SNK CEO steps down after heavily-marketed Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves seemingly muted launch

The takes in this thread are something else...smh


Nowadays fighters are the most accessible they've been. They are easy to play,hard to master (as they should be) but in terms of accessibility they are more accessible now than they ever have been. From extensive tutorials to fun sidegames or story modes. The casual player has never had more to choose from.

The people complaining about aditional systems to a genre that is like 40 years old are the equivalent of someone complaining that nowadays you have to learn more mechanics for Mario than just running and jumping like 40 years ago....like no shit... it's called evolving.
 
Surprising, Cristiano Ronaldo and that other lad seemed such a perfect fit for the game... people literally were waiting for this.
 
Interesting so many people haven't heard about it.

We've had several threads, including the one about Cristiano Ronaldo being a part of the roster.

Truth is most people don't care about fighting games and that's OK. Publishers shouldn't expect to make a lot of money out of those games with obvious exceptions like MK or SF.
Yea seems like the only fighting games that make it now or ones that are very well known IPs. I don't think anyone else in this space can make it unless they do something new that people like.
 
The takes in this thread are something else...smh


Nowadays fighters are the most accessible they've been. They are easy to play,hard to master (as they should be) but in terms of accessibility they are more accessible now than they ever have been. From extensive tutorials to fun sidegames or story modes. The casual player has never had more to choose from.

The people complaining about aditional systems to a genre that is like 40 years old are the equivalent of someone complaining that nowadays you have to learn more mechanics for Mario than just running and jumping like 40 years ago....like no shit... it's called evolving.
I mostly agree with you but sometimes there are things that dont "evolve" for the better... things can just be changed without it being an evolution. You can say its evolution but it can just be convolution.
I dont disagree though- I just mean that an opinion that the added systems are a detriment isnt really wrong just because "get with the times man!" - the idea that something is finished and perfect is not when you
have nothing left to add to something but instead nothing left to take away that would worsen it. I think youre right that people cant just lean back on third strike and alpha 3 and old ass tekken games for all eternity though.
 
I just can't stomach 2D fighting games anymore. They felt primitive and inferior 26 years ago when Virtua Fighter 1 and Soul Calibur 1 came out. I'll never understand why people find any value in it. Fighting on 1 dimensional plane is extremely basic and does very little to simulate the thrill of combat. It was fine for Street Fighter in the 80s. The fighting game community is one of the most bizarre audience regressions in gaming.
Different strokes I guess.

If I saw a Street Fighter game with Guilty Gear Strive graphics It would make me go back to Fighters. I think the last 3D fighters I loved playing all the time were Tekken 2 and Soul Blade.
 
History repeats itself + competition is fierce. It's a niche genre. It looks gens old compared with Tekken and SF. It's why I'm not that hopeful for VF6.

This game had standard marketing with character trailers, beta support, but where was the advertisement?

I haven't played it, it's probably fine but it doesn't look that fun from the standard stuff shown. And the Ronaldo stuff didn't help.
 
Cool characters sell games. Garou never had very cool characters, it had cool graphics at the time- and became somewhat well known because of how fast and easy it hit the emulation scene. I had it on my pc like a week after Japan MVS release! A motley crew of C and D list characters made up the roster, and free was free. They screwed up Terry Bogard's signature look and Rock Howard was about as cool as a deuce in the Pao Pao Cafe. Oh, how about Pirate whore and a black martial artist with a fro'? That'll sell! Calling Harvey Birdman! 😆🤣. Geese Howard squeezed out better from his cheeks on the way off that skyscraper! What garbage. Did SNK not look into the sales numbers from back then? I guess not.

SNK has been dead for decades now and they keep raping that corpse. I don't touch that shit. I play the old TRUE SNK games on my PC via emulation. For all of you young'uns research what happened to the REAL SNK and if you are emulating avoid Playmore branded games.
 
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There hasn't been a KOF game in years and they decided to add real life South American soccer players and European DJs to it. What the fuck were they thinking?

Also, Fatal Fury, as well as all of SNK's series like Samurai Showdown and King of Fighters (despite my own personal love of them), have always had very limited appeal. They only briefly touched on mainstream success during the SF2 craze in the 90s and have never come close to that popularity since. It sounds like they should have kept their expectations and budgets in check.
 
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The original Garou is one of gaming's true treasures. A masterclass in 2d fighting game design and sprite animation - only outdid by Street Fighter III - it was close though.

This one one has that generic bargain bin 3d fighter look that SNK just cant seem to shake. And yes, for me - the guest characters turned me away.
I get they were trying to go for a new audience - but it soured the core fanbase it had in the first place.

