I wholly expect Kojima to retire. For about a year. And then the weird thing in his head will demand he gets a new thing out there. Maybe not a game, maybe he'll try and get into movies. ;P
It's like Hayao Miyazaki. That guy's been done for decades. And he retires every time, but ya can't keep him out of the studio, he'll be back in 14 months yelling about talking goldfish or aeronautical biopics or something.
Mostly I think Hayao's still in it because he's worried about Studio Ghibli, not his own personal satisfaction. It's clear his son didn't get nearly the same talent, and they need Hayao's imagination to keep things running until they find new talent.
Kojima is literally the opposite of this. He's giving his studio the finger, and can do whatever the fuck he wants.
Kojima got out before, IIRC he had no involvement with MGS: POOPs and then came back for Peace Walker because they'd done fucked up and he had to right it. So not entirely dissimilar!
Not really. Portable Ops came out before MGS4 and was developed by the Ghost Babel/Acid team. Kojima went straight from MGS4 to Peace Walker.
miscellaneousinsanitygrass grows, birds fly, sun shines,and brother, i hurt peopleRegistered Userregular
iirc, post MGS3 kojima 'retired', resulting in portable ops, MGS4 initially was a kojima-less venture but be got pulled back in due to fans complaining and sending death threats
MGS4 was yet again stated to be the last one but I think he may have realised there was still more to the story that could be fleshed out/pressure from konami to keep making metal gears, there's an easter egg in the game hinting at future entries, and peace walker was originally billed as MGS5
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BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
And again, Peace Walker started without Kojima initially (iirc) but then Kojima popped his head in and went "nonono goddamnit this is how you do it"
Or so the story goes
The only deviation from that trend was Metal Gear Rising, where Kojima basically threw everything out and handed it off to Platinum, along with a cool portmanteau he took from the dictionary
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ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
And Revengeance was so much better for it. Best Metal Gear game ever.
iirc, post MGS3 kojima 'retired', resulting in portable ops, MGS4 initially was a kojima-less venture but be got pulled back in due to fans complaining and sending death threats
MGS4 was yet again stated to be the last one but I think he may have realised there was still more to the story that could be fleshed out/pressure from konami to keep making metal gears, there's an easter egg in the game hinting at future entries, and peace walker was originally billed as MGS5
That doesn't sound right to me. Portable Ops was a bit of a rush job effort (hence the horrible controls, courtesy of Ryan Payton), with most of the staff coming straight over from Acid 2, and Kojima was already back on MGS4 by then.
But yes, there's a subset of MGS fans who are nuts. It's a pity Murata didn't get to direct MGS4 and hasn't directed anything since, he did an incredible job on ZOE2. It also sucks Nojiri's talent was wasted by Konami, after he did such a great job on Ghost Babel and Acid 2. NeverDead? Come on...
In a statement to IGN, a Konami representative said “We are aware that the conjecture surrounding our recent changes has prompted a great deal of anxiety, for which we apologise.”
Konami’s statement continued to explain that, in addition to mobile gaming, “the Metal Gear and Silent Hill series, both beloved by countless fans around the globe, are also extremely important to Konami. We have nurtured them with care over many years since their inception, and will continue to produce products for both franchises, but we are not currently at a stage where we can announce the path these future titles will take.”
Regarding the more immediate future, Konami President and Representative Director Hideki Hayakawa explained to Nikkei that “Konami’s idea of Mobile First is not at all to focus purely on mobile games.”
“Our aim is to continue to build up a comprehensive portfolio of console, arcade, and card game titles for each IP while also making the best possible use of the mobile devices that accompany our customers in their daily life, thus expanding the limits of entertainment and appealing to more and more customers,” Hayakawa said.
Indeed, Konami is focusing on mobile, and it’s because the publisher is focusing on its own soil first and foremost.
“Japan is our primary market for mobile content,” said Hayakawa. He cited Japan as a smartphone leader, with approximately 50% market saturation – more than China and the United States. Hayakawa also explained that “the Japanese market is populated with consumers who are extremely particular and discerning, and it is this environment that has helped us polish game design quality to such a high level.”
This plays into Konami’s “centralized production division system,” which is a result of its company-wide reorganization that took place in March 2015. This is presently how Hideo Kojima and The Phantom Pain team operate at Konami. If Konami’s previous development structure was siloed, with individual teams operating on their own, now Konami has all teams “under one roof.”
“Until now, in addition to game development duties, our creators were handling a wide range of responsibilities including managerial roles,” Hayakawa said. This became incredibly complicated, and didn’t work with Konami’s apparent unification of teams, so “we have changed our approach to instead have managerial staff thoroughly focus on strategy and how their individual skills can be best applied, with that strategy then being executed together with the creative staff.”
