Ignition Entertainment has announced that The King of Fighters XII will be released in North America and Europe in 2009. The highly anticipated fighting game is expected to be released on PS3 and Xbox 360.

For the first time in the franchise, KOF XII has undergone a complete graphical overhaul. All sprites used over the last 14 years have been dropped and replaced with new high definition, high resolution sprites on detailed 2D backgrounds, drawn 100% by hand.

“Dreams never die!” said Ajay Chadha, President of Ignition Entertainment. “I’ve been a huge The King of Fighters fan since 1994 when the game first debuted and I know original fans will be as excited as I am about this groundbreaking installment of this very popular series. And just as importantly, The King of Fighters XII should be a treat for the new gamers who’ve just been introduced to the hugely popular franchise.”

Variety Asia reports that the movie rights to the King of Fighters franchise has been bought by Double Edge Entertainment which is based in Taipei and LA. The movie will be directed by Gordon Chan, a Hong Kong action veteran.

As per the story, the movie is being backed by BenQ and the Taiwan government, which is also financing other Hollywood movies such as Smother and The Heaven Project. The film is also being co-produced by Japanese shingle Micott & Basara sales agent Arclight/Easternlight.

No cast or release timeframe for the movie was mentioned.

Ignition Entertainment has announced that King of Fighters XI is coming to Europe for the PS2 this Winter. Latest in the long-running fighting franchise, KOFXI features a total of 11 teams and 47 characters, including 3 all new characters; 7 playable boss characters; 3 new abilities - Quick Shift, Saving Shift and Dream Cancel; 14 new endings; color edit more; 4 new stages; 101 new music tracks and more.

Further information and media can be found on the game’s official website.

Kotaku recently had the chance to visit the SNK Playmore HQ in Japan, getting to play with Falcoon, the creator of King of Fighters Maximum Impact, and chat with the Marketing Manager of the company. It’s an interesting read, but the most attention-grabbing part comes when the author asks about SNK’s stance on PS3.

“My first impression is that it’s expensive. The PlayStation 2 is good enough. It’s small and cheap. For us, for manufacturers, we have to invest in a new system, and the PlayStation 3 is a risk. There won’t be enough consoles at launch. Few consoles mean few software sales. We need to wait three or four years. Maybe 2009-2010 is a good time to release a game for the PS3.”

Basically, the company doesn’t intend on supporting the PS3 in the near future, though it has expressed interest in developing for Nintendo’s Wii. SNK currently plans on launching Metal Slug Anthology as a launch title for the Wii.

SNK and Ignition Entertainment have announced that King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 will be released in Europe for the PS2 this Autumn.

The new game in the fighting franchise will feature 24 initially selectable characters, with many more unlockable during the course of the game; new and improved fighting system; lots of extras; four modes of play, including Story, Versus, Challenge and Practice; and even more.

Meanwhile, Koei has sent word that it plans on releasing Disgaea 2 and Atelier Iris 2 on PS2 in Europe the same season. Here’s a bit on Disgaea 2:

Disgaea’s wickedly dark sense of humour has always been one of its most popular features and this has been taken to a whole new level of evil enjoyment with the new Dark Court system. Now the player is positively encouraged to be bad with the game rewarding your darkest most devious actions. But be careful, there are positive and negative results for everything you do within the game. Think you’re badder than you really are and you might just get summoned to court and suffer the shame of being found innocent.

As a direct response to calls from fans of the original, Disgaea 2 will now take place within a brand new 3D environment with animated sprites and anime cut scenes. Players will also be able to stack their characters on top of each other in order to combine their powers and unleash special combos and attacks.

Disgaea 2 is the latest RPG spectacular from Nippon Ichi and follows in the footsteps of the hugely popular titles Makai Kingdom, Phantom Brave, La Pucelle: tactics and of course the massive original Disgaea. With a whole new cast of characters along with many of the gang fondly remembered from the first game all turning up to do battle, Disgaea 2 is already looking like being one of the RPG events of the year.

As for the other title, Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny will ship in September and will feature new characters, two different worlds to explore, a new “Active Time Battle System”, and more new stuff. The UK release of the game will also see more powerful monsters, allowing for “even more thrilling battles.”

Ignition Entertainment has announced that it plans to bring King of Fighters: NeoWave for the PS2 to Europe this Summer.

The King of Fighters NEOWAVE is the first ever King of Fighters game SNK has developed for the arcade that hasn’t been based on NEOGEO technology. As well as an all-new fighting system that provides fighting styles for players of all skill levels, gamers are treated to lavishly produced high-res backgrounds. Firm favourites from the series previous iterations appear, remaining true to the characteristic SNK style.

The ability to choose from three different fighting styles - Max 2 mode, Super Cancel mode and Guard Break mode - ensures generous tactical depth, and an array of different attack and defense options, including the excellent Just Defense first seen in SNK’s highly lauded Mark of the Wolves, also ensure NEOWAVE is always a challenging and entertaining experience.

The game features 43 characters, 3-on-3 battle format, multiple fighting styles and more.

As Gamespot points out correctly, it has to be “bittersweet” news for fans of the King of Fighters series, as SNK has announced that KOF2006 (for the PS2) isn’t a sequel to KOF2003, but a follow-up to the spin-off 3D game King of Fighters: Maximum Impact, which focused more on one-on-one fights.

This doesn’t mean that the 2D is doomed - NeoWave is scheduled to hit North America next month, and it already has a sequel in Japan. King of Fighters 2006 will see the return of the entire Maximum Impact roster, as well as a couple of hidden characters.