SNK Corporation have pulled an advert for SNK Allstar where female characters had their buttocks slapped, as it “was not up to our ethical standards.”
Developed by Superprism Technology, SNK Allstar is a card based game on Android and iOS. Players gather up characters from King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade, and other SNK Corporation characters; and create a team that can be powered-up with no limit.
Recently, an advert for the game quickly drew attention on Twitter. You can find that advert (re-uploaded by a third party) below. Reader discretion is advised.
While clearly meant to be satirical, some objected to the advert. Some felt it was out of character for Terry Bogard, while others felt the advert was immature or too perverse. Others criticized the quality of the animation.
SNK Corporation later announced in a statement on Twitter the advert had been pulled, as it “was not up to our ethical standards.” They further state the advert was not made with their oversight.
“SNK has become aware of an advertisement for a product created by our licensing partner which was not up to our ethical standards. SNK played no part in the creation of the ad, had no prior knowledge of its content, and has filed a complaint with the partners involved… (1/2)
…asking for the ad to be taken down immediately. We sincerely apologize to our fans that such an offensive ad managed to make it to public release and hope for your understanding. We will strive to do better in the future along with our partners. (2/2)”
A similar statement was also released on the game’s Facebook page. “It is our vital goal to keep the essence of SNK universe, and we sincerely apologize for such an unnecessary mistake.” That statement notes “compensation” will be sent to players of the game later.
Some have compared the situation to when EVO Japan 2019 cut their live broadcast, as models hired as part of the Dead or Alive 6 demonstrations attempt to recreate the game’s jiggle physics by slapping each other’s buttocks and bouncing up and down. The game’s camera mode was also used to zoom in on character’s bodies, and paused at times giving the illusion of sexual acts.
Upon returning, one of the commentators apologized, stating the game “does not reflect the content or intention of EVO” and apologized if anyone was offended. Evo President Joey Cuellar (a.k.a. Mr. Wizard) later stated the stream “does not reflect the core values of Evo or the FGC.”
As “core values” quickly became a meme for those critisizing censorship of sexual elements in fighting games and beyond (such as changing a female character’s design to be less revealing or sexual), EVO Online would later be cancelled due to multiple allegations of sexual harassment and abuse made against Cuellar and other prominent members of the fighting game community.
