NGF history and snk buyout details

[Jamtex]

It's not just my words, it is the sworn affidavit and signed declarations under oath by SNK-Japan, Playmore, and SNK NeoGeo USA, in US Federal Court, stating SNK-Japan gave full licensing permission to NeoGeoFreak to sell/distribute those titles and with repackaging rights licensed to NeoGeoFreak.

We signed our contracts with SNK.
SNK granted us licensing and repackaging rights for all games that they themselves had legal rights for.
All companies testified, provided documents, and swore under oath in Federal Court to confirm these details.
As it stands, I doubt SNK and Playmore would purger themselves in Federal Court.

Playing devils advicate here... Reading from everything you have written, you do state that SNK Playmore published said list stating what you had legal rights to but due to human error a number of games by third parties were not on that list.

Now it does strike me as strange that you would not have contacted them to add these games in after they published this list, if it was human error then surely this would have been corrected.

As they were third party games, it could be that SNK never had the rights for any home versions of these games to be published as none of them (with the exception of Puzzle Bobble on Neo Geo CD and Neo Geo Pocket and Waku Waku 7 on Japanese home cartridge) ever appeared on any Neo Geo home system. Unless you are going to say that any game that appeared on the MVS system was automatically licenced to be a home cartridge too.

Btw you should read and answer your pms every so often.

[Dion]

i would like to ask Dion his opinion the following rare carts
Specifically what Dion thinks about:
the rarity- i.e how many copies he thinks were released and in why in so many small numbers
Who owns them - does dion think that the market valve holds and that such carts will ever come into circulation - are there more carts out there waiting to be discovered ?

These questions have already been discussed throughout this thread. I don't know exact numbers on production counts, but I'm sure the numbers are on average around 500 for most RARE titles.

The market may collapse unless the proper measures are taken.
NeoGeoFreak is taking the first steps to introduce protective measures for our releases, starting with our official and exclusively licensed edition of KoF2000.

KoF2000 price: $4000-$6000
Since the KoF2000 has now been CONFIRMED as the most expensive AES cartridge by verified and documented public sales on ebay (usa sold $3550, ebay germany sold for $5900), yahoo japan ($5300), craigslist California $6000. Even a sale at ng.com sold for $4000 (was phantom deleted by the admin when the cartridge sold in one day).

Average sales price for the official KoF2000 english edition is now reaching between $4000-$6000. So we're taking new measures to prevent any future pirate copies from emerging.


Certification and Authenticity Program
We've already implemented a Letter of Authenticity program to owners that send in photos of their KoF2000 english edition. We are also issuing Certificates of Authenticity and a matching Certificate of Ownership. These certificates will be serial numbered 000/100 and will also be titled to the current owner and registered in the archives at NeoGeoFreak.

Upon a sale, new owner will send us the old CoO and receive a new CoO retitled in their name. The CoA remain constant. Only the CoO is retitled.
CoO serial ID will match the CoA serial ID. Plus, buyers can check title registry with NeoGeoFreak to verify title and number authenticity.

We are doing this as a service to preserve the authenticity of our exclusive license, and to assure and verify to all owners/future owners that the game they have is original and registered.

Playing devils advicate here... Reading from everything you have written, you do state that SNK Playmore published said list stating what you had legal rights to but due to human error a number of games by third parties were not on that list.

Now it does strike me as strange that you would not have contacted them to add these games in after they published this list, if it was human error then surely this would have been corrected.

Btw you should read and answer your pms every so often.

Authorized NGF/SNK list update
We did contact them, but they never corrected the press release list. We also never got around to adding our own press release list, so it's a moot point. Plus, the legal list is the one that is signed by all parties in US Federal Court, so the online list that Playmore issues was to assure all our customers that the games we sold were official and authorized, and to prevent people from asking for refunds under false pretenses of NGF games not being officially licensed merchandise.

We will be making many new updates to our www.NeoGeoFreak.com site and we'll include our own version of the press release and game list. Our version will list all titles as in the agreed court order list.

And yes Barry, I do check my pms. I thought I replied to you about artworks, etc... We can discuss it further in private messages.
.

[Dion]

Certification and Authenticity Program

how much for this service?

Do you own the KoF2000 english edition?

LoA: No charge
CoA: No charge for NGF verified owners. (CoA remains with game/complete with CoA)
CoO: No charge for NGF verified owners. (CoO will be titled and registered)

CoA and CoO will be color graphic certificates.
Details will soon be online at www.NeoGeoFreak.com
.

[Annoying_one]

i do love the mod who deleted posts.

[ASSEMbler]

i do love the mod who deleted posts.

Stop spamming useless comments

[Annoying_one]

assembler

no spamming here. just contributing to the Glory of Dion. didnt know the comments needed to be approved first.

we will try in the future to be as perfect as dion is.

[Buyatari]

assembler

no spamming here. just contributing to the Glory of Dion. didnt know the comments needed to be approved first.

we will try in the future to be as perfect as dion is.

