I wouldn't be surprised to see Konami leaving the console business, barring annual PES releases. They've been pretty conservative with their releases for the last few years as it is - the last thing I remember that wasn't a Metal Gear, Castlevania or PES game was Blades of Time, and as much as I personally loved that game it was kind of a flop - not a Homefront-level-last-one-out-turns-out-the-lights kind of flop, but not a big seller and not critically well received.
AAA budgets are just too nuts, and there's just too much risk that an absolute stinker can take the entire company down with it.
0
Options
miscellaneousinsanitygrass grows, birds fly, sun shines,and brother, i hurt peopleRegistered Userregular
Man, I wonder if anyone would even buy the Suikoden IP these days. It had a pretty rabid fanbase, myself included, but it was always tiny.
If murayama ever decided he wanted to come back and do a sequel to suikoden III (and provided he had access to the license), I would crowdfund the heck out of that, even if it were just a small project
Yeah this is the rub, after Murayama left back in 2002 they really didn't have any idea about the overall world story of Suikoden, so that is basically when that series died. (Although I really liked Suiko 5)
the good thing is his departure was completely amicable, he just wanted to go do other stuff, the bad (sad?) thing is that as things are now, even if wanted to there's nothing for him to return to
0
Options
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
I don't think Konami even does a conference anymore?
Like, they'll keep their floor space, but it'll just be Phantom Pain and FIFA. And then they'll do some Metal Gear Solid bullshit at either Sony or MS's conference.
0
Options
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Yeah.. if memory serves me right, they do pre-taped things... I think?
BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I'm not happy with the P.T. bullshit that's been going on but hawking PS4s at a premium just 'cuz a single digital game doesn't technically exist anymore is a few levels of uncool anyway, imo
Man, I wonder if anyone would even buy the Suikoden IP these days. It had a pretty rabid fanbase, myself included, but it was always tiny.
If murayama ever decided he wanted to come back and do a sequel to suikoden III (and provided he had access to the license), I would crowdfund the heck out of that, even if it were just a small project
Yeah this is the rub, after Murayama left back in 2002 they really didn't have any idea about the overall world story of Suikoden, so that is basically when that series died. (Although I really liked Suiko 5)
the good thing is his departure was completely amicable, he just wanted to go do other stuff, the bad (sad?) thing is that as things are now, even if wanted to there's nothing for him to return to
There was an interview with him some time back where he sort of lamented the sad state of Japanese game development;
...right now the Japanese game development scene is in a bad place. Games like Suikoden, where they've used 108 characters throughout the series, require a lot of material to create. So I believe making a game like that is quite difficult right now...
In the PS1 days, Japan was still a very robust game market, allowing for the creation of many ambitious titles, including Suikoden. But nowadays, more and more companies are shying away from making AAA blockbuster RPG's – it’s usually reserved for the very famous IP brands that nearly guarantee a return on development costs.
0
Options
H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
edited May 2015
Definitely sounds like they might be backing away from console games. I'd say it sucks, but they haven't been nearly as productive/successful outside of their biggest franchises (MGS, SH, Castlevania, and the soccer/football one) since the 5th generation as Capcom or Square-Enix have. Think of all those cool IP's that have been languishing already, or only getting the occasional halfhearted release. Another sad thing is, it's not just Konami's stuff; they bought Hudonsoft's IP rights too. At least Castlevania looks like it might be getting the Mighty No. 9 treatment soon? And to think people were getting excited about a possible third Zone of the Enders being made after the HD rerelease.
What I don't get is why they wouldn't just turn the Digital Entertainment branch into a licensing office and let other people take a crack at the IP's. It would lower the financial risks while retaining ownership of multiple possible revenue sources going forward.
What I don't get is why they wouldn't just turn the Digital Entertainment branch into a licensing office and let other people take a crack at the IP's. It would lower the financial risks while retaining ownership of multiple possible revenue sources going forward.
Pride, mostly.
It's a shitty thing, but they'd rather make no money than have other companies make things that have the potential of being way better than what they used to do.
