SNK Playmore and SNK Neo Geo are now a single company, the two Japanese firms announced today. While the move may not have any immediately evident effect on the games the two companies produce, it does perhaps signal a new direction for the heirs to the still-popular SNK arcade legacy.
The two SNKs were founded in the fallout from pachinko giant Aruze's acquisition and subsequent closure of the original SNK in 2000. Though from a gamer's perspective there was no difference between the two companies, each had separate responsibilities. SNK Playmore handled consumer products (mainly console and handheld software), while SNK Neo Geo handled the production and distribution of arcade hardware and software, as well as a developing effort to produce pachinko machines for the lucrative Japanese mechanical gambling marker.
Now that SNK is out of the arcade hardware business (its future arcade games are all in the works for Sammy's Atomiswave hardware), its focus appears to be trained on the console market. Nearly all of its arcade projects are being conceived with eventual home release in mind, and it's begun to develop games like King of Fighters Maximum Impact for consoles only.
The new company, to be called simply SNK Playmore, will still continue its efforts to expand into the pachinko and slot machine business. Today's announcement states that SNK hopes to be able to more efficiently organize its management of that effort and its other businesses as one company.
Sources : KOFcyberfanatics
November 18th, 2004, 08:45
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