quote:

---

SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

---

[this message was edited by snkneoshingo2k3 on Sat 15 May 00:24]

quote:

---

SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.
I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

---

[this message was edited by Radish on Sat 15 May 00:11]

quote:

---

P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

---

quote:

---

SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.
I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


Yes, good article.

MESATSU

EDIT: So as not to be a total ass, I'll add in some thoughts.

It was annoying how he skirted around the issues of the card cames and such. I guess companies never want to say when they aren't going to make something. However the last time I predicted that was the case was with Atlus and Shin Megami Tensei 3 so hopefully I'm dead wrong again.

I don't really see his point about the compilation of NGPC software for the current systems. Nintendo is releasing all their old 8 bit stuff for the much more powerful GBA no problems.

I hope he's right about the PSP. I want it to be a great gaming system, not a combination of different expensive gadgets. From what I saw of the preview video it seemed to have some interesting stuff and I hope SNK gets in there.

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quote:

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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.

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quote:

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I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

---

quote:

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he probably didn't do it on purpose.

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After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well.

---

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because the game comes out when the next game has alreadybeen released

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I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

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quote:

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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.

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Hey Celsius,is KOF:Maximum Impact really being done by the same people behind KOF Neo Wave?If so,then both games may turn out to be both enjoyable and playable.

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I want to compliment you on the article but I'm afraid I'm too much of a coward to quote the entire interview yet again just to add "nice" at the end.

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*Update* I just remembered.

After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well. It's 2004 and an average consumer is going to consider the King of Fighter's 2000? Mr. Ben Herman pointed out that Samurai Shodown V was something that wasn't a problem. "You can give me Metal SLug 27, 28 or whatever and it's fine." SNK Playmore is definitely taking his idea into consideration so if The next installement of KoF doesn't have a year, you'll know why.


SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

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there will apparently be a ‘big announcement’ from SNK Playmore in japan this TGS.

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Original message (1677 Views )41 Celsius
29th Post




Rare Customer


"SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Fri 14 May 22



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Update* I just remembered.

After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well. It's 2004 and an average consumer is going to consider the King of Fighter's 2000? Mr. Ben Herman pointed out that Samurai Shodown V was something that wasn't a problem. "You can give me Metal SLug 27, 28 or whatever and it's fine." SNK Playmore is definitely taking his idea into consideration so if The next installement of KoF doesn't have a year, you'll know why.


SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What? Sarah! Look not upon me with doubting eyes." - Motoko Aoyoma (Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel)
[this message was edited by Celsius on Sat 15 May 00:13]


Replies:



beto444th Post






Gold Customer



"Cool" , posted Fri 14 May 23:35



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He did skip around a few of the questions, but that was expected. I like how things seem to be looking up.

SNKP really is much more visible this year - from Gamespot to IGN to TeamXBox to Gamespy, pretty much every site is up-to-date with SNKP releases, something that not always happened. The number of games coming is great too.

I wonder what´s this surprise in the TGS... WE already know about the three AW games coming... Maybe a joint Sammy/SNK game? Maybe Sammy vs Capcom vs SNK? Who knows...

Anyway, thanks, and...

You asked my questions! Whee.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

snkneoshingo2k3
46th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Fri 14 May 23



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Feeling The Burn?...
I've Always Wanted To Say That!"
SHINGO YABUKI(THE ONE)
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
2D Fighting For 2004 And Forever!
[this message was edited by snkneoshingo2k3 on Sat 15 May 00:24]


Radish2487th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Fri 14 May 23



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.
I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Yes, good article.

MESATSU

EDIT: So as not to be a total ass, I'll add in some thoughts.

It was annoying how he skirted around the issues of the card cames and such. I guess companies never want to say when they aren't going to make something. However the last time I predicted that was the case was with Atlus and Shin Megami Tensei 3 so hopefully I'm dead wrong again.

I don't really see his point about the compilation of NGPC software for the current systems. Nintendo is releasing all their old 8 bit stuff for the much more powerful GBA no problems.

I hope he's right about the PSP. I want it to be a great gaming system, not a combination of different expensive gadgets. From what I saw of the preview video it seemed to have some interesting stuff and I hope SNK gets in there.





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[this message was edited by Radish on Sat 15 May 00:11]

celsius
29th Post




Rare Customer


"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 00:28



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quote:
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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

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I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.





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"What? Sarah! Look not upon me with doubting eyes." - Motoko Aoyoma (Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel)

ONSLAUGHT2660th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(3):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 00:31



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quote:
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SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.
I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


Yes, good article.

MESATSU

EDIT: So as not to be a total ass, I'll add in some thoughts.

It was annoying how he skirted around the issues of the card cames and such. I guess companies never want to say when they aren't going to make something. However the last time I predicted that was the case was with Atlus and Shin Megami Tensei 3 so hopefully I'm dead wrong again.

I don't really see his point about the compilation of NGPC software for the current systems. Nintendo is releasing all their old 8 bit stuff for the much more powerful GBA no problems.