What I don't get is why they wouldn't just turn the Digital Entertainment branch into a licensing office and let other people take a crack at the IP's. It would lower the financial risks while retaining ownership of multiple possible revenue sources going forward.
Ya there's money in their IP's, I wonder what they'll do with them. They could make some money renting them like Movie/Comic licenses, but one company dragging your IP in the ground lowers the value. Selling them just seems odd, so many of them are iconic. I grew up on Konami games. I think it was said earlier in the thread, but it was true, if you saw the Konami logo on a NES cartridge it was going to be a solid game. I remember the first time really seeing a NES, a neighbor was showing off Castlevania.
There is so much money being made in the gaming industry, how the fuck is Konami not swimming in a Scrooge McDuck vault full of money? And thinking about it, besides Castlevania on the portables, I can't think of the last Konami game I played. MGS:2 maybe? I'd have to look, I'm sure there's one sooner, but it's crazy to think about.
The sad thing is the only way to show Konami how much they've angered gamers is to literally start a public outcry to NOT purchase TPP. Let the game come out and hold strong to that statement. Sadly no one would have the courage to follow through with it, but if they just had a huge loss it would get the attention of some people in Konami. Or at least their investors.
That would probably just prove their point that AAA development is crazy risky and should be avoided.
And you'd be boycotting the wrong side of their business. The 'interactive entertainment' side, not the 'exploit human frailty and possibly aid and abet harmful addictions' side.
"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are." - Bertolt Brecht
Yeah, there's no way I won't buy TPP. It's the last MGS game I'll ever give two shits about, and... I just really want it.
Truthfully, even if I had interest in the MGS series anymore, I still wouldn't be buying this. We pretty much know a scant few things about the game.
1. Kojima made it what it is, and is now not working for Konami.
2. Konami fired Kojima out of spite.
3. Konami feels that despite its current horrific record, it can continue both MGS and SH fine without Kojima.
I get buying a game you want to play, but I also get wanting to stand behind the people that actually made it, not the publisher that threw them under the bus. Buy it, but buy it used; do your best to show Konami that you support Kojima and not them, with your wallet.
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
The last MGS game I played was 2. I'm ok with not buying PP.
Yeah, the exclusivity of MSG 4 pretty much killed my vested interest in the franchise. I might buy it, I might not. The only IP that Konami has that I'm still truly interested in seeing more of is Suikoden, and that's a) unlikely to happen and b) seriously unlikely to show up on the consoles I'm interested in owning atm.
That said, other than rumours is there a sourced statement showing that Kojima was fired?
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
+1
Options
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Yeah. Guess its just time for me to give up on ever getting a proper sequel to Suikoden 3.
I get buying a game you want to play, but I also get wanting to stand behind the people that actually made it, not the publisher that threw them under the bus. Buy it, but buy it used; do your best to show Konami that you support Kojima and not them, with your wallet.
Nahhh, I'll just pick it up on September 1st(if it still releases then). Buying it used doesn't support Kojima, it just supports Gamestop, Gamefly or whoever.
Everyone has a price. Throw enough gold around and someone will risk disintegration.
+6
Options
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited May 2015
This is just so depressing.
I rarely ever fanboy over game series, but I played through Suikoden 2 and 3 like 4/5 times each.
Konami just depresses me. Company that's had so many beloved series and managed to screw the pooch on almost all of them.
Dragkonias on
+1
Options
BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
lol Donna Burke and Akio Ohtsuka both went onto Twitter asking fans to buy the game for Kojipro :P
Plus, they pushed a ton of stuff for about the last year with plenty gameplay videos and demo reels to show for it. Ground Zeroes was goddamn fantastic (as was the PC port, whodathunk) which possibly guarantees that The Phantom Pain will be an astounding piece of work.
I rarely ever fanboy over game series, but I played through Suikoden 2 and 3 like 4/5 times each.
Konami just depresses me. Company that's had so many beloved series and managed to screw the pooch on almost all of them.
It's somewhat tangential, so I don't want to go too far off course but of Suikoden and the likelihood of it ever coming back, in a 2014 interview he Murayama said the following:
How do you feel about how the RPG genre has changed since the early Playstation days?
