SNK vs. Capcom explained

SNK vs. Capcom
Platforms:Arcade, Dreamcast, Windows, Neo-Geo, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Switch, PlayStation,
PlayStation 2,
PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Xbox
Developer:Capcom Production Studio 1
Dimps
SNK
Publisher:Capcom
SNK
SNK Playmore
Genre:Collectible card game
Fighting
First Release Version:
First Release Date:October 21, 1999
Latest Release Version: (2024 re-release)
Latest Release Date:July 20, 2024

SNK vs. Capcom, or alternately Capcom vs. SNK, is a series of crossover video games by either Capcom or SNK featuring characters that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are fighting games, and take on a similar format to Capcom's own Marvel vs. Capcom series, in which the players create teams of fighters and have them fight each other. Games in this series either contain SNK vs. Capcom or Capcom vs. SNK in their titles, with the first company named denoting the company behind the game's development.

Reception to the series has been varied; while the Capcom-developed titles were the most positively-received (and are still widely well regarded by critics), the SNK-developed installments received more mixed reviews by the time of its releases, although these have been the subject of reappraisal as time went on, now being considered cult classics by players and critics alike.

History

The supposed origin behind this series was an issue of Arcadia magazine in which there were articles covering both The King of Fighters '98 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, both of which were released at around the same time. Readers had misread the cover, which said KOF vs. SF, to mean that there was a fighting game that would pit characters from Street Fighter and The King of Fighters. Because of this uproar, Capcom and SNK supposedly signed a deal that would allow them to produce only two fighting games concerning both franchises in 1999 (the Card Fighters series (see below) were not fighting games and therefore were exempt from the rule). It is highly suggested that was only made in order to fulfill the contract obligations that SNK made prior to the company filing bankruptcy and their eventual closing in 2000. Also, if one company was the main creator of one game, the distributing company would gain the profits and not the company that licensed the characters for use (although SNK gave the rights to use the SNK characters to Capcom for the first Capcom vs. SNK game, SNK did not profit from the game, which did not help their financial problems).

While no new SNK vs. Capcom titles have been released since Card Fighters DS, characters from both companies have appeared together in a handful of other titles, including Bandai Namco's Tekken 7, Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Cygames' Granblue Fantasy, and some of their own titles like Netmarble/SNK's The King of Fighters All Star and Capcom's Street Fighter 6.

Future

In a 2021 interview with Polygon, director Hideaki Itsuno confirmed that at one point, there had been plans for a new, 3D installment in the series, but that it had been cancelled due to SNK's bankruptcy. The 3D assets created for Capcom vs. SNK 3 were later repurposed for the cancelled Capcom Fighting All-Stars;[1] said project was set to include The King of Fighters protagonist Kyo Kusanagi as a guest character during its planned release after a deal was struck with the then-reformed SNK Playmore.[2] There were interviews with SNK that it would be possible to renew their contract with Capcom to make new SNK vs. Capcom games,[3] but in another interview, both companies stated that they would not do any further collaboration with each other, claiming SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS would probably be the last crossover game between both companies.[4] However, in an interview from January 2009, Yoshinori Ono, the producer of Street Fighter IV, expressed interest in a possible third game if fans demanded it.[5]

In August 2022, SNK and Capcom artists Eisuke Ogura and Shinkiro – the latter of whom is currently at Capcom after famously working at SNK – created special promotional posters featuring both companies' characters to celebrate the 2022 Evolution Championship Series tournament, the first live EVO since the COVID-19 pandemic. In a subsequent interview, SNK producer Yasuyuki Oda stated that "both parties" were interested in a potential revival of the series.[6]

At the 2024 Summer Game Fest, both Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui were revealed as part of Street Fighter 6s second season of downloadable content.[7] Later that year, during EVO 2024, a re-release for Steam, GOG, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 of was announced.[8] These announcements, combined with that of , sparked speculation about a potential revival of the series, an interest acknowledged by Capcom producer Shuhei Matsumoto in an interview discussing the aforementioned Marvel vs. Capcom compilation.[9]

