A little news on SNK Classics Collection-ANOTHER UPDATE....

[The n00b]

Dave you should never completely rule out an xbox port. The power and size of the xbox user base in NA and Europe is something to be reckoned with.

My example? Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast. This was initially going to be only for ps2 and the psp. The outrun 2 xbox community rallied though and pretty much was constantly emailing the devs of the game. After awhile the devs were convinced that not only would a ps2 only game result in a half baked outrun 2 game but an xbox port would actually give them some guaranteed sales. So thus Outrun 2006 is getting an xbox port in march.

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

OutRun 2006?
I must find some more info on this now!

[Neo Rasa]

This is going to be like the fourth time where SNK of America wants to do something cool and SNK of Japan is like "omg NO!!!!11!"

[dave4shmups]

OutRun 2006?
I must find some more info on this now!

Here you go man! :

http://psp.ign.com/objects/788/788130.html

[jp]

SNKP is quite stupid if they're just going to sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for the PS3. Microsoft would take them in, give them less of a hassle, and the games would pretty much sell the same... especially with Live.


If SNKP keeps this up, they might as well join Working Designs in game developer hell.

[Ganelon]

What's up with fans bashing companies for business decisions they likely know little about?

Dave, this answer is the same one they've given for almost a year now if anybody emailed them with those questions.

Anybody who says that SNK should just focus on Xbox figures needs to find some TRSTS sales figures somewhere. Their games sell in the single digit thousands. That's less than 10,000 copies. How the hell do you expect them to survive doing that?

They've been able to sell around 50k on the PS2, about 10 times more, and that's why they're hounding the PS2. If they got "half of X," you can bet they'd be ignoring SCEA more.

And of course, this "will develop for PS2 after PS3 comes out" is dependent on one of 2 things:

1. SNK decides to package together its games.
2. SCEA decides to let SNK release its gamess unpackaged and reducing its licensing fees as usual for games on a now retired system.

That said, I feel SNK's best choice now (best being entirely relative in this case since none of their choices are good) is exactly what they're doing: they're waiting for the licensing fees to decrease so that whether SCEA yields or not, SNK will release the games. They're likely counting on the fact that whether they release the games now or after the fee decrease, the sales will be roughly similar, meaning they can take more revenue from the sales later.

[dave4shmups]

SNKP is quite stupid if they're just going to sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for the PS3. Microsoft would take them in, give them less of a hassle, and the games would pretty much sell the same... especially with Live.


If SNKP keeps this up, they might as well join Working Designs in game developer hell.

Agreed. And the fact that they are just releasing more 2D fighting games doesn't help; the gaming industry needs more of those like it needs another crash.

[Neo Rasa]

the gaming industry needs more of those like it needs another crash.

That said, I'd argue that the gaming industry needs more GOOD ones, which is what SNK has started delivering again.

[LoneSage]

Now that the PS2 is nearing the end of its life, I'd say we'll start seeing some more 2D games (shmups, most likely) coming out for in around 2007. It happened with the PS1, it's gotta happen with the PS2.

[The n00b]

What's up with fans bashing companies for business decisions they likely know little about?

Dave, this answer is the same one they've given for almost a year now if anybody emailed them with those questions.

Anybody who says that SNK should just focus on Xbox figures needs to find some TRSTS sales figures somewhere. Their games sell in the single digit thousands. That's less than 10,000 copies. How the hell do you expect them to survive doing that?

They've been able to sell around 50k on the PS2, about 10 times more, and that's why they're hounding the PS2. If they got "half of X," you can bet they'd be ignoring SCEA more.

And of course, this "will develop for PS2 after PS3 comes out" is dependent on one of 2 things:

1. SNK decides to package together its games.
2. SCEA decides to let SNK release its gamess unpackaged and reducing its licensing fees as usual for games on a now retired system.

That said, I feel SNK's best choice now (best being entirely relative in this case since none of their choices are good) is exactly what they're doing: they're waiting for the licensing fees to decrease so that whether SCEA yields or not, SNK will release the games. They're likely counting on the fact that whether they release the games now or after the fee decrease, the sales will be roughly similar, meaning they can take more revenue from the sales later.

I don't know, SNK seems to be carving a nice little niche for itself on the xbox in NA. Metal Slug 3 sales figures were so high that metal slug 4+5 followed shortly therafter. Now metal slug 3 was actually sold as a stand alone game and it still sold. KOF2k2/2k3 must have sold well too considering SNK is releasing KOF:neowave, KOF: rebout, and Samurai Shodown 5 on the xbox too. I think even SNK vs Capcom sold well. Now you say all these sales figures are horrible so if so why is SNK continuing to release major titles, often from the same franchise, on the xbox?

