SCE is Sony Computer Entertainment, yes? That would be very good news indeed.
But what if Microsoft buys his soul?
Afterwords Microsoft goes to Konami.
MS: How much for video game rights to Silent Hill?
Ko: not for sale!
MS: How about this amount and exclusive rights to Killer Instinct and Gears of War Pachinko machines!?
~Konami rushes forward so hard to shake hands on the deal that the sound barrier is shattered~
Given that most video game sales are very front-loaded (and MGS V doesn't seem to be different), it's not unreasonable to presume this is pretty close to the final number.
Now, going by worldwide sales, V isn't the worst-performing Metal Gear; though it's down there. And "low" is still pretty good for a modern AAA game in this case. BUT, at the same time, the cost of development has exploded exponentially over the years -- MGS5 might have cost 10 times to make than MGS2.
So my guesstimate is that MGS5 probably made Konami a profit (especially after microtransactions are included), but not enough of a profit to make the PR headaches worth it. And now that Kojima's a free agent, I'm sure that everyone's eyeing MGS5's sales very closely.
Let's just say I really hope the SCE deal goes through.
To be fair to all of us, this is Konami we're talking about.
What would be obvious parody about any other company seems to be business as usual for them. After all the shit they pulled in reality, that parody article isn't nearly as far fetched.
Not to rain on the lolkonami parade, but MGS V massively underperformed.
In a real-world sense or in a "publisher definition of success is selling more than 10 million copies" sense?
Because the game not selling well is a whole different ballgame from Konami being run by morons who expect it to sell an insane amount.
Would depend on the projections. Reputable numbers as follows (up through September 30, 2015). More numbers will probably come this month or January.
Global launch of the latest game in the Metal Gear series “METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN” (shipped 5 million units incl. downloads) ...
But this Phantom Pain project also had the whole "Ground Zeroes" thing, which may add a slight boost.
And I don't think I've ever seen such a merchandising push before in any other MGS game, which may be due to Konami getting nervous about the whole project being too expensive, but still, it adds up too.
( < . . .
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LutExIVThieves Guild ChairmanIn the ShadowsRegistered Userregular
Hopefully Sony (or MS, whatever I got both) blocks his car in with a money truck and says "Get Del Toro on the phone and you two start working on whatever Silent Hills was gonna be. We'll figure out a new name for it."
The reason I hope it ends up being SCE? Maybe a PT clone comes to PlayStation VR.
To be fair to all of us, this is Konami we're talking about.
What would be obvious parody about any other company seems to be business as usual for them. After all the shit they pulled in reality, that parody article isn't nearly as far fetched.
Not to rain on the lolkonami parade, but MGS V massively underperformed.
In a real-world sense or in a "publisher definition of success is selling more than 10 million copies" sense?
Because the game not selling well is a whole different ballgame from Konami being run by morons who expect it to sell an insane amount.
In a real world sense; it didn't make up for half of its cost. It sold less than half as many copies as did MGS 4, and MGS 4 was only on one console.
MGS V is a great game, and would probably be my GOTY if not for Witcher 3, but Kojima was basically given free rein and he screwed up the pooch financially.
Appearantly the "Kojima in talks over joining SCE" was a mistranslation and all that's on the table is his next title releasing on Playstation FIRST.
Which makes sense... frankly I would be surprised if any Japanese cross-platform product didn't launch on the Playstation first.
Pretty much any AAA Japanese-made game launches for both platforms simultaneously (gotta keep the gaijin happy), while smaller Japanese games don't hit the One at all.
People always had this weird notion that MGS was a mega series that would do 5 million in the US alone. When nope! Turns out it did about as well as it always does, albeit on the low end of the spectrum unfortunately.
So ~80 million development cost (well last heard at 80, I'd bump it up to 100 to be safe and for round numbers) and 5 million world sales. I guess it was a profit, but this is the market where if you're dropping 100 mil, then the suits expect a bigger return than that.
And look at that dip between 2 and 3. That, ladies and germs, is what happens when you play a practical joke on the audience. And I say that as somebody who loves the shit out of MGS2.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
To be fair to all of us, this is Konami we're talking about.
What would be obvious parody about any other company seems to be business as usual for them. After all the shit they pulled in reality, that parody article isn't nearly as far fetched.
