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Let your fingers do the witch-touching
Who would have guessed that our little witch-hunting game, Doki Doki Majo Shinpan, would explode like this? Now it's a ridiculously blatant preorder bonus offered at selected retailers. What goes perfectly with adventure games about witches? That's right: phone cards. It was so obvious that we're surprised we didn't think of it ourselves.We're starting to wonder if the witches are even bad witches -- they look kinda sweet (and top heavy) to us. Maybe the hero is hunting them to see who he should take to the beach. Got a "witch crest?" Great, grab your bikini and get in the van!
Fan-made project makes Card Fighters awesome again
What's an SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter fanboy to do? Previews and reviews for the NGPC classic's DS revival haven't been kind, calling out its flawed AI and monotonous story mode. The title's lack of online support is upsetting enough, but it doesn't even allow for download play with local matches, dropping your chances of finding another person to play against to a multiple of zero.ASCIIMATTER's Card Fighter's Project brings the series back to its original mechanics and adds a whole new realm of accessibility that you just can't get from a video game. Dueling with a friend will be as easy as printing out the project's mocked up set of cards and reading the posted rules. Each card is fashioned after its NGPC counterpart, mirroring SvC: Card Fighters' Clash's super deformed artwork. There are still a great deal of cards left to be converted, and ASCIIMATTER predicts that he won't be able to finish all of them until late Summer. Unlike SNK Playmore's DS release, however, we expect the Card Fighter Project's completion to actually be worth the wait.[Via Insert Credit]
SNK bringing Art of Fighting Anthology to Wii?
Our network of crow spies have reported to us that the mountain pass is blocked, enemy troops are amassing at our eastern border, and Art of Fighting Anthology for the Wii has been spotted on the ESRB's list of future releases. Eager to learn more about any possible wartime advantages, we've consigned a scout to gather more information on SNK's 2D fighter.The Art of Fighting Anthology collects the entire Neo Geo trilogy of releases (Art of Fighting, Art of Fighting 2, and The Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3). 33-characters strong, the anthology will feature series hallmarks like spirit gauges, desperation attacks, and a graphical-scaling camera system. It hasn't been revealed yet how the Wii's unique controls will be used, but we hope it won't turn out to be a debacle like Metal Slug Anthology's implementation.With hints of a Wii port accompanying Art of Fighting Anthology's PS2 and PSP releases, could this also mean that SNK's Fatal Fury: Battle Archives Volume 1 might have a version for our fair console too? And how long will it be until we see some Neo Geo games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves and Neo Turf Masters on Nintendo's Shopping Channel? Jump past the post break for a showcase of super moves from Art of Fighting 2. [Via Siliconera]
SNK's Ben Herman chats up the VC
Ben Herman, who already let us know that we could expect Neo-Geo games to pop up on the Virtual Console service, came back from his short interview hiatus to discuss SNK and the upcoming support of the Neo-Geo system. While Ben couldn't give us an exact date on when this is all going down, he did manage to cast away our doubts that the company wouldn't stick to a consistent release schedule with its titles, much like we've already seen come from the Virtual Console, promising to provide a steady flow of titles once the floodgate has been opened. Sadly, the games will cost us though, as Ben confirms the price will be a bit higher than the current price tag of SNES titles. As of right now, games for the Neo-Geo system are slated for a worldwide arrival on the Virtual Console service this Summer.
