Japanese games for Japanese audiences, brought to you by Saudi Arabia.
A recent presentation by SNK’s CEO unveiled plans for the game company’s future, which is likely to irk Western feminists. Among these plans is the involvement of majority shareholder Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as an avid gamer, who holds high hopes for SNK’s growth as a company.
Established in Osaka, Japan in 1978, SNK experienced significant success during the 1990s, driven by the popularity of its arcade fighting game series like Metal Slug, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, and Samurai Shodown.
During this period, SNK ventured into the home console market with different versions of its Neo Geo console. Despite filing for bankruptcy in 2000, SNK managed to undergo a successful rebuilding phase.
In 2022, news of the Saudi Arabian royal family’s investment in SNK made headlines worldwide. At that time, the Prince’s MiSK Foundation held approximately 96% of SNK’s shares, making it the majority shareholder. This sparked concerns by Western media outlets concerning Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, especially concerning women and the LGBT.
Yet, these individuals persistently advocate for open borders, welcoming numerous African and Muslim migrants into their country. This is happening despite the concern that Western nations are experiencing a demographic shift due to such migrants and refugees. And yet they criticize the treatment of certain individuals by Muslims regardless. Weird.
While some expressed concerns about how Saudi ownership might impact SNK’s game content, SNK producer and designer Yasuyuki Oda reassured that it wouldn’t affect the company’s creative output.
Regarding Saudi Arabian ownership of companies outside their country, it’s worth noting their involvement in diverse sectors. For instance, they have control over American sports teams with one having established their own professional wrestling corporation, Tony Khan’s AEW (All Elite Wrestling).
Typically, tycoons are seen as businessmen, but that’s not always the case. Take Tony Khan’s venture into wrestling, which was essentially a gift from his father, Shahid Khan. Whether they excel as corporate owners is secondary; many of these individuals are simply passionate fans of the entities they invest in and own.
This situation can be seen as both a blessing and a potential curse. While they may lack the ability to effectively manage a company, their willingness to prioritize personal preferences over profit is quite advantageous. Mohammed bin Salman, a known video game enthusiast who essentially owns SNK, aims to maintain the company’s status quo and foster its growth.
Naturally, Westerners may react strongly to this news, especially since SNK games are not expected to align with Western political agendas like BlackRock’s ESG initiative. It’s safe to say that SNK won’t be incorporating depictions of LGBT characters into their games in the near future.
According to Japanese game development news site GameMakers, SNK CEO Kenji Matsubara delivered a presentation on the company’s current status and growth strategy at the GDC 2024. Currently, the Saudi Arabian Prince’s foundation holds 100% ownership of SNK’s shares. Matsubara recounted asking the Prince during an online meeting about his vision for SNK.
Kenji Matsubara considered the possibility that the Prince might want to relocate SNK to Saudi Arabia or focus on developing games using SNK IPs in Western countries, and he expressed these concerns.
However, in response, the Prince fervently insisted on SNK’s growth as a Japanese company and urged it to “shine brightly on the world again,” reminiscent of its success in the 1990s.
This is fantastic news, Mohammed bin Salman seems quite committed to providing additional funding to ensure that SNK continues to produce games that align with his own preferences, as he is a fan of SNK video games, why the fuck should they change or even expand outside of Japan?
Matsubara proceeded to detail the company’s future growth plans, emphasizing SNK’s ambition to rank among the top ten game publishers globally within the next decade. To realize this ambitious objective, the company has formulated a comprehensive long-term strategy and is meticulously planning its short-term initiatives, including the precise calculation of the number of titles it intends to release over a three-year span.
SNK enjoys strong brand recognition in Asian regions, its presence in America and Europe is relatively limited. Although the company has offices in China, it lacks a presence in the Western market.
It appears that the Japanese video game developer and publisher is taking steps to rectify this situation. According to reports from GameMakers, SNK is collaborating with external partners to expand its portfolio of game releases and venture into genres beyond fighting games.
I, for one, am hopeful that Prince Mohammed bin Salman will take the lead in financially spearheading a new Metal Slug installment.
While other Japanese companies have started to cater to a global demographic by embracing progressive Western agendas, such as Capcom, Bandai Namco, and Arc System, SNK still has a chance to reclaim its prosperity without compromising its integrity by imposing political agendas on its audience for the sake of easy ESG capital and social standing on Twitter.
