SNK Halts Western Operations

Software designer and publisher SNK will announce tomorrow that it is pulling out of the North American and European markets, effective at the end of this week. Johner Riehl, a representative of SNK USA, told GameSpot news that "the only hope for the release of games currently in development is if they're picked up [by a North American third party.]"

Aruze of Japan, a massive gambling company that earned $400 million last year from its Pachinko games, "invested heavily" in SNK , and eventually made the decision to pull out of the two markets because "of [SNK's] bottom line." Aruze will redirect SNK's focus toward the Japanese market. Riehl also told us that the entire SNK USA staff will be laid off.

Fans of the upcoming crossover title SNK vs. Capcom will be pleased to know that the upcoming fighting game is being published by Capcom and will not be affected by these recent events.