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147-460: Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. ( 株式会社日本一ソフトウェア , Nippon Ichi Sofutowea , known as Prism Kikaku Ltd. from July 1993 to July 1995) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher . The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games , most notably the Disgaea and Marl Kingdom series. Its mascot is the penguin-like Disgaea character Prinny . NIS America,

294-453: A fantasy setting," citing Castlevania (1986) and Trojan (1986) as examples. IGN UK argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component, a monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without

441-507: A post-apocalyptic future were also released that year, including Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II , and Crystalis , which was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind . Crystalis also made advances to the action role-playing game subgenre, being a true action RPG that combined the real-time action-adventure combat and open world of The Legend of Zelda with

588-509: A video game arcade cabinet resembling a motorbike , which the player moves with their body. This began the "Taikan" trend, the use of motion-controlled hydraulic arcade cabinets in many arcade games of the late 1980s, two decades before motion controls became popular on video game consoles . Sega's Space Harrier , a rail shooter released in 1985, broke new ground graphically and its wide variety of settings across multiple levels gave players more to aim for than high scores. 1985 also saw

735-499: A Famicom; one third by mid-1988. In June 1989, Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing Peter Main, said that the Famicom was present in 37% of Japan's households. By the end of its run, over 60 million NES units had been sold throughout the world. In 1990 Nintendo surpassed Toyota as Japan's most successful corporation. Because the NES was released after the "video game crash" of

882-576: 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. In July 2003, with the permission of Eikichi Kawasaki, the founder of the former SNK company, and after it reacquired

1029-655: A common trend in video games. Shin Megami Tensei , released in 1992 for the SNES, introduced an early moral alignment system that influences the direction and outcome of the storyline, leading to different possible paths and multiple endings . This has since become a hallmark of the Megami Tensei series. Another non-linear RPG released that year was Romancing Saga , an open-world RPG by Square that offered many choices and allowed players to complete quests in any order, with

1176-410: A feature set that falls under the contemporary definition of modern real-time strategy. Data East 's Karate Champ from 1984 is credited with establishing and popularizing the one-on-one fighting game genre, and went on to influence Konami 's Yie Ar Kung-Fu from 1985. Capcom 's Street Fighter (1987) introduced the use of special moves that could only be discovered by experimenting with

1323-661: A former hanafuda playing card vendor, rose to prominence during the 1980s with the release of the home video game console called the Family Computer (Famicom), which became a major hit as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) internationally. Sony, already one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, entered the market in 1994 with the Sony PlayStation , one of the first home consoles to feature 3D graphics , almost immediately establishing itself as

1470-458: A fully 3D polygonal third-person perspective inside buildings, while bosses are fought in an arena-style 2D shoot 'em up battle. The game featured a variety of weapons and equipment as well as an automap , and the player could upgrade equipment and earn experience to raise stats. Unlike first-person RPGs at the time that were restricted to 90-degree movements, WiBArm's use of 3D polygons allowed full 360-degree movement. On October 30, 1987,

1617-451: A game that set the template for the tactical role-playing game genre and was the first entry in the Fire Emblem series. Another notable strategy RPG that year was Koei 's Bandit Kings of Ancient China , which was successful in combining the strategy RPG and management simulation genres, building on its own Nobunaga's Ambition series that began in 1983. Several early RPGs set in

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1764-488: A greater emphasis on storytelling and emotional involvement, building on Horii's previous work Portopia Serial Murder Case , but this time introducing a coming of age tale for Dragon Quest that audiences could relate to, making use of the RPG level-building gameplay as a way to represent this. It also featured elements still found in most console RPGs, like major quests interwoven with minor subquests, an incremental spell system,

1911-542: A joint venture to invest in Ledo Millennium, a subsidiary of Leyou. Through Ledo, the venture acquired Kawasaki's 81.25% stake in SNK Playmore for $ 63.5 million. The reason given for the acquisition was to gain rights to SNK Playmore's intellectual property, and further develop them by following Marvel Entertainment 's approach to mass media. The joint venture planned to integrate games, comics, film, and television in

2058-660: A localization and global publishing branch of the company, was founded in 2003. It originally focused solely on the North American market until being expanded to include Europe and other regions in 2007 and has also published anime . Nippon Ichi Software was founded in September 1991 in Gifu Prefecture , Japan, as an entertainment software company. It was relocated and reincorporated on July 12, 1993. The company has made several acquisitions, mergers, and forming new subsidiaries. In

2205-470: A major industry in Japan , and the country is considered one of the most influential in video gaming. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games and the country is home to many notable video game companies such as Nintendo , Sega , Bandai Namco Entertainment , Taito , Konami , Square Enix , Capcom , NEC , SNK , and formerly Sony Computer Entertainment . In 2022, Japan

2352-640: A major publisher in the space. Shigeru Miyamoto remains internationally renowned as a "father of video gaming" and is the only game developer so far to receive Japan's highest civilian honor for artists, the 文化功労者 (bunka kōrōsha) or Person of Cultural Merit . Arcade culture is a major influence among young Japanese, with Akihabara Electric Town being a major nexus of so-called otaku culture in Japan, which overlaps with video gaming heavily. Japanese video game franchises such as Super Mario , Pokémon , The Legend of Zelda , Resident Evil , Silent hill , Metal Gear , Devil May Cry , Final Fantasy , Sonic

2499-536: A male protagonist with female love interests and are targeted towards straight men, while otome (meaning "maiden" in Japanese) games feature a female protagonist with male love interests catering towards straight women. In 1966, Sega introduced an electro-mechanical game called Periscope - a submarine simulator which used lights and plastic waves to simulate sinking ships from a submarine. It became an instant success in Japan, Europe, and North America, where it

2646-548: A media franchise. With the purchase completed, SNK Playmore signaled a shift in the company's strategy, which had previously been focused more on the production of pachislot and mobile games than its traditional area, console and arcade games. In November 2015, SNK Playmore announced that it was withdrawing from the pachislot market, choosing instead to focus on console and mobile gaming, as well as character licensing using its popular characters such as Mai Shiranui , Ukyou Tachibana, Nakoruru , and Haohmaru . Additionally, all of

2793-527: A modern science-fiction setting and horror theme. It also introduced the monster-catching mechanic with its demon-summoning system, which allowed the player to recruit enemies into their party, through a conversation system that gives the player a choice of whether to kill or spare an enemy and allows them to engage any opponent in conversation. Sega 's original Phantasy Star for the Master System combined sci-fi & fantasy setting that set it apart from

2940-432: A national shortage of 100 yen coins in Japan , leading to a production increase of coins to meet demand for the game (although 100 yen coin production was lower in 1978 and 1979 than in previous or subsequent years, and the claim does not withstand logical scrutiny: arcade operators would have emptied out their machines and taken the money to the bank, thus keeping the coins in circulation). Japanese arcade games during