Dude seriously...

Your posts are if anything way off topic in the "SNK Neo Geo and Pocket development" thread.

We know you love to talk about Dion but guess what. There is a whole thread dedicated for this already. You know that one with 500+ posts that self imploded err right around the time you stopped in.

But I have a question for you. Do you really have a problem with Dion or did you just find someone you can be negative about and no one will give you flak for it?

[Annoying_one]

if there is a thread for it then it must be in there. seek the answer my son.


glory to the dion

[spoonman]

Dion,
Are you able to sell "upgrade packs" for those wanting to convert their Japanese or original AES game to NGF versions (NGF insert, manual, cart sticker)?

[Dion]

Dion,
Are you able to sell "upgrade packs" for those wanting to convert their Japanese or original AES game to NGF versions (NGF insert, manual, cart sticker)?

Yes, we can offer the NGF corrected inserts for games that needed them.
We never sold or sent out stickers for upgrade purchases. The NGF genre correct inserts are authorized by snk-japan and playmore. If you're looking for any, just let me know.

The NGF versions had a much better print quality than the inserts from the distributor in Korea or from some of the inserts printed by Guilemot or NeoGeo do Brasil.

Some of the first French inserts from Guilemot were black/white copies of the english versions. It looked like they placed French wording on the inserts and then made a black/white copy. Low quality, but still official.
.

[topoption]

Just discovered on last page of nam 1975 aes manual that it says (This product can only be used on the Neo Geo rental system)

[Tyree_Cooper]

I don't understand why a company like SNK would give distribution rights and packaging customisation rights to "a guy" instead of a well-established company with employees, offices, a past history in the same type of business etc.

How much sense does it make for them to rely on a single person to securely store and distribute hundreds (thousands) of expensive games for the WHOLE territory of USA? I just don't get it. If they signed anything they must have been very stupid, or drunk, or both.

Also, how little professional was it of Dion and his friend(s) to keep on taking pictures of the storage area, smiling with games in their hands and so on. That's pretty ridiculous, if I had been SNK I would have done something immediately to stop the joke. I can't judge on a bunch of pics of course, but it looks very wrong. Have anyone seen pictures of Mani or Playtronic employees taking pics with Nintendo games, smiling full of pride and showing muscles?

I frankly don't get it, would be great to know SNK's version of the story, how they got into all of this - if they ever did.

[Dion]

I don't understand why a company like SNK would give distribution rights and packaging customisation rights to "a guy" instead of a well-established company with employees, offices, a past history in the same type of business etc.

Are you Tyree Cooper from chicago? If so, you will know who I am (from Chicago).


NeoGeoFreak/NGF-USA distribution agreements
SNK gave exclusive distribution rights to a company, NeoGeoFreak/NGF-USA. This is also seen on the snk/NGF agreement backbox on any title that has the licensed NGF inserts.

NGF had a proven track record with SNK dating back since 1996 and we gained exclusive rights years later. Plus I had a proven track record in the same type of distribution industry.


**click to view the NGF/SNKPLAYMORE PRESS RELEASE**

"These games were sold by NeoGeoFreak/NGFUSA with the corrected English AES inserts with the permission of SNK Corporation Japan."


It doesn't get much clearer than that. Posted directly by Playmore on Playmore's website.

How much sense does it make for them to rely on a single person to securely store and distribute hundreds (thousands) of expensive games for the WHOLE territory of USA? I just don't get it. If they signed anything they must have been very stupid, or drunk, or both.

SNK had no choice in the matter. They were giving up on neogeo consumer sales and distribution. They wanted to focus on the neopocket and ports on the playstation and xbox. We as NGF came to an agreement with snk that we would handle all further neogeo consumer sales so snk could concentrate their efforts on other failed ventures.

NeoGeoFreak registered business
Again, NGF wasn't a single person. NeoGeoFreak was a registered and licensed fictitious business, also as NGF-USA and NGF Distribution. We had a sales office and two warehouses in Las Vegas, NV, and we also had a warehouse in Denver, Co.
.

[Consumed]

NeoGeoFreak was a registered and licensed fictitious business.

Seems a very strange word to use for a legitimate businessman. Maybe something's getting lost in translation?

[Tyree_Cooper]

No I'm sorry, I'm not the great hip house dj from Chicago... just someone who appreciates his past records. It's cool to learn that you actually knew each other, amazing!

Thanks for the explanation, makes sense about why they would have chosen you, again I know nothing about any of you but I was just curious. You made lots of money, had lots of fun, must have been a great time - this always comes with having enemies and jealous people, no doubts.

Although by looking at all those silly pics of you posing with games, destroying inserts an so on so forth - I still feel you could have handled it more professionally. And again we always hear only your side of things, I really think we need someone who dealt with you at SNK at the time to speak out now, that would help clear things with everyone for good, wouldn't it.