I wish 2d sprites made a comeback...
 
I'm interested in it. Couldn't care less about Saudi Arabia influence. Many developers in the 80s used yakuza help to stay afloat. SEGA seems to be in bed with the Yakuza still.

Morals are relative anyways.
 
The original Garou is one of gaming's true treasures. A masterclass in 2d fighting game design and sprite animation - only outdid by Street Fighter III - it was close though.

This one one has that generic bargain bin 3d fighter look that SNK just cant seem to shake. And yes, for me - the guest characters turned me away.
I get they were trying to go for a new audience - but it soured the core fanbase it had in the first place.

I wish 2d sprites made a comeback...
Not really. Mark of the Wolves plays poorly and there was better sprite work by SNK. Last Blade was much better in both departments. The preceding Fatal Fury Real Bout series played better. Numerous other releases by SNK were also more impressive. FGC posers seem to only know this one fighting game by SNK unfortunately. Modern SNK Playmore is nothing like the SNK that made those titles though. King of Fighters XV is the only release that came somewhat close.

P.S. Street Fighter III is a mess. So many conflicting design elements and philosophies. It was only somewhat consistent around Second Impact revision.
 
Not really. Mark of the Wolves plays poorly and there was better sprite work by SNK. Last Blade was much better in both departments. The preceding Fatal Fury Real Bout series played better. Numerous other releases by SNK were also more impressive. FGC posers seem to only know this one fighting game by SNK unfortunately. Modern SNK Playmore is nothing like the SNK that made those titles though. King of Fighters XV is the only release that came somewhat close.

P.S. Street Fighter III is a mess. So many conflicting design elements and philosophies. It was only somewhat consistent around Second Impact revision.
This guy gets it. I owned a Neo Geo and later a CD. I had FF1, Special, 3, RB1, RB2. KOF 95-97, Last Blade 2, and Samurai Showdown 1, 2, and IV. (Among others like Baseball Stars 2, Crossed Swords, Magician Lord, Pulstar, and Metal Slug) Garou was never released on the CD, and by the time it came out-SNK was cooked. It was a looker, but felt hollow especially compared to the rest of the series. My friends hated it because it just wasn't fun and the characters were lame. It didn't have much depth at all and frankly felt like it was a partial game.
 
I mostly agree with you but sometimes there are things that dont "evolve" for the better... things can just be changed without it being an evolution. You can say its evolution but it can just be convolution.
I dont disagree though- I just mean that an opinion that the added systems are a detriment isnt really wrong just because "get with the times man!" - the idea that something is finished and perfect is not when you
have nothing left to add to something but instead nothing left to take away that would worsen it. I think youre right that people cant just lean back on third strike and alpha 3 and old ass tekken games for all eternity though.
Oh I agree, I'm not saying ALL fighting games have done it right,not at all.There are some franchises that I feel have gone the wrong direction but also it's ridiculous for some people to just expect a genre so old not to try to evolve,whether it works or not.
 
Cotw apparently made steams top 12 for the month so hopefully it did better than people are thinking. It's the best fighting game in a long time, since Arcana Heart 1 really, and it's also a real love letter to SNK. Sure it won't reach SF or Tekken like success but it really does deserve to do better than crap like melty blood, granblue, and the like.

And yes real bout > garou. RBFFS in particular.
 
All those games are becoming the same combo-heavy slop. With as many mechanics and meters and submeters as humanly possible. Everything is an anime fighter now.

I've had enough of that shit. I'm out.
 
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The original Garou is one of gaming's true treasures. A masterclass in 2d fighting game design and sprite animation - only outdid by Street Fighter III - it was close though.

This one one has that generic bargain bin 3d fighter look that SNK just cant seem to shake. And yes, for me - the guest characters turned me away.
I get they were trying to go for a new audience - but it soured the core fanbase it had in the first place.

I wish 2d sprites made a comeback...
For me Street Fighter 3rd Strike is the epitome of the franchise, nothing could surpass it.... Only SF II.

That game is special, the sprites, the OST... The characters are original and have interesting stories, one of them is the antagonist's brother.

They feel real and cool. That game is so cool.
 
All those games are becoming the same combo-heavy slop. With as many mechanics and meters and submeters as humanly possible. Everything is an anime fighter now.

I've had enough of that shit. I'm out.
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Fighting games just became too much competitive and combo centric, you used to be able to pick the game and soon be playing and doing it all with all their characters, now you have to learn like a manual for each character and its fucking boring (for me)... Fighting games should be the ultimate casual fun game, but they arent anymore.

