A sad day in gaming history has passed: SNK, the maker of the NeoGeo Pocket Color system, has announced a 100% recall in both North America and Europe. The decision was made both by SNK and Aruze (who purchased SNK a few months ago), although they've labeled it to be only a "temporary retreat." However, this affects all SNK games, including some being developed for other systems such as the PlayStation and Dreamcast.

Unfortunately, this means that on the RPG front, there will be no North American release of Ogre Battle Gaiden and Evolution Pocket. However, there is a glimmer of hope; all is not lost. SNK has announced that all Japanese-released games will work on all foreign NeoGeo Pocket Color systems! This is a large boon for importers that still wish to get good play and money out of the system.

A full retreat of the system is expected by the end of July. While you probably won't find a copy anywhere in any gamer-exclusive stores, such as Electronics Boutique, it may be noted that some department stores are notoriously bad for callback. This is your final chance to pick up the system, as well as any games, so if you want them, you'll need to make your purchase soon.

SNK has declared that it will stick around long enough in North America to offer customer service while they are calling back and reorganizing their merchandise. Hopefully this retreat will last only a small amount of time. SNK has mentioned selling game rights for non NeoGeo Pocket Color games to companies in North America for local publishing. Stay tuned to RPGamer for updates on this sad situation.