King of Fighters skipping 2004

No_Style

SNK Playmore says that a new King of Fighters 2004 isn't in development, but a new installment is currently in the works.

TOKYO--While the King of Fighters series has traditionally appeared on an annual basis with each of its games titled with the year of its release, the long-time tradition has come to an end. According to Impress Gamewatch, SNK Playmore will not release a King of Fighters 2004, though the company is currently developing a new KOF installment. The news was disclosed by KOF series' current main illustrator Falcoon during the King of Fighters tenth anniversary party, which took place in Japan today.


"It [the next King Of fighters] won't come out as 'KOF2004', but its development is going smoothly," Falcoon said during the event "We're making a KOF that's different from a 'KOF2004', or a 3D game like 'KOF Maximum Impact', or the 'KOF NeoWave' that was released on the Atomiswave [arcade platform]."

It is undetermined whether or not SNK Playmore will continue numbering the KOF series by its release year after skipping 2004. The new KOF installment is expected to hit arcades after the release of NeoGeo Battle Coliseum for the Atomiswave, which SNK Playmore is currently focusing its development on.
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Source: GameSpot

No_Style

I hope this next installment is a total revamp (graphically) of their KOF franchise. They're using the Atomiswave and it's plenty powerful to render gorgeous hi-res 2-D Unless, they were merely using Atomiswave as an anti-piracy technique which people assumed after KOF NeoWave came out.