SNK-produced games

Capcom-produced games

Characters

CharacterSideSNK-developedCapcom-developed
MotMChaosCvSCvS2
Akari IchijouSNK
AkumaCapcom
AthenaSNK
Athena AsamiyaSNK
Baby Bonnie HoodCapcom
BalrogCapcom
Benimaru NikaidoSNK
BlankaCapcom
CammyCapcom
Chang KoehanSNK
Choi BoungeSNK
Chun-LiCapcom
DanCapcom
Demitri MaximoffCapcom
DhalsimCapcom
E. HondaCapcom
EagleCapcom
EarthquakeSNK
Evil RyuCapcom
FeliciaCapcom
Geese HowardSNK
Genjuro KibagamiSNK
God RugalSNK
GoenitzSNK
GuileCapcom
HaohmaruSNK
Hibiki TakaneSNK
Honki ni Natta Mr. KarateSNK
HugoCapcom
Iori YagamiSNK
Joe HigashiSNK
Kasumi TodohSNK
KenCapcom
Kim KaphwanSNK
KingSNK
Kyo KusanagiSNK
Kyosuke KagamiCapcom
Leona HeidernSNK
M. BisonCapcom
Mai ShiranuiSNK
MakiCapcom
Mars PeopleSNK
Morrigan AenslandCapcom
Mr. KarateSNK
NakoruruSNK
RaidenSNK
Red ArremerCapcom
Rock HowardSNK
RolentoCapcom
Rugal BernsteinSNK
Ryo SakazakiSNK
RyuCapcom
Ryuhaku TodohSNK
Ryuji YamazakiSNK
SagatCapcom
SakuraCapcom
ShikiSNK
Shin AkumaCapcom
Terry BogardSNK
TessaCapcom
VegaCapcom
ViceSNK
Violent KenCapcom
Wild IoriSNK
YunCapcom
Yuri SakazakiSNK
ZangiefCapcom
ZeroCapcom
Total22363548

Reception

Card Fighters DS and SVC Chaos had a polarized, mixed reception, with a Metacritic score of 48%[11] and 57% respectively;[12] although Chaos has been the subject of reappraisal as time went on, being often considered a cult classic by some outlets.[13] The two Capcom-developed games and Match of the Millennium have fared better, with Capcom vs. SNK 2 achieving a Metacritic score of 81%.[14]

In 2012, Complex ranked Capcom vs. SNK at number 38 on the list of the best video game franchises.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Capcom vs. SNK: An oral history . Matt . Leone . . January 7, 2021 . January 1, 2024.
  2. News: Street Fighter V: Secret File. 2021-03-23. en. Guests – Round 5: Toyohisa Tanabe. 2019.
  3. Web site: KOF Game Videos: Interview with SNK Playmore. Cyberfanatix.
  4. Web site: KOF Game Videos: SNK related news.. Cyberfanatix.
  5. http://www.gamercenteronline.net/2009/01/17/capcom-vs-snk-3-is-very-not-impossible Capcom vs. SNK 3 Is Very Not Impossible?
  6. Web site: 'Both sides' are interested in reviving SNK vs. Capcom, says producer. Robinson. Andy. Video Games Chronicle. August 30, 2022 . August 30, 2022.
  7. Web site: Scullion . Chris . Terry and Mai from Fatal Fury are coming to Street Fighter 6 . VGC . June 7, 2024 . June 7, 2024.
  8. Web site: Fanelli . Jason . July 20, 2024 . SVC Chaos Gets Steam Re-Release, Console Versions Coming Soon . 2024-07-21 . GameSpot . en-US.
  9. Glaze . Virginia . July 19, 2024 . Exclusive: Capcom’s “dream” is to make more Marvel crossover games . Dexerto.
  10. Orlando, Greg. "SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS". (January 2007) Newtype USA. Volume 6 Number 1 page 131.
  11. Web site: SNK VS. CAPCOM CARD FIGHTERS DS. metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc.. 29 July 2017.
  12. Web site: SVC CHAOS: SNK VS. CAPCOM. metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc.. 29 July 2017.
  13. Jones . Elton . September 18, 2012 . The 25 Best SNK Fighting Games Ever Made (14. SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos) . Complex.
  14. Web site: CAPCOM VS. SNK 2: MARK OF THE MILLENNIUM 2001. Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc..
  15. The 50 Best Video Game Franchises. Complex. 2012-09-26. 2012-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20120928021400/http://www.complex.com/video-games/2012/09/the-50-best-video-game-franchises/capcom-vs-snk. dead.