And then...Harada RETURNED

Let's go. So, in possibly one of the biggest twists of news, Herata is joining SNK and making a new studio. From what I understand, this is pretty crazy news because I kind of thought the dude was done. I kind of felt like he's been doing this for so long that he probably is just going to, you know, hang up the official coat and possibly be done with it. And then we had another wilder prediction. Maybe he's actually going to Sega because of Virtual Fighter. So that's not the case, but it does seem like he is still fighting game adjacent, right? I'm glad Herod is just still involved in fighting games in some way. That makes me happy. Everything getting absorbed under SNK lately is definitely interesting because obviously they have money for reasons. Pleased to announce that it has decided to invest in a newly established game development studio founded by Mr. Katuhiro Harata and welcome it into the group as subsidiary. Versus Studio, that is a name, dude. Established May 1st in conjunction with SNK will support the launch of a new studio and plans to make it a consolidated subsidiary. The new studio and SNK will collaborate on game software development to further strengthen their development capabilities. I am really curious if other people are also leaving Namco and going over here. I'm wondering if that's happening. I wonder if there's like a minor exodus happening at Namco. We saw this happen a little bit not that long ago with Capcom. Iunosan left to make his own studio and brought on a couple of like ex Capcom dudes that were pretty big Capcom dudes. We're pleased to announce the launch of game development studio versus um which is beyond tradition crafted to perfection. We will combine technology, sensibility and world-class expertise to pursue the ultimate form a free open and spacious environment where we will generate new ideas and create memorable games. The verses in Versus Studio holds various meanings represents our roots in video game soft video game software. the spirit of versus challenging traditions and many other meanings symbolizing innovation and challenge such as visionary standard valition shift and vanguard spirit. It's so Japanese. Having been involved in game development for many years, I'm constantly considering how I want to spend my time as a developer and what kind of environment allows developers to perform at their best. Uh Versus Studio is one answer to that question. By bringing together technology and knowledge and working with passionate colleagues, we aim to deliver the best gaming experiences to users worldwide. Versus Studio aspires to be a studio that continues to take on challenges and we're looking for new team members to share our vision. Oda Sun says, "I'm proud that Herata, who has been a longtime friend and worthy rival, is into the group. We've long discussed the hypothetical scenario of working together and now the dream has become a reality and to be honest, nothing has been decided yet, but I have no doubt that things will become even more exciting than ever before. We look forward to your continued support. Let me check out the video. game director. How should I spend the time I have left as a developer? Creation of the studio is one answer to that question. I wanted a place where I could focus solely on making games with trusted colleagues. Damn, sounds like Bandai Namco has become specifically like corporate overlords as time has gone on. And here's the thing, Herata wasn't just a developer of Tekken, Chad. He's Harata has been a Tekken developer in like 25 years, dude. But he's been like an executive, you know? He's been a person that allows Tekken to be made and to continue and to be a thing, you know? He was in the executive tenure of Bamo. He was there. He's like one of the last Namco dudes. It's kind of true. Let's move on. A place where we dedicate our time to creating truly great games. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to make this vision a reality. Seems like Yeah, he was just like turned into a businessman, which happens a lot in this industry. It certainly does. Like you you kind of get pushed in the Japanese side of like game biz when you move up into a like officiating position of just like checks and balances. He kind of wants to be a part of like game creation. Here's the thing, dude. Without Herata, like how the hell does Smash Brothers get made? I'll I'll continue with investment from SNK versus Studios, which needs long-term continuous support, cuz they have equity, that's for sure. As an independent studio, we can stay focused on creativity while expanding our challenges on a strong foundation of support. So, there's not going to be pumping out they're not going to be pumping out SNK games till the cows come home. They're not like, "Hey, here's here Metal Slug. Here's Maximum Impact 3." Huh. Interesting. Let me explain the meaning behind the name Versus. Many people think of versus and developers may think of Visual Studio, Visual Studio. Yeah, it's versus fighting game fans. But for us versus means much more. It tracks back to our roots in video game software development team and represents ideas such as working working 17 hours a day, sleeping for three, which is what they did back in the day at Namco. Visionary standard. Shift. Vanguard spirit. Philosophy embedded in the name versus defines who we are as a studio. Damn. Herado went back to basics. Holy [ __ ] Beyond tradition, crafted to perfection. That's what we strive for. If you share our passion and want to create games with us, we would love to hear from you. They're hiring. Thank you for your support of Versus Studio. That's it. You know what? Yeah, it's like SNK is so owned by like a government entity. It really is. But I I'm conflicted. I'm happy that Herata is still in the industry and he's being enabled to make games. You know, I think he has a lot of money to do things. And at least I don't know how long that's going to last, but at least I'm happy at these conflicted emotions that Herata is still involved and he's going to be enabling more things like fighting games to be made. I think that's very cool that that is a thing that exists. The problem with the same thing issues I had with EVO and all this like government money is that how long does this last until it's like not interesting anymore, you know, or does not benefit the people that are investing? There's a lot of like equity and a lot of money being thrown around right now. But what happens if like the games don't stick? We'll see. I just really want to see things actually come as a result of it and I just want them to be cool. I'm actually very glad that Harat is still in the industry. Um, but I think it's crazy with his absence now at Bandai Namco, like we'll never know the behind the scenes, but bro, there's a very large likelihood that most of the relations between Nintendo and the large development back-end studio that has been helping them out, which is Bandai Namco, was there because of Herata, long established relationships with developers like Sakurai and like many others. With him not being there, I'm sure that stuff will still happen, but it'll be significantly more difficult. Like many of those things will be significantly harder to make a reality because Herata was the executive that was like championing most of that [ __ ] most likely. I don't know what the future holds. I really don't. I'm actually very happy that Herata is still in the industry. That that's that's my take on this right now. So what happens to Tekken? Dude, I don't know what happens to anything like a band dynamo at this point. Like I I Tekken and Soulcalibur are things that we deeply want to see continue in some way. I don't know. I I hope for the best. I hope they get some good focus direction and stuff like that.