Former SEGA President Kenji Matsubara Named CEO of SNK Corporation

Former SEGA president Kenji Matsubara has joined SNK Company as its new CEO. The information comes after it was revealed final 12 months that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia had bought a 51% stake within the SNK, in style for such franchises as King of Fighters and Metal Slug.

Again in July 2020, Kenji Matsubara left SEGA after spending over six years on the firm in numerous positions, beginning as CTO for the Sega Networks Firm and ultimately changing into president of its gaming division. Whereas Matsubara had only recently turn out to be Chief Publishing Officer for the division, he resigned simply three months later “on account of private causes.” Whereas the explanations for his leaving SEGA are nonetheless unknown, we now know that he can be working with SNK as its CEO.

Within the firm’s announcement put up, SNK states that Matsubara has a “wealth of enterprise experience and expertise in main the sport trade,” working at a wide range of firms throughout the trade equivalent to cell sport firm Zynga Japan in addition to SEGA and Koei Tecmo. Apparently, SNK made the choice to rent Matsubara on account of his “intensive expertise in sport software program improvement, advertising and marketing, and gross sales each in Japan and abroad,” which can point out that the corporate is eyeing the worldwide market.

This additionally comes at a pivotal time for the corporate, which not too long ago introduced Metallic Slug Techniques throughout this 12 months’s Summer Games Fest. However this isn’t all peaches in cream; the aforementioned majority buy-out from the Saudi crown prince has additionally stirred up loads of controversy from followers, who’ve been vocally essential of Mohammed bin Salman’s ties to the homicide of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Along with this occasion in addition to quite a few different human rights abuses occurring within the nation, followers are additionally nervous that SNK’s video games could also be used to advertise political propaganda.

[Supply: Gamesindustry.biz, Screenrant]