As a lifelong SNK fan, it makes me happy to see the company somewhat thriving these days after nearly going under completely several times in the past. Their modern reboots of popular fighting games series (e.g. King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown) have done well commercially and have been well-received by the fighting game community, and they seem to have plenty of other promising projects lined up for the future like a new Metal Slug. There was also the recent news that they had been acquired by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, which is... interesting. At least it shows that there is value in the company as its currently stands.
It was after reading through Bitmap Books' excellent NEOGEO: A Visual History that I decided to make this thread.
But I can't help but feel a bit sad or at least bittersweet about the form that SNK has taken today compared to the company's presence and output in the 90's. SNK was an absolute powerhouse in the 90's arcade market, especially in the company's native Japan. There was a time when you could find multiple Neo-Geo Land amusement centers throughout Japan, and the Neo-Geo had several Japanese publications dedicated to it for a while. The Neo-Geo platform (both the home console and MVS arcade cabinets) had long-lasting appeal that stretched beyond the decade and into the early 2000's even as the company's financial struggles threatened its existence, and there was such a prestige to the Neo-Geo brand and SNK at that time. There's a reason why Neo-Geo games continue to appeal to gamers whenever they're ported or emulated for modern consoles every single generation: they are timeless. In the 90's, SNK and Neo-Geo were associated with power and artistry. Countless iconic characters spawned from SNK's various series from the 90's, and they created dozens of all-time greats within their respective genres.
The Neo-Geo home console (AES) was a stunning technical achievement in the early 90's that was marketed as a premium product.
And what set Neo-Geo games apart from the competition for so long was the craft on display from a presentational standpoint. Neo-Geo GIFs, character sprites, and animated backgrounds continue to circulate online and delight the eyes to this day, and that was SNK's calling card. Nobody did pixel art like them back then, and only prime 90's Capcom ever stood toe-to-toe with them in that regard.
SNK's attention to detail in cultivating an expensive, classy brand association wasn't limited to their spritework and animation, however. Everything that they put out throughout the 90's featured this focus on polished, artistic presentation. From the design of their hardware itself to the promotional artwork, box art for AES console game releases, CD soundtracks, etc. In the 90's, SNK and their Neo-Geo brand were known for consistent quality and cutting edge presentation values not only in their software but also permeating the various physical products that came along with it.
SNK artist Shinkiro produced countless classy, unmistakable pieces of artwork for Neo-Geo games in the 90's.
But now... that's not really the case. After sending their trademark pixel art out in style with KOF XIII, the company has since pivoted entirely to polygonal graphics for all of their games. The results have been, at least in my opinion, extremely underwhelming. I'm not saying that presentation is everything, because it isn't. Their newer games like KOF XIV and SamSho play rather well and feel like an SNK game from that standpoint, but they look and sound like budget titles from a mid-size developer. And maybe that's because that's what they essentially are now in 2020, but I can't help but feel a sense of loss for what SNK used to stand for as a brand and image in the 90's.
Modern SNK games tend to be visually uneven by modern standards, lending them a low-budget feel.
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Does anyone else feel this way, or do you think that SNK is as good as ever and only getting better as we move into the new console generation?
ScOULaris, signing off.
It was after reading through Bitmap Books' excellent NEOGEO: A Visual History that I decided to make this thread.
But I can't help but feel a bit sad or at least bittersweet about the form that SNK has taken today compared to the company's presence and output in the 90's. SNK was an absolute powerhouse in the 90's arcade market, especially in the company's native Japan. There was a time when you could find multiple Neo-Geo Land amusement centers throughout Japan, and the Neo-Geo had several Japanese publications dedicated to it for a while. The Neo-Geo platform (both the home console and MVS arcade cabinets) had long-lasting appeal that stretched beyond the decade and into the early 2000's even as the company's financial struggles threatened its existence, and there was such a prestige to the Neo-Geo brand and SNK at that time. There's a reason why Neo-Geo games continue to appeal to gamers whenever they're ported or emulated for modern consoles every single generation: they are timeless. In the 90's, SNK and Neo-Geo were associated with power and artistry. Countless iconic characters spawned from SNK's various series from the 90's, and they created dozens of all-time greats within their respective genres.
The Neo-Geo home console (AES) was a stunning technical achievement in the early 90's that was marketed as a premium product.
And what set Neo-Geo games apart from the competition for so long was the craft on display from a presentational standpoint. Neo-Geo GIFs, character sprites, and animated backgrounds continue to circulate online and delight the eyes to this day, and that was SNK's calling card. Nobody did pixel art like them back then, and only prime 90's Capcom ever stood toe-to-toe with them in that regard.
SNK's attention to detail in cultivating an expensive, classy brand association wasn't limited to their spritework and animation, however. Everything that they put out throughout the 90's featured this focus on polished, artistic presentation. From the design of their hardware itself to the promotional artwork, box art for AES console game releases, CD soundtracks, etc. In the 90's, SNK and their Neo-Geo brand were known for consistent quality and cutting edge presentation values not only in their software but also permeating the various physical products that came along with it.
SNK artist Shinkiro produced countless classy, unmistakable pieces of artwork for Neo-Geo games in the 90's.
But now... that's not really the case. After sending their trademark pixel art out in style with KOF XIII, the company has since pivoted entirely to polygonal graphics for all of their games. The results have been, at least in my opinion, extremely underwhelming. I'm not saying that presentation is everything, because it isn't. Their newer games like KOF XIV and SamSho play rather well and feel like an SNK game from that standpoint, but they look and sound like budget titles from a mid-size developer. And maybe that's because that's what they essentially are now in 2020, but I can't help but feel a sense of loss for what SNK used to stand for as a brand and image in the 90's.
Modern SNK games tend to be visually uneven by modern standards, lending them a low-budget feel.
_________________________________
Does anyone else feel this way, or do you think that SNK is as good as ever and only getting better as we move into the new console generation?
ScOULaris, signing off.
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