by [name redacted]
A bit of reporting for Xbox Nation Magazine, which was actually printed in both the May and June issues. It seemed I had an in for writing more complex material — I notice a bunch of notes for further articles — but then the magazine folded. A shame.
As relative newcomer to the console scene, Microsoft arrived in the silence after the storm. Those who were present recall the trials of the mid-nineties, as Sony squeezed the industry through a macabre cleansing operation. Developers were forced to convert to 3D development or not only risk public dismissal, but risk disapproval from Sony. Without Sony’s OK, games go unpublished — and Sony has its own agenda. Crushing to many smaller houses, this policy continues even today.
Even so, some studios, like SNK, refuse to surrender. SNK has been through hell and returned, even stronger and more determined to make a difference. “GAMEPLAY 2D MAX!!” exclaims SNK NEOGEO USA CONSUMER CORPORATION president Ben Herman. Mr. Herman explains that 2D games still have the “best accurate gameplay.” Now, thanks to the efforts of SNK Playmore and Guilty Gear series publisher Sammy, 2D games are on the verge of a rebound.
At the AOU expo in February, SNK announced the retirement of the venerable NeoGeo format, in favor of Sammy’s comparably powerful ATOMISWAVE platform. “We’ve worked with the NeoGeo for 13 years,” commented SNK Playmore development chief Kazuya Hirata. “There have been talks in the past about when we’ll stop supporting the NeoGeo, but this is going to be the real end.” SNK Playmore president Koichi Toyama revealed also that SNK will devote more attention to the consumer market than they have in the past.
With this shift, the ATOMISWAVE — already a promising system — leaps to the top of the arcade pack. Much as with the NeoGeo, the ATOMISWAVE is an inexpensive cartridge-based system and soon to be a modern haven for 2D development. Between SNK and Sammy alone, this year will see The King of Fighters NeoWave, The King of Fighters 2004, Metal Slug 6, Samurai Shodown AW, Sammy vs. Capcom, Guilty Gear Isuka, and Dimps’ original fighter The Rumblefish.
In part thanks to Sony’s policies, the Xbox appears the beneficiary of this growth. Since SCEA has held the PS2 release of SNK’s Metal Slug 3 in limbo for a year, SNK will publish Metal Slug 3 for the Xbox exclusively, in North America. Also confirmed are The King of Fighters 2002, crossover fighter SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos, and Sammy’s Guilty Gear XX#Reload, one of the latest in Arc System Works’ line of high-res fighters. Although Sammy was unavailable for comment, Mr. Herman hints toward more key series from SNK in the near future. SVC Chaos and Guilty Gear will support online competition through Xbox LIVE!, while the online features for MS3 are yet undecided.
To remain healthy, the industry needs a space where the diversity that many would ignore or even try to silence is preserved and encouraged. With this pending wave of support from SNK and Sammy, Microsoft might just be in the position to adopt this role — and, in the process, to reverse some of Sony’s biggest mistakes. Ben Herman already admits that Microsoft has been “much more receptive” to SNK’s plans. If Microsoft can transform the Xbox into a public sanctuary for embattled designers, and indeed put its muscle into bringing attention to those views that Sony would stigmatize, then this system will serve a role that has yet to be filled — and the Xbox might just become the most vital console around.