I hope he's right about the PSP. I want it to be a great gaming system, not a combination of different expensive gadgets. From what I saw of the preview video it seemed to have some interesting stuff and I hope SNK gets in there.

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me too





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Phoenix376th Post






Silver Customer



"Re(4):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 01:06



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Oh come on now. That's seriously annoying. Guys, please edit those out...he probably didn't do it on purpose.

On topic, I'm surprised at the number of games and ports coming up- considering the small size of the parent company and its USA division. They must be busy as hell trying to meet all the deadlines. Thanks for asking the crucial questions. It was a great, long, and enjoyable read.





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"My only enemy is myself...and my ex-girlfriend and..."
Jigsaw
155th Post







Regular Customer


"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 02:10



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Great job on the interview! I think all questions were very interesting, and I must say that I think Mr. Herman gave surprisingly concrete answers. I'm very pleased to hear they'll try to bring the games to Europe as well. :)





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snkneoshingo2k3
46th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(3):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 05:38



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quote:
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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.

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Oh,it seems that I misinterpreted your update Celsius;I thought that The King Of Fighters wasn't going to be present next year,but thankfully,it's just a false alarm.
But why bother that having KOF with an attached year affect sales?After all,by the year's end,they'll almost catch up with the yearly schedule.Yet again,let us see how SNK NeoGeo USA and SNK Playmore will deal with it.See you guys later.





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"Feeling The Burn?...
I've Always Wanted To Say That!"
SHINGO YABUKI(THE ONE)
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
2D Fighting For 2004 And Forever!

TheBeast1714th Post






Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member






"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 07:05



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quote:
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I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

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Awwww...my question went unanswered....FATAL FURY....

Nevertheless, great job with the interview!!! Thanks a lot Celsius!!!





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BCMidnight527th Post






New Red Carpet Member




"Re(4):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 07:18



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I can't wai for SSV for my XBox. I hoped for it this year but, a least it's coming.





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Amakusa472th Post






Gold Customer



"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 09:21



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Good job, at least the guy is consistent in his answers.

And golly, people, do you REALLY have to copy the entire interview when you reply?





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I found Kagami's sword in a junk yard.
I will rule the world and find that truly good cup of coffee.
"Dink-a-dink-a-dink-a-do."

Iggy3315th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 10:08



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quote:
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he probably didn't do it on purpose.
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I don't know... Is doing stupid things because you are a brainless moron a valuable excuse ?


quote:
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After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well.
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Yeah, it's definitely because of the year, not because the game comes out when the next game has alreadybeen released, nor because the port sucks big time, or because the game was already weak in the first place.
Oh wait, SvC didn't have a year in the title. My bad.





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本当にしつこい女だなぁ...

Phoenix379th Post






Silver Customer



"Re(6):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 16:20



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quote:
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because the game comes out when the next game has alreadybeen released
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Why my dear Iggy- you just answered your own question. *goes off to hunt Korean version of Siren*





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"My only enemy is myself...and my ex-girlfriend and..."
Chillypepper
27th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(7):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 22:04



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I think they should have taken a year off with 2004 and released it in late 2005. They could have redrawn and updated all the sprites and make them up to SFIII standards or even better(since Atomiswave can handle better resolutions). Then they could add on characters every year.

But i guess this might happen until 2005, who knows. I can't wait until the tokyo game show. I will enjoy Metal Slug 3 in the meantime.





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Adon1371th Post






Red Carpet Executive Member





"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 23:12



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quote:
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I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

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Yes it is quite an extravaganza. I’m just saying that whatever it is. SNK should fucking be huge this year as it was the last year and from the years of the decade too. Even Capcom is being bigger these days. I know the wars are sometimes not so nice be we shall see. I appreciate the hard work of you Celcuis later on to everyone

Adon





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snkneoshingo2k3
47th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(3):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 01:10



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quote:
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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Celsius,is KOF:Maximum Impact really being done by the same people behind KOF Neo Wave?If so,then both games may turn out to be both enjoyable and playable.
And for you guys who are baffled by this question,go to the Neo-Geo.com News and Rumors forum,see the SNK NGUSA E3 interview thread,and view the post by Celsius,and then,ask him and make your own conclusions.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!





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"Feeling The Burn?...
I've Always Wanted To Say That!"
SHINGO YABUKI(THE ONE)
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
2D Fighting For 2004 And Forever!
Stifu
18th Post







New Customer


"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 05:51



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I don't like the idea of removing the year indication in the next KoFs...

If they really want to do that, I think they should wait for the 3rd Saga to end before doing so, instead of "cutting" the series this way.

I hope they change their mind.





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Riskbreaker
242th Post







Frequent Customer


"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 08:00



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Snk could have packaged SvC and MS3 together and call it "Snk Collection Volume 1"





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ZamIAm1285th Post






Red Carpet Executive Member





"Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 11:40



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It sucks about the NGPC stuff but everything else sounds great. I wonder if they'll be doing anything special with SvC: Chaos LIVE to bring in more players though. It'll be tough with GGX2# available at a lower price.





