Interview de Ben Herman (président de SNK USA, un gros bonhomme quoi).
SNK has been through some tough times in the past, but they're proving that they're around for the long haul. We sat down for some lunch with SNK USA President, Ben Herman, to discuss what's next for SNK, and how the next generation of gaming is shaping up. We'd like to talk Mr. Herman for speaking with us, and we can't wait to see what SNK has in store for us throughout the rest of this generation, and next generation.
GameDAILY: SNK seems to be supporting the Xbox more than any other console. Why was the decision made to provide so much support to the Xbox, and can we expect that trend to continue with the Xbox 360?
Ben Herman: Basically, what we did is we have offered every one of our games to Sony for PS2 as well as to Microsoft for Xbox, and just based on acceptances, we've had more Xbox acceptances over the last two years.
Leading into the next generation, we plan to build games that will meet the requirements of those systems graphically, or the key features that [Sony and Microsoft] want. We're hoping to see a little bit of support from both Sony and Microsoft to get combined acceptance the second time around.
GD: Some publishers have had issues getting Sony to approve 2D games for the PlayStation 2. Has SNK run into any of these problems?
BH: I don't know if I'd qualify it by saying it's 2D games, but I would say that Sony is looking for certain graphics requirements, and in our case, some of our games are not up to what they expect as far as the graphic content. Going forward, the requirements will get stronger and we'll have to deal with them to make games for the next generation. But a lot of our classic arcade games were made on a 2D system that also graphically was just not what Sony wanted as far as detail and pixilation.
GD: In regards to development, do you feel that the software meets the hardware? Is SNK making full use of the hardware?
BH: Memory wise we have very, very deep games. As far as the graphics, probably not. But all of our arcade games, and we've got over 120 of them, are an art style. You get to the point where it's a little bit of an art style question, versus what you can do graphically, and we wanted to be true to the arcade fans who like our art style. That's what we kind of felt. So we tried to keep the art style, which is not necessarily a perfectly rounded, strong muscle. It has a little bit of a flow to it. When we first started in the arcade some of these games had 50-60 MB of memory. But now at the end of the life of the Neo Geo arcade system there are some with over 700, so there's a lot of thought in those games.
GD: SNK has released many of the classic King of Fighters titles with Xbox Live support and visual upgrades. How well have these titles performed against competition from other online fighters?
BH: In actuality we have just recently gotten our arcade King of Fighters games online. King of Fighters 02/03 for Xbox is going to be launching at the end of August. What we did was take King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, which we released a month ago, but that was an all new adventure that was honestly from the King of Fighters series but was never really an arcade game, and it was a 3D version of [the series].
That's done very well. The reviews have been great, and what's going on is we're allowing up to 128 players to compete in a tournament. On some of the future games that we have, we have some arcade games, and we're looking to do some contests with prizes and take full advantage of that with the Xbox Live system.
GD: Are you still into the arcade market as much? Are you still developing for the arcades?
BH: Well we're not circulating the Neo Geo system or games for the Neo Geo arcade at this point. But I will say that when you go to Play Meter or Replay Magazine and look at their lists, some of our classics from Metal Slug and Samurai Shodown are still up on the list. They're in the top 25, and the operators are not going to throw them out if they're still generating income. So that's a good thing.
As far as actually making games for the arcade, the answer is still yes. Even though we're not doing it on our own system, right now we're supporting the Sega/Sammy Atomiswave. We took King of Fighters Neowave to the format, and we've got another three or four games that are coming, and are planned [to release] over the next 12 months.
GD: We've heard some talk of a 3D Metal Slug in the works. Can you shed any light on the topic?
BH: At the Tokyo Game Show last year we introduced Metal Slug in a 3D format. The game is in development, and it continues to still get tweeked and worked on. I'm not going to put an exact date on it, but we are planning to release a 3D version of the series. It will be brand new, not an arcade version to a home port.
GD: Can we expect to see any other classic SNK titles making a comeback on current or future consoles? Perhaps World Heroes, Magician Lord, or Art of Fighting?
BH: I would hope to say yes to this. I'm not going to say yet in what format, but some of the one's that you've mentioned here are candidates. We certainly are looking at a number of our backlogs of games that people are interested in to figure out how to bring them to new formats as well as some of the current consoles.