Not to rain on the lolkonami parade, but MGS V massively underperformed.
In a real-world sense or in a "publisher definition of success is selling more than 10 million copies" sense?
Because the game not selling well is a whole different ballgame from Konami being run by morons who expect it to sell an insane amount.
In a real world sense; it didn't make up for half of its cost. It sold less than half as many copies as did MGS 4, and MGS 4 was only on one console.
MGS V is a great game, and would probably be my GOTY if not for Witcher 3, but Kojima was basically given free rein and he screwed up the pooch financially.
Half of its cost? Wouldn't that be like two million copies, or something?
To be fair to all of us, this is Konami we're talking about.
What would be obvious parody about any other company seems to be business as usual for them. After all the shit they pulled in reality, that parody article isn't nearly as far fetched.
Not to rain on the lolkonami parade, but MGS V massively underperformed.
In a real-world sense or in a "publisher definition of success is selling more than 10 million copies" sense?
Because the game not selling well is a whole different ballgame from Konami being run by morons who expect it to sell an insane amount.
In a real world sense; it didn't make up for half of its cost. It sold less than half as many copies as did MGS 4, and MGS 4 was only on one console.
MGS V is a great game, and would probably be my GOTY if not for Witcher 3, but Kojima was basically given free rein and he screwed up the pooch financially.
The issues with Part 3 and microtransactions suggest that free rein is a very revisionist way to put it. There's also the weird issue of series fans REFUSING to buy 5 because of Fuckkonami.
That tweet also says "packaged unit sales" does that mean only boxed retail copies? Meaning no psn/steam/live sales?
We can get a rough idea of Steam owners (which basically amount to all PC owners) here, which puts it at 750K give or take 20K for PC. If only I could see how many owners of GZ were there before the PP preorder bonus, we might also get an idea of how much Konami double-dipped in here too.
To be fair to all of us, this is Konami we're talking about.
What would be obvious parody about any other company seems to be business as usual for them. After all the shit they pulled in reality, that parody article isn't nearly as far fetched.
Not to rain on the lolkonami parade, but MGS V massively underperformed.
In a real-world sense or in a "publisher definition of success is selling more than 10 million copies" sense?
Because the game not selling well is a whole different ballgame from Konami being run by morons who expect it to sell an insane amount.
In a real world sense; it didn't make up for half of its cost. It sold less than half as many copies as did MGS 4, and MGS 4 was only on one console.
MGS V is a great game, and would probably be my GOTY if not for Witcher 3, but Kojima was basically given free rein and he screwed up the pooch financially.
I don't think Kojima's big seller is his world, I think it's his stories. The problem with MGSV is that the big selling point would be the open world and the bases, and Kojima just doesn't work with those as well as a linear story. Pretty sure it was Konami who wanted a large setpiece and room for DLC, while I'm certain Kojima would've made it with mission instances and smaller maps.
I also think Kojima could do marvels with a small budget, I just don't think Konami gave him the opportunity. I'm cautiously optimistic that Kojima with a premise and a budget idea works better than a publisher giving both for him.
That tweet also says "packaged unit sales" does that mean only boxed retail copies? Meaning no psn/steam/live sales?
We can get a rough idea of Steam owners (which basically amount to all PC owners) here, which puts it at 750K give or take 20K for PC. If only I could see how many owners of GZ were there before the PP preorder bonus, we might also get an idea of how much Konami double-dipped in here too.
So tack on another million to that 5 mill figure for digital sales across all 3 platforms and we get a mgs game that sold competitively. I don't think that's disappointing. Especially when factoring in ground zeroes. It would have recouped even more of the cost if they had Kojima there making more games for the Fox engine.
He's provably shipped smaller titles in the past (e.g. Boktai 1 and 2) after having shipped then-AAA titles (e.g. MGS1 and MGS2). He's totally capable of making something smaller, but at this point I think the expectation is $100M+ AAA. The only thing in the same galaxy of budget as MGSV in the crowdfunding space is Star Citizen, and as big as that is, it's still only 60%? of the budget he had for MGSV.
In spite of MGSV's shortcomings, it is still nevertheless a title that shipped with substantial polish. Plenty of rushed-to-market titles or development-hell titles have come out much, much worse than MGSV. For all the vitriol leveled against the game, plenty of people (myself included) unironically consider it one of the best titles of the year. Kojima and his very capable team ship quality product, consistently, even when shi* hits the fan.