The strength of Konami as a company, Hayakwa said, is in its “power to create groundbreaking IPs, and our power to refine them into progressively better products.” This “has been the driving force behind our business. However, whereas platforms to date were very limited, we now need to split our approaches between console, arcade, card, and mobile games to best suit the needs of the customer.”
Konami’s statement concluded, “Konami will continue to embrace the challenge of creating entertainment content via different platforms; across not only mobile platforms, but for home consoles, arcade units, and cards, to meet the changing needs of the times. Your support for our current endeavours, and your spurring us on to greater heights, are as always deeply appreciated.”
Well, that explains the Kojima weirdness and why the Love Plus guy left.
And I'm guessing their pinky-swear at future console support means they'll keep making that soccer game.
Do we have the full statement? Polygon posted excerpts too, some other stuff I don't see in that IGN one.
There's so much corporate-speak in there it's ridiculous. It does touch on what happened to Kojima though - they don't want the creative types also having the managerial roles. So, basically what a lot of rumors were - that Kojima had too much power within the company. If they were taking that away from him it's basically a huge demotion and makes sense as to why the split happened.
KONAMI, as a company, underwent a major structural reorganization in March this year. The aim of this reform has been to guarantee that, in the quickly-changing digital entertainment industry where new game designs and platforms constantly alter the market environment, we can accurately observe new customer demands and market trends, and apply our long-established technology and knowhow quickly and effectively with a range of targeted responses.
Let's review this with the corporate buzzword/phrase drinking game!
...major structural reorganization...
Drink!
...quickly-changing digital entertainment industry..
Drink!
...constantly alter the market environment...
Drink!
...accurately observe new customer demands and market trends...
KONAMI, as a company, underwent a major structural reorganization in March this year. The aim of this reform has been to guarantee that, in the quickly-changing digital entertainment industry where new game designs and platforms constantly alter the market environment, we can accurately observe new customer demands and market trends, and apply our long-established technology and knowhow quickly and effectively with a range of targeted responses.
Let's review this with the corporate buzzword/phrase drinking game!
...major structural reorganization...
Drink!
...quickly-changing digital entertainment industry..
Drink!
...constantly alter the market environment...
Drink!
...accurately observe new customer demands and market trends...
KONAMI, as a company, underwent a major structural reorganization in March this year. The aim of this reform has been to guarantee that, in the quickly-changing digital entertainment industry where new game designs and platforms constantly alter the market environment, we can accurately observe new customer demands and market trends, and apply our long-established technology and knowhow quickly and effectively with a range of targeted responses.
Take a drink for every buzzword! Actually, don’t do that. It sounds dangerous.
I honestly have no idea what to expect from this Arkham Asylum of a company anymore.
I can tell you this though. In no way would this qualify as "good news". Not because of the XB1 exclusivity, but because as I said before, who in the flying fuck would ever trust these people after all this?
If Silent Hills does continue without Kojima and Del Toro, I don't want shit to do with it.
I could've maybe kinda bought that until they said SH was about 80% done which is so much bullshit that it makes the rest of it exponentially bullshit by association.
Not to mention Microsoft spending billions on Silent Hill as a franchise which is absurdly overvalued after Konami salted the fucking earth with it with what would've been a PlayStation exclusive is the very antithesis of sense in every universe.
The Stars of Destiny never didn't seem extraneous. There was always like one or two conversations per game that tried to make a big deal out of them, but it just seemed like you were being accosted by a madman.
That Silent Hills rumor is absolute bull, but if the unthinkable happens and it is actually real, that would be the megaton to end all megatons. Only HL3 could top it.
MS has tried this strategy again and again, mainly to try and curry favor with the Japanese market.
It's never worked.
Well in this case if they bought any of Konami's catalog they'd be currying favor with US gamers that want genres Sony is providing which is what they want.
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
The Stars of Destiny never didn't seem extraneous. There was always like one or two conversations per game that tried to make a big deal out of them, but it just seemed like you were being accosted by a madman destiny.
FTFY.
108 Hostages of Destiny
Quiotu on
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BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
They've done this a shitload with Visual Novel console ports and SHUMPS. The VNs, without fail, come to the Playstation in a year (or less) once the timed exclusivity runs out. Though the Bullet Hells stay exclusive a lot.
Not to mention Microsoft spending billions on Silent Hill as a franchise which is absurdly overvalued after Konami salted the fucking earth with it with what would've been a PlayStation exclusive is the very antithesis of sense in every universe.
In what universe was this going to be PS exclusive? Just because the demo was?
