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Shortly after 2000's E³, SNK made a surprise announcement that shocked not only the NGPC community, but also the gaming community at large: SNK was shutting down all foreign operations, ending support for the NGPC in all territories except for Japan.

Undoubtedly, this decision came about from a major shift in focus on SNK's part resulting from their purchase by Aruze. Clearly, Aruze analyzed SNK's foreign operations and decided that they simply weren't worth supporting.

From what I understand, at least in North America, the NGPC was doing very well - possibly better than in even the home market in Japan. Because of this, it is hard to understand why the decision was made. Perhaps the management at Aruze felt that the effort of running SNK's foreign operations wasn't worth the cost? Maybe they simply did not feel like controlling the foreign operations no matter how profitable they may have been?

We are likely never to know all of the reasons behind the decision, but it is obvious that SNK is no longer the company that it once was. In addition to this announcement, reportedly many of SNK's employees who were responsible for creating their trademark franchises such as The King of Fighters series have lef the company.

Unfortunately, the direction SNK is going appears to be rapidly shifting away from the direction that brought many people (including me) to them in the first place. Does this mean that SNK is forever tarnished in the eyes of those who support them? Naturally, this is up to each individual, and only time will tell where SNK is truly going.

As for me, well, I've enjoyed SNK's offerings so far. If what SNK offers in the future maintains the level of quality I've come to know them for, I will continue to purchase their products, even though I will have to import them. However, it is doubtful that SNK's games will ever be the same again due to the company's radical restructuring. I simply can't say whether or not I will continue to find their products as entertaining in the future. I'm neither for nor against them. I simply buy what I like.

This leads me to a reminder. The NGPC system and games that we already own are not somehow less fun now. It seems like a stupid thing to say, but it's easy to forget what we already have when we look towards the future. I thank SNK for the countless hours of entertainment they've provided me so far, and will continue to enjoy my NGPC, Neo Geo CD, and MVS for quite some time to come. I just also hope that I can continue to support their products in the future as long as they continue to be entertaining.

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