Editing SNK (section)

=== Playmore and SNK Playmore (2001–2016) ===
Established as '''Playmore Corporation''' on August 1, 2001. It was originally an affiliate of the former SNK. Initially, it was a legal company specializing in copyright management services, and it would be incorrect to refer to the former SNK as its predecessor company. On October 30, of the same year, the company won the company's intellectual property rights in a bid made during the bankruptcy of the former SNK.

To re-establish its presence in the gaming market, Playmore acquired BrezzaSoft and its former SNK developers, as well as Japan-based Neo Geo developer Noise Factory. Sun Amusement, a Japanese commercial games distributor, was acquired by SNK to provide the company with an arcade distribution outlet in Japan. International offices were established in South Korea, Hong Kong, and the United States under the name SNK NeoGeo for commercial and, later, consumer gaming distribution. In July 2003, with the permission of Eikichi Kawasaki, the founder of the former SNK company, and after it reacquired the rights to SNK trademark from Aruze, the company changed its name to '''SNK Playmore Corporation'''. In the same year, SNK purchased ADK shortly after it filed for bankruptcy. Previously, ADK was a third-party company that had been heavily associated with SNK since the late 1980s. SNK Playmore's operations in Japan already largely resembled the original company: SNK employed many employees who left after its bankruptcy filing and occupied its former building.

In October 2002, Kawasaki sued Aruze for copyright infringement, claiming 6.2 billion Japanese yen (US$49,446,510) in damages. He cited that Aruze had continued to use SNK's intellectual properties after Playmore re-acquired them. A preliminary decision in January 2004 by the Osaka District Court favored SNK Playmore, awarding it 5.64 billion yen (US$44,980,374).<sup>[''citation needed'']</sup>

In the fall and winter of 2003, SNK Playmore obtained an injunction against a group of four different companies, causing hundreds of AES cartridges to be seized. In the following year, SNK Playmore struck a compromise with two of the companies. The two were allowed to sell AES cartridges, under the conditions that the cartridges would not be modified again and that any legitimate materials would be returned to SNK Playmore.

Within the same year, SNK Playmore would discontinue the AES system, preferring to publish video games in cooperation with Sammy. Using its arcade board Atomiswave, SNK Playmore gained a more secure and modern platform for new arcade releases. In 2004, SNK Playmore officially became licensed to manufacture pachislot machines (Japanese slot machines played in pachinko parlors). The company released its first two machines that year: ''Metal Slug'' and ''Dragon Gal''. Pachislots would be more heavily featured in SNK Playmore's product lineup for the next decade.

On December 17, 2004, SNK NEOGEO USA Consumer Corporation announced it would rename to '''SNK Playmore USA Corporation''' to facilitate worldwide recognition. In September 2006 at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS), SNK Playmore announced that it had ceased producing games on the Atomiswave, favoring Taito's Type X2 arcade platform. To counter the decline in the commercial gaming industry, the company shifted some of its development focus to consumer games, including original games for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, mobile phones, and other platforms. Games continued to be ported to the PlayStation 2, mostly in Europe because Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) did not approve most SNK Playmore games, and more rarely to the Xbox. In Japan, SNK Playmore released the ''NeoGeo Online Collection'' for the PlayStation 2, which contained some of its older games. It featured emulations, and online play was available through the KDDI matching service. The company also released original titles based on existing franchises such as ''Metal Slug'' and the ''KOF: Maximum Impact'' series.

In 2007, SNK Playmore USA released its first game on the Xbox Live Arcade, titled ''Fatal Fury Special''. SNK Playmore also began supporting Nintendo's Virtual Console service on the Wii in the US with ''Fatal Fury'', ''Art of Fighting'', and ''World Heroes''. In 2007, ''The King of Fighters XI'' and ''Neo Geo Battle Coliseum'' were released. SNK Playmore also released its first adult-themed game franchise, ''Doki Doki Majo Shinpan!'', the first for any handheld console. In 2009, the company released ''The King of Fighters XII'', which was not well-received by the public and critics alike due to polemic changes in the game's graphics and structure. In 2010, SNK Playmore released a sequel, ''The King of Fighters XIII'', which was considered a much better game than its immediate predecessor. It either won or was nominated to multiple Game of the Year awards.

SNK has developed a great number of mobile games since 2009. It has licensed its characters for Chinese and other Asian games, mostly mobile.

In December 2012, SNK Playmore released the Neo Geo X, a relaunched mobile Neo Geo console. On October 2, 2013, SNK Playmore terminated its licensing agreement with the console's manufacturer, Tommo, effectively ending production of the Neo Geo X less than a year after its release. Tommo disputed the termination, stating that its contract was extended until 2016 and that it performed every obligation of the licensing agreement.

In June 2013, the VIGAMUS, a museum of video games in Rome, hosted an event dedicated to the history of SNK, tracing back the origins of the company and explaining the evolution of its games. Yamamoto Kei, Kiyoji Tomita, and Ogura Eisuke participated at the event and were interviewed. Ogura also drew two original illustrations to exhibit at the museum.