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Remember kiddies: Artists get hugs while writers get the finger. :)
Celsius
30th Post




Rare Customer


"Re(4):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 12:57



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quote:
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Hey Celsius,is KOF:Maximum Impact really being done by the same people behind KOF Neo Wave?If so,then both games may turn out to be both enjoyable and playable.

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I wasn't aware that Noise Factory was also developing the Atomiswave games. But yes, they are the developers of King of Fighters: Maximum Impact.





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"What? Sarah! Look not upon me with doubting eyes." - Motoko Aoyoma (Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel)

Ishmael1395th Post






Red Carpet Executive Member





"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 13:43



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I want to compliment you on the article but I'm afraid I'm too much of a coward to quote the entire interview yet again just to add "nice" at the end.





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Iggy3328th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 14:12



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quote:
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I want to compliment you on the article but I'm afraid I'm too much of a coward to quote the entire interview yet again just to add "nice" at the end.

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quote:
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*Update* I just remembered.

After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well. It's 2004 and an average consumer is going to consider the King of Fighter's 2000? Mr. Ben Herman pointed out that Samurai Shodown V was something that wasn't a problem. "You can give me Metal SLug 27, 28 or whatever and it's fine." SNK Playmore is definitely taking his idea into consideration so if The next installement of KoF doesn't have a year, you'll know why.


SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

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Nice.

Don't thank me, I love to help.





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本当にしつこい女だなぁ...

beto455th Post






Gold Customer



"ANOTHER SNKP Interview (Insert Credit)" , posted Mon 17 May 15:21



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http://www.insertcredit.com/news/e3_2004/snk/snk_interview.html





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Freeter4190th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(1):ANOTHER SNKP Interview (Insert Credit)" , posted Mon 17 May 21:15



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quote:
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there will apparently be a ‘big announcement’ from SNK Playmore in japan this TGS.

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They're part of the Matrix too?





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there will apparently be a ‘big announcement’ from SNK Playmore in japan this TGS.


They're part of the Matrix too?

---

quote:

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Original message (1677 Views )41 Celsius
29th Post




Rare Customer


"SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Fri 14 May 22



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Update* I just remembered.

After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well. It's 2004 and an average consumer is going to consider the King of Fighter's 2000? Mr. Ben Herman pointed out that Samurai Shodown V was something that wasn't a problem. "You can give me Metal SLug 27, 28 or whatever and it's fine." SNK Playmore is definitely taking his idea into consideration so if The next installement of KoF doesn't have a year, you'll know why.


SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What? Sarah! Look not upon me with doubting eyes." - Motoko Aoyoma (Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel)
[this message was edited by Celsius on Sat 15 May 00:13]


Replies:



beto444th Post






Gold Customer



"Cool" , posted Fri 14 May 23:35



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He did skip around a few of the questions, but that was expected. I like how things seem to be looking up.

SNKP really is much more visible this year - from Gamespot to IGN to TeamXBox to Gamespy, pretty much every site is up-to-date with SNKP releases, something that not always happened. The number of games coming is great too.

I wonder what´s this surprise in the TGS... WE already know about the three AW games coming... Maybe a joint Sammy/SNK game? Maybe Sammy vs Capcom vs SNK? Who knows...

Anyway, thanks, and...

You asked my questions! Whee.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

snkneoshingo2k3
46th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Fri 14 May 23



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Feeling The Burn?...
I've Always Wanted To Say That!"
SHINGO YABUKI(THE ONE)
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
2D Fighting For 2004 And Forever!
[this message was edited by snkneoshingo2k3 on Sat 15 May 00:24]


Radish2487th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Fri 14 May 23



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.
I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Yes, good article.

MESATSU

EDIT: So as not to be a total ass, I'll add in some thoughts.

It was annoying how he skirted around the issues of the card cames and such. I guess companies never want to say when they aren't going to make something. However the last time I predicted that was the case was with Atlus and Shin Megami Tensei 3 so hopefully I'm dead wrong again.

I don't really see his point about the compilation of NGPC software for the current systems. Nintendo is releasing all their old 8 bit stuff for the much more powerful GBA no problems.

I hope he's right about the PSP. I want it to be a great gaming system, not a combination of different expensive gadgets. From what I saw of the preview video it seemed to have some interesting stuff and I hope SNK gets in there.





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[this message was edited by Radish on Sat 15 May 00:11]

celsius
29th Post




Rare Customer


"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 00:28



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

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I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.





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"What? Sarah! Look not upon me with doubting eyes." - Motoko Aoyoma (Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel)

ONSLAUGHT2660th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(3):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 00:31



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quote:
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SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.
I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


Yes, good article.

MESATSU

EDIT: So as not to be a total ass, I'll add in some thoughts.

It was annoying how he skirted around the issues of the card cames and such. I guess companies never want to say when they aren't going to make something. However the last time I predicted that was the case was with Atlus and Shin Megami Tensei 3 so hopefully I'm dead wrong again.

I don't really see his point about the compilation of NGPC software for the current systems. Nintendo is releasing all their old 8 bit stuff for the much more powerful GBA no problems.