Now let's just say for a moment that SNK doesn't just have a plan to shutdown every landfill in the U.S. with unsold copies of their games and these games are actually selling okay. If that is so, why doesn't SNK consider releasing a classics collection on the xbox? Arguably their fan community on the 'box is far bigger than Midway's, Capcom's, and Namco's; yet all 3 of these companies have released classics collections that sold extremely well.

Your theory is just falling apart here unless you can come up with some kind of evidence.

[LoneSage]

Your theory is just falling apart here unless you can come up with some kind of evidence.

Sales figures from a few month back:

KOF: Maximum Impact (PS2): 80,000
KOF: Maximum Impact (XBOX): 5,700

KOF2k2/2k3 on PS2: 26,500
KOF2k2/2k3 on Xbox: 4,200

And to add some Capcom games:

CFE on PS2: 60,000
CFE on XBOX: 11,000

MvC2 on PS2: 246,000
MvC2 on XBOX: 75,000


To be fair, the same sales figures did report SVC Chaos as having sold around 52,000.
Still, there is no denying that a larger fanbase of the genre exists on the PS2.

[neorichieb1971]

"MS does not have an inexpensive royalty band. They do not allow us to
market games for $19.99 based on the costs they charge. It is a
vicious
circle."

If you read the post above from SNKP it states that they cannot release a compilation on the Xbox at the $19.99 price point.

It has nothing to do with sales figures.

[The n00b]

"MS does not have an inexpensive royalty band. They do not allow us to
market games for $19.99 based on the costs they charge. It is a
vicious
circle."

If you read the post above from SNKP it states that they cannot release a compilation on the Xbox at the $19.99 price point.

It has nothing to do with sales figures.

I wonder why they can't when phantom dust and Guilty Gear XX for the xbox both debuted at a 19.99 price point.

[jp]

Metal Slug 3 and the double pack sold well on the Xbox if memory serves me correctly. Also, its more sales either way if they bring stuff to either system.


Of course, I think they'll have much more luck with the 360 than they will with the PS3.

[neorichieb1971]

Maybe when those other games came out at $20 a pop it didn't turn over enough of a profit for Playmore.

I believe if Playmore put out say a compilation with more games on it, it would allow a higher price.

I really don't want the whole library of games to come out. I like the games in their exclusive arcade format.. thats why I bought them. And emulation on console is pretty weak anyways, at least the midway stuff was.


All I want is Rygar and Wonderboy, yet where are they?

[Moogs]

"MS does not have an inexpensive royalty band. They do not allow us to
market games for $19.99 based on the costs they charge. It is a
vicious
circle."

If you read the post above from SNKP it states that they cannot release a compilation on the Xbox at the $19.99 price point.

It has nothing to do with sales figures.

Well, SNK doesn't release games, compilations or otherwise, for $20 on the PS2, either. So, unless I'm missing something, I'm not sure why they pointed this out.

[Neo Rasa]

All I want is Rygar and Wonderboy, yet where are they?

Well the arcade version of Rygar already came out on the XBox on Tecmo Classics Arcade. Pretty poor compilation though, only Rygar, Tecmo Bowl, Senjyo and the shmup on it hold up at all. There were a ton of other great games they could have and should have put on it.

[joshschw]

Your theory is just falling apart here unless you can come up with some kind of evidence.

Sales figures from a few month back:

KOF: Maximum Impact (PS2): 80,000
KOF: Maximum Impact (XBOX): 5,700

KOF2k2/2k3 on PS2: 26,500
KOF2k2/2k3 on Xbox: 4,200

And to add some Capcom games:

CFE on PS2: 60,000
CFE on XBOX: 11,000

MvC2 on PS2: 246,000
MvC2 on XBOX: 75,000


To be fair, the same sales figures did report SVC Chaos as having sold around 52,000.
Still, there is no denying that a larger fanbase of the genre exists on the PS2.

i don't think this is a fair comparison at all, th xbox versions of all those games came out after the PS2 ones IRC, so people whoowned both were likely to pick up the Xbox versions.

[dave4shmups]

Now that the PS2 is nearing the end of its life, I'd say we'll start seeing some more 2D games (shmups, most likely) coming out for in around 2007. It happened with the PS1, it's gotta happen with the PS2.

I certainly hope so, LoneSage. I was chatting with Kiken on AIM last week, and he pointed out the increasing numbers of 2D games for the PS1 at the end of it's life-span. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but, after I sold my Genny back in '94, in high school, I didn't get back into gaming again until 2002.