3087-461: A playable pregnancy, a concept that has since appeared in later games such as Story of Seasons . Dragon Quest V's monster-collecting mechanic, where monsters can be defeated, captured, added to the party, and gain their own experience levels, also influenced many later franchises such as Pokémon , Digimon and Dokapon . In turn, the concept of collecting everything in a game, in the form of achievements or similar rewards, has since become

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3234-447: A screen, printed out the player's score on a ticket, and had volume-controllable sound-effects. Another Sega 1969 release, Missile , a shooter , featured electronic sound and a moving film strip to represent the targets on a projection screen. The first arcade video game , Atari, Inc. 's Pong , debuted in the United States in 1972, and led to a number of new American manufacturers to create their own arcade games to capitalize on

3381-443: A shooter that switched between a 2D side-scrolling view in outdoor areas to a fully 3D polygonal third-person perspective inside buildings, while bosses were fought in an arena-style 2D battle, with the game featuring a variety of weapons and equipment. The late 1980s to early 1990s is considered the golden age of Japanese computer gaming, which would flourish until its decline around the mid-1990s, as consoles eventually dominated

3528-470: A similar open world design. Bokosuka Wars (1983) is considered an early prototype real-time strategy game. TechnoSoft 's Herzog (1988) is regarded as a precursor to the real-time strategy genre, being the predecessor to Herzog Zwei and somewhat similar in nature. Herzog Zwei , released for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis home console in 1989, is the earliest example of a game with

3675-532: A single cabinet. To swap in a new game, all the operator had to do was remove one cartridge and exchange it for another. The MVS was an immediate success. It greatly shortened the setup time needed for each game, minimized floor space for cabinets, and reduced costs for new cartridges to US$ 500—less than half of what a traditional arcade unit cost at the time. SNK wanted to bring arcade games to people's homes without making CPU and memory performance compromises that typical home consoles were forced to make. In 1990,

3822-548: A single game to be played on an LCD screen. It was the earliest Nintendo product to gain major success. Mega Man, known as Rockman (ロックマン, Rokkuman) in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man". Mega Man, released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, was the first in a series that expanded to over 50 games on multiple systems. As of March 31, 2021,

3969-482: A strategy-based battle system. The game's science fiction story was also unique, reversing the common alien invasion scenario by instead presenting Earthlings as the invading antagonists rather than the defending protagonists. Capcom 's Sweet Home for the NES introduced a modern Japanese horror theme and laid the foundations for the survival horror genre, later serving as the main inspiration for Resident Evil (1996). Tengai Makyo: Ziria released for

4116-582: A vertical space shooter , and Safari Rally (1980), a maze game. Game quality improved over time, most notably with Vanguard (1981), a side-scrolling space shooter. SNK licensed the game to Centuri for distribution in North America. Centuri started manufacturing and distributing the game by itself when profits exceeded projections. In part due to the success of Vanguard , SNK began to gain fame and reputation. An American branch opened on October 20, 1981, named SNK Electronics Corporation . In April 1986,

4263-422: Is being freemium , and this monetization model is most commonly seen in gacha games . In 2015, mobile game publishers had more than twice the ordinary income rate as console game publishers in Japan. Action games cover a variety of subgenres including: Gacha games are named after toy vending machines in Japan because of its lottery system. After spending in-game currency (which can be bought with real money),

4410-406: Is credited with injecting urgency and excitement into the combat system. The ATB combat system was considered revolutionary for being a hybrid between turn-based and real-time combat, with its requirement of faster reactions from players appealing to those who were more used to action games . Nintendo executives were initially reluctant to design a new system, but as the market transitioned to

4557-424: Is often dated in the 1990s. Console RPGs distinguished themselves from computer RPGs to a greater degree in the early 1990s. As console RPGs became more heavily story-based than their computer counterparts, one of the major differences that emerged during this time was in the portrayal of the characters, with most American computer RPGs at the time having characters devoid of personality or background as their purpose

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4704-683: The KOF: Maximum Impact series. In 2007, SNK Playmore USA released its first game on the Xbox Live Arcade , titled Fatal Fury Special . 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 Neo Geo Battle Coliseum were released. SNK Playmore also released its first adult-themed game franchise, Doki Doki Majo Shinpan! ,

4851-570: The D&;D staple. It was also one of the first games to feature a female protagonist and animated monster encounters, and allowed inter-planetary travel between three planets. Another 1987 title Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord was a third-person RPG that featured a wide open world and a mini-map on the corner of the screen. According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in

4998-710: The Ikari Warriors series in North America. Paul Jacobs took over Rowe's position over both halves of SNK America. He is known for having helped launch the company's Neo Geo system outside of Asia. In response to strong sales of the company's NES ports, SNK began to dabble in the development of original software designed specifically for the NES console. Two games came out of this effort: Baseball Stars (1989) and Crystalis (1990; known as God Slayer in Japan). In 1989, two home video game consoles were released in North America:

5145-495: The Korea Exchange ( KOSDAQ ) and EGDC's future plans to acquire all of the company's shares becoming its wholly owned subsidiary. On March 20, 2023, SNK relocated its main headquarters to Yodogawa-ku, Osaka . In June 28, 2024, SNK opens Singaporean branch called SNK Games Singapore , and currently re-expanding its global reach. SNK is best recognized for its 2D fighting arcade games , most of which were released during

5292-636: The PC Engine made its debut in the Japanese market and it was a tremendous success. The console had an elegant, "eye-catching" design, and it was very small compared to its rivals. The PC Engine, TurboGrafx-16, known as TurboGrafx-16 in the rest of the world, was a collaborative effort between Hudson Soft , who created video game software, and NEC , a major company which was dominant in the Japanese personal computer market with their PC-88 and PC-98 platforms. R-Type , an acclaimed side-scrolling shoot 'em up,

5439-507: The PC Engine CD that same year was the first RPG released on CD-ROM and the first in the genre to feature animated cut scenes and voice acting. The game's plot was also unusual for its feudal Japan setting and its emphasis on humour; the plot and characters were inspired by the Japanese folk tale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari . The music for the game was also composed by noted musician Ryuichi Sakamoto . The ‘golden age’ of console RPGs

5586-537: The Sega Genesis , and NEC and Hudson Soft 's TurboGrafx-16 . Nintendo followed suit with a new system in 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES, SNES). SNK as a whole did not become involved in the "system wars" of the early 1990s. Instead, it refocused its efforts on arcades. Other third parties, such as Romstar and Takara , were left to license and port SNK's properties to