Nothing wrong with this btw... its just that it lost it's mainstream casual appeal for better or worse

This is why Killer Instinct 2013 is so fun to me. You only need to know 3 or 4 moves to feel like you're amazing.
 
Interesting so many people haven't heard about it.

We've had several threads, including the one about Cristiano Ronaldo being a part of the roster.

Truth is most people don't care about fighting games and that's OK. Publishers shouldn't expect to make a lot of money out of those games with obvious exceptions like MK or SF.
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Fatal Fury never managed to carve out a name for itself to benefit from impulse purchasers like SF, Smash, Tekken and MK did. The systems and meters probably look overwhelming for newcomers. Football man and DJ man 100% killed the vibe stone fucking dead. So underwhelming sales aren't surprising if true.

I'm someone who is extremely enthusiastic about fighting games and plays them regularly, but I already have a lot on my plate and I just wasn't feeling this one, so I skipped it.

It's why I'm not that hopeful for VF6.

VF6 is already looking phenomenal.

It was a looker, but felt hollow especially compared to the rest of the series.

It was partly designed to be simple and accessible, and according to myth, a tribute to their friendly rivalry with Capcom, since SNK was aware that they were facing financial woes and might not get the chance to do another big fighting game. I think it's slightly overrated, but still a fun time, and is probably SNK's best-looking 2D game.
 
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I don't understand people saying they did not know it was coming out, unless they are being a bit tongue in cheek. It was heavily marketed on boxing, wwe, got KSI and I Show Speed to do promotion for it, pursued the FGC with big money tournaments. It was never going to get a return on that investment.

On the guest characters I don't want Ronaldo in it but it's not a deal breaker, the DJ worked out somehow. 😂

On the Saudi money front, it's either that or no SNK. If you looked at the corporations who provide most things you use in your life the vast majority are not good guys.

I pre ordered COTW but have not had the chance to invest time due to a huge backlog and I am trying to finish up SF6 world tour.

For fans of fighting games you gotta show love where you can. We did not have a lot of options for a long time and we are doing well at the moment as long as demand is there.

Hopefully when the street fighter guest characters hit sales will pick up.

Anyways that's my two pennies worth.

Have fun!
 
I think the remarkable thing here is someone in leadership taking accountability for failure. Very rare thing in the games industry.
 
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"It was partly designed to be simple and accessible, and according to myth, a tribute to their friendly rivalry with Capcom, since SNK was aware that they were facing financial woes and might not get the chance to do another big fighting game. I think it's slightly overrated, but still a fun time, and is probably SNK's best-looking 2D game."
Apologies, my device won't allow me to delete 'Neff:'.

I present a brief 😂 history of the decline of arcades, combo systems, and the end of the Neo Geo era, told by DevilXYZ.

So, the system in Garou was the evolution of SNK's "Combination Arts" system they began in Fatal Fury 3. My friends dubbed it the 'Scrub System' as you could just press the A button for short combo strings. At the time it came out, combo sequences were the hot thing. Killer Instinct, Tekken, Mortal Kombat 3, and the Capcom Marvel games had complex combo strings that were integral to the games. It showed off if you were a good player or not to the other players in the arcade. In my town, each arcade game had its own groups of players that stuck to a certain game. The white kids played KI and Mortal Kombat. The Vietnamese kids played Tekken, Marvel games and some KoF.

My group was a mixture of the two, so we played everything, meaning we were 'allowed' to join in by placing a quarter or token on the cabinet glass for the next round. Yes, anyone could join in on these games, but got a silent beat down with combos in silence. If you were one of us though, you got acknowledged warmly by the other players. Things like 'oh shit, here comes 'Jago' in Tekken land!' would be an example. 'Welcome to 'dial a combo' city, bitch'! It was cool, and was a way to build up new friendships at the time.

Enter Fatal Fury 3. Despite the internet claiming FF was never that popular, Fatal Fury Special was pretty hot. It hit around the time SF2 Turbo came out and had everything that made a good fighting game at the time. The day that FF3 came out though, the machine was a ghost town. No one would touch it. I remember walking up to it and studying the ruleset and was like, okay…..this doesn't look good. But those graphics and music were pretty great for the time. I played it and found out why. The whole combo system was tied into the "combination arts" easy system. Uh oh. Baby game. The arcade operator came over and watched me standing alone playing. He knew I had a Neo Geo as I regularly carried my Memory Card and spoke to him about what new titles to buy. He was like this one is getting sold if I can't make any money on it. I was like it looks great, but the gameplay just isn't fun in this one. He was like are you going to buy it? I replied, not on cartridge, but this soundtrack is good enough to buy on CD. Neo CD games you could throw into your CD player and enjoy the soundtracks and were only $50, not $250-300 for the cart. It was like a deluxe album with loading times. 😂

