Cognition Dissemination: What’s Next for SNK?

SNK made a glorious comeback with The King of Fighters XIV, a heck of an achievement for a company that appeared to be done with traditional video games for good after strongly pursuing the mobile and pachinko markets for years. It also marked a significant leap for the company, as it abandoned the old sprite-based style for one relying on 3D models, though battles still occurred on a 2D plane. This initially created concern thanks to SNK’s inconsistent relationship with games using 3D, but the praise from players before release ended up being bang-on. Despite the presentation switch, it was every bit as enjoyable as some of best KoF titles in the franchise.

They’ll also show how serious they are about games by abandoning the “SNK Playmore” name to return to simply “SNK” on December 1st. Who knew being acquired by a relatively unknown Chinese company (Ledo Millennium) would turn out so well?

The company will continue to support KoFXIV within the next year or so, recently evinced with a minor patch that dropped earlier this week. They’re also funding support for tournaments, and an arcade release is on the way for Japan. It also wouldn’t be a shock if a Steam release followed that, considering how well King of Fighters XIII sold. So the big question is what project this renewed SNK is working on at the current time. Don’t expect them to make games by the bulk like it’s the 90s again, but there’s a good chance of them returning to how they were a decade ago at least.

During the promotional period for KoFXIV, rumors surfaced that a new Samurai Shodown game had already started development. Any rumors about SNK were easy to believe, thanks to the entire roster for the game they were currently promoting leaking well before they could officially introduce each character. With that, info regarding another game in development was bound to spill alongside that. No rumors have circulated about it since then, which perhaps suggests they’ve plugged the source of those leaks, but the KoF team publically expressed interest in reviving the franchise and others.

It’s also possible they’ve been hinting at this in the last few weeks with archive releases on consoles. Samurai Shodown VI released on PS4 this past week, though as a PS2-on-PS4 title with no online play. This was the last sprite-based title in the franchise, whose 39-character roster made for one of the biggest for a one-on-one fighter. It allowed for players to choose from six different fighting styles, based on playstyles used in previous installments. Plenty of longtime fans who didn’t like changes they made, including the reduced depth in the gameplay and increased focus on fanservice. The removal of blood and fatalities also drew ire, in case you thought Mortal Kombat was the only fighting game franchise to suffer such a fate.

Additionally, the original Samurai Shodown will release for PS4 in Japan on December 8th, and is planned to arrive in western territories at a later date. It doesn’t appear this one will have online either, though it should still make for a fun time. The rereleases of both titles doesn’t directly imply a new SS title is coming, since SNK has released a bunch of titles from their archive on digital platforms in the last year. That two SS titles are coming within such proximity is noteworthy, however.

If they are making a new one, expect it to utilize 3D models on a 2D plane, like KoFXIV. But it’s possible they’ll want to take some risks, and make one similar to the fully-3D Samurai Shodown 64, made at a time where many fighting game developers were first experimenting with the then-newfangled 3D technology. Meanwhile, it would be best if a new title avoided unfavorable comparisons to the maligned SoulCalibur-esque Samurai Shodown Sen, incidentally the last non-KoF title SNK created.

If they’re not doing that, perhaps they’ve been listening to voices from fans for their next move. For instance, there’s been considerable demand for a new Garou/Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves title. The original was the perfect answer to Street Fighter from SNK at the time; though its sprite animation wasn’t on par with Street Fighter III’s (which you could say for any other game), it was a good second best and made for one of SNK’s best-looking titles.

Desires for a new Garou game were exacerbated when Hidetoshi “Neo-G” Ishizawa, the director of the beloved Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, left Capcom for SNK earlier this year. It raised hopes that he could use that experience to helm a new Garou title. SNK also revealed in an interview with Japanese gaming website 4Gamer that Garou 2 was in development at one point, but was cancelled. A sprite sheet was provided alongside this, which showed plans to include six new characters. They have the talent to revive the project, so it’s currently a question of whether they feel demand for it is sufficient enough for them to green light. That is, of course, unless they’re really working on a new Samurai Shodown title.

Regardless of what project they’re involved with now, it’s great that SNK is back to making the kind of games they enjoy creating and fans like to see. I wish them well, because we need more success stories from Japan these days.