5733-536: The Sega Model 1 games Virtua Racing (1992) and Virtua Fighter (1993), followed by racing games like the Namco System 22 title Ridge Racer (1993) and Sega Model 2 title Daytona USA , and light gun shooters like Sega's Virtua Cop (1994), gaining considerable popularity in the arcades. SNK In 2001 due to financial troubles, the original SNK Corporation was forced to close. Anticipating

5880-636: The Sord M200 in 1977 and Sharp MZ-80K in 1978. In Japan, both consoles and computers became major industries, with the console market dominated by Nintendo and the computer market dominated by NEC 's PC-88 (1981) and PC-98 (1982). A key difference between Western and Japanese computers at the time was the display resolution , with Japanese systems using a higher resolution of 640x400 to accommodate Japanese text which in turn affected video game design and allowed more detailed graphics. Japanese computers were also using Yamaha 's FM synth sound boards from

6027-771: The action RPG subgenre in the early 1980s, combining RPG elements with arcade -style action and action-adventure elements. The trend of combining role-playing elements with arcade-style action mechanics was popularized by The Tower of Druaga , an arcade game released by Namco in June 1984. While the RPG elements in Druaga were very subtle, its success in Japan inspired the near-simultaneous development of three early action role-playing games , combining Druaga ' s real-time hack-and-slash gameplay with stronger RPG mechanics, all released in late 1984: Dragon Slayer , Courageous Perseus , and Hydlide . A rivalry developed between

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6174-414: The damsel-in-distress storyline that many RPGs follow, and a romance element that remains a staple of the genre, alongside anime -style art by Akira Toriyama and a classical score by Koichi Sugiyama that was considered revolutionary for console video game music . With Dragon Quest becoming widely popular in Japan, such that local municipalities were forced to place restrictions on where and when

6321-527: The experience points . The Legend of Zelda was the most prolific action-adventure game series through to the 2000s. The first Nintendo Space World show was held on July 28, 1989. It was a video game trade show that was hosted by Nintendo until 2001. At the same year, Phantasy Star II for the Genesis established many conventions of the RPG genre, including an epic , dramatic, character-driven storyline dealing with serious themes and subject matter, and

6468-514: The fifth generation of consoles. Nintendo's market position was defined by their machine's increased video and sound capabilities, as well as exclusive first-party franchise titles such as Super Mario World , The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Metroid . In the early 1990s, the arcades experienced a major resurgence with the 1991 release of Capcom 's Street Fighter II , which popularized competitive fighting games and revived

6615-625: The "Atari Shock". After the video game crash, analysts doubted the long-term viability of the video game industry. At the same time, following a series of arcade game successes in the early 1980s, Nintendo made plans to create a cartridge-based console called the Famicom, which is short for Family Computer. Masayuki Uemura designed the system. The console was released on July 15, 1983, as the Family Computer (or Famicom for short) alongside three ports of Nintendo's successful arcade games Donkey Kong , Donkey Kong Jr. and Popeye . The Famicom

6762-486: The 1990s on their own Neo Geo arcade system. The first of these was 1991's Fatal Fury: King of Fighters — the first title of the Fatal Fury series — after which numerous other fighting games were released including World Heroes , Art of Fighting , Aggressors of Dark Kombat , and the popular Samurai Shodown . This then led to what is often seen as the company's most famous franchise, The King of Fighters —

6909-877: The Dragons and Sengoku 3 , Sunsoft 's Galaxy Fight: Universal Warriors and Waku Waku 7 , Sammy 's Viewpoint , NMK 's Zed Blade , Psikyo 's Strikers 1945 Plus , Aiky / Taito 's Pochi and Nyaa , Paon /Eleven/Gavaking's Nightmare in the Dark , Face's Money Puzzle Exchanger , Data East 's Spinmaster and Street Slam , and Technōs Japan 's Double Dragon and Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer . During this time, SNK also released stand-alone arcade games, some of which were ported to home consoles, including Vanguard , Alpha Mission , Athena , Ikari Warriors , Psycho Soldier , Touch Down Fever , Time Soldiers , P.O.W.: Prisoners of War , Beast Busters , and Street Smart . Compared to other consoles at

7056-553: The Hedgehog , Fire Emblem , Super Smash Bros. , Street Fighter , Kirby , Animal Crossing , Tekken , Kingdom Hearts , Persona , Dark Souls , Monster Hunter and many others have gained critical acclaim and continue to garner a large international following. The Japanese role-playing game is a major game genre innovated by Japan and remains popular both domestically and internationally, with titles like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest selling millions. In 2018,

7203-487: The Japanese market. A notable Japanese computer RPG from around this time was WiBArm , the earliest known RPG to feature 3D polygonal graphics . It was a 1986 role-playing shooter released by Arsys Software for the PC-88 in Japan and ported to MS-DOS for Western release by Brøderbund . In WiBArm , the player controls a transformable mecha robot, switching between a 2D side-scrolling view during outdoor exploration to

7350-488: The Japanese operations of SNK Corporation had shifted their focus solely toward developing and licensing video games for arcade use and later for early consoles . Between 1979 and 1986, SNK produced 23 stand-alone arcade games. Highlights from this period include Mad Crasher (1984), Alpha Mission (1985), and Athena (1986), a game that gained a large following when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987. SNK's most successful game from this time

7497-606: The Neo Geo X less than a year after its release. Tommo disputed the termination, stating that its contract was extended until 2016 and that it performed every obligation of the licensing agreement. In June 2013, the VIGAMUS , a museum of video games in Rome, 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

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7644-1100: The Neo Geo family was created. The company released a home version of the MVS, a single cartridge unit called the Neo Geo Advanced Entertainment System (Neo Geo AES). Initially, the AES was only available for rent or for use in hotel settings, but SNK quickly began selling the system through stores when customer response indicated that people were willing to spend money on home versions. Several franchises of games derived from it, including Sengoku , The King of Fighters , The Last Blade , Super Sidekicks , Art of Fighting , Metal Slug , Burning Fight , Savage Reign , Samurai Shodown , and Fatal Fury . The King of Fighters , Samurai Shodown , and Metal Slug series were continued on later consoles. SNK also helped publish third-party Neo Geo games such as ADK's World Heroes and Aggressors of Dark Kombat , Visco 's Breakers and Ganryu , Noise Factory 's Rage of

7791-415: The Neo Geo until 1997 while new software continued to be released for it until 2004. Reincarnations of the Neo Geo continue to be made to this day both by SNK and officially licensed third-parties. The company developed and produced a number of other hardware during the 1990s after the Neo Geo, all of which were short-lived and commercially unsuccessful. The Hyper Neo Geo 64 arcade board, released in 1997,