Modern RPGs take a tremendous amount of resources to make. In the PS1 days, Japan was still a very robust game market, allowing for the creation of many ambitious titles, including Suikoden. But nowadays, more and more companies are shying away from making AAA blockbuster RPG's – it’s usually reserved for the very famous IP brands that nearly guarantee a return on development costs.
Yoshinori Kitase of Square-Enix recently stated that a remake of Final Fantasy VII would be difficult for them to achieve due to "budget and staff availability" problems. What do you think this says about the pressures of HD development in the gaming industry today?
As I mentioned previously, the average consumer game is extremely difficult to make nowadays. Instead, what we’re seeing across the industry as a whole is the gradual transition to social games for smartphones.
But in a way, there are other factors already in place before even considering the rising HD developments costs of games. Entertainment is and always has been a gamble. I believe that once we’ve stopped innovating, we can only go downhill. The current situation is not exactly ideal.
With his latter response kind of lining up with Konami's unfortunate (for us) actions regarding their console development.
Honestly, stuff like that kind of makes me wish the PC market was bigger in Japan.
Kinda makes me wish that Kickstarter was used more in Japan. Honestly speaking, Mighty No 9 shows that people are okay with throwing money at a team wanting to continue something the original publisher doesn't. Letting the Suikoden team start another series that's basically Suikoden with the s/n filed off I can see hordes of people getting behind. They'd have to start over, but after so long that's not necessarily a bad thing.
0
Options
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
Financial results! The article's crappily written so there aren't any exact figures, but revenue's up 0.3 percent and income's up 87.8 percent. (Looks odd, but I'm trusting that's not a typo... maybe cutting console development cut costs?) So yeah, they're not hurting in general. Earnings for the digital division are down due to fewer releases.
Looking forward, smartphones and tablets are highlighted as an opportunity for the company to diversify and reach greater audiences, which Konami intends to exploit by developing "ways of playing games that match the characteristics of each device."
For console games, it is aiming toward including "sustained operation" modes that "utilize the operational expertise of mobile games." PES 2015's myClub is expected to continue contributing to profits.
Konami's expectations for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain weren't discussed in any detail, it instead opted to simply say the upcoming title has "garnered great response from home and abroad."
"Sustained operation" sure doesn't sound like they're going to do anything new for consoles, other than maybe a new PES. And of course we've got the big ole focus on mobile.
Honestly, stuff like that kind of makes me wish the PC market was bigger in Japan.
Eh, I don't think that would help the cost of development and such. Since the expectation for PC games in terms of graphics is even higher than that of consoles. Plus the support commitment across a significantly broader range of platforms.
“I used to draw, hard to admit that I used to draw...”
The last MGS game I played was 2. I'm ok with not buying PP.
You played the last good one, not counting Rising, so you're basically set
You know, this is another hit against the folks that want to support Kojima. You do realize Kojima was done with MGS a long time ago, and these last 3 games are him just stretching the series out at Konami's demand.
Posts
AAA budgets are just too nuts, and there's just too much risk that an absolute stinker can take the entire company down with it.
the good thing is his departure was completely amicable, he just wanted to go do other stuff, the bad (sad?) thing is that as things are now, even if wanted to there's nothing for him to return to
I will love it if they're booed.
Of all things, I feel bad for the Bemani team. Despite Konami's stupidity, Beatmania IIDX has remained consistently great. Pendual is stellar.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Like, they'll keep their floor space, but it'll just be Phantom Pain and FIFA. And then they'll do some Metal Gear Solid bullshit at either Sony or MS's conference.
Their next step will probably send hit men to your home to shoot your consoles...and maybe your dog while they're at it.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Like, I'd think it would be up to Sony to try and have those delisted, if anything. But even that is pretty 'no' territory.
see also: http://www.cnet.com/news/you-cant-actually-sell-your-flappy-bird-phone-on-ebay/
Soon.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Anyway....
http://kotaku.com/ebay-taking-down-auctions-selling-ps4s-with-p-t-1702917689
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
There was an interview with him some time back where he sort of lamented the sad state of Japanese game development;
What I don't get is why they wouldn't just turn the Digital Entertainment branch into a licensing office and let other people take a crack at the IP's. It would lower the financial risks while retaining ownership of multiple possible revenue sources going forward.