In any case, what's worrisome this time around is the fact that Sony and Microsoft seem focused on releasing games for both the PS3 and the 360, while also releasing them for the XBOX and the PS2. There have already been plenty of XBOX games, and there will be more, that have seen both XBOX and 360 ports. Of course, there have been, and will continue to be, plenty of original titles-but if Sony and Microsoft become so focused on doing this sort of thing, then perhaps we won't see a lot of 2D titles at the the end of the PS2's life-span.

Different next-gen consoles regardless; I'm just getting really peeved at the fact that SNK-P are releasing 2D fighters like there's no tomorrow, but yet they can't seem to be bothered to put together a collection of their older non-fighting games, of which they have plenty. It's just flat out ridiculous, IMO.

[dave4shmups]

What's up with fans bashing companies for business decisions they likely know little about?

Dave, this answer is the same one they've given for almost a year now if anybody emailed them with those questions.

Anybody who says that SNK should just focus on Xbox figures needs to find some TRSTS sales figures somewhere. Their games sell in the single digit thousands. That's less than 10,000 copies. How the hell do you expect them to survive doing that?

They've been able to sell around 50k on the PS2, about 10 times more, and that's why they're hounding the PS2. If they got "half of X," you can bet they'd be ignoring SCEA more.

And of course, this "will develop for PS2 after PS3 comes out" is dependent on one of 2 things:

1. SNK decides to package together its games.
2. SCEA decides to let SNK release its gamess unpackaged and reducing its licensing fees as usual for games on a now retired system.

That said, I feel SNK's best choice now (best being entirely relative in this case since none of their choices are good) is exactly what they're doing: they're waiting for the licensing fees to decrease so that whether SCEA yields or not, SNK will release the games. They're likely counting on the fact that whether they release the games now or after the fee decrease, the sales will be roughly similar, meaning they can take more revenue from the sales later.

Dude, classics compilations have always done well-even friggin' Namco Museum 50th Anniversary is already a PS2 Greatest Hits game! And in any case, there would certainly be a larger audience for a compilation of old SNK games, instead of another "Neo-Wave Maxium Total Ultimate King of Fighters Impact, 2004-2005" release.

If SNK-P can go back to 1994 for a new 2D console fighter release (http://xbox.ign.com/objects/741/741666.html), which even fewer people will probably care about now that Dead Or Alive 4 is out, then they can dig back a little further. They'd make more money if they'd go beyond ONE genre of games for console releases, at this point.

[BrianC]

Dude, classics compilations have always done well-even friggin' Namco Museum 50th Anniversary is already a PS2 Greatest Hits game!

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary was a "Greatest Hits" game for PS2 the day it came out.

[Skyline]

The original PS2 Namco Museum was a Greatest Hits game. 50th Anniversary sold for $19.99 right off the bat.

You most likely got the two confused.

[dave4shmups]

The original PS2 Namco Museum was a Greatest Hits game. 50th Anniversary sold for $19.99 right off the bat.

You most likely got the two confused.

No, 50th Anniversary is a Greatest Hit game.

[greg]

In somewhat-related news, the poll on Playmore's site for the favorite KOF character has Mai Shiranui at #1 at 1,443 votes. I am only one of 11 people who voted for Sie Kensou...

[dave4shmups]

In somewhat-related news, the poll on Playmore's site for the favorite KOF character has Mai Shiranui at #1 at 1,443 votes. I am only one of 11 people who voted for Sie Kensou...

Interesting. Maybe I ought to give that series a go-I'm just used to very simple vs. fighters, like Neo Geo Double Dragon, and the first Virtua Fighter.

[LoneSage]

In somewhat-related news, the poll on Playmore's site for the favorite KOF character has Mai Shiranui at #1 at 1,443 votes. I am only one of 11 people who voted for Sie Kensou...

Kensou's in my Top 5, guy was a beast in '96. Not to mention I think he's a funny character. He used to be my fave for awhile.
Another guy I've liked is Joe Higashi, but he seems to get weaker each year.

[Ganelon]

Interesting. Maybe I ought to give that series a go-I'm just used to very simple vs. fighters, like Neo Geo Double Dragon, and the first Virtua Fighter.

Whoa there, none of the VF games are anywhere remotely simple. But definitely give the KOF games a try.

[Neo Rasa]

He might just mean that they're "simple" in that they're very easy to jump in and play for a bit. If you take two novice players and put them against each other fun will be had by all. I think the game works at any skill level when both players are at that same level.

Man everyone was a beast in KoF'96 (except Vice).

I like how Ralf and Clark get toned down each year, and yet each year are still powerhouses.