7938-567: The Ordinary Life , Koudelka , and Cool Cool Toon , but as none of them sold well it left the company's financial situation in a dire state. In January 2000, SNK's poor financial status led to its acquisition by Aruze , a company known for its pachinko machines and the parent company of its competitor SETA . Instead of developing video games using SNK's intellectual properties, Aruze manufactured pachinko machines that featured popular series such as King of Fighters . SNK saw little success in

8085-479: The Osaka District Court favored SNK Playmore, awarding it 5.64 billion yen (US$ 44,980,374). 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

8232-740: The PlayStation 2, mostly in Europe because Sony Computer Entertainment of 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 and

8379-613: The Saudi Arabian MiSK Foundation since 2022. SNK was founded in 1973 as Shin Nihon Kikaku and reorganized on July 22, 1978 as a stock company ( kabushiki gaisha ) under the name "Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation". When Eikichi Kawasaki noticed rapid growth in the coin-operated video game market, he expanded Shin Nihon Kikaku to include the development and marketing of stand-alone coin-op games. The company

8526-601: The United States, such as Taito's Speed Race and Gun Fight in 1975. Gun Fight notably, when released by Midway Games in the U.S., was the first arcade game to use a microprocessor rather than discrete electronic components. Sega 's black and white boxing game Heavyweight Champ was released in 1976 as the first video game to feature fist fighting . The first stealth games were Hiroshi Suzuki's Manbiki Shounen (1979) and Manbiki Shoujo (1980), Taito 's Lupin III (1980), and Sega 's 005 (1981). Separately,

8673-646: The West such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) . In 1985, a Japanese-translated version of D&D was the first TRPG to be published in Japan. TRPGs were not as popular in Japan compared to overseas, but after Enix published Dragon Quest in 1986, RPGs began to gain traction amongst Japanese consumers. Soon after, multiple Japanese publishers were releasing RPG franchises such as Final Fantasy , Persona , Tales , Pokémon , The Legend of Zelda , Ys , Kingdom Hearts , and many others that were very popular with Japanese and overseas consumers. The term "JRPG"

8820-499: The Year awards. SNK has developed a great number of mobile games since 2009. 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

8967-640: The aforementioned characters made their appearance as guest characters in a mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), Wangzhe Rongyao , roughly translated to English as Honor of Kings , which is the world highest-grossing game of all time as well as the most downloaded mobile app globally. On April 25, 2016, SNK officially dropped the "Playmore" name from its corporate logo and reintroduced its old slogan, "The Future Is Now", to signify "a return to SNK's rich gaming history". A legal name change from SNK Playmore Corporation to SNK Corporation followed on December 1, 2016, to more firmly establish SNK Playmore as

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9114-564: The amnesia theme in Final Fantasy VII and Glory of Heracles . The TurboGrafx-CD port of Dragon Knight II released that year was also notable for introducing erotic adult content to consoles, though such content had often appeared in Japanese computer RPGs since the early 1980s. That same year, Game Arts began the Lunar series on the Sega CD with Lunar: The Silver Star , one of

9261-464: The arcade industry to a level of popularity not seen since the days of Pac-Man , setting off a renaissance for the arcade game industry in the early 1990s. Its success led to a wave of other popular games which mostly were in the fighting genre, such as Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (1992) by SNK , Virtua Fighter (1993) by SEGA , and The King of Fighters (1994–2005) by SNK. In 1993, Electronic Games noted that when "historians look back at

9408-501: The booming arcade industry for the 1990s, but as interest in arcades fell in favor of home and portable consoles going into the 2000s, as well as the move to 3D, they were unable to adjust to the changing market. Their newer 3D hardware Hyper Neo Geo 64 was a large failure and the amusement parks opened in Japan also proved to be failing. SNK tried to develop more titles for the third-party home console market, such as Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushidō Retsuden , Athena: Awakening from

9555-665: 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 . Using its arcade board Atomiswave , SNK Playmore gained a more secure and modern platform for new arcade releases. 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

9702-635: The company name was changed to the nickname "SNK", but the registered trade name had to be SNK Corporation . This is because the Ministry of Justice at the time did not allow the registration of business names in alphabets . In November 1986, the American subsidiary SNK Corporation of America was born in Sunnyvale, California. In March 1988, SNK staff moved to a building in Suita , Osaka , Japan. At this point,

9849-814: The company's more well-known releases include entries in the Atelier , Ys , and Trails series, among others. Takehito Harada ( 原田 たけひと , Harada Takehito ) is a chief executive officer of Studio ToOefuf and video game artist employed by Nippon Ichi whose art has been featured in video games such as Disgaea , Phantom Brave , Makai Kingdom , and Fate/Grand Order . His art style has been described as "crazy and bizarre" and features everything from demon children, to freaky pigs in royal clothing. His signature character, Pleinair, has appeared in Disgaea and Phantom Brave. Video gaming in Japan Video games are

9996-564: The country had an estimate of 67.6 million players in its game market. Androids and iPhones reportedly had the highest player rate amongst its owners versus the player rate amongst owners of game consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and the Wii . This is most likely due to many Japanese people having daily, long commutes on the train or bus versus time at home and the mobile phone being portable and convenient. The main characteristic of mobiles games

10143-505: The crash. SNK became a third-party licensee for Nintendo's Famicom (alternative name for the NES) system in 1985. It opened a second branch in the US, called SNK Home Entertainment, based in Torrance, California . The branch handled the North American distribution and marketing of the company's products for home consoles. John Rowe had already left the company to form Tradewest , which went on to market

10290-453: The decision of whether or not to participate in any particular quest affecting the outcome of the storyline. The game also allowed players to choose from eight different characters, each with their own stories that start in different places and offer different outcomes. Data East 's Heracles no Eikō III , written by Kazushige Nojima , introduced the plot element of a nameless immortal suffering from amnesia , and Nojima would later revisit

10437-479: The developer Dimps . Kawasaki, along with five other former SNK executives, funded the formation of BrezzaSoft, which continued to develop Neo Geo games such as The King of Fighters 2001 . With a total debt of about 38 billion yen, SNK gave up on voluntary reconstruction, and on April 2, 2001, SNK applied for the application of the Civil Rehabilitation Law to the Osaka District Court. The application

10584-413: The development of modern video games. Many prominent game franchises originated on the NES, including Nintendo's own Super Mario Bros. , The Legend of Zelda and Metroid , Capcom 's Mega Man franchise, Konami 's Castlevania franchise, Square 's Final Fantasy , and Enix 's Dragon Quest franchises. Following the release of the Family Computer / Nintendo Entertainment System,

10731-477: The early 1980s, many retailers and adults regarded electronic games as a passing fad, so many believed at first that the NES would soon fade. Before the NES/Famicom, Nintendo was known as a moderately successful Japanese toy and playing card manufacturer, but the popularity of the NES/Famicom helped the company grow into an internationally recognized name almost synonymous with video games as Atari had been, and set

