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The Future was then. But this is now. |
I'd actually meant to write something on this topic last week, when it was much more timely, but I was working on some other GameSpot feature at the time. So I might be a little late to discuss this week's unfortunate issue, which is bad, but we'll all have plenty of time to think about this issue, which is actually worse. In fact, we'll have the entire Future (with a capital "F") to think about it, because the Future (still with a capital "F") is over.
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No more Metal Slug. |
I'm referring to the finalization of SNK Corporation's bankruptcy proceedings, which were reported by the Madman's Café, run by Hank Moriarty, on October 2. If you don't understand what this means, it means that SNK, the creator of some of the best arcade game series ever, like Metal Slug, The King of Fighters, and Samurai Shodown, and the creator of the NeoGeo, one of the best and most long-lived video-game hardware platforms ever, is done for. Gone. Maybe you played NeoGeo games at your local arcade. Maybe you, like me, were crazy enough to buy a home system--like the ill-fated CD system or the faster but equally ill-fated CDZ--or even a cartridge system, or maybe you even have two (like me). Or maybe you were the kind of dirty, rotten, no-account, rat-faced fink who downloaded illegal, pirated versions of NeoGeo game ROMs, many of which were dumped shortly after the original arcade versions were released, when SNK was actually still desperately trying to make money off of them. Whatever the case, you can reasonably look forward to about one more game from SNK--The King of Fighters 2001, which is actually being jointly developed by a third-party company, Eolith--and then about zero more after that.
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Good-bye, King of Fighters. |
I'm not going to get into the specifics of SNK's demise because I simply don't know enough of the details. I do know that the Osaka-based company had recently come under the "sponsorship" of Aruze, a pachinko company (pachinko is sort of like a modified version of pinball), and that SNK declared bankruptcy some months later, despite its attempts to continue support for its handheld console and to develop third-party games for next-generation consoles. What I know for sure is that SNK is responsible for some of the best arcade games--and hardware--ever made. Those great games are also responsible for my being in this line of work; it was my obsession with games like Samurai Shodown 2 and The King of Fighters '95 that drove me to look for a job in this industry.
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So long, Samurai Shodown. |
A few years ago, Lauren Fielder (who was GameSpot VG's acting features editor at the time) asked me to write a history of SNK--about the company, its hardware, and its games, similar to the History of Sega feature we'd previously run and have since updated. I admit I flaked on the assignment, partially because I was extremely busy (and I was), but also because I felt afraid that I wouldn't be able to do justice to the company and its incredible games. If you've ever locked swords with an opponent in the original Samurai Shodown--an incredible fighting game that was undoubtedly the most exciting, intense, and good-looking arcade game of its time--you'll know what I mean. If you were anything like I was, you put your quarter (or arcade token, or whatever) on top of the NeoGeo MVS cabinet and got in line to play Samurai Shodown 2. Maybe you, like me, spent upwards of $300 for The King of Fighters '98 home cartridge and played the game so much as to pay for the cart several times over in the cost of quarters. And if you're like me, you might even have stayed up late typing up a huge text guide on how to play a specific character in one of SNK's fighting games, because so many of those characters were so colorful, had such great personalities, and had so much depth to the way they played--and you might've gotten as upset as I did when a certain game magazine stole a bunch of these carefully written guides and FAQs and printed them up in a "yearly fighting-game special" issue that sold for $3.50.
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A new beginning for Fatal Fury is over, practically before it started. |
I was disappointed when I first heard the news about SNK's final bankruptcy hearing, but I wasn't particularly surprised, and as I'm sure some of you will tell me, I should've seen it coming. Still, I can't help but think that somehow things might've turned out differently. Maybe if I'd written that feature, SNK's games might've gotten more exposure--and that might actually have helped the company. Maybe if Mark of the Wolves had been more popular, it might've gotten the sequel it was practically begging for--you'll know what I mean if you've seen the game's endings, all of which suggested the beginnings of new stories and the introduction of new characters. Maybe if some of the self-proclaimed "NeoGeo fans of the Internet" out there had spent less time downloading pirated ROMs and instead had bought a home system and some games...well, who knows. SNK's slogan was "The Future Is Now"...but the only future that SNK fans have now is wondering about what might have been.
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All-Time SNK/NeoGeo Favorites:*
NeoGeo cartridge system: The King of Fighters '94/'95/'97/'98, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Samurai Shodown 1 & 2, World Heroes 1/2/Jet/Perfect (developed by ADK), Ninja Master's (developed by ADK), Metal Slug (developed by NAZCA), Metal Slug 2/X/3 (developed by SNK), Savage Reign, Art of Fighting 2, Fatal Fury 2 & Special, Real Bout Fatal Fury/Real Bout Special/Real Bout 2
Hyper NeoGeo64: Buriki One, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, Beast Busters 2
NeoGeo Pocket Color: The King of Fighters R-1 & R-2, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium, Card Fighter's Clash, Fatal Fury: First Contact
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