That game never got played in that arcade. It stuck around though, and I did end up getting the Neo CD version and mastering the characters in about a day, which was very simple at the time. No one played it. People watched me play, from time to time, but even my friends stayed away- even at my house for free play. It was like the scene from Back to the Future 2 where Marty is playing 'Wild Gunman' in a sense. A baby game- the other kids scoffed at. It killed Fatal Fury. From that point on, it was dead. Later Real Bout had some players, but not crowds. The crowds stuck to each new iteration of Tekken and the like, but it sort of put a bad mark on Neo Geo games. It was also around that time, arcades were in decline. The hardcore gamers like me played at our houses more and more and only went to the arcades to see new games. The after work visits dropped off for the cheaper home convenience.

By the time Garou came out, arcades were in bad shape. The arcade operator I was close to was trying to sell out and leave the business and arcades in the area were shutting down. Neo Geo emulation was on the scene as was CPS1 and most CPS2. Sure PS1 and Saturn had those games, but they had loading times. You could get the arcade games perfectly running on your PC in no time at all for free. I ended up selling all of my Neo Geo CD collection because of that and kept a few games to listen to in the CD player. Garou was 'cheap' on cart to get from Japan, too. $175, but it still retained a version of that easy combo system. Real Bout had somewhat fixed it, but Garou undid it and leaned more into what FF3 was. Great graphics, 'bad' gameplay. It was just as dead as Street Fighter 3, which looked phenomenal, but was considered 'ugly' and 'old school' thanks to the 3D titles. It took ten years for people to realize that 3rd Strike was a really good, deep game. I never even saw the sequels of SF3 in the arcades and instead bought them at home.

It's a different era now, decades later. Thanks to Smash Bros success, companies have to make their fighting games accessible to all, or they don't sell. Kids just wanna mash and win. I'm not saying there isn't a skill level in those games, it's just different than how it used to be.
 
Bought it. It's okay... I don't like the ever so slight animation pause on a hit during combos .. it's no where close to sf6 which I have been playing a lot of lately.

The player select screen is bad.. and that's me being nice.

There is a decent game there, but I would say only if you are a fan of the series or big into fighting games .. I am sadly neither of those.
 
does the new game still have a guy named Butt? My only memory from mark of the wolves.
They changed his name, unfortunately. He's still a lot of fun to play, same design too, but yeah, he's Marco Rodriguez now. Apparently that was his original name anyway and they changed it for the west, no idea why. That being said, Khushnood Butt is the greatest name in fighting game history and to forsake that.....what a mistake.
 
Not really. Mark of the Wolves plays poorly and there was better sprite work by SNK. Last Blade was much better in both departments. The preceding Fatal Fury Real Bout series played better. Numerous other releases by SNK were also more impressive. FGC posers seem to only know this one fighting game by SNK unfortunately. Modern SNK Playmore is nothing like the SNK that made those titles though. King of Fighters XV is the only release that came somewhat close.

P.S. Street Fighter III is a mess. So many conflicting design elements and philosophies. It was only somewhat consistent around Second Impact revision.

Yeah MOTW looked impressive but had a rather small roster and I think RBS was more fun to play. That game also had iconic characters like Mai, Geese, Kim, Andy etc. I actually owned the game on AES, but sold it for a good offer. I did keep RB2 back then, and my personal fave FF3. Note FF3 had the same issue as SF3 and Garou with roster, but I think the sprite work and backgrounds are peak SNK.

SF3 was kinda shit when it came out. New Generation is incredibly boring and I can see how it flopped opposed to SFA2 which offered more and better characters, more personality and just more fun. Second Impact was a bit better but ofcourse couldn't hold a candle against the sheer content of SFA3.

SF3 TS was only beloved once it gained traction in the pro scene. Its release in summer 1999 went by rather anonymously not to mention it was a Dreamcast exclusive. There is something off when your numbered sequel is only available on a niche system like the DC. SF3 was largely ignored. SF2 was a huge event on SNES and later Genesis. Alpha was still a success too, despite the shift to 3D gaming.

I like SI and TS, but to be honest I never cared for like 50% of the lineup. I just didn't see the appeal in Twelve, Necro, Remy, Alex etc. Remember Capcom initially planned to not include Ken and Ryu to SF3.
 
