SNK

This article is about the video game company and its predecessor. For other uses, see SNK (disambiguation).
SNK Corporation
Native name
株式会社SNK
Kabushiki gaisha Esu Enu Kei
Formerly
  • Original company
  • Shin Nihon Kikaku
    (1978–1986)[1]
  • SNK Corporation
    (1986–2001)
  • Current company
  • Playmore Corporation
    (2001–2003)
  • SNK Playmore Corporation
    (2003–2016)
Company typeKabushiki gaisha
FoundedJuly 22, 1978; 46 years ago (1978-07-22) (as Shin Nihon Kikaku Corporation)
August 1, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-08-01) (as Playmore Corporation)
FounderEikichi Kawasaki
DefunctOctober 30, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-10-30)
(original)
HeadquartersSuita, Osaka, Japan (1978–2023)
Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, Japan (2023–present)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Kenji Matsubara (President and CEO)[2]
RevenueIncrease ¥3,105,000,000 (2017)[3]
Increase ¥115,000,000 (2015)[3]
OwnerMiSK Foundation (96.18%)[4]
Number of employees
Increase ~400 (as of December 2022)[5]
Divisions
  • Studio Alpha
  • Playmore Entertainment
  • SNK Animation Studio
Subsidiaries
  • Shogun Studios
  • Neo Geo Comics
  • SNK Electronics
Websitewww.snk-corp.co.jp

SNK Corporation (株式会社SNK, Kabushiki-gaisha Esu Enu Kē)[6] is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company.[7][8][9][10] It was founded in 1978 as Shin Nihon Kikaku by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing coin-op games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company produced many in-house games and now-classic franchises during the 1990s, including Aggressors of Dark Kombat, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, King of the Monsters, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, The King of Fighters, The Last Blade, Twinkle Star Sprites, and World Heroes; they continue to develop and publish new titles in some of these franchises on contemporary arcade and home platforms. Since the 2000s, SNK have diversified from their traditional arcade focus into pachislot machines, mobile game development and more recently character licensing.

In 2001 due to financial troubles, the original SNK Corporation was forced to close. Anticipating 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 the Saudi Arabian Misk Foundation since 2022.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference 1973 history was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "SNK appoints Kenji Matsubara as new CEO". 29 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b 14th Fiscal Period Publication, "Official Gazette (官報)" (Extra Edition No. 250), 2015 November 5, Page 62.(in Japanese)
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference koreandepositoryreceipts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Profile ｜SNK CEO Famitsu Interview". www.famitsu.com.
  6. ^ "Announcement regarding SNK Corporation's name change". SNK. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Original SNK Corporation (Shin Nihon Kikaku)". SNK Corporation (in Japanese). 1997-01-04. Archived from the original on January 4, 1997. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  8. ^ "旧SNK 公式サイト". エス • エヌ • ケイ (in Japanese). 2001-10-12. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  9. ^ "Original site SNK". SNK (in Japanese). 2001-10-12. Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  10. ^ "SNK Homepage". SNK Corporation. 2001-10-05. Archived from the original on October 5, 2001. Retrieved 2023-11-30.