SNK
Eikichi Kawasaki stood in a small office in Osaka on the 22nd of July 1978 and signed papers to reorganize Shin Nihon Kikaku into a stock company. The new entity would be called SNK Corporation. Before that date, the business had operated as a simple design firm since its founding in 1973. Kawasaki noticed the coin-operated video game market growing rapidly around 1978 and decided to expand his operations. He began developing stand-alone arcade games for Japanese arcades.
The first two titles released by the company were Ozma Wars in 1979 and Safari Rally in 1980. These early games were vertical space shooters and maze games respectively. Game quality improved over time through outsourcing partnerships with Tose. SNK licensed various games to Centuri for distribution in North America. Profits from these deals exceeded projections and motivated the company to start manufacturing and distributing games independently.
An American branch named SNK Electronics Corporation opened on the 20th of October 1981. John Rowe headed this operation until he left to form Tradewest. Paul Jacobs took over Rowe's position and helped launch the Neo Geo system outside Asia. Between 1979 and 1986, SNK produced 23 stand-alone arcade games. Highlights included Mad Crasher in 1984, Alpha Mission in 1985, and Athena in 1986.
SNK created a modular cabinet concept in 1988 that allowed multiple games within a single machine. The new system called the Neo Geo MVS debuted in 1990 and used swappable cartridges instead of fixed hardware. Operators could swap games by removing one cartridge and exchanging it for another without replacing the entire cabinet internals. This design greatly shortened setup times and reduced costs to US$500 per game.
The home version known as the Neo Geo AES launched at $599 with two joystick controllers and a game like Baseball Stars Professional or NAM-1975. Within months, SNK increased the price to $649 and changed the pack-in title to Magician Lord. Some consoles sold for $399 with only one control stick and no accompanying game. Other individual games cost at least $200 each.
Franchises derived from this platform included Sengoku, The King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, and Fatal Fury. The AES featured better graphics and sound than other consoles available at the time. Games such as Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy and the Metal Slug series were distinctive and instantly recognizable. SNK also produced the Neo Geo CD home console and later the Hyper Neo-Geo 64 arcade system.
Interest in arcades fell in favor of home and portable consoles during the early 2000s. SNK struggled to adjust to these market changes while competitors moved toward 3D graphics. Their newer 3D hardware called the Hyper Neo Geo 64 proved to be a significant failure. Amusement parks opened by the company in Japan also failed to attract sufficient attendance.
SNK tried developing titles for third-party home consoles including Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden and Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life. None of these projects sold well and left the company's financial situation dire. In January 2000, Aruze acquired SNK due to its poor financial status. Aruze manufactured pachinko machines featuring popular series like King of Fighters instead of video games using SNK intellectual properties.
The same year Capcom agreed to create fighting games featuring both companies' characters. The resulting Capcom vs. SNK games sold around 50,000 copies combined but most profits went to Capcom. With total debt reaching about 38 billion yen, SNK applied for Civil Rehabilitation Law on the 2nd of April 2001. The Osaka District Court accepted the application but later declared bankruptcy on the 30th of October 2001.
In July 2003, the company changed its name to SNK Playmore Corporation after reacquiring trademark rights from Aruze. That same year, SNK purchased ADK shortly after it filed for bankruptcy. In 2004, SNK Playmore officially became licensed to manufacture pachislot machines. Their first two releases that year were Metal Slug and Dragon Gal. Pachislots would become heavily featured in the product lineup for the next decade.
SNK also shifted development focus toward consumer games including titles for PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones. The company released NeoGeo Online Collection for PlayStation 2 containing emulations of older games with online play available through KDDI matching service. Original titles based on existing franchises like Metal Slug and KOF: Maximum Impact series continued to appear.
Chinese web game giant 37Games formed a joint venture with Orient Securities to invest in Ledo Millennium subsidiary of Leyou Technologies Holdings. Through this vehicle, they acquired Eikichi Kawasaki's 81.25% stake in SNK Playmore for $63.5 million in August 2015. The acquisition aimed to gain rights to intellectual property and develop them following Marvel Entertainment's approach to mass media integration.
On the 25th of April 2016, SNK officially dropped
the Playmore name from its corporate logo and reintroduced the slogan The Future Is Now. A legal name change to SNK Corporation followed on the 1st of December 2016. The King of Fighters XIV became the first entry in that series in more than half a decade. In July 2018, SNK released the NEOGEO Mini miniature console pre-loaded with forty classic Neo Geo games.
The MiSK Foundation owned by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman acquired a 33.3% share of SNK in November 2020. By February 2022, EGDC ownership increased to 96.18%. On the 20th of March 2023, SNK relocated its main headquarters to Yodogawa-ku, Osaka. In June 2024, the company opened a Singaporean branch called SNK Games Singapore.
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Common questions
When was SNK Corporation founded by Eikichi Kawasaki?
Eikichi Kawasaki reorganized Shin Nihon Kikaku into SNK Corporation on the 22nd of July 1978. The business had previously operated as a design firm since its founding in 1973.
What were the first two games released by SNK Corporation?
The first two titles released by SNK Corporation were Ozma Wars in 1979 and Safari Rally in 1980. These early games were vertical space shooters and maze games respectively.
How much did the Neo Geo AES home console cost when it launched?
The Neo Geo AES launched at $599 with two joystick controllers and included a game like Baseball Stars Professional or NAM-1975. SNK increased the price to $649 within months and changed the pack-in title to Magician Lord.
Why did SNK declare bankruptcy in 2001?
SNK applied for Civil Rehabilitation Law on the 2nd of April 2001 due to total debt reaching about 38 billion yen. The Osaka District Court accepted the application but later declared bankruptcy on the 30th of October 2001.
When did SNK change its name back to SNK Corporation after being SNK Playmore?
On the 1st of December 2016, SNK officially dropped the Playmore name from its corporate logo and completed a legal name change to SNK Corporation. This followed the company dropping the Playmore name from its logo on the 25th of April 2016.
Where is the main headquarters of SNK located as of March 2023?
On the 20th of March 2023, SNK relocated its main headquarters to Yodogawa-ku, Osaka. The company also opened a Singaporean branch called SNK Games Singapore in June 2024.