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This game was NOT heavily marketed (at least in the UK) havent seen a single ad for it
The only reason I knew it was out was because I scour the new releases and preorder sections of xbox and psn

Was there even a network test?
Any Beta's?
Buildup?
a demo even?

I mean I get that the crown prince is basically keeping the company afloat and able to even develop games as their recent games haven't exactly been sales successes.
And all because of his notalgia and affection to SNK from his memories of growing up with the games.
People may mock the Ronaldo cameo and that this is funded by Saudi money, but better that than a bunch of corporate vultures squarking about profit and live services.
Unfortunately the fact is that this was basically pushed out the door and thrown to the wolves with little marketing from what I was aware of, and you have to ask, are SNK even measuring the success of the game or was it a pure vanity/personal project for the prince? And no I'm not being hyperbolic with that suggestion..
That's certainly why the resignation has happened at this stage, get ahead before the ire or displeasure might
I just hope the crown prince likes the game they produced so that he continues to give his cash to SNK and the various development teams over there, because no matter how many $millions this cost to develop, it doesn't even register in those circles (have a couple of friends with vague social ties to the prince)

Anyway I would love to give the game a go, but between being burnt already on MK One, Streetfighter 6, the microtransactions added to Tekken 8 weeks after initial launch and all the reviews went up.. the fighting genre as a whole has fallen from my graces..
I will probably pick it up on sale at some point, but as a fan of the series its disappinting to see this launch so quietly
 
Not really. Mark of the Wolves plays poorly and there was better sprite work by SNK. Last Blade was much better in both departments. The preceding Fatal Fury Real Bout series played better. Numerous other releases by SNK were also more impressive. FGC posers seem to only know this one fighting game by SNK unfortunately. Modern SNK Playmore is nothing like the SNK that made those titles though. King of Fighters XV is the only release that came somewhat close.

P.S. Street Fighter III is a mess. So many conflicting design elements and philosophies. It was only somewhat consistent around Second Impact revision.
Posers?

Lol.

Garou's my favorite SNK fighter by far, has been for a long time. Real Bout wasn't as fun to me. Third Strike is the best Street Fighter too. Guess I'm a "poser" for liking certain games because they're funner to me.
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Posers?

Lol.

Garou's my favorite SNK fighter by far, has been for a long time. Real Bout wasn't as fun to me. Third Strike is the best Street Fighter too. Guess I'm a "poser" for liking certain games because they're funner to me.
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Yes. The people that think Garou Mark of the Wolves is SNK at the top of its game are very misinformed and most of them parrot the bullshit spilling out of the Capcom FGC players for the last 25+ years. The same ones that claim fighting games went through a dark age between the release of Third Strike and Street Fighter IV despite the genre outgrowing both entries in the interim.

Street Fighter III: New Generation is ass and while Second Impact revision is a genuine evolution of Street Fighter with flaws, Third Strike is a step backward with some shit sprinkled on top. Nobody really gave a damn about any of them until EVO Moment 37 meme. (What the fuck were the other 36?) To hear individuals say Third Strike is the epitome of 2D fighters is a bad joke.
 
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Imo, Fatal Fury is a great fighting game and I'm having a lot of fun with it, but unfortunately it was doomed from the start for being a "fighting game" which are very niche. If you aren't the big 3 names of Tekken, Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, you are most likely to struggle in the fighting game space with very few exceptions. Look at the plethora of anime fighters that literally die or have very few players on months of release.

The marketing and hype was quite heavy for FF: COTW, but in the end of the day it belongs to an unpopular genre, so it's generally going to be an uphill battle with sales in most cases. That's one reason most fighting games are unhealthily obsessed with guest characters because they hope that they will boost sales and recognition of their product.
 
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Yes. The people that think Garou Mark of the Wolves is SNK at the top of its game are very misinformed and most of them parrot the bullshit spilling out of the Capcom FGC players for the last 25+ years. The same ones that claim fighting games went through a dark age between the release of Third Strike and Street Fighter IV despite the genre outgrowing both entries in the interim.

Street Fighter III: New Generation is ass and while Second Impact revision is a genuine evolution of Street Fighter with flaws, Third Strike is a step backward with some shit sprinkled on top. Nobody really game a damn about any of them until EVO Moment 37 meme. (What the fuck were the other 36?) To hear individuals say Third Strike is the epitome of 2D fighters is a bad joke.
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Gamer gatekeepers will never not be funny to me. Thanks for the motivation though, definitely gonna play some Third Strike with my daughter tonight, always love playing the best fighting game of all time. Might play some Garou after, then smoke a joint to celebrate a perfect gaming night, should be a good night.
 
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