But it could also be the greatest, most incredible public trainwreck in the history of game development.
Appearantly the "Kojima in talks over joining SCE" was a mistranslation and all that's on the table is his next title releasing on Playstation FIRST.
I wouldn't really read too much into that either. Kojima only just officially left Konami, so while I'm sure he had some unofficial talks during his "vacation", I'd bet the situation is still pretty fluid at the moment. If he is just negotiating timed exclusivity with Sony though, he must have another backer and I'd wonder who that is. I just hope that whoever publishes his game gives him the creative freedom he needs.
People always had this weird notion that MGS was a mega series that would do 5 million in the US alone. When nope! Turns out it did about as well as it always does, albeit on the low end of the spectrum unfortunately.
So ~80 million development cost (well last heard at 80, I'd bump it up to 100 to be safe and for round numbers) and 5 million world sales. I guess it was a profit, but this is the market where if you're dropping 100 mil, then the suits expect a bigger return than that.
And look at that dip between 2 and 3. That, ladies and germs, is what happens when you play a practical joke on the audience. And I say that as somebody who loves the shit out of MGS2.
That's a very begrudging way to admit you were wrong there, Wolfman. :P Especially since you're ignoring the money they'd get from their microtransaction bullshit.
And nah, the twist would've left a bad taste in some people's mouths but I'd attribute most of the dip to the insane hype that surrounded that game. MGS2 and Gran Turismo 3 were the two BIG PS2 games at the time, it was always going to be an impossible feat for MGS3 (and GT4) to match those sales.
If your brand doesn't own a huge share of the public consciousness don't pour a lot of money into your game.
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.
0
BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
edited December 2015
Kojima has traditionally been open to all platforms and Kojipro was traditionally a multi-platform developer for quite some time up until they died. Metal Gear games haven't been exclusive to a platform since MGS1 for the PSX.
Sony buying him and his people out completely into a first party studio would be disappointing for me and it doesn't really go along with his previous philosophies. Some kind of limited, timed exclusivity bought by Sony dollars would be par for the course of this generation and would be slightly less shitty.
Kojima has traditionally been open to all platforms and Kojipro was traditionally a multi-platform developer for quite some time up until they died. Metal Gear games haven't been exclusive to a platform since MGS1 for the PSX.
MGS4 begs to differ on that specific point.
It's true that they tend to wind up on multiple platforms. Even Peace Walker is multiplatform (Sony platforms, nonethless). Since the series became MGS, though, they have overwhelmingly launched on Sony platforms and ports to other platforms often came a year or more after the initial release. The only exception to this is MGSV.
It isn't wrong to identify the MGS series strongly with Sony platforms.
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.
Kojima has traditionally been open to all platforms and Kojipro was traditionally a multi-platform developer for quite some time up until they died. Metal Gear games haven't been exclusive to a platform since MGS1 for the PSX.
MGS4 begs to differ on that specific point.
It's true that they tend to wind up on multiple platforms. Even Peace Walker is multiplatform (Sony platforms, nonethless). Since the series became MGS, though, they have overwhelmingly launched on Sony platforms and ports to other platforms often came a year or more after the initial release. The only exception to this is MGSV.
It isn't wrong to identify the MGS series strongly with Sony platforms.
Really, there seem to be some outliers (the MGS3 package on Xbox 360, Twin Snakes on Gamecube, and MGS5 most recently), but would Sony buying Kojima's soul be all that different than when he worked at Konami? I mean, in terms of platform exclusivity, not how he'd be treated, one has to imagine that would be an improvement. Those exceptions are outnumbered by PSP exclusives, I'm sure, we're not talking about the Super Nintendo here.
Sounds like it'd pretty much be the same to me. He wasn't going to do MGS6, right? I assumed his next IP was going to be a Sony exclusive because, you know, Kojima. Oh, and Silent Hills.