10878-486: The early 1980s. During the 16-bit era , the PC-98, Sharp X68000 and FM Towns became popular in Japan. The X68000 and FM Towns were capable of producing near arcade -quality hardware sprite graphics and sound quality when they first released in the mid-to-late 1980s. The Wizardry series (translated by ASCII Entertainment ) became popular and influential in Japan, even more so than at home. Japanese developers created

11025-674: The early 2010s, the company formed Nippon Ichi Software Asia Pte. Ltd and Nippon Ichi Software Vietnam Co., Ltd. In 2016, NIS merged with System Prisma Corporation and acquired developer FOG Inc. In 2012, the company was awarded the Guinness World Record for being the company that released the most strategy RPGs . The company has developed a number of traditional role-playing video games . Many characters from previous games make their way into later games as secret characters, even though their respective games may not be directly connected. Their flagship franchise, Disgaea , takes place in

11172-498: The emergence of one of Sega's forefront series with its game Fantasy Zone . The game received acclaim for its surreal graphics and setting and the protagonist, Opa-Opa, was for a time considered Sega's mascot . The game borrowed Defender's device of allowing the player to control the direction of flight and along with the earlier TwinBee (1985), is an early archetype of the "cute 'em up" subgenre. Hydlide II: Shine of Darkness in 1985 featured an early morality meter, where

11319-459: The end of the company, founder Kawasaki established Playmore Corporation , which acquired all of the intellectual property of the SNK Corporation. In 2003, Playmore Corporation was renamed to SNK Playmore Corporation . In 2016, SNK dropped the name Playmore from its logo and reintroduced its old slogan, "The Future Is Now", officially changing its corporate name back to SNK. It has been owned by

11466-564: The event and were interviewed. Ogura also drew two original illustrations to exhibit at the museum. In March 2015, Leyou Technologies Holdings submitted a disclosure of interest document to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange , highlighting a "possible investment in a renowned Japanese video game developer". Later in August, it was announced that Chinese web and mobile game giant 37Games , and asset management firm Orient Securities had formed

11613-412: 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 Game of

11760-493: The first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey , had been released in the U.S. in 1971, of which Nintendo had partnered to manufacture the light gun accessory for the console, while Atari began releasing home console versions of Pong in 1975. Japan's first home video game console was Epoch 's TV Tennis Electrotennis . It was followed by the first successful Japanese console, Nintendo's Color TV-Game , in 1977 which

11907-636: The first successful CD-ROM RPGs, featuring both voice and text, and considered one of the best RPGs in its time. The game was praised for its soundtrack, emotionally engaging storyline, and strong characterization. It also introduced an early form of level-scaling where the bosses would get stronger depending on the protagonist's level, a mechanic that was later used in Enix's The 7th Saga and extended to normal enemies in Square's Romancing Saga 3 and later Final Fantasy VIII . 3D polygon graphics were popularized by

12054-583: The first title in this series was 1994's The King of Fighters '94 . These franchises also consist of numerous notable characters that have since become icons of SNK, such as Terry Bogard , Kyo Kusanagi and Mai Shiranui . In other genres, the Metal Slug run and gun series is also one of SNK's most well known franchises. SNK designed and released the Neo Geo (stylized NEOGEO) in 1990, an arcade cabinet that could store multiple games in one. It used swappable cartridges as opposed to other arcade machines at

12201-536: The following year by Space Harrier 3-D which used the SegaScope 3-D shutter glasses . Also in 1987, Konami created Contra as a coin-op arcade game that was particularly acclaimed for its multi-directional aiming and two player cooperative gameplay. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei by Atlus for the Nintendo Famicom abandoned the common medieval fantasy setting and sword and sorcery theme in favour of

12348-490: The game controls. Street Fighter II (1991) established the conventions of the fighting game genre and allowed players to play against each other. In 1985, Sega AM2 's Hang-On , designed by Yu Suzuki and running on the Sega Space Harrier hardware, was the first of Sega's " Super Scaler " arcade system boards that allowed pseudo-3D sprite-scaling at high frame rates . The pseudo-3D sprite / tile scaling

12495-471: The game could be sold, the Dragon Quest series is still considered a bellwether for the Japanese video game market. Shoot 'em ups featuring characters on foot, rather than spacecraft, became popular in the mid-1980s in the wake of action movies such as Rambo: First Blood Part II . The origins of this type go back to Sheriff by Nintendo, released in 1979. Taito's Front Line (1982) established

12642-402: The game series has sold 36 million units worldwide.[1] Konami 's Scramble , released in 1981, is a side-scrolling shooter with forced scrolling. It was the first scrolling shooter to offer multiple, distinct levels . Vertical scrolling shooters emerged around the same time. Namco's Xevious , released in 1982, is frequently cited as the first vertical scrolling shooter and, although it

12789-657: The global video game industry began recovering, with annual sales exceeding $ 2.3 billion by 1988, with 70% of the market dominated by Nintendo. In 1986 Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi noted that "Atari collapsed because they gave too much freedom to third-party developers and the market was swamped with rubbish games". In response, Nintendo limited the number of titles that third-party developers could release for their system each year, and promoted its " Seal of Quality ", which it allowed to be used on games and peripherals by publishers that met Nintendo's quality standards. Japan's first personal computers for gaming soon appeared,

12936-579: The golden age also had hardware unit sales at least in the tens of thousands, including Ms. Pac-Man with over 115,000 units, Donkey Kong with over 60,000, Galaxian with 40,000, Donkey Kong Jr. with 35,000, and Mr. Do! with 30,000. Other Japanese arcade games established new concepts that would become fundamentals in video games. Use of color graphics and individualized antagonists were considered "strong evolutionary concepts" among space ship games. The Namco's Galaxian in 1979 introduced multi-colored animated sprites. That same year saw

13083-409: The intention to acquire a further 17.7% share at a later time as to gain controlling interest in the company. In April 2021, three board members dispatched from Saudi Arabia were appointed. EGDC announced its intention to acquire 51% through additional purchases. In February 2022, EGDC's ownership share was increased to 96.18%. In May, of the same year, SNK notifies the delisting of your shares of

13230-471: The internals of the existing cabinet or exchange the entire setup for another game. SNK's new system, called the Neo Geo MVS (short for Multi Video System), developed by Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters director Takashi Nishiyama , featured multiple games in a single cabinet and used a cartridge-based storage mechanism. The system debuted in 1990 and could contain one, two, four, or six separate games in

13377-435: The late 1970s and early 1980s. Space Invaders (1978), Galaxian (1979), Pac-Man (1980) and Bosconian (1981) were especially popular. By 1981, the arcade video game industry was worth $ 8 billion ($ 26.8 billion in 2023). Some games of this era were so popular that they entered popular culture . The first to do so was Space Invaders . The game was so popular upon its release in 1978 that an urban legend blamed it for

