Gaming site Kotaku is now reporting that SNK Playmore will be resurrecting the King of Fighters video game franchise for the new generation of gamers in early 2009. The said company is planning to release King of Fighters XII for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The news came from SNK Playmore Overseas Marketing Manager Yoshihito Koyama. The official also mentioned that the reason for the long wait is that they believe that between 2009 to 2010 is a good time frame to release a video game title on the PlayStation 3.

There are still no details regarding the gameplay mechanics of King of Fighters XII but Koyama shared that it is going to be a 3D fighting game shaded to look 2D. It was also said that a Japanese arcade version of the title will be released later in 2009.

King of Fighters was born out of SNK Playmore's plan to create a dream match of characters from its various arcade games like Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting. The last true entry, King of Fighters XI, was released in 2005.