News

SNK Playmore Drops Slot Machines, Focuses on Smartphone/Consumer Games

Japanese game developer SNK Playmore announced on Monday that it is withdrawing from the pachislot (pachinko parlor slot machine game) business and will refocus on its smartphone/consumer game development and licensing of its intellectual property.

The report notes that in considering new strategies for growth, SNK Playmore decided to withdraw from the pachislot industry as a response to declining numbers of pachislot players, changes in regulation that have created uncertainties in operating in the market, and a consequent "difficulty in business projections." All employees that previously worked on pachislot machine development will be transferred to games development, though the company will continue to offer maintenance services on its pachislot machines that are currently operating.

The report mentions that SNK currently has 20 smartphone game titles, including Metal Slug Defense, which has garnered over 2,600,000 downloads.

The company plans to leverage its partnership with Ledo Millennium Co., Ltd. to develop more titles, including its upcoming The King of Fighters XIV. The announcement noted that SNK Playmore plans to hire more employees to develop new titles.

SNK Playmore is currently operating as part of holding company Ledo Millennium Co., Ltd. (a holding company of Leyou Technologies, which recently acquired an 81.25 percent stake in SNK Playmore's shares).

The company announced its new The King of Fighters XIV game in September with a trailer featuring 3D visuals. SNK Playmore plans to release the game for the PlayStation 4 in 2016.

Source: Game Watch via Hachima Kikō