I hope he's right about the PSP. I want it to be a great gaming system, not a combination of different expensive gadgets. From what I saw of the preview video it seemed to have some interesting stuff and I hope SNK gets in there.

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me too





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Phoenix376th Post






Silver Customer



"Re(4):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 01:06



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Oh come on now. That's seriously annoying. Guys, please edit those out...he probably didn't do it on purpose.

On topic, I'm surprised at the number of games and ports coming up- considering the small size of the parent company and its USA division. They must be busy as hell trying to meet all the deadlines. Thanks for asking the crucial questions. It was a great, long, and enjoyable read.





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"My only enemy is myself...and my ex-girlfriend and..."
Jigsaw
155th Post







Regular Customer


"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 02:10



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Great job on the interview! I think all questions were very interesting, and I must say that I think Mr. Herman gave surprisingly concrete answers. I'm very pleased to hear they'll try to bring the games to Europe as well. :)





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snkneoshingo2k3
46th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(3):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 05:38



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quote:
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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh,it seems that I misinterpreted your update Celsius;I thought that The King Of Fighters wasn't going to be present next year,but thankfully,it's just a false alarm.
But why bother that having KOF with an attached year affect sales?After all,by the year's end,they'll almost catch up with the yearly schedule.Yet again,let us see how SNK NeoGeo USA and SNK Playmore will deal with it.See you guys later.





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"Feeling The Burn?...
I've Always Wanted To Say That!"
SHINGO YABUKI(THE ONE)
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
2D Fighting For 2004 And Forever!

TheBeast1714th Post






Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member






"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 07:05



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quote:
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I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

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Awwww...my question went unanswered....FATAL FURY....

Nevertheless, great job with the interview!!! Thanks a lot Celsius!!!





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BCMidnight527th Post






New Red Carpet Member




"Re(4):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 07:18



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I can't wai for SSV for my XBox. I hoped for it this year but, a least it's coming.





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Amakusa472th Post






Gold Customer



"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 09:21



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Good job, at least the guy is consistent in his answers.

And golly, people, do you REALLY have to copy the entire interview when you reply?





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I found Kagami's sword in a junk yard.
I will rule the world and find that truly good cup of coffee.
"Dink-a-dink-a-dink-a-do."

Iggy3315th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 10:08



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quote:
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he probably didn't do it on purpose.
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I don't know... Is doing stupid things because you are a brainless moron a valuable excuse ?


quote:
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After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well.
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Yeah, it's definitely because of the year, not because the game comes out when the next game has alreadybeen released, nor because the port sucks big time, or because the game was already weak in the first place.
Oh wait, SvC didn't have a year in the title. My bad.





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本当にしつこい女だなぁ...

Phoenix379th Post






Silver Customer



"Re(6):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 16:20



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quote:
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because the game comes out when the next game has alreadybeen released
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Why my dear Iggy- you just answered your own question. *goes off to hunt Korean version of Siren*





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"My only enemy is myself...and my ex-girlfriend and..."
Chillypepper
27th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(7):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 22:04



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I think they should have taken a year off with 2004 and released it in late 2005. They could have redrawn and updated all the sprites and make them up to SFIII standards or even better(since Atomiswave can handle better resolutions). Then they could add on characters every year.

But i guess this might happen until 2005, who knows. I can't wait until the tokyo game show. I will enjoy Metal Slug 3 in the meantime.





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Adon1371th Post






Red Carpet Executive Member





"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sat 15 May 23:12



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quote:
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I appreciate the work you've done to get this interview and so thanks.At least,it's good to know that SNK might return to Europe,but I can't imagine how I'm going to kill time until the Tokyo Game Show.Like I said before,time will tell,but it always depends on how much fucking time;to sum it up,slowly but surely.
P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!

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Yes it is quite an extravaganza. I’m just saying that whatever it is. SNK should fucking be huge this year as it was the last year and from the years of the decade too. Even Capcom is being bigger these days. I know the wars are sometimes not so nice be we shall see. I appreciate the hard work of you Celcuis later on to everyone

Adon





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snkneoshingo2k3
47th Post







Rare Customer


"Re(3):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 01:10



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quote:
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P.S.Thank you very much Celsius for answering my question about The King Of Fighters 2004;I'm quite shocked that there exists the possibility that KOF could not appear next year,but once again,only time will give us the answers.We'll see later.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!


I think there will probably still be installments fo the game every year but I just don't expect it to have the year in it's title. It might be called sasy, King of Fighters: Episode IX or whatever. Although, that's just how I'm interpreting it.

I didn't get a portion of the interview on tape so if I recall anything else I'll be sure to post it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Celsius,is KOF:Maximum Impact really being done by the same people behind KOF Neo Wave?If so,then both games may turn out to be both enjoyable and playable.
And for you guys who are baffled by this question,go to the Neo-Geo.com News and Rumors forum,see the SNK NGUSA E3 interview thread,and view the post by Celsius,and then,ask him and make your own conclusions.
Peace Forever!SNK Playmore Forever!