Not to mention Microsoft spending billions on Silent Hill as a franchise which is absurdly overvalued after Konami salted the fucking earth with it with what would've been a PlayStation exclusive is the very antithesis of sense in every universe.
In what universe was this going to be PS exclusive? Just because the demo was?
Yeah, Silent Hills was never mentioned as a PlayStation Exclusive.
Not that it matters though, because the game is dead and burred.
Not to mention Microsoft spending billions on Silent Hill as a franchise which is absurdly overvalued after Konami salted the fucking earth with it with what would've been a PlayStation exclusive is the very antithesis of sense in every universe.
In what universe was this going to be PS exclusive? Just because the demo was?
Fair, I guess. I didn't really think about it on XBone at all because of P.T., but that doesn't really preclude it from anything.
In retrospect, Sony probably paid for P.T. exclusivity and must've been pissed at how that went.
Posts
Everyone knows Kojima is eternally 26 years old.
Not really. Portable Ops came out before MGS4 and was developed by the Ghost Babel/Acid team. Kojima went straight from MGS4 to Peace Walker.
MGS4 was yet again stated to be the last one but I think he may have realised there was still more to the story that could be fleshed out/pressure from konami to keep making metal gears, there's an easter egg in the game hinting at future entries, and peace walker was originally billed as MGS5
Or so the story goes
The only deviation from that trend was Metal Gear Rising, where Kojima basically threw everything out and handed it off to Platinum, along with a cool portmanteau he took from the dictionary
just like the good ol' days after 9/11
That doesn't sound right to me. Portable Ops was a bit of a rush job effort (hence the horrible controls, courtesy of Ryan Payton), with most of the staff coming straight over from Acid 2, and Kojima was already back on MGS4 by then.
But yes, there's a subset of MGS fans who are nuts. It's a pity Murata didn't get to direct MGS4 and hasn't directed anything since, he did an incredible job on ZOE2. It also sucks Nojiri's talent was wasted by Konami, after he did such a great job on Ghost Babel and Acid 2. NeverDead? Come on...
This song suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.
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Well, that explains the Kojima weirdness and why the Love Plus guy left.
And I'm guessing their pinky-swear at future console support means they'll keep making that soccer game.
There's so much corporate-speak in there it's ridiculous. It does touch on what happened to Kojima though - they don't want the creative types also having the managerial roles. So, basically what a lot of rumors were - that Kojima had too much power within the company. If they were taking that away from him it's basically a huge demotion and makes sense as to why the split happened.
Let's review this with the corporate buzzword/phrase drinking game! Drink! Drink! Drink! Two drinks! Drink!
On a scale of one to ten, I'm pretty drunk.
Hey wait...
Patrick, is that you!? :P
Source
I can't even reasonably say this is bullshit.
I honestly have no idea what to expect from this Arkham Asylum of a company anymore.
I can tell you this though. In no way would this qualify as "good news". Not because of the XB1 exclusivity, but because as I said before, who in the flying fuck would ever trust these people after all this?
If Silent Hills does continue without Kojima and Del Toro, I don't want shit to do with it.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
I...can't argue with this. Xbox should just throw money to aquire Japan RPGs.
Xbox to buy Persona exclusivity. Internet riots ensue. Phil Spencer can't be reached because he is too busy eating money.
But I would also have said the same if you told me 3 months back that Kojima would be fired and Silent Hills cancelled, so...
Muriyama is sitting at home. All of a sudden, a knock at the door. He goes to answer it. Nobody is there.
Returning to his living room he finds Phil Spencer is seated at his couch. Legs crossed, European style.
"It's time to gather the 108 Stars of Destiny again." he says. "Whatever the hell those things are."
It's never worked.
"I'm here to talk to you about the Suikoden Inititative."
Considering they've done fuck-all with all the Hudson characters they've acquired, I'm guessing the answer is no.
Obviously that's going to be a gritty reboot of the franchise. Think Dark Souls, only with bubbles and bees.
Well in this case if they bought any of Konami's catalog they'd be currying favor with US gamers that want genres Sony is providing which is what they want.
FTFY.
108 Hostages of Destiny
Last time they tried this strategy, they produced Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon, so
I wouldn't mind at all if they tried again :P
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
In what universe was this going to be PS exclusive? Just because the demo was?
Yeah, Silent Hills was never mentioned as a PlayStation Exclusive.
Not that it matters though, because the game is dead and burred.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Fair, I guess. I didn't really think about it on XBone at all because of P.T., but that doesn't really preclude it from anything.
In retrospect, Sony probably paid for P.T. exclusivity and must've been pissed at how that went.
Annnnnnnnnnd dead. Better luck next time.
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It's gone now