Provenance Record

Well-structured 862-word News article covering Harada's departure from Bandai Namco and the formation of VS Studio SNK. The piece is organized into Overview, What We Know, What We Don't Know, and Analysis sections. Each factual claim is sourced to one or more of the six cited URLs. The Analysis section provides editorial context without editorializing — noting SNK's need for creative renewal and Harada's personal motivation is appropriate and sourced. Tone is neutral and professional throughout.

Read all six snapshots. source-0.html.gz (SNK official press release, HTTP 200): Confirms studio establishment date May 1 2026, headquarters at 4th Floor Shin-Meguro Tokyu Building, Shinagawa-ku, CEO title, studio motto 'Beyond tradition, crafted to perfection,' and VS acronym meanings (Video game Soft, Versus, Visionary Standard, Volition Shift, Vanguard Spirit). All article claims attributed to this source are accurate. source-1.html.gz (Anime News Network, HTTP 200): Confirms Harada left at end of 2025, general manager role at Bandai Namco, fighter game esports division leadership, character voice credits (Marshall Law, Yoshimitsu), Soulcalibur/Summer Lesson/Pokken contributions, SNK ownership by Electronic Gaming Development Company / MiSK Foundation, and KOF Studio established December 2024. Article correctly attributes these facts to ANN. source-2.html.gz (Variety, HTTP 200): Confirms Harada 'exited Bandai Namco in December 2025,' quotes Oda as 'SNK developer Yasuyuki Oda,' and contains verbatim Oda quote 'I am extremely proud to welcome Mr. Katsuhiro Harada, who has been a long-time friend and a worthy rival to us, into our group.' Article attribution to Variety is accurate. source-3.html.gz (EventHubs, HTTP 200): Confirms Yonemori as 'former Tekken Project Director' who 'worked on Tekken Tag Tournament through Tekken 7,' independent studio status on same floor. ISSUE: Article states Harada approached Yonemori about 'recreating the way we made things back then,' to which 'Yonemori replied: This looks like so much fun.' Per this source, Yonemori's direct reply to Harada's invitation was actually 'Let's do it together' (said 'almost immediately'). The 'This looks like so much fun' quote is from a separate Yonemori statement about his general honest reaction, not his conversational reply. The quote is real and attributed to the correct person, but placed in the wrong conversational moment. source-4.html.gz (Video Games Chronicle, HTTP 200): Confirms Yonemori as 'chief creative officer Yuichi Yonemori, the director of multiple Tekken games, including Tekken Tag Tournament 1 & 2.' Development timeline of '4-5 years' claim verified. source-5.html.gz (Saiga NAK, HTTP 200): Confirms 'when calculating backward, there is not much time left' verbatim, confirms 'since there were many parts that aligned with my thoughts, it led to this realization' verbatim, confirms 'atmosphere like a second founding' phrase. Note: this source lists VS meanings as 'Vanguard Spirits' and 'Visual Studio' rather than 'Vanguard Spirit' and 'Video game Soft' — the article correctly uses the official SNK press release wording from source-0, which is more authoritative than the translated interview. All six sources are credible for gaming/entertainment journalism: Variety, Anime News Network, Video Games Chronicle, and EventHubs are established outlets; SNK's press release is a primary source; Saiga NAK is a well-regarded Japanese gaming publication. Domains are not yet on the allowlist but all are reputable.

Core facts all verified: establishment date May 1 2026 (source-0, source-2), departure from Bandai Namco December 2025 (source-1, source-2, source-5), Harada role as CEO (source-0), Yonemori as CCO directing TTT1&2 (source-4), Oda quote verbatim (source-2), SNK ownership structure (source-1, source-3), KOF Studio December 2024 (source-1), VS acronym meanings (source-0). One minor misattribution: the 'This looks like so much fun' quote is Yonemori's real words but placed as a conversational reply when his actual direct reply was 'Let's do it together' (source-3). This is recoverable via a corrections record.

Solid, well-sourced News article covering an objectively significant story in the fighting-game industry. All six sources were fetched and verified. Core facts (dates, roles, quotes) are accurate and properly attributed. The single issue is a minor misattribution of conversational context for a real Yonemori quote — his direct reply to Harada was 'Let's do it together,' not 'This looks like so much fun,' which was a separate statement. This is recoverable via a public corrections record. Verdict: APPROVE_WITH_CORRECTIONS.