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"Feeling The Burn?...
I've Always Wanted To Say That!"
SHINGO YABUKI(THE ONE)
THE KING OF FIGHTERS
2D Fighting For 2004 And Forever!
Stifu
18th Post







New Customer


"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 05:51



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I don't like the idea of removing the year indication in the next KoFs...

If they really want to do that, I think they should wait for the 3rd Saga to end before doing so, instead of "cutting" the series this way.

I hope they change their mind.





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Riskbreaker
242th Post







Frequent Customer


"Re(2):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 08:00



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Snk could have packaged SvC and MS3 together and call it "Snk Collection Volume 1"





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ZamIAm1285th Post






Red Carpet Executive Member





"Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 11:40



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It sucks about the NGPC stuff but everything else sounds great. I wonder if they'll be doing anything special with SvC: Chaos LIVE to bring in more players though. It'll be tough with GGX2# available at a lower price.





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Remember kiddies: Artists get hugs while writers get the finger. :)
Celsius
30th Post




Rare Customer


"Re(4):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 12:57



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quote:
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Hey Celsius,is KOF:Maximum Impact really being done by the same people behind KOF Neo Wave?If so,then both games may turn out to be both enjoyable and playable.

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I wasn't aware that Noise Factory was also developing the Atomiswave games. But yes, they are the developers of King of Fighters: Maximum Impact.





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"What? Sarah! Look not upon me with doubting eyes." - Motoko Aoyoma (Love Hina: Mystery Guests at Hinata Hotel)

Ishmael1395th Post






Red Carpet Executive Member





"Re(5):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 13:43



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I want to compliment you on the article but I'm afraid I'm too much of a coward to quote the entire interview yet again just to add "nice" at the end.





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Iggy3328th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(1):SNK Neo Geo USA E3 2004 Interview" , posted Sun 16 May 14:12



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quote:
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I want to compliment you on the article but I'm afraid I'm too much of a coward to quote the entire interview yet again just to add "nice" at the end.

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quote:
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*Update* I just remembered.

After The King of Fighters 2004, the next installment of King of Fighters may not have a year. Why? Because it affects sales. Which might be another reason why the PS2 ports did not sell well. It's 2004 and an average consumer is going to consider the King of Fighter's 2000? Mr. Ben Herman pointed out that Samurai Shodown V was something that wasn't a problem. "You can give me Metal SLug 27, 28 or whatever and it's fine." SNK Playmore is definitely taking his idea into consideration so if The next installement of KoF doesn't have a year, you'll know why.


SNK Neo Geo USA E3 Interview from Friday. By Celsius

Sorry, but no game-play or story-line related questions were asked.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Ben Herman both before and after the interview.
Basically this year's release will be Metal Slug 3 later this month for the X-Box.
Metal Slug Advance will follow in August but as of now, it's only 30% complete.
September 9th will bring King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for the PS2. Later on
in September or early October, there will be SvC Chaos: SNK Vs. CAPCOM for the
X-box. Also coming is the compilation of Metal SLug 4/5 for X-Box and PS2 sometime
in the Fall.

The Metal Slug 3 conflict with Sony: I asked Mr. Herman why SvC Chaos: SNK Vs.
CAPCOM was not coming out for the PS2 in the U.S. and he said it's because Sony
of America rejcted it. They had also, late last year, rejected SNK USA's request
to bring Metal Slug 3 to the U.S. for PS2. However, when it was later revealed
that SNK was making games on the Atomiswave, Sony wanted the games on their system.

So thus, a deal was made, where Mr. Herman was able to get Metal Slug 4 & 5,
King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, and Samurai Shodown V and Samurai Shodown V: Special
(has not yet been officially announced) approved for the PS2. So those games will
definitely be coming out late 2004-early 2005. For SvC Chaos however, Mr. Herman
had no other games to bundle it with, thus why it will not be coming to the PS2.

The King of Fighter's 10th Anniversary and Metal Slug 10th Anniversary is coming
up. Expect some fan pleasing announcements from SNK. At the show floor, they had a logo of the KoF 10th anniversary shining on the floor.


JJ: The previews of Metal Slug 3 show they finally can make the titles uncensored.
Will this development be strictly for the X-BOX? Metal Slug series? Or will it be
carried on to all SNK Arcade Ports (PS2 and X-BOX)?

BH: We've heard from our fans. When we shipped KoF 2000/2001 we got a lot of feedback
about white-blood and other things that were deleted from the game that the fans
were upset about. And...I heard that and I discussed it with Japan (Playmore).
And I'd like to think that, going forward, everything will be as it should be, based
on what the fans expect. Now, the fact is that Neo Geo AVS games has always been...I
don't want to say "censored," but has always had white-blood. For the
MVS, there was a switch that allowed for the operator to change the option. We
are, at this point, trying to move forward with direct replications of the arcade
games.

JJ: How many units of the 2000/2001 combo packs were sold and did it meet your
sales expectations?

BH: I'm not going to give exact numbers, but I will admit that they did not meet
my expectations. The reason for that I think had to do with the timing of the release,
you know, just before Christmas. We had a lot of competition in the market place.
It seemed like every single PS2 title was being delivered in November and December
last year. In addition to that, we did get the feedback about the blood being not
red, and it seemed to cause to cause a stir in the industry.

