Editing SNK (section)

==={{anchor|2001–2016: Playmore and SNK Playmore}}Playmore and SNK Playmore (2001–2016)===
Established as '''Playmore Corporation''' on August 1, 2001.<ref name="aboutsnkp">{{cite web|url=https://www.snkplaymore.co.jp/us/company/profile|title=Corporate Information|website=SNK|access-date=2016-11-30|archive-date=2019-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217000822/https://www.snk-corp.co.jp/us/profile/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snkplaymore.co.jp/us/press/2013/20131108.php|title=Press Release - SNK Playmore|date=2013-11-08|website=SNK Playmore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131201025605/http://www.snkplaymore.co.jp/us/press/2013/20131108.php|archive-date=2013-12-01|url-status=dead|access-date=2023-10-25}}</ref> It was originally an affiliate of the former SNK. Initially, it was a legal company specializing in copyright management services, and it would be incorrect to refer to the former SNK as its predecessor company. On October 30, of the same year, the company won the company's [[intellectual property rights]] in a bid made during the bankruptcy of the former SNK.

To re-establish its presence in the gaming market, Playmore acquired BrezzaSoft and its former SNK developers, as well as Japan-based Neo Geo developer [[Noise Factory]]. Sun Amusement, a Japanese commercial games distributor, was acquired by SNK to provide the company with an arcade distribution outlet in Japan. International offices were established in South Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States under the name SNK NeoGeo for commercial and, later, consumer gaming distribution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snkneogeo.co.jp/company/group.html |title=Neo Geo Group Company Info |access-date=2016-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021006131950/http://www.snkneogeo.co.jp/company/group.html |archive-date=2002-10-06 }}</ref> In July 2003, with the permission of Eikichi Kawasaki, the founder of the former SNK company, and after it reacquired the rights to SNK trademark from Aruze, the company changed its name to '''SNK Playmore Corporation'''.<ref name="playmorenamechange">{{cite web|url=http://www.snkplaymore.jp/information/press12.html/|title=社名変更のお知らせ|website=SNK Playmore|language=ja|date=July 2003|access-date=2023-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051125123915/http://www.snkplaymore.jp/information/press12.html/|archive-date=2005-11-25|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snkplaymore.jp/information/en_press12.html|title=Change of our Company Name|date=2003-07-07|website=SNK Playmore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030804033817/http://www.snkplaymore.jp/information/en_press12.html|archive-date=2003-08-04|url-status=dead|access-date=2016-05-01}}</ref> In the same year, SNK purchased [[ADK (company)|ADK]] shortly after it filed for bankruptcy. Previously, ADK was a third-party company that had been heavily associated with SNK since the late 1980s. SNK Playmore's operations in Japan already largely resembled the original company: SNK employed many employees who left after its bankruptcy filing and occupied its former building.<ref name=GameSpotHistory />

In October 2002, Kawasaki sued Aruze for copyright infringement, claiming 6.2&nbsp;billion [[Japanese yen]] (US${{Formatnum:{{to USD|6200000000|JPN|year=2002|round=yes}}}}) in damages. He cited that Aruze had continued to use SNK's intellectual properties after Playmore re-acquired them. A preliminary decision in January 2004 by the Osaka District Court favored SNK Playmore, awarding it 5.64&nbsp;billion yen (US${{Formatnum:{{to USD|5640000000|JPN|year=2002|round=yes}}}}).{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

[[File:SNK Playmore logo.svg|thumb|250px|left|SNK Playmore logo from 2003 to 2016 (Green Playmore color used from 2003 to 2014)]]
In the fall and winter of 2003, SNK Playmore obtained an injunction against a group of four different companies, causing hundreds of AES cartridges to be seized. In the following year, SNK Playmore struck a compromise with two of the companies. The two were allowed to sell AES cartridges, under the conditions that the cartridges would not be modified again and that any legitimate materials would be returned to SNK Playmore.

Within the same year, SNK Playmore would discontinue the AES system, preferring to publish video games in cooperation with [[Sammy Corporation|Sammy]]. Using its arcade board [[Atomiswave]], SNK Playmore gained a more secure and modern platform for new arcade releases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/02/20/snk-to-atomiswave|title=SNK to Atomiswave: Company puts an end to the Neo Geo|publisher=IGN |date=2004-02-20 |access-date=2016-05-01}}</ref> In 2004, SNK Playmore officially became licensed to manufacture [[pachislot]] machines (Japanese slot machines played in pachinko parlors). The company released its first two machines that year: ''Metal Slug'' and ''Dragon Gal''. Pachislots would be more heavily featured in SNK Playmore's product lineup for the next decade.<ref name="パチスロ – 株式会社SNKプレイモア">{{cite web|url=http://slot.snkplaymore.co.jp/|title=パチスロ – 株式会社SNKプレイモア|website=slot.snkplaymore.co.jp|access-date=2016-03-26|language=ja|archive-date=2008-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205052919/http://slot.snkplaymore.co.jp/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In September 2006 at the [[Tokyo Game Show]] (TGS), SNK Playmore announced that it had ceased producing games on the Atomiswave, favoring [[Taito]]'s Type X2 arcade platform. To counter the decline in the commercial gaming industry, the company shifted some of its development focus to consumer games, including original games for the PlayStation 2, [[Nintendo DS]], [[mobile phones]], and other platforms. Games continued to be ported to the PlayStation 2, mostly in Europe because [[Sony Interactive Entertainment|Sony Computer Entertainment America]] (SCEA) did not approve most SNK Playmore games, and more rarely to the Xbox. In Japan, SNK Playmore released the ''[[NeoGeo Online Collection]]'' for the PlayStation 2, which contained some of its older games. It featured emulations, and online play was available through the [[KDDI]] matching service. The company also released original titles based on existing franchises such as ''[[Metal Slug (2006 video game)|Metal Slug]]'' and the ''[[KOF: Maximum Impact]]'' series.