13524-637: The latter company collapsed) inventing the type proper with 1995's DonPachi . Bullet hell games marked another point where the shoot 'em up genre began to cater to more dedicated players. Games such as Gradius had been more difficult than Space Invaders or Xevious , but bullet hell games were yet more inward-looking and aimed at dedicated fans of the genre looking for greater challenges. While shooter games featuring protagonists on foot largely moved to 3D-based genres, popular, long-running series such as Contra and Metal Slug continued to receive new sequels. Rail shooters have rarely been released in

13671-422: The level-building and spell-casting of traditional RPGs like Final Fantasy . That year also saw the release of Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom , which featured an innovative and original branching storyline, which spans three generations of characters and can be altered depending on which character the protagonist of each generation marries, leading to four possible endings. In 1991, Final Fantasy IV

13818-478: The market after the release of the Game Boy Color , and Neo Geo World Tokyo Bayside quickly lost attendance after the re-opening of Yokohama Cosmo World a few months later, with the park considered to be a massive failure. In addition, the arcade game magazine Gamest , one of the biggest promoters of SNK titles, ceased publication after its publisher Shinseisha declared bankruptcy in 1999. SNK had focused on

13965-400: The new millennium, with only Rez and Panzer Dragoon Orta achieving cult recognition. 1992 saw the release of Dragon Quest V , a game that has been praised for its involving, emotional family-themed narrative divided by different periods of time, something that has appeared in very few video games before or since. It has also been credited as the first known video game to feature

14112-666: The newer hardware, Nintendo saw the erosion of the commanding market share it had built up with the Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo's fourth-generation console, the Super Famicom, was released in Japan on November 21, 1990; Nintendo's initial shipment of 300,000 units sold out within hours. Despite stiff competition from the Mega Drive/Genesis console, the Super NES eventually took the top selling position, selling 49.10 million units worldwide, and would remain popular well into

14259-559: The next decade. 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 continue to be ported to

14406-489: The player against multiple enemies descending from the top of the screen at a constantly increasing speed. The game used alien creatures inspired by The War of the Worlds (by H. G. Wells ) because the developers were unable to render the movement of aircraft; in turn, the aliens replaced human enemies because of moral concerns (regarding the portrayal of killing humans) on the part of Taito. As with subsequent shoot 'em ups of

14553-468: The player can be aligned with justice, normal, or evil, which is affected by whether the player kills evil monsters, good monsters, or humans, and in turn affects the reactions of the townsfolk towards the player. In the same year, Yuji Horii and his team at Chunsoft began production on Dragon Quest ( Dragon Warrior ). After Enix published the game in early 1986, it became the template for future console RPGs. Horii's intention behind Dragon Quest

14700-510: The player can get a random character or item. Most often, the characters that the player wants are rare and encourages the player to spend enough money until they get their desired character. Notable Japanese gacha games include iDOLM@STER , Granblue Fantasy , Fate/Grand Order , and others. Gacha games can often have different game elements such as combat and serve as an RPG or contain rhythm game game-play. Role-playing games (RPGs) originated from tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs) in

14847-647: The player to choose between multiple love interests and fall under dating sims . VNs often contained sexual content in the beginning when VNs were first developed for the PC, but when VNs were starting to be published for game consoles as well, family-friendly versions were also released. Like manga, popular VNs were also adapted into anime such as Higurashi: When They Cry , Clannad , Fate/stay night , Steins;Gate , and many others. Two big subgenres of VNs are bishōjo and otome games. Bishōjo (meaning "beautiful girl" in Japanese) games are romance visual novels featuring

14994-514: The player to dodge overwhelming numbers of enemy projectiles and called for still more consistent reactions from players. Bullet hell games arose from the need for 2D shoot 'em up developers to compete with the emerging popularity of 3D games: huge numbers of missiles on screen were intended to impress players. Toaplan 's Batsugun (1993) provided the prototypical template for this new breed, with Cave (formed by former employees of Toaplan, including Batsugun's main creator Tsuneki Ikeda, after

15141-466: The player to modify the strategies used by the allied party members while maintaining full control of the hero. Final Fantasy III introduced the classic " job system ", a character progression engine allowing the player to change the character classes , as well as acquire new and advanced classes and combine class abilities, during the course of the game. That same year also saw the release of Nintendo's Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryu to Hikari no Tsurugi ,

15288-520: The player to smaller areas in the game world following a linear story line and most notably using turn-based combat systems like in D&;D. Although there was typically less freedom in JRPGs compared to Western RPGs, the linear story lines allowed for Japanese developers to completely flesh out the character development of the player's companions and sometimes the player's character themselves. This focus on narrative

15435-600: The player's score. The aliens of Space Invaders return fire at the protagonist, making them the first arcade game targets to do so. It set the template for the shoot 'em up genre, and has influenced most shooting games released since then. Taito's Space Invaders , in 1978, proved to be the first blockbuster arcade video game. Its success marked the beginning of the golden age of arcade video games . Video game arcades sprang up in shopping malls, and small "corner arcades" appeared in restaurants, grocery stores, bars and movie theaters all over Japan and other countries during

15582-481: The release of SNK 's debut shoot 'em up Ozma Wars , notable for being the first action game to feature a supply of energy, resembling a life bar , a mechanic that has now become common in the majority of modern action games. It also featured vertically scrolling backgrounds and enemies. From 1980 to 1991 , Nintendo produced a line of handheld electronic games called Game & Watch . Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi , each Game & Watch features

15729-414: The release of Konami's Gradius , which gave the player greater control over the choice of weaponry, thus introducing another element of strategy. The game also introduced the need for the player to memorise levels in order to achieve any measure of success. Gradius , with its iconic protagonist, defined the side-scrolling shoot 'em up and spawned a series spanning several sequels. The following year saw

15876-799: The rights to SNK trademark from Aruze, the company changed its name to SNK Playmore Corporation . In the same year, SNK purchased 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. In October 2002, Kawasaki sued Aruze for copyright infringement, claiming 6.2 billion Japanese yen (US$ 49,446,510) 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

16023-413: The rising fad. Several of these companies had Japanese partners and kept their overseas counterparts abreast of this new technology, leading several Japanese coin-operated electronic games makers to step into the arcade game market as well. Taito and Namco were some of the early adopters of arcade games in Japan, first distributing American games before developing their own. Nintendo which at this time

16170-497: The same four-button layout as the arcade MVS cabinet. The quality of AES games varied. Some, such as the Super Sidekicks series, were all-new creations, while others were updated versions of earlier successes, such as Baseball Stars Professional . SNK games were graphically bold and bright. Games such as Top Hunter: Roddy & Cathy and the famous Metal Slug series were distinctive and instantly recognizable, contributing to