For all I know, that's the arrangement he'd be most comfortable for. A boatload of time to work on his new IP, less pressure to deliver on time, less pressure against other simultaneously released titles. The usual first party perks stuff. If I were Sony, I'd grab him. If I were Microsoft, I wouldn't, just because the guaranteed shitstorm of such an act would entail would not be worth whatever he produces next. But if I were Sony, I'd buy his soul in a snap. Seems like a grand opportunity, the only downside being it might be overly expensive for something they could probably negotiate for a lot less, so I guess it comes down to insurance.
EDIT: Am I imaging that all the portable MGS titles from Kojima Productions were Sony exclusives? I could have sworn they were. And I'm not counting Metal Gear Rising for very obvious reasons, it's Kojima-esque name and plot aside.
Kojima has traditionally been open to all platforms and Kojipro was traditionally a multi-platform developer for quite some time up until they died. Metal Gear games haven't been exclusive to a platform since MGS1 for the PSX.
MGS4 begs to differ on that specific point.
It's true that they tend to wind up on multiple platforms. Even Peace Walker is multiplatform (Sony platforms, nonethless). Since the series became MGS, though, they have overwhelmingly launched on Sony platforms and ports to other platforms often came a year or more after the initial release. The only exception to this is MGSV.
It isn't wrong to identify the MGS series strongly with Sony platforms.
Really, there seem to be some outliers (the MGS3 package on Xbox 360, Twin Snakes on Gamecube, and MGS5 most recently), but would Sony buying Kojima's soul be all that different than when he worked at Konami? I mean, in terms of platform exclusivity, not how he'd be treated, one has to imagine that would be an improvement. Those exceptions are outnumbered by PSP exclusives, I'm sure, we're not talking about the Super Nintendo here.
Sounds like it'd pretty much be the same to me. He wasn't going to do MGS6, right? I assumed his next IP was going to be a Sony exclusive because, you know, Kojima. Oh, and Silent Hills.
For all I know, that's the arrangement he'd be most comfortable for. A boatload of time to work on his new IP, less pressure to deliver on time, less pressure against other simultaneously released titles. The usual first party perks stuff. If I were Sony, I'd grab him. If I were Microsoft, I wouldn't, just because the guaranteed shitstorm of such an act would entail would not be worth whatever he produces next. But if I were Sony, I'd buy his soul in a snap. Seems like a grand opportunity, the only downside being it might be overly expensive for something they could probably negotiate for a lot less, so I guess it comes down to insurance.
EDIT: Am I imaging that all the portable MGS titles from Kojima Productions were Sony exclusives? I could have sworn they were. And I'm not counting Metal Gear Rising for very obvious reasons, it's Kojima-esque name and plot aside.
The MGS PC ports are rather forgettable. Except for MGS2, because that was so hilariously bad.
"Hey, hope you have an Nvidia card (from this list). Because our game doesn't support any ATi cards. Peace out."
I say this as someone who hasn't bought an ATi card since the X1900XT--that is seriously fucked up. I wonder if they ever got around to patching that.
Peace Walker was ported to both PS3 and 360 as part of the MGS Collection and while it was before Sony entered the handheld market, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel was exclusive to the Gameboy Colour. The 3DS also got a (poor) MGS3 port but that was outsourced. Outside of those, Digital Graphic Novel, Acid, Acid 2 and Portable Ops stayed PSP exclusive.
I'd say that while Kojima is open to all platforms (which is why he approved Ghost Babel, the Boktai's, Lunar Knights and Twin Snakes for Nintendo systems and got Snake in Smash Bros), he knows where the majority of his fanbase is (PS systems) and has a very good relationship with Sony. While MGS1-3 may've been ported to other systems eventually, those ports were all outsourced (even going back to MG1/MG2, the NES ports were outsourced). MGSV is the first time he's worked on a true multiplatform game and even then, the PC port was outsourced to KojiPro LA.
That tweet also says "packaged unit sales" does that mean only boxed retail copies? Meaning no psn/steam/live sales?
We can get a rough idea of Steam owners (which basically amount to all PC owners) here, which puts it at 750K give or take 20K for PC. If only I could see how many owners of GZ were there before the PP preorder bonus, we might also get an idea of how much Konami double-dipped in here too.
So tack on another million to that 5 mill figure for digital sales across all 3 platforms and we get a mgs game that sold competitively. I don't think that's disappointing. Especially when factoring in ground zeroes. It would have recouped even more of the cost if they had Kojima there making more games for the Fox engine.