Pride, mostly.
It's a shitty thing, but they'd rather make no money than have other companies make things that have the potential of being way better than what they used to do.
Ya there's money in their IP's, I wonder what they'll do with them. They could make some money renting them like Movie/Comic licenses, but one company dragging your IP in the ground lowers the value. Selling them just seems odd, so many of them are iconic. I grew up on Konami games. I think it was said earlier in the thread, but it was true, if you saw the Konami logo on a NES cartridge it was going to be a solid game. I remember the first time really seeing a NES, a neighbor was showing off Castlevania.
There is so much money being made in the gaming industry, how the fuck is Konami not swimming in a Scrooge McDuck vault full of money? And thinking about it, besides Castlevania on the portables, I can't think of the last Konami game I played. MGS:2 maybe? I'd have to look, I'm sure there's one sooner, but it's crazy to think about.
And you'd be boycotting the wrong side of their business. The 'interactive entertainment' side, not the 'exploit human frailty and possibly aid and abet harmful addictions' side.
It's really the weirdest feeling I've ever had.
You could always just wait until it's on a deep sale that the company couldn't possibly make a profit on.
Truthfully, even if I had interest in the MGS series anymore, I still wouldn't be buying this. We pretty much know a scant few things about the game.
1. Kojima made it what it is, and is now not working for Konami.
2. Konami fired Kojima out of spite.
3. Konami feels that despite its current horrific record, it can continue both MGS and SH fine without Kojima.
I get buying a game you want to play, but I also get wanting to stand behind the people that actually made it, not the publisher that threw them under the bus. Buy it, but buy it used; do your best to show Konami that you support Kojima and not them, with your wallet.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Yeah, the exclusivity of MSG 4 pretty much killed my vested interest in the franchise. I might buy it, I might not. The only IP that Konami has that I'm still truly interested in seeing more of is Suikoden, and that's a) unlikely to happen and b) seriously unlikely to show up on the consoles I'm interested in owning atm.
That said, other than rumours is there a sourced statement showing that Kojima was fired?
At least give MGS3 a shot! It's one of the best games ever made.
Nahhh, I'll just pick it up on September 1st(if it still releases then). Buying it used doesn't support Kojima, it just supports Gamestop, Gamefly or whoever.
I rarely ever fanboy over game series, but I played through Suikoden 2 and 3 like 4/5 times each.
Konami just depresses me. Company that's had so many beloved series and managed to screw the pooch on almost all of them.
Plus, they pushed a ton of stuff for about the last year with plenty gameplay videos and demo reels to show for it. Ground Zeroes was goddamn fantastic (as was the PC port, whodathunk) which possibly guarantees that The Phantom Pain will be an astounding piece of work.
It's somewhat tangential, so I don't want to go too far off course but of Suikoden and the likelihood of it ever coming back, in a 2014 interview he Murayama said the following:
With his latter response kind of lining up with Konami's unfortunate (for us) actions regarding their console development.
Source (Suikoden Revival Movement)
Kinda makes me wish that Kickstarter was used more in Japan. Honestly speaking, Mighty No 9 shows that people are okay with throwing money at a team wanting to continue something the original publisher doesn't. Letting the Suikoden team start another series that's basically Suikoden with the s/n filed off I can see hordes of people getting behind. They'd have to start over, but after so long that's not necessarily a bad thing.
You played the last good one, not counting Rising, so you're basically set
"Sustained operation" sure doesn't sound like they're going to do anything new for consoles, other than maybe a new PES. And of course we've got the big ole focus on mobile.
Eh, I don't think that would help the cost of development and such. Since the expectation for PC games in terms of graphics is even higher than that of consoles. Plus the support commitment across a significantly broader range of platforms.
You know, this is another hit against the folks that want to support Kojima. You do realize Kojima was done with MGS a long time ago, and these last 3 games are him just stretching the series out at Konami's demand.