16317-504: The same universe. Nippon Ichi Indie Spirits, a label under which the company localises non-Japanese indie games for the Japanese market, was formed on December 28, 2016. The label's first games, Nidhogg , Back to Bed , and Emily Wants to Play , were released in February 2017. All games that are published through this program are only released digitally. NIS America , a localization and global publishing branch of Nippon Ichi Software,

16464-522: The stage for Japanese dominance of the video game industry. With the NES, Nintendo also changed the relationship between console manufacturers and third-party software developers by restricting developers from publishing and distributing software without licensed approval. This led to higher quality software titles, which helped change the attitude of a public that had grown weary from poorly produced titles for earlier game systems. The system's hardware limitations led to design principles that still influence

16611-496: The story and achieve different endings. VNs are novel-like, but also include character visuals and artwork to complement with different scenes in the story and sometimes voice acting . Many visual don't feature many game-play features besides decision-making. This decision-making differentiated visual novels from regular novels as it allowed players to replay the game at certain decision points to make different decisions and see different endings. Most VNs are romance stories and allow

16758-512: The successor to the old SNK brand and legacy. The King of Fighters XIV , the first entry in its series in more than half a decade, was released in 2016. In July 2018, SNK released the NEOGEO Mini, a miniature console based on the design of the company's Japanese arcade machines. It was pre-loaded with forty classic Neo Geo games. In June 2019, the 12th entry in the Samurai Shodown series

16905-610: The system's success in arcades. SNK also produced the Neo Geo CD home console, the Hyper Neo-Geo 64 arcade system, and two handheld game consoles , the Neo Geo Pocket and Pocket Color . Several more famous franchise titles, originally created for the MVS and AES systems, have been ported to other consoles such as the Genesis , Saturn and Dreamcast ; SNES; PlayStation and PlayStation 2 ; Xbox ; and Wii . The Neo Geo Pocket

17052-617: The three games, with Dragon Slayer and Hydlide continuing their rivalry through subsequent sequels. The Tower of Druaga , Dragon Slayer and Hydlide were influential in Japan, where they laid the foundations for the action RPG genre, influencing titles such as Ys and The Legend of Zelda . The action role-playing game Hydlide (1984) was an early open world game, rewarding exploration in an open world environment. Hydlide influenced The Legend of Zelda (1986), an influential open world game. Zelda had an expansive, coherent open world design, inspiring many games to adopt

17199-434: The time, and this was a factor in its popularity. The system, known as MVS (Multi Video System), was a big success for SNK and it was the platform from which many of SNK's big franchises originated from. The Neo Geo also had a video game console variant, often named the AES (Advanced Entertainment System), using the same cartridge media. A CD -based equivalent home console was later released, called Neo Geo CD . SNK produced

17346-601: The time, the Neo Geo AES had much better graphics and sound; It debuted at $ 599 (equivalent to $ 1,340 in 2023), sold with two joystick controllers and a game (either Baseball Stars Professional or NAM-1975 ). Within a few months of the system's introduction in North America, SNK increased the cost to $ 649 and changed the pack-in game to Magician Lord . Alternatively, the console could be bought for $ 399 with one control stick and without an accompanying game. Other games cost at least $ 200 each. Joystick controllers contained

17493-416: The time, the game was set in space as the available technology only permitted a black background. The game also introduced the idea of giving the player a number of " lives ". It popularised a more interactive style of gameplay with the enemies responding to the player-controlled cannon's movement, and it was the first video game to popularise the concept of achieving a high score , being the first to save

17640-404: The time. Japanese console RPGs were also generally more faster-paced and action-adventure -oriented than their American computer counterparts. During the 1990s, console RPGs had become increasingly dominant. In 1990, Dragon Quest IV introduced a new method of storytelling: segmenting the plot into segregated chapters. The game also introduced an AI system called "Tactics" which allowed

17787-488: The two games sold around 50,000 copies. SNK closed all American, Canadian and European operations, on June 13, 2000. The company sold rights to distribution in North America for MVS arcade systems and Neo Print photo systems. It licensed North American localizations of some console releases to outside companies. With low morale and an unclear future, many of the company's employees left their jobs. Some joined rivals Capcom and Arc System Works , and others moved on to found

17934-406: The upwards-scrolling formula later popularized by Capcom 's Commando , in 1985, and SNK 's Ikari Warriors (1986). Commando also drew comparisons to Rambo and indeed contemporary critics considered military themes and protagonists similar to Rambo or Schwarzenegger prerequisites for a shoot 'em up, as opposed to an action-adventure game . In 1986, Arsys Software released WiBArm ,

18081-542: The various home consoles of the time with help from SNK's American home entertainment division. With console ports mainly handled outside the company, it moved on to developing SNK-branded arcade equipment. SNK also licensed Tiger Electronics to market handheld electronic games from some of its brands. In 1988, SNK created the idea of a modular cabinet for arcades. Up to that point, arcade cabinets typically contained only one game. When an arcade operator wanted to switch or replace that game, it would have to completely remove

18228-539: The video game market. The same year, Capcom agreed to create a series of fighting games featuring both companies' fighting game characters. The Capcom vs. SNK games were a success, however most of the profits went to Capcom because it developed and published the games. SNK released SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium and SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Combined,

18375-406: The world of coin-op during the early 1990s, one of the defining highlights of the video game art form will undoubtedly focus on fighting/martial arts themes" which it described as "the backbone of the industry" at the time. A new type of shoot 'em up emerged in the early 1990s: variously termed "bullet hell", "manic shooters", "maniac shooters" and danmaku ( 弾幕 , "barrage") , these games required

18522-468: Was Ikari Warriors , released in 1986. It was licensed and ported to the Atari 2600 , Atari 7800 , Commodore 64 , Amiga , Amstrad CPC , Apple II , ZX Spectrum , and NES. After Ikari Warriors , SNK released two sequels: Victory Road and Ikari III: The Rescue . At the time, Japan was affected by the video game crash of 1983 . The console manufacturer Nintendo remained in business throughout and after

18669-702: Was SNK's original handheld system. It was released in Japan in late 1998 and featured a monochrome (one-color) display. Because its sales were fewer than the expected number, it was discontinued in 1999 in favor of the Neo Geo Pocket Color, which was later released in North America and Europe. In 1999, SNK opened the Neo Geo World Tokyo Bayside amusement park as part of the Palette Town entertainment complex in Odaiba , Tokyo equipped with attractions such as Ferris wheels and roller coasters. A large-scale tie-in