GD: Do you have plans to support the current generation of consoles after the new consoles have hit the market?
BH: Again the answer is yes, but that kind of goes a couple of different ways. We have a few games right now that are in development that will come to Xbox post-360 launch. These are games that were already planned that are just in development that are all going to still happen, which is the case with Neowave.
At the same time with PS1, Sony wanted the PS1 to last 10 years. They pretty much knew that the second half of that 10 year cycle would be the place for budget titles, new releases, and the like. At this point at least, we are planning to talk about some budget titles that we can bring over the course of time, after they take off some requirements and open up the market a little bit.
GD: Many publishers seem to be favoring either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. How will SNK handle development for the next generation consoles? Will any of the next gen consoles be favored over another?
BH: For the next generation, we made the request [to Microsoft] and they came out quickly as to what the requirements were to have games accepted and playable on their systems. Sony has now done the same thing. We know what we have to do and we will try to support both systems. It just depends on launch and development time, and how well they do in the marketplace; we'll see where the future goes. But initially we're planning to make games for both.
GD: Microsoft recently announced that King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 would be coming to the Xbox 360. Do you expect to see other SNK franchises making the jump to the next generation?
BH: Well let me back up for a moment on that. Of course we're working on a King of Fighters game for Xbox 360. It's a working title, and saying it's Maximum Impact 2 is really... let's just say it's a working title. That title might be used for a different game, we might have a new name for it, or we may not use that name at all, but there are games being developed for the next generation. As far as other franchises we'd have to say, yes there is.
GD: How do you see the next generation of consoles performing? Do you think games selling at $59.99 will hinder sales?
BH: I think over the course of the last 15 years there's been an evolution of systems. Everyone has always wanted the next system that can do more. This is the first time that every single one of them is talking about backwards compatibility, which I think is a very, very good thing. Where the consumer or the parent has always said, "Gee, that's a lot of money invested in an old system, I don't want to go to the next generation, why should I." All three of them are saying, come along with us and the older games will still play, and that I think is a wonderful thing.
As far as the details that are being discussed, I think once again we may be looking at a reduced market of hardcore players, at least initially, who will come on board. We're talking about $299 and $399 for the hardware, and of course Nintendo who is unannounced at this point as to what all of the requirements are, or what their retail [price] will be, but I am sure that the next generation is coming.
I was told that same thing one time in the movie [industry] when they started selling $7 movie tickets, and now it's $10. Some of them get to rental a little quicker than they used to, but I'm sure that there will be a move to the next generation, and there will be a lot of good reasons to do that. I will let the hardware people make that happen.
As far as the retail [price] on the games, I think just like this generation, you get to a point with the highest level of games with the deepest involvement as far as course of development, especially licenses. If it has to be $59 because that's what it took to develop, I think the funds will certainly go there. I don't know that every game will be $59, I think there will probably be some at $49, and I think if things go well there will be lower priced ones.
It definitely puts an interesting spin on the categories, $59 is a new price point, it's not one that I would want to jump to. I keep hearing there will be a lot of $59 games at launch, and the hardcore games are going to go shopping, so don't worry.
GD: Between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, who do you expect to come out on top in the next generation?
BH: I'm going to take a pass on that one. Only because, I'm not an analysts and there have been some wild analysts making some very, very strong statements about what they think is going to happen, when the next generation will start, etc. I'm going to let the consumers take care of that, but I believe there's room for everybody, especially when these things are backwards compatible.
It does appear to me that [Microsoft] wants you to get the 360 quickly. The Sony people, want to keep the PS2 alive, but they certainly want to grow the PS3 as well, and they want you to get into the [PSP]. Nintendo's coming along, and they have a little different approach.
I think that all of them understand that there is a world of online capabilities, and right now Microsoft has that category pretty well covered. Their Live experience is really a wall. I think the other two have challenges as to how to get there. I'm sure they will, I'm sure they're improving on what they've done so far. Not that everyone wants to go online and play in tournaments and so forth, but I just think that experience is something that people are now accepting and really expect as part of the [whole] experience.
Source:
http://www.gamedaily.com/fightinggamehu ... cle_id=726
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