I think the bolded above should be looked at to. Part of MGSV's budget was to make a new game engine that Konami could use for all of their games as a next gen engine. It has now been used on two games and most likely won't be used again. I dunno if that should be really held against Kojima
That tweet also says "packaged unit sales" does that mean only boxed retail copies? Meaning no psn/steam/live sales?
We can get a rough idea of Steam owners (which basically amount to all PC owners) here, which puts it at 750K give or take 20K for PC. If only I could see how many owners of GZ were there before the PP preorder bonus, we might also get an idea of how much Konami double-dipped in here too.
So tack on another million to that 5 mill figure for digital sales across all 3 platforms and we get a mgs game that sold competitively. I don't think that's disappointing. Especially when factoring in ground zeroes. It would have recouped even more of the cost if they had Kojima there making more games for the Fox engine.
I think the bolded above should be looked at to. Part of MGSV's budget was to make a new game engine that Konami could use for all of their games as a next gen engine. It has now been used on two games and most likely won't be used again. I dunno if that should be really held against Kojima
6 games if we're counting Ground Zeroes and P.T.. There's GZ, TPP, P.T., PES 2014, PES 2015 and PES 2016.
It'll almost certainly be used again in PES 2017, PES 2018, PES 2019.....
He couldn't possibly do worse than Inafune or Yu Suzuki in terms of somewhat justifiable controversy and angst. So there's that! :P
still a trainwreck
We are talking somebody who has had largely free reign with large budgets for something like twenty years, after all, and who also has no problem fucking over the consistency of his own setting just to screw with his own fans. A Kojima Kickstarter would end in lots of tears, but at least I know they wouldn't be mine; I've had a good run of Kickstarter projects, but those have all been from folks who can actually operate without crazy budgets and had histories to prove it.
He would do so much better with somebody to have some solid oversight of his projects, instead of him putting together whatever the hell he feels like without regard for how much sense it makes in any kind of capacity. Not enough to step on the zaniness, but enough to keep the zaniness from becoming so all-consuming that it makes it pretty much impossible for the stories to have any kind of actual coherency.
Kojima has traditionally been open to all platforms and Kojipro was traditionally a multi-platform developer for quite some time up until they died. Metal Gear games haven't been exclusive to a platform since MGS1 for the PSX.
MGS4 begs to differ on that specific point.
It's true that they tend to wind up on multiple platforms. Even Peace Walker is multiplatform (Sony platforms, nonethless). Since the series became MGS, though, they have overwhelmingly launched on Sony platforms and ports to other platforms often came a year or more after the initial release. The only exception to this is MGSV.
It isn't wrong to identify the MGS series strongly with Sony platforms.
Really, there seem to be some outliers (the MGS3 package on Xbox 360, Twin Snakes on Gamecube, and MGS5 most recently), but would Sony buying Kojima's soul be all that different than when he worked at Konami? I mean, in terms of platform exclusivity, not how he'd be treated, one has to imagine that would be an improvement. Those exceptions are outnumbered by PSP exclusives, I'm sure, we're not talking about the Super Nintendo here.
Sounds like it'd pretty much be the same to me. He wasn't going to do MGS6, right? I assumed his next IP was going to be a Sony exclusive because, you know, Kojima. Oh, and Silent Hills.
For all I know, that's the arrangement he'd be most comfortable for. A boatload of time to work on his new IP, less pressure to deliver on time, less pressure against other simultaneously released titles. The usual first party perks stuff. If I were Sony, I'd grab him. If I were Microsoft, I wouldn't, just because the guaranteed shitstorm of such an act would entail would not be worth whatever he produces next. But if I were Sony, I'd buy his soul in a snap. Seems like a grand opportunity, the only downside being it might be overly expensive for something they could probably negotiate for a lot less, so I guess it comes down to insurance.
EDIT: Am I imaging that all the portable MGS titles from Kojima Productions were Sony exclusives? I could have sworn they were. And I'm not counting Metal Gear Rising for very obvious reasons, it's Kojima-esque name and plot aside.
The MGS PC ports are rather forgettable. Except for MGS2, because that was so hilariously bad.
"Hey, hope you have an Nvidia card (from this list). Because our game doesn't support any ATi cards. Peace out."
