by Katherine Simon When one thinks of the arcade giants of the 1990s, some of the big names that might come to mind are Capcom, Namco, Konami, Sega, and Midway; however, one arcade innovator that always seems to be left out of the discussion—despite their innovations in the field—is Shin Nihon Kikaku (SNK), creator of the Neo Geo arcade cabinets and multiple successful game franchises, such as Metal Slug and The King of Fighters. Despite their early success in arcades, they’ve seemed to have fallen off the map after the shift to home consoles. The company’s recent titles still sell relatively well, and their characters are even showing up in the likes of Tekken and Soul Calibur, but they’re no longer the juggernauts they used to be during the golden era of arcades. More recently, when Fatal Fury protagonist Terry Bogard was revealed to be the next DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a lot of younger, casual fans were confused and wondering who this ripped Pokemon Trainer look-alike was. Then, everyone immediately forgot about him as soon as Sans showed up and overshadowed literally any other announcement made that day. I love Sans Undertale just as much as the next person, but SNK and Terry Bogard have such a legacy in the arcade gaming scene, and they don’t deserve to be overlooked. To celebrate Terry's Smash debut, we’re going to go through the history of SNK, and hopefully bring light to the impact they left on arcade gaming.
The start of a new Japanese project
Becoming the King of Fighters
Bankruptcy and future of the company
Sources: YouTube Polygon Kotaku Source Gaming SNK Corporation Images: Collector Vision , Fandom , IGN Featured Image:
