SNK's return to its weapon's based 2D fighter is less than two weeks away (June 25th), and director Noboyuki Kuroki is confident in Samurai Shodown's return to the fighting game scene. The series will be on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, the PC version will be a little time away.
According to SNK fan Gatoray, SNK had been approached by an as of yet unnamed PC distribution company about signing Samurai Shodown exclusively for their launcher [quote] "...on condition of a pre-order-of hundreds of thousands of copies". In an interview with Game Focus Kuroki declined, feeling certain his game will sell "...one million copies"
As stated, it's unclear as to whom the PC distributor is, but given Epic Games' incredibly aggressive tactic of being a viable competitor to Steam, all signs point to them being the likely suspect. Epic Games acquired the rights to Metro Exodus earlier this year, and in a move that surprised and upset many, publisher for the upcoming Shenmue III became an Epic Exclusive, meaning people who back the Steam release (as of this writing, Shenmue III is still on the Steam store as "Coming Soon").
I think this is a rather bold move by SNK, and also a respectable one. Considering how hot the temperature has been amongst gamers regarding Epic Games' more than forward ambitions for PC launcher dominance, I feel SNK taking a big payday from them (allegedly) would tarnish the recent strong efforts the company has made to repair its image. SNK was once on the verge of non-existence, barely surviving countless bad business decisions, flimsy ownership and bankruptcies throughout the late 90's and 2000's. Under new management from Chinese mobile company 37Games and Orient Securities, the brand has seen a resurgence and a turn of profit with more consumer friendly outreach and an effort to restore its presence on an international level. King of Fighters veterans Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond are set to appear as DLC guest characters in Dead or Alive 6.
Using Unreal Engine 4, Samurai Shodown looks to place a strong emphasis on footsies based neutral combat, and it will be featured at this year's EVO tournament event this August 2nd. It is currently unable to be pre-ordered via PC for the time being, but it will be available on Google Stadia.
Follow Gatoray on Twitter for news regarding Samurai Shodown and other SNK related updates: https://twitter.com/gatoray_kof
Full interview with Noboyuki Kuroki: http://gamefocus.co.kr/detail.php?number=94683
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