I say this as someone who hasn't bought an ATi card since the X1900XT--that is seriously fucked up. I wonder if they ever got around to patching that.
Ehh, yes and no.
I played it without problems on a Radeon 9700Pro 128MB. They released an ATi patch which fixed many issues, and I only tried it after said patch was released, so I never knew how it ran on my machine without it.
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Afterwords Microsoft goes to Konami.
MS: How much for video game rights to Silent Hill?
Ko: not for sale!
MS: How about this amount and exclusive rights to Killer Instinct and Gears of War Pachinko machines!?
~Konami rushes forward so hard to shake hands on the deal that the sound barrier is shattered~
Given that most video game sales are very front-loaded (and MGS V doesn't seem to be different), it's not unreasonable to presume this is pretty close to the final number.
Now, going by worldwide sales, V isn't the worst-performing Metal Gear; though it's down there. And "low" is still pretty good for a modern AAA game in this case. BUT, at the same time, the cost of development has exploded exponentially over the years -- MGS5 might have cost 10 times to make than MGS2.
So my guesstimate is that MGS5 probably made Konami a profit (especially after microtransactions are included), but not enough of a profit to make the PR headaches worth it. And now that Kojima's a free agent, I'm sure that everyone's eyeing MGS5's sales very closely.
Let's just say I really hope the SCE deal goes through.
Would depend on the projections. Reputable numbers as follows (up through September 30, 2015). More numbers will probably come this month or January.
Source
And I don't think I've ever seen such a merchandising push before in any other MGS game, which may be due to Konami getting nervous about the whole project being too expensive, but still, it adds up too.
The reason I hope it ends up being SCE? Maybe a PT clone comes to PlayStation VR.
Steam/PSN/XBox Live:LutExIV
Steam ID: 76561198021298113
Origin ID: SR71C_Blackbird
That would be a very weird thing to agree to without being in bed with Sony in some significant way. But who knows.
Which makes sense... frankly I would be surprised if any Japanese cross-platform product didn't launch on the Playstation first.
In a real world sense; it didn't make up for half of its cost. It sold less than half as many copies as did MGS 4, and MGS 4 was only on one console.
MGS V is a great game, and would probably be my GOTY if not for Witcher 3, but Kojima was basically given free rein and he screwed up the pooch financially.
Pretty much any AAA Japanese-made game launches for both platforms simultaneously (gotta keep the gaijin happy), while smaller Japanese games don't hit the One at all.
So ~80 million development cost (well last heard at 80, I'd bump it up to 100 to be safe and for round numbers) and 5 million world sales. I guess it was a profit, but this is the market where if you're dropping 100 mil, then the suits expect a bigger return than that.
And look at that dip between 2 and 3. That, ladies and germs, is what happens when you play a practical joke on the audience. And I say that as somebody who loves the shit out of MGS2.
Half of its cost? Wouldn't that be like two million copies, or something?
So maybe something small and Japan-centric?
The issues with Part 3 and microtransactions suggest that free rein is a very revisionist way to put it. There's also the weird issue of series fans REFUSING to buy 5 because of Fuckkonami.
We can get a rough idea of Steam owners (which basically amount to all PC owners) here, which puts it at 750K give or take 20K for PC. If only I could see how many owners of GZ were there before the PP preorder bonus, we might also get an idea of how much Konami double-dipped in here too.
He couldn't possibly do worse than Inafune or Yu Suzuki in terms of somewhat justifiable controversy and angst. So there's that! :P
still a trainwreck
I don't think Kojima's big seller is his world, I think it's his stories. The problem with MGSV is that the big selling point would be the open world and the bases, and Kojima just doesn't work with those as well as a linear story. Pretty sure it was Konami who wanted a large setpiece and room for DLC, while I'm certain Kojima would've made it with mission instances and smaller maps.
I also think Kojima could do marvels with a small budget, I just don't think Konami gave him the opportunity. I'm cautiously optimistic that Kojima with a premise and a budget idea works better than a publisher giving both for him.
So tack on another million to that 5 mill figure for digital sales across all 3 platforms and we get a mgs game that sold competitively. I don't think that's disappointing. Especially when factoring in ground zeroes. It would have recouped even more of the cost if they had Kojima there making more games for the Fox engine.
I'm of two minds on this.