JJ: Has SNK Neo Geo USA gotten a lot bigger since last years E3?

BH: What we've done since last year is that, we added an additional manager: a
director of marketing. He has great experience with everything in this category,
and is familiar with all the paperwork. Basically to present and work with the
media. And that was an important position for us to fill. But that is the only
one that we really added. We have a staff of 5 right now in New Jersey and we're
not looking to add, cause we do a lot of outside things like sourcing on distribution.
But we're working in a very good environment and at this time that staff is as is.

JJ: You mentioned earlier that all of the X-box games will definitely have a Live
option. Will any of the PS2 games also be online?

BH: Yes, we are going to be adding, trying to develop it so that any game that
comes out after November of this year should have online capabilities for the PS2.
We will absolutely will have it online for X-box. The reason some of the PS2 games
lack an online option is because some of the development on the PS2 games in Japan
that had been done earlier were too far along to add the online option. But we
expect that both of the Samurai Shodown games will be online. The King of Fighters
2003 also has a chance of being online for the PS2. In the future, we plan to make
our games Live (online).

JJ: Last years release of KoF 2000/2001 came with gifts for the fans. The Trading
cards. Can we expect more freebies with your future releases?
BH: Yes. We're working hard for creative ideas. I can tell you right now that
when we release The King of Fighters 2002 and 2003, the concept is; buy 2003 and
start the new trilogy. You get 2002 which is a compilation of the 99 and 2000 series,
but additionally we are going to give free as a gift. A complete set of trading
cards that are going to cover 99-2002. I don't know the exact quantity. But whatever
that card count is, it will be a complete set.

JJ: What can you tell us about your early 2005 releases? Do you have anything
planned for early 2005?

BH: Ah, yes. Right now, I do know that. The Metal Slug 4 & 5 Combination
and the Samurai Shodown 5 and 5 Special combinations will both come in the first
half of 2005. I'm looking at the months of February for Presidents Day as well
as April for Easter, for both of those releases. I also believe quite possibly
that the King of Fighters Combination 02/03 will also come in that February time
zone. But if possible, I'll bring it out in November. At least 2 of the 3 combinations
for both PS2 and X-box will go on to the first half 2005.

JJ: You mentioned last year, that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact was an experiment
to take series to 3-d. Is this experiment SNK's attempt to satisfies their fan-base
while trying to reach out to a new audience at the same time?

BH: We understand what the world is about. We know that the arcade business has
changed, and is not as strong as it once was. But we have a fan-base of 2-D customers
that we're dedicated to and even with our move to Atomiswave, we are going to continue
to make 2-D games for our fans. KoF: MI recognizes the fact that there is a next
dimension, and others around the industry have taken the advantage of that with
3-D gaming. We do not want to do it, until we thought we could do it perfectly.
We're 70% complete with our current version, and is due out in September. The reaction
that we seem to see is that, it works like a 2-D game, and is seamless, and that's
what we want to do.
We called it an experiment, but I can promise that based on the fact that where
it is, and what we're with it, it will not be an experiment anymore, but it will
not be the end of 2-D. It will just be something else that we add to our 2-D experience.

JJ: If successful, can we expect to see SNK's other franchises, such as Metal Slug
in 3-D?

BH: I would say right now that, Tokyo Game Show, at the end of September, is the
place to get that answer.

JJ: Last year you said you had plans to re-release some PSOne SNK games along with
a compilation of older SNK games for the X-box. Do you still plan to go through
with this?

BH: We're still discussing that. With such an extensive number of new releases
that we have here, I think we're going to concentrate on that for the foreseeable
future. A year ago when I mentioned that, the market said that PSOne, at $49 retail,
we could sell quite a large quantity of compilations at a $20 retail price. I am
now, not promising, but am looking at it from a stand point of, down-the-road, when
PS2 becomes the $49 hardware, what will be the software possibility. And if we
can do compilations, I'm looking more at that time frame, than at the PSOne.

JJ: Last your you stated that you would love to see a 3-D installment of SNK's
Baseball Stars game. Any news regarding this?

BH: I will say that, I'm continuing to do my research, and explore the possibility.
There are some reasons that it has not happened, or doesn't seem to be able to happen,
bu I'm working on it and if it can be done, it will happen.

JJ: Can we expect any other SNK franchises to be revived for the current or next-generation
console?

BH: Basically, I've been hearing rumors that are not true at this time. But I
will say that, we are going to obviously try to bring the best of our franchises
to market. And even though there are some new games in development for the Atomiswave,
everyone has some high expectations on them, I'm sure they will be brought home.
We are still looking at other franchises that we know are very very well received
and very collectible and we're going to continue to discuss the ability to bring
some of them to market.

JJ: So about Samurai Shodown Zero.

BH: In the U.S we're calling it Samurai Shodown V. Now in some cases there might
be some RPG portions that are not being brought to the United States. But at this
time. I think the series is going to continue with new additions. (I couldn't make
out his next words).

JJ: Why did the RPG portions get removed?

