project.
 

sr20det510

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I'm glad it'll be a hardcover book.
Can't wait to see tons of SNK info in one place.
Love looking at old videogame magazines, but a qualkty book makes things so much easier.

Best of luck in producing a magnificent book.
 

frazer99

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Thanks again. Well I think I will buy it anyway. You can't please everyone and many collectors may prefer pictures over text.
And I prefer a book with less text over no book at all. :)
Wish you much success with this project.

Many thanks Dampfwalze, you are absolutely right it will be hard to please everyone but we will certainly try our hardest to do so!
 

xsq

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SNK said they had been thinking about a NeoGeo Book. Quite why this hasn't happened before I can't answer. However it does feels there is a bit of a renaissance at SNK with the recent rebranding and I'm aware they do see the book as a sort of corporate portfolio.

Frazer
Ah, I see, thanks. What made this the right time for you guys to get cracking?
 

Mr. Mort

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This is great news. For all the Nintendo and Sega visual compendiums that have been released over the years, it'll be great to have a visual history of the Neo-Geo that's not only accurate, but with SNK's blessing and historical assets included. The way I see it, there's more to video game culture than just Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Systems like the Neo-Geo, ZX Spectrum, PCE/TG-16, etc. had an impact too, and it's important that their history is also preserved.
 
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Jontox

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Really amazing news !
Even if I bought the French book released a few weeks ago, I'll be on the buyer list of this one for sure !!!

After visiting Bitmap Books website I couldn't resist and purchased 3 books :loco:

I know, my wallet is crying :)
 

Zellez

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That seems really promising, and I'll most certainly end up buying it.

I do however have a question. How much space is dedicated to the 98/04 games? Throughout the years there have been several (well, in Japan) books about SNK and Neo Geo, but almost all of them cover just the early years.
Of course the amount of material available for the early titles is way more than the latest releases, everyone loves Shinkiro and so on but, can we still expect to see a balance inside the book?
I'm not asking to focus on those stuff, but it would be nice to see something about Pochi to Nyaa, PI2, Shock Troopers, Matrimelee, Visco titles and games like that for a change rather than the usual (although amazing, don't get me wrong) art from SS2, AoF, KoF and so on.

Thanks!
 

BlackaneseNiNjA

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That seems really promising, and I'll most certainly end up buying it.

I do however have a question. How much space is dedicated to the 98/04 games? Throughout the years there have been several (well, in Japan) books about SNK and Neo Geo, but almost all of them cover just the early years.
Of course the amount of material available for the early titles is way more than the latest releases, everyone loves Shinkiro and so on but, can we still expect to see a balance inside the book?
I'm not asking to focus on those stuff, but it would be nice to see something about Pochi to Nyaa, PI2, Shock Troopers, Matrimelee, Visco titles and games like that for a change rather than the usual (although amazing, don't get me wrong) art from SS2, AoF, KoF and so on.

Thanks!

The SNK no Subete and Neo Geo CD books from the early 90's gave us a wealth of information regarding the Neo Geo brand and SNK's intiiatives and vision at that time perioid. However, although not a book, the All About SNK dvd set gave us a ton of information from Ozma Wars to the SNK Playmore Maximum Impact era (and featuring the adorable Reiko Chiba to boot). Although I would argue that the SNK dvd set should have featured some additional commercial /product promo content like the "Capcom Arcade Chronicle" dvd set did, the retrospectives and interviews covered a lot of information.

Edit: I wanted to add that despite the aforementioned material, there is still a lot that we don't know and can't know unless employees make us privvy to their inspirations, challenges, industry environment, etc. I look forward to this book and the new insights it may provide. Information from the 98-04 era would be interesting, but I'm not sure if SNK's activities at that time would rival the missing data points from their heyday.
 
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RyoGeo

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I will absolutely buy this book, and I want the pretty one . . . 'cuz I like pretty things.

How can we best stay informed as to when orders will open? I'd hate to miss out on the initial slip cover because I didn't know when orders went live.
 

fluxcore

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Judging from the other Bitmap Books I have, this will be fantastic. I'll admit I would prefer more of a balance between text and art, but this will be a must-have anyway, I'm sure.

Congrats on getting the contract :)
 

frazer99

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Ah, I see, thanks. What made this the right time for you guys to get cracking?

Back of the success of the Super Famicom book, Bitmap Books were considering other platforms. I got in contact with Sam, we discussed a plan for the book, brought in key contacts, reached out to SNK and that in short is how we got started. It was May last year I think when we had the initial calls about the book.
 

frazer99

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That seems really promising, and I'll most certainly end up buying it.

I do however have a question. How much space is dedicated to the 98/04 games? Throughout the years there have been several (well, in Japan) books about SNK and Neo Geo, but almost all of them cover just the early years.
Of course the amount of material available for the early titles is way more than the latest releases, everyone loves Shinkiro and so on but, can we still expect to see a balance inside the book?
I'm not asking to focus on those stuff, but it would be nice to see something about Pochi to Nyaa, PI2, Shock Troopers, Matrimelee, Visco titles and games like that for a change rather than the usual (although amazing, don't get me wrong) art from SS2, AoF, KoF and so on.

Thanks!

I think it's fair to say that the 98/04 period is perhaps the leanest. I'm keen that we do include some of the perhaps lesser known titles rather than just the usual suspects but appreciate that Bitmap Books do need the book to have a broad appeal too so there will be a fair amount dedicated to perhaps 'the usual suspects' however where we can we'd like to show material which hasn't been seen if possible for the more mainstream titles. Perhaps I can revisit this question when we have made further progress on the book. One aspect which I do need to state is that
SNK do not own all the IPs and SNK are very sensitive about the 3rd party titles such as Visco games - we need to work within guidelines which SNK have set us so this is likely to mean some titles are perhaps referenced but not showcased so to speak.

Frazer
 

frazer99

Living on the wrong, side of the Pennines,
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I will absolutely buy this book, and I want the pretty one . . . 'cuz I like pretty things.

How can we best stay informed as to when orders will open? I'd hate to miss out on the initial slip cover because I didn't know when orders went live.

Best ways to stay informed:

1. Subscribe to the Bitmap Books newsletter - https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/

2. Twitter: @bitmap_books & @NeoGeoCollector

3. Keep following this thread - I will aim to post at a similar timeframe to any announcements via the BB newsletter and on Twitter.

Thanks,
Frazer
 

BOERenSKIN

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Double feelings, still prefered to see the French book also being released. I don't give much about official and the copyright claim from SNK shows the double standards and problems of the greyzone between fan projects and commercial books. If I look at the Super Famicom Box Art Collection from Bitmapbooks I think it contains no real own content. Th only reason to open the book are the pictures and the texts are forgetable. I think more books on Neo Geo the better, sadly Geeks Line cancelled the English translation.
 

Zellez

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Posts
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SNK are very sensitive about the 3rd party titles such as Visco games - we need to work within guidelines which SNK have set us so this is likely to mean some titles are perhaps referenced but not showcased so to speak.

I'm sad to read that, but being realistic, it was kinda expected.
Still I hope you guys will be able to show us as much unseen/uncommon material as possible.
 
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