[[File:SNK Playmore promotional models at Tokyo Game Show 20070921 1.jpg|thumb|250px|SNK Playmore exposition at the [[Tokyo Game Show|TGS]] in 2007, including two promotional models dressed as the company mascot, [[Mai Shiranui]] (far left)]]

In 2007, SNK Playmore USA released its first game on the [[Xbox Live Arcade]], titled ''Fatal Fury Special''.<ref>[http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/f/fatalfuryspecialxboxlivearcade/default.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909221236/http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/f/fatalfuryspecialxboxlivearcade/default.htm|date=September 9, 2007}}</ref> SNK Playmore also began supporting Nintendo's [[Virtual Console]] service on the Wii in the US with ''Fatal Fury'', ''Art of Fighting'', and ''World Heroes''. In 2007, ''[[The King of Fighters XI]]'' and ''[[NeoGeo Battle Coliseum|Neo Geo Battle Coliseum]]'' were released. SNK Playmore also released its first adult-themed game franchise, ''[[Doki Doki Majo Shinpan!]]'', the first for any handheld console. In 2009, the company released ''[[The King of Fighters XII]]'', which was not well-received by the public and critics alike due to polemic changes in the game's graphics and structure. In 2010, SNK Playmore released a sequel, ''[[The King of Fighters XIII]]'', which was considered a much better game than its immediate predecessor. It either won or was nominated to multiple [[List of Game of the Year awards|Game of the Year]] awards.

SNK has developed a great number of [[mobile game]]s since 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/press/single.php?num=230|title=ＳＮＫプレイモア、iPhone/iPod touch向けゲームアプリ第一弾『メタルスラッグ タッチ』を配信開始！|date=2009-12-18|access-date=2016-03-26|language=ja}}</ref> It has licensed its characters for Chinese and other Asian games, mostly mobile.

In December 2012, SNK Playmore released the [[Neo Geo X]], a relaunched mobile Neo Geo console. On October 2, 2013, SNK Playmore terminated its licensing agreement with the console's manufacturer, [[Tommo]], effectively ending production of the Neo Geo X less than a year after its release.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snkplaymoreusa.com/termination-of-the-license-agreement-between-tommo-inc-and-snk-playmore-usa-corp |title=Termination of the License Agreement between Tommo and SNK Playmore USA Corp. |publisher=SNK Playmore USA |access-date=2013-10-07 |archive-date=2013-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006043559/http://www.snkplaymoreusa.com/termination-of-the-license-agreement-between-tommo-inc-and-snk-playmore-usa-corp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kotaku.com/snk-orders-neogeo-x-maker-to-end-production-and-stop-se-1441541889 |title=SNK Orders NeoGeo X Maker to End Production and Stop Selling It |date=5 October 2013 |publisher=Kotaku.com |access-date=2013-10-07}}</ref> Tommo disputed the termination, stating that its contract was extended until 2016 and that it performed every obligation of the licensing agreement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tommo.com/press-release/tommo-responds-to-wrongful-termination-claim-by-snk-playmore/ |title=Tommo Responds to the Wrongful Termination Claim by SNK Playmore USA Corp |publisher=Tommo Inc |access-date=2013-10-13 |archive-date=2013-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011100300/http://tommo.com/press-release/tommo-responds-to-wrongful-termination-claim-by-snk-playmore/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In June 2013, the [[VIGAMUS]], a museum of video games in Rome,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vigamus.com/chi-siamo/partner-e-sponsor |title=Partner & Sponsor &#124; Vigamus, Museo del videogioco di Roma |publisher=Vigamus.com |language=it |access-date=2013-10-05 |archive-date=2013-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928145942/http://www.vigamus.com/chi-siamo/partner-e-sponsor |url-status=dead }}</ref> hosted an event dedicated to the history of SNK, tracing back the origins of the company and explaining the evolution of its games. Yamamoto Kei, Kiyoji Tomita, and Ogura Eisuke participated at the event and were interviewed. Ogura also drew two original illustrations to exhibit at the museum.<ref name="EIR">{{cite web | author=Eleonora L. | date=July 1, 2013 | title=SNK Legends at Italian Museum of Videogames, Vigamus! | url=http://www.eirgames.com/5631/snk-legends-italian-museum-videogames-vigamus/ | publisher=EIirgames.com | access-date=2013-10-05 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002161049/http://www.eirgames.com/5631/snk-legends-italian-museum-videogames-vigamus/ | archive-date=October 2, 2013 }}</ref>