BH: It's something that I'm not sure of. I don't have the answer. It's something
that I've asked about and I will continue to look at but I'm not sure what the answer
is at this point.

JJ: After more than 15 years, SNK has moved from the MVS hardware to the Atomiswave.
Can we expect all the future 2-D games to be made on the Atomiswave? Any chance
SNK will put out another piece of hardware one day?

BH: I will say right now, that just like what we're doing on the home systems,
we're looking to develop on the most current system. Today PS2 and X-Box. Tomorrow,
obviously PS3 and X-Box 2, whatever the name comes to be. Even Nintendo has Revolution
in development and we'll certainly look at that format when it's announced. Right
now, it's a major statement for us to go to Atomiswave. We plan to be around for
many years. And if the industry decides that it's time to move on with another
system, we will certainly move. We're going to evolve into whatever direction we
need to. There's nothing to announce at this time about a Neo Geo 2, but right
now, our move is to the Atomiswave.

JJ: Can we expect another Capcom and SNK collaboration, or how about a Sammy and
SNK collaboration?

BH: I'd say that it's not for me to say. We certainly know what's going on in
the industry. In the arcade industry in general, it's a cyclical thing and it is
down at this time so people are looking at ways to create alliances. The SNK-CAPCOM
announcement that came years ago was very good for both companies. I'd like to
think that maybe down the road there would be more, maybe there would be other opportunities
to connect. ????? (Note: I can't make this portion of the interview out) went
to 3-D in the arcades. TO be honest, now that we've done a 3-D rendering of KoF,
potential might be there for discussion, but it's not for our division to have that
conversation. That would be done at SNK-Playmore Corporate headquarters in Japan,
and I will await anything that comes from them.

JJ: Beta Testing. Last year, there were some previews of upcoming SNK games in
\ arcades for fans to try out before the official release, such as SvC: Chaos and
Samurai Shodown Zero. Can we expect more of these sample tests for future releases?

BH: I'm not going to say no and I'm not very familiar with what that was. But
I will say that we are basically going to be developing the arcade games and turning
them over to Sammy so that Sammy will be doing the distribution and sales of the
games. So I believe that if you look at that scenario, I think it would be to go
to Sammy and see if they will be doing the same type of samples.

(I'd like to add that, yes Sammy has put out games for play-test in the U.S. I
think the only one they did is Rumble Fish).

JJ: Snk's online store has opened recently. Can we expect any special items to be sold on the site?

BH: ...We've been told, we've been asked about collectibles and we are exploring
that. I think I can say pretty positively that we will have some things for sale,
as far as merchandise and the like on the website soon.

JJ: Will it be exclusively on your site?

BH: Yes, it would be exclusive.

JJ: I do understand that you are the President of the U.S. division of SNK, but
some of the European fans want to know if any of SNK's games will make it over there.

BH: Ok, I can announce today, and I'm very happy to announce that one of the executives
of the company that has been with the company for many years and has come here last
year in setting up this U.S. division has been assigned to lead a return to Europe.
So we are in negotiations right now to bring SNK products back to Europe. He will
be moving to England, he will be overseeing operations, and there will probably
be an alliance with an existing publisher that will bring some of our titles and
more in the future back to Europe as well.

JJ: I noticed that there is a King of Fighters game coming out for the Nokia N-Gage.
Will SNK be distributing that?

BH: No, we licensed out the rights to some of our games to the mobile market.
Some by SNK Playmore of Japan. I'm not perfect to all the details of that but I
do know that some of our products like KoF, Metal Slug, and Samurai Shodown are
showing up on phones. They are also showing up in stores on prepaid cell cards
and that's a growing category, because in Japan it's large. In Europe it's very
strong and it's becoming something important here in the United States. In time
that will be a category that I don't believe we will pursue directly, but the licensing
out of our properties, they are so well known. Honestly, where we have seen them
in the top five, sometimes number one as far as downloads and playables. So it's
very good for our franchise because that also helps spread us out to people that
are not necessarily familiar with the arcade portion of our business.

JJ: The NGPC games. Many would say they are the best fighters released on a hand-held
system. Can we expect ports of those games to current handhelds, maybe as a compilation?

BH: Basically, the NGPC is a 16-bit system, and the GBA is 32-bit. The PSP almost
has the power of the Playstation 2 and I've been told in certain ways it's better
than a PS2. So a direct port of these 16-bit games is not going to happen to PSP
or to any other handheld. In the case of what we're doing to Metal Slug Advance
is taking advantage of a 32-bit system, it's a brand new adventure. And I believe
that even though the licenses could be used, any game we make will be brand new
games for advance handheld system.

JJ: Over a year ago some GBA games such as SNK Vs. Capcom and another installment
in the KoF Advance series were announced. Are these games still in development
and what can you tell us about them?

BH: Ok I tell you this. At the present time, the official announcement is that
Metal Slug Advance, a brand new mission, will be out this August. It will not be
alone. I am not quite sure of what will be for the next games for GBA. I know
there will be more and details will follow. But I cannot officially announce that
what you mentioned are the next two games.

