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SNK Execs On Game Piracy, Sony Approval Issues
Thanks to SPOnG.com for its interview with SNK's Yoshihito Koyama and Shinya Morishita about the veteran developer/publisher, with topics including the death of the classic Neo Geo MVS cartridge system ("There is no reason why the system could not be used now and in the future... we have not been held back by the hardware platform we use. The main problem is the pirates"), and the scale of the piracy that prompted it ("We released King of Fighters 2003 in Japan. Within two days we were seeing copied versions of our [cartridge] from China hitting the open market across Asia... Our game [ROMs] have also been spread across the Internet, another reason why enhanced hardware technology will help us.") Eurogamer also has another SNK interview, similarly conducted on the occasion of SNK's European publishing deal with Ignition, which talks PlayStation 2 game approval issues, mentioning: "With Sony you have to think about SCEA [Sony America] approval because they don't like 2D games, but SCEE [Sony Europe], they accept 2D games for release, but SCEA say 'no, they must be 2 in 1', or something like this."
But with Sony you have to think about SCEA approval because they don't like 2D games, but SCEE, they accept 2D games for release, but SCEA say 'no, they must be 2 in 1', or something like this, so we must follow for the European release as well, you know, two in a package
:E
Doesn't this just confirm what many of us already knew. The industry has a congenital hatred towards 2D games, despite the fact that a good 2D romp like metal slug has no counterpart in the 3D world. So this means that SCEA think of only one thing first, graphics. Forget about gameplay, innovation, longevity. If it's not pretty we don't want it. Consquently we're all stuck with lovely looking, 'high concept' games which are all bubble and no squeak.
However I suspect SCEE are just as guilty of promoting only soccer and racing games.
If they just allowed everyone to publish every game going, there would be a lot of crap, but you'd get a lot more diamonds in the rough. Increase would not be linear of course!
May the Maths Be with you!
Personally I agree entirely that as of late piracy has been the number one problem plaguing the Neo Geo. To be honest, there's so many pirated MVS games and especially when you get one off eBay, you just don't know what you're gonna get.
"but SCEA say 'no, they must be 2 in 1', or something like this."
/. reaction in the recent games.slashdot article about Famicom Mini GBA releases with not so cheap price tags... but what is funny here is, even the marketing people, not customers, at SCEA understand the American way perfectly and try to exploit on it just like pirates in China demand 10-in-1 cart :)
Amusingly enough, it sounds awfully similar to the
SNK's decision makes sense as their ROMS are being dumped way to quickly and it doesn't give them any time to make money from their real customer base (high end gamers and arcade machine operators). It's a good decision, but unless the new format is compatible with the old hardware, they may simply not make it.
I do wonder though, how many people download their roms and play via emulator who would simply never buy their games because of the cost.
-- $G
It confirms what many gamers already know, which is that SCEA are a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.
I mean, SCEA declined to distribute Vib Ribbon, Wipeout Fusion, Dropship... It's not just 2D games they reject, it's just about anything that isn't a FPS or movie tie-in.
Maybe they're right from a commercial standpoint; maybe Joe Sixpack is only interested in playing Unreal Syphon Quakesplitters 3. But it's pretty sad for gamers.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
The AtomisWave is nothing more than a ROM based Dreamcast. Thank you SNK, I'll get a few more years usage out of my DC once pirates figure out how to get your new games to work on a CD-R on a DC.
Remember back in the NES days when (I think it was) Tengen came out with several games that Nintendo didn't like, and so did not receive the Nintendo Seal of Approval? Games like Gauntlet, Tetris (a Tetris that more closely resembled the arcade version than Nintendo's own) and others were available on the shelves. Nintendo tried to get them removed through the court system, and lost.
The SCEA is clearly doing the same thing, "if we don't like your game, you can't distribute it". How about letting *THE PUBLIC* decide if they like a game by purchasing it (or not). I prefer 2D games over 3D games, as the game-play tends to be better. Consequently I sold my PS2 a long time ago, and purchased a GBA SP.
Quit telling me what I want, let me decide for myself.
The funny thing about all of this is that the game makers are putting up all the risk, and they *still* have to pay Sony for each game sold. Why does Sony *not* want additional income?
Perhaps the SNK people should release an "un-approved" disc. If the SCEA takes them to the courts, SNK may have legal precedent on their side.
Blocklevel: Practical Information Architecture
I really hate when companies ignore the realities of what they're saying when they blame piracy for their ills. Did people pirate Neo Geo games because they're scum sucking asses, or because the games cost >$200 a piece? If piracy suddenly became impossible, they would have been lucky to see a few more bucks land their way.
"Derp de derp."
The problem is that they've released the exact same game for over 10 years. And that game wasn't very good in its prime. It's no wonder that Sony doesn't want to approve King of Fighters 50.
Let me see, $50 for the legit copy of Metal Slug 3 with a broken continue system, OR $0 for a rom that I can play on pretty much any platform, with as many continues as I like.
$30 and more than one credit, would have sold me.