TGS '07: SNK lays out US release slate

TOKYO--The NeoGeo arcade gaming system laid the foundation for SNK Playmore, and at the Tokyo Game Show today, the US arm of the company announced a slate of games built on some of that system's best known series, all set for release by the end of 2008.

Following up the Art of Fighting Anthology and Fatal Fury Battle Archives collections, SNK Playmore is compiling some of its other highly regarded series for domestic release. The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga is a collection of the 1995-1997 demon-tinted installments in the series for the Wii, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable. Meanwhile, Samurai Shodown Anthology should collect a sampling of that series' offerings and will see release on the PS2 and Wii.

If those collections sound a little too focused for some tastes, SNK Playmore is also preparing SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1 for the PS2 and PSP. As of press time, a representative with the publisher had not returned requests for clarification on which games would be included in the latter two titles.

It isn't all rereleases for SNK Playmore. The company also revealed Metal Slug 7, a brand-new DS installment in the military arcade shooter series. Those who dislike portability in their games can also look forward to new SNK arcade games like King of Fighters XII, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Regulation "A" 2, and Samurai Shodown Sen.

Finally, the company detailed some more of its downloadable games set for release. In addition to the already announced Virtual Console release of World Heroes and Fatal Fury, SNK Playmore is prepping the NeoGeo action game Magician Lord for sale on the Wii's downloadable game service. On the Xbox 360, the company will follow up the recent release of Fatal Fury Special with Xbox Live Arcade editions of Metal Slug 3 and Samurai Shodown 2.

For all the latest news and previews from the show, be sure to check out GameSpot's complete coverage of the 2007 Tokyo Game Show.