JJ: But do those titles exist in development?

BH: I don't know if they've even been started in development. I do know that they
exist in concept but I'm not going to say that they will not come. But there are
other things that we're planning as well that we're not ready to announce. But
in the scheme of things, I believe that a KoF franchise, and you know Metal Slug,
it will not be left on the sidelines. We'll bring games that makes sense to everything.

JJ: Mr. Herman, you yourself are very familiar with the handheld market. You were
the vice president of sales for the NGPC a few years back, which managed to sell
over 200,000 units in NA before the Aruze incident. What are your thoughts on the
PSP and Nintendo DS?

BH: I'm going to be very candid. The PSP is absolutely going to be a winner.
I've met with Sony. They've explained to me that this is going to be a gaming machine.
The engine that they've put inside there will allow this to be a super big gaming
machine. The added features of music. Now it's gonna have the Sony Memory Cards,
the same one that goes into their camera and computers. So you'll be able to transfer
stuff and your going to be able to play music and the like. But they are going
to make this into a gaming machine and the engine is very very powerful. They have
committed to it, they will market it, and I am absolutely confident that it will
be very successful. And having said that, we certainly, are interested in working
with them as developers (for the system).

Nintendo, gave us a presentation on the DS. I have good feelings about the DS and
the capabilities of it. I'm not sure that Nintendo explained it very well the other
night with some of the demonstrations. I do know that when a company is going to
launch something in the Fall of this year, world-wide, and it's not out on the floor
in full view, I don't quite understand that. But having said that, I don't yet
know what the engine capability is. I don't know if it's a 32-bit system or if
it's an enhanced engine. I want to explore it because I look at this dual-screen
and I can envision some very very exciting things that I can do with that. Not
that I'm the only one that has these ideas, but I will just let it out. I will
tell you with sports series, I will assume that EA, will have some great idea for
on-play capabilities as well as setting the plays... There's a lot of things that
can be done with that. I think Nintendo will have great success because, number
one, they own the hand-held market. Number two they've always done it right there
and continue to have a very good base. Their bringing a continuing line-up of games.
It's backwards compatible with all Gameboy Advance games. That is a large stable,
and I think it'll get great support. As far as I'm concerned. It should be a very
good machine, whether I support it or not. It's gonna be a very good thing to give
to their fans.

JJ: So is it safe to assume that SNK is definitely on-board for PSP development?

BH: I would say it's safe to say that. Though even Sony will tell you that there's
no agreements. There's some kits unavailable, but we will certainly pursue it.
I can tell you that, yeah, I believe we will certainly be developing for the PSP,
if Sony will agree that our games are worthy.

JJ: Last year, you said that SNK had no plans to develop for the GCN. Has this
changed over the past year after their price drop to $99 and the increased sales?

BH: The facts are is that...it's not about not wanting to be on Nintendo GameCube.
It's all about timing. I believe that there is a good audience on the GameCube.
But if I had started developing last year on the GCN, I'd be bringing my product
to market towards the end of the life cycle of the GCN. We were much further along
on PS2 development. We had already started on the Microsoft X-Box development
and I just made a decision that it would take too long to get it to market. We
are going to look at their next system, they call it "Revolution." Whatever
it is, we will certainly give it fair and complete consideration as far as bringing
our games to Nintendo's system.

JJ: On behalf of the fans, I'd like to say thank you, we appreciate you bringing
SNK back to NA. It's obvious that SNK is back, and is indeed, here to stay.

BH: To be honest, I've been doing for a lot of years. I've had the honor of working
with SNK since 1989. It's a great company. Great product. Great fan-base. And
I'm proud to be able to do it. If you think your seeing a lot of stuff now, just
wait until you see what's coming in the next year or so.


JJ: Can you give us a hint about what's coming in the next year or so?

BH: All I'm going to say is that we are going to continue to update our website.
There will be a major announcement tied to The Tokyo Game Show. The weekend of
September 26-28. We will make announcements jointly. Together. They will be important
announcements of what our plans are for the future.

JJ: Thank you very much for your time.

I actually did ask about another installment in the Last Blade and Fatal Fury series
in the same question with the Samurai Shodown V question but I forgot to follow-thru
after he gave an answer regarding Samurai Shodown V. Sorry! I think I might have
missed a few questions so I'm sorry for that. I hope to do another interview next
year. Thanks for reading.

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Nice.

Don't thank me, I love to help.





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本当にしつこい女だなぁ...

beto455th Post






Gold Customer



"ANOTHER SNKP Interview (Insert Credit)" , posted Mon 17 May 15:21



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http://www.insertcredit.com/news/e3_2004/snk/snk_interview.html





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Freeter4190th Post






Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master






"Re(1):ANOTHER SNKP Interview (Insert Credit)" , posted Mon 17 May 21:15



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quote:
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there will apparently be a ‘big announcement’ from SNK Playmore in japan this TGS.

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They're part of the Matrix too?





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there will apparently be a ‘big announcement’ from SNK Playmore in japan this TGS.


They're part of the Matrix too?

lol

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