18816-705: Was accepted, and the revitalization procedures were once proceeded, and the head office returned to Suita City, Osaka Prefecture. The district court decided to abolish the civil rehabilitation proceedings on October 1, of the same year, and declared bankruptcy on October 30. Licenses for SNK's game production and development rights to its franchises were sold to several other companies. These included BrezzaSoft, which produced The King of Fighters 2001 , such as South Korean-based Eolith , which produced The King of Fighters franchise between 2001 and 2002 , and Mega Enterprise , which produced Metal Slug 4 . Established as Playmore Corporation on August 1, 2001. It

18963-460: Was coined by Western media because Japanese-developed RPGs had distinct elements that set it apart from RPGs developed in the West. The settings in Western RPGs tend to be inspired by fantasy and science-fiction literature while JRPGs have been inspired by anime and manga literature . In addition, Western RPGs tend to be open-world and feature real-time combat systems, but JRPGs favor confining

19110-447: Was different from the West's focus on expression through RPGs and JRPGs appealed to players all over the world because of their rich story lines. However, as of recently, some Japanese developers are starting to try to appeal to a broader audience by introducing real-time combat, for example, such as Final Fantasy XVI . Visual novels (VNs) are text-based story video games where players can usually make decisions at multiple points of

19257-640: Was established with the Fujisankei Communications Group , owners of the nearby television station Fuji TV , and was frequently promoted in various media. However, by the late 1990s, the 2D fighting game boom, which had been behind much of SNK's recent success, had come to an end, and both the Neo Geo CD and Hyper Neo Geo 64 failed to meet sales expectations. At the same time, the Neo Geo Pocket, while initially selling well, began to fall behind in

19404-563: Was founded on December 24, 2003. Based in Santa Ana, California , it originally focused solely on the North American market until being expanded to include Europe and other regions in 2007. The branch was the result of the company's wish to focus on international publication of their works in the United States, given the increased popularity of their games outside of Japan. Prior to 2003, NIS games were released in English by contracted publishers. Some of

19551-417: Was handled in a similar manner to textures in later texture-mapped polygonal 3D games of the 1990s. Designed by Sega AM2 's Yu Suzuki , he stated that his "designs were always 3D from the beginning. All the calculations in the system were 3D, even from Hang-On. I calculated the position, scale, and zoom rate in 3D and converted it backwards to 2D . So I was always thinking in 3D." It was controlled using

19698-423: Was in fact preceded by several other games of that type, it is considered one of the most influential. The first platform game to use scrolling graphics was Jump Bug (1981), a simple platform- shooter game developed by Alpha Denshi . The North American video game industry was devastated by the 1983 video game crash , but in Japan, it was more of a surprise to developers, and typically known in Japan as

19845-555: Was made available on November 6, alongside a The King of Fighters -based stage and 50 songs from various SNK series. In November 2020, the MiSK Foundation , a non-profit organization owned by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman , acquired a 33.3% share of SNK from the Chinese company Ledo Millenium through its subsidiary, Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), with

19992-415: Was made in partnership with Mitsubishi Electronics . Numerous other dedicated home consoles were made mostly by television manufacturers, leading these systems to be called TV geemu or terebi geemu in Japan. Eventually, the 1978 arcade release of Space Invaders would mark the first major mainstream breakthrough for video games in Japan. Created by Nishikado at Japan's Taito , Space Invaders pitted

20139-637: Was nicknamed "Shin Nihon Kikaku" in katakana at first; however, since 1981, it has been changed to " SNK " by taking the initials from the Roman alphabet (Shin Nihon Kikaku). The English copyright notation was also " SNK CORPORATION ". It established itself in Sunnyvale , California, to deliver its own brand of coin-operated games to arcades in North America. SNK chose John Rowe to head its American operation. The first two titles that SNK released were Ozma Wars (1979),

20286-403: Was one of the first role-playing games to feature a complex, involving plot, placing a much greater emphasis on character development, personal relationships, and dramatic storytelling. It also introduced a new battle system : the " Active Time Battle " system, developed by Hiroyuki Ito , where the time-keeping system does not stop. The fact that enemies can attack or be attacked at any time

20433-543: 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,

20580-434: Was primarily manufacturing traditional and electronic toys, also entered the arcade game market in the latter part of the 1970s. As in the United States, many of the early Japanese arcade games were based on the principle of cloning gameplay established by popular titles to make new ones. However, several new concepts came out of these Japanese-developed games, and performed well in both Japan and in re-licensed versions in

20727-506: Was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , followed by an arcade version in October and a Nintendo Switch version later in the year. On September 4, 2019, Nintendo announced that Fatal Fury protagonist and The King of Fighters character Terry Bogard would be added as a downloadable, playable character to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , with a planned release in November 2019. Terry

20874-411: Was released in 1987 by Irem , employing slower-paced scrolling than usual, with difficult levels calling for methodical strategies. 1990's Raiden was the beginning of another acclaimed and enduring series to emerge from this period. In 1987, Square's 3-D WorldRunner was an early stereoscopic 3-D shooter played from a third-person perspective, followed later that year by its sequel JJ , and

21021-504: Was slow to gather momentum; a bad chip set caused the initial release of the system to crash . Following a product recall and a reissue with a new motherboard , the Famicom's popularity soared, becoming the best-selling game console in Japan by the end of 1984. By 1988, industry observers stated that the NES's popularity had grown so quickly that the market for Nintendo cartridges was larger than that for all home computer software. By mid-1986, 19% (6.5 million) of Japanese households owned

21168-460: Was the third largest video game market in the world after the United States and China . The space is known for the catalogs of several major publishers, all of whom have competed in the video game console and video arcade markets at various points. Released in 1965, Periscope was a major arcade hit in Japan, preceding several decades of success in the arcade industry there. Nintendo,

21315-408: Was the first arcade game to cost a quarter per play, which would remain the standard price for arcade games for many years to come. Sega later produced gun games that used rear image projection in a manner similar to the ancient zoetrope to produce moving animations on a screen . The first of these, the light-gun game Duck Hunt , appeared in 1969; it featured animated moving targets on

21462-452: Was to create a RPG that appeals to a wider audience unfamiliar with the genre or video games in general. This required the creation of a new kind of RPG, that didn't rely on previous D&D experience, didn't require hundreds of hours of rote fighting , and that could appeal to any kind of gamer. The streamlined gameplay of Dragon Quest thus made the game more accessible to a wider audience than previous computer RPGs. The game also placed

21609-465: Was to represent avatars which the player uses to interact with the world, in contrast to Japanese console RPGs which depicted pre-defined characters who had distinctive personalities, traits, and relationships, such as Final Fantasy and Lufia , with players assuming the roles of people who cared about each other, fell in love or even had families. Romance in particular was a theme that was common in most console RPGs but alien to most computer RPGs at

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