Following the recent acquisition of SNK Playmore by the Chinese company Leyou Technologies, it seems like their owners have already begun to make big decisions for the veteran Japanese developer.
A rumor (from Pachinko Village, via Hachima Kikou) is coming out of Japan that Leyou has sent out the order to halt all pachinko business for SNK Playmore.
This means the developer will seemingly return to only making traditional games, with the recently announced King of Fighters XIV being their current title.
While this is currently a rumor, it does corroborate with Leyou’s mission statement for the developer, in which they want to make cross-media like TV shows, movies, and of course – more games.
Kaleido-Ruby
October 9, 2015 at 10:08 am“While this is currently a rumor, it does corroborate with Leyou’s mission statement for the developer, in which they want t”
They want t…what?
They want to dress in drag and do the Hula?
They want to create a new baseball team in Japan where no one is safe?
I mean what the f–oh I get it. THEY GOT HIM! OH THEY GOT BRANDON!
Breezer
October 9, 2015 at 10:08 amAt this point the Japanese Pachinko game seems like a mobile gaming tier bubble waiting to burst.
Brandon Orselli
October 9, 2015 at 10:15 amLOL. I published an old draft. Apologies… thanks for the laugh though! Updated now
Demetirus
October 9, 2015 at 10:17 amDang it, I was *just* about to make a Candlejack jo
Karo
October 9, 2015 at 10:19 amIn that case I’m glad Leyou are doing the smart thing by bailing out early. RIP Konami though, they’ll never make a good choice.
Mike Nieto
October 9, 2015 at 10:20 amKonami will cover that business no problem. HIT THE LEVER.
DrWawee
October 9, 2015 at 10:23 amGood
Offendatron_5000
October 9, 2015 at 10:31 am#andN
Kaleido-Ruby
October 9, 2015 at 10:42 amAnd my jab was based on this old thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUj88_aPNkg
Steven T.
October 9, 2015 at 10:45 amHey, Leyou. Psst, yo. I got someone you might be interested in buying. Nonono, no need to thank me. Just, y’know, keep it in mind.
ivanchu77
October 9, 2015 at 11:18 amThat´s some great news here! hope we can see SNK making good traditional games again like thay have done so many times before
Misogynerd
October 9, 2015 at 11:33 amDon’t worry, they’ll start putting Pachinko machines in hospitals so the elderly can enjoy them while dying. It will revitalize the industry.
TheGreatGamerGod
October 9, 2015 at 11:41 amHey, Leyou. Psst. I have some more companies for you to buy.
http://segabits.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/segabits-sega-logo-600×227.gif
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/files/avatars/avatar_4826239.jpg
TheGreatGamerGod
October 9, 2015 at 11:44 amSeems like their new owners are smart and have a good plan in place. I hope they pump a lot more cash into their game division, would be excellent to see them do anything like they did in the 90s but for consoles.
luggage lad
October 9, 2015 at 12:00 pmthe pachinko/slots business is basically the gambling business, and gambling is here to stay, for better or for worse.
heroyaldog
October 9, 2015 at 12:13 pmhey now capcom has been on an upswing for the last year or two
Godmars
October 9, 2015 at 1:02 pmGiven what they’re doing with KOF, I wouldn’t go and offer them other companies to “save”. Though they might just need time to get in gear.
tetrisdork
October 9, 2015 at 1:05 pmThey’re still going to do mobile games. Although, I do hope they go multiplatform with PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
British_Otaku
October 9, 2015 at 1:11 pmSEGA have been supporting the PC and using it to extend interest in numerous franchises. What more do they need to do?
They aren’t in a position comparable to SNK or Konami.
Breezer
October 9, 2015 at 1:20 pmThat’s funny because as far as I know Pachinko is the only legal form of gambling in Japan but because of that there’s a ton of those machines there and they’re on their way to legalizing real gambling and when that happens that bubble is going to burst like Hell
Audie Bakerson
October 9, 2015 at 1:22 pmUnless they legalize actual gambling (no idea how efforts to do that over there are working out), then I’d expect businesses based on loopholes in old gambling laws to die very quickly
JustaGuest
October 9, 2015 at 1:37 pmI’ll forgive them for 3D kof if it’s true.
No_Good_Names_Ever
October 9, 2015 at 2:02 pmHAHAHHA, for once a Chinese takeover might actually be a good thing. Here’s hoping they’re not into MOBAs and/or cash grab MMOs.
TheGreatGamerGod
October 9, 2015 at 3:42 pmMaybe port all those IPs in Japan that they don’t release here? Perhaps not let all their classic IP’s rot away while they pump out endless Sonic games. There’s a lot Sega could do.
TheGreatGamerGod
October 9, 2015 at 3:43 pmSlightly, to be fair. They still need to sort out things like Megaman, the future of the DMC series, but you can at least tell they are trying now.
British_Otaku
October 9, 2015 at 4:06 pmI feel you could say that for almost every Japanese publisher. Nintendo has notable franchises which have been sat on for over a decade themselves.
Room for improvement, even lots of room for improvement isn’t so bad even if you could fit my backlog there.
Richard Miller
October 9, 2015 at 5:48 pmSo Leyou Technologies is the anti-konami.