[Dion]

No I'm sorry, I'm not the great hip house dj from Chicago... just someone who appreciates his past records. It's cool to learn that you actually knew each other, amazing!

Yes, Tyree and I know each other.
I was a record distributor and I also created all of the Original Records, Crystal Classics, Lost Records, and the Devastating Records series. The Original Records on gold vinyl is worth $200 and the Devastating Records "Part Two" on green vinyl was the most successful and is worth over $300 for the 12 inch. All of those are from me. (just some chicago house history for you)

Thanks for the explanation, makes sense about why they would have chosen you, again I know nothing about any of you but I was just curious. You made lots of money, had lots of fun, must have been a great time - this always comes with having enemies and jealous people, no doubts.

Jealousy is part of the game whenever you become successful.
If SNK was still around, they would be able to speak. Actually, if snk was still around we would have still been doing business together and made many more releases. NGF stopped being a distributor for neogeo when playmore purchased the IPs. But we were offered such a lucrative settlement from playmore's frivolous lawsuit, that it seems like we were still in business together.
.

**click to view the NGF/SNKPLAYMORE PRESS RELEASE**

"These games were sold by NeoGeoFreak/NGFUSA with the corrected English AES inserts with the permission of SNK Corporation Japan."

NeoGeoFreak registered business
Again, NGF wasn't a single person. NeoGeoFreak was a registered and licensed fictitious business, also as NGF-USA and NGF Distribution.
.

Seems a very strange word to use for a legitimate businessman. Maybe something's getting lost in translation?

The term "fictitious business" does sound a bit strange, but it's a legal term to describe a business name. This was covered on page 15 of this thread.

Quote from page 15
"Remember, NeoGeoFreak/NGF-USA was a "doing business as" (dba) aka "fictitious business name" (legal terms) created by Chris and myself. The "NGF" company isn't in business anymore, but we still associate ourselves with the NGF brand name.
NeoGeoFreak and NGF-USA were legally registered fictitious business names."

click link: Fictitious Business DBA link (for clarity on fictitious business dba)"

.

[arnoldlayne]

Edited post -

Nothing upsetting (I just asked about Kizuna Encounter) but it seems to have killed this thread stone cold.

Oh well.

[Dion]

Also, how little professional was it of Dion and his friend(s) to keep on taking pictures of the storage area, smiling with games in their hands and so on...
....if I had been SNK I would have done something immediately to stop the joke...........
Have anyone seen pictures of Mani or Playtronic employees taking pics with Nintendo games, smiling full of pride

This is probably going to burst your bubble, but SNK actually started doing the same thing.
Yes, even the SNK president and his crew took pics and smiled.....

4th snk america "neogeo" period crew pose for the cameras, smiling with games in their hand.

SNK-America president taking pictures and smiling full of pride with a KoF99 aes mockup.
(salesman on the left and snk-america president on the right of the photo)



4th SNK-America crew attempts the "status" approach:
As snk-america started to see their sales slowdown, they triedemulating the NGF strategy of taking/posting photos and
doing various magazine/online interviews. Around 1999/2000, snk-america also started hiring strippers and hustler models
for various trade shows to try and promote a "big tymer" or "executive" image. This was a direct copy of our NGF status campaign.
(I'll try to dig up some of those snk-america booth photos with the strippers and hustler models and add them to this thread)

SNK-america president smiles and toasts with champagne.



Honorary In-Circle status
I personally gave SNK-America president an honorary ranking of "Big Tymer."
I'll dig up the membership cards and photos of SNK president holding the NGF Big Tymer card up and shaking my hand,
photos of him and I with the Irritating Maze dedicated cabinet, and photos of us toasting to our mutual success.


**Added - finally found the photo
While looking through some of my boxes of files and arts, I happened to find the photo I mentioned over a year ago:

snk-america's 4th president and Dion Dakis


NGF provided photos for fun and also to create a buzz for sales and marketing.
Our strategy worked better than expected because people still talk about some of our
photos dating as far back as 1996. We'll soon be approaching 20 years of NGF (2016).

[Shou]

In Japan there are a lot of arcade ops running fast striker, of course they had to purchase the arcade op version which I think was $800-1200.

If a lot is a handful then yes. I only know of 3 arcades who brought them in and one being an arcade I'm affiliated with. Fast Striker did OK money. Paid for itself and made a little bit. Last Hope PB failed from an income perspective, not even close to paying for itself, and I have never seen or heard of it in a Japanese arcade besides the one I had it on location at.

[alphagamer]

If a lot is a handful then yes. I only know of 3 arcades who brought them in and one being an arcade I'm affiliated with. Fast Striker did OK money. Paid for itself and made a little bit. Last Hope PB failed from an income perspective, not even close to paying for itself, and I have never seen or heard of it in a Japanese arcade besides the one I had it on location at.

I heard it is too easy for japanese players, they should include a JapDoubleUltraCrazeMode where you see nothing but bullets on the screen in their next game.