Metal Slug's slippery release
What is up with SNK??? Metal Slug Anthology was supposed to come out last year, and ever since, it's been constantly pushed back. We said it was coming out in February, and now it appears it's been delayed ... again. amazon.com shows a March release, which has us questioning: how hard is it to port over decades-old games? SNK gets a big "boo" for their constant release date shuffling.Send your complaint e-mails to: info @ snkplaymoreusa.com[Via IGN]
Wii's 5 different ways to Metal Slug
Call it a bonus, call it a gimmick, but we're bound to see Wii games getting packed with wacky control schemes. First up Metal Slug Anthology, promising five nontraditional schemes in addition to GameCube controller support. We suppose it'll add some replay value, but some of these just look like annoyances: "Nunchuk Control Stick" - movement and fire controlled with Nunchuk; grenades tossed by flicking Wiimote "Tilt Wii Remote" - tilts control movement; d-pad "up" to jump (no nunchuk attached) "Wii Remote" - classic controls; flick to toss grenades (no nunchuk attached) "Arcade" - hold Wiimote vertical against surface (emulates joystick); nunchuk fires and jumps (flick it for grenades) "Nunchuk Only" - Nunchuk controls all (except weapon switch and alternate attack) [Via 1UP]
Metal Slug blasts its way onto XBLA
1UP is reporting that Metal Slug is heading to Xbox Live Arcade. In an interesting twist, there were no big announcements on the subject. 1UP simply noticed a blurb about the game in a pamphlet they received at TGS. Supposedly, the game to be released will be the original Metal Slug and not one of its many sequels. No release date has been given, but 2007 seems to be a fair guess at this point. We have two words for you SNK: online co-op. Make it happen.[Via Joystiq]360 at the Tokyo Game Show:TGS Marketplace content, 9/22Lost Planet and Viva Piñata videoMicrosoft TGS briefing video now availableToday's Marketplace content, 9/21DOAX2 video makes us feel naughtyLost Odyssey intro video
Metal Slug rolling onto XBLA
1UP reports of an SNK Playmore pamphlet circulating the halls of Tokyo Game Show, advertising Metal Slug for Xbox Live Arcade. Allegedly, the text translates to "the original," suggesting that Metal Slug 1 will arrive on Microsoft's download service. But when?Aside from the XBLA pipeline being jammed full of pending titles, Metal Slug also has its unofficial successor, Alien Hominid, to contend with. With Hominid well ahead of Metal Slug in the queue, and (hopefully) a more dedicated effort from Microsoft to diversify XBLA content as the service evolves, SNK's classic could fall by the wayside. We predict a late 2007 rollout.
SNK Playmore unleashes the Fury on XBLA
As if Xbox Live Arcade wasn't already a menagerie of two-dimensional creatures, Gamespot reports that it's about to become home to fighting wolves and geese. Using less obscures references, SNK Playmore has revealed that one of their titles to be shown at this year's Tokyo Game Show is none other than Fatal Fury Special (Garau Densetsu Special in Japan) for the Xbox 360. Terry Bogard and his punching pals join Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, which was released several weeks ago to brisk sales. It's wonderful to see 2D fighting games making the rounds on our fancy, next-gen consoles (especially, you know, good ones), and with enough player interest, it may even spur on the creation of some brand new entries in the genre. For now, however, SNK Playmore is sticking with the classics -- the rest of their TGS lineup is comprised of The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, Garou Densetsu Battle Archives 2 (both for PS2) and Metal Slug Complete for PSP.
SNK to wait until 2009 to develop for PS3
According to Yoshihito Koyama, overseas marketing manager of SNK (King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Metal Slug), is hesitant to support the PlayStation 3 from day one. Koyama gives his perspective to Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft: "My first impression is that it's expensive. The PlayStation 2 is good enough. It's small and cheap. For us, for manufacturers, we have to invest in a new system, and the PlayStation 3 is a risk. There won't be enough consoles at launch. Few consoles mean few software sales. We need to wait three or four years. Maybe 2009-2010 is a good time to release a game for the PS3." SNK is still supporting the PlayStation 2, whose titles are backwards compatible on the PS3, and the PSP. The Metal Slug anthology coming to the PSP will probably arrive for $39 or $49, according to Koyama's statements. The Nintendo Wii's Metal Slug anthology will have the same graphics as the PSP version, and is expected to arrive at launch, although Koyama admits he isn't sure when that is. His best guess is "sometime in the middle of November, just before Thanksgiving." Atari also recently revealed that they would be holding off until 2007 to release a PlayStation 3 title.[via PS3 Fanboy; thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