He's provably shipped smaller titles in the past (e.g. Boktai 1 and 2) after having shipped then-AAA titles (e.g. MGS1 and MGS2). He's totally capable of making something smaller, but at this point I think the expectation is $100M+ AAA. The only thing in the same galaxy of budget as MGSV in the crowdfunding space is Star Citizen, and as big as that is, it's still only 60%? of the budget he had for MGSV.
In spite of MGSV's shortcomings, it is still nevertheless a title that shipped with substantial polish. Plenty of rushed-to-market titles or development-hell titles have come out much, much worse than MGSV. For all the vitriol leveled against the game, plenty of people (myself included) unironically consider it one of the best titles of the year. Kojima and his very capable team ship quality product, consistently, even when shi* hits the fan.
But it could also be the greatest, most incredible public trainwreck in the history of game development.
I wouldn't really read too much into that either. Kojima only just officially left Konami, so while I'm sure he had some unofficial talks during his "vacation", I'd bet the situation is still pretty fluid at the moment. If he is just negotiating timed exclusivity with Sony though, he must have another backer and I'd wonder who that is. I just hope that whoever publishes his game gives him the creative freedom he needs.
That's a very begrudging way to admit you were wrong there, Wolfman. :P Especially since you're ignoring the money they'd get from their microtransaction bullshit.
And nah, the twist would've left a bad taste in some people's mouths but I'd attribute most of the dip to the insane hype that surrounded that game. MGS2 and Gran Turismo 3 were the two BIG PS2 games at the time, it was always going to be an impossible feat for MGS3 (and GT4) to match those sales.
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.
Sony buying him and his people out completely into a first party studio would be disappointing for me and it doesn't really go along with his previous philosophies. Some kind of limited, timed exclusivity bought by Sony dollars would be par for the course of this generation and would be slightly less shitty.
MGS4 begs to differ on that specific point.
It's true that they tend to wind up on multiple platforms. Even Peace Walker is multiplatform (Sony platforms, nonethless). Since the series became MGS, though, they have overwhelmingly launched on Sony platforms and ports to other platforms often came a year or more after the initial release. The only exception to this is MGSV.
It isn't wrong to identify the MGS series strongly with Sony platforms.
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.
Really, there seem to be some outliers (the MGS3 package on Xbox 360, Twin Snakes on Gamecube, and MGS5 most recently), but would Sony buying Kojima's soul be all that different than when he worked at Konami? I mean, in terms of platform exclusivity, not how he'd be treated, one has to imagine that would be an improvement. Those exceptions are outnumbered by PSP exclusives, I'm sure, we're not talking about the Super Nintendo here.
Sounds like it'd pretty much be the same to me. He wasn't going to do MGS6, right? I assumed his next IP was going to be a Sony exclusive because, you know, Kojima. Oh, and Silent Hills.
For all I know, that's the arrangement he'd be most comfortable for. A boatload of time to work on his new IP, less pressure to deliver on time, less pressure against other simultaneously released titles. The usual first party perks stuff. If I were Sony, I'd grab him. If I were Microsoft, I wouldn't, just because the guaranteed shitstorm of such an act would entail would not be worth whatever he produces next. But if I were Sony, I'd buy his soul in a snap. Seems like a grand opportunity, the only downside being it might be overly expensive for something they could probably negotiate for a lot less, so I guess it comes down to insurance.
EDIT: Am I imaging that all the portable MGS titles from Kojima Productions were Sony exclusives? I could have sworn they were. And I'm not counting Metal Gear Rising for very obvious reasons, it's Kojima-esque name and plot aside.
The MGS PC ports are rather forgettable. Except for MGS2, because that was so hilariously bad.
"Hey, hope you have an Nvidia card (from this list). Because our game doesn't support any ATi cards. Peace out."
I say this as someone who hasn't bought an ATi card since the X1900XT--that is seriously fucked up. I wonder if they ever got around to patching that.
Peace Walker was ported to both PS3 and 360 as part of the MGS Collection and while it was before Sony entered the handheld market, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel was exclusive to the Gameboy Colour. The 3DS also got a (poor) MGS3 port but that was outsourced. Outside of those, Digital Graphic Novel, Acid, Acid 2 and Portable Ops stayed PSP exclusive.
I'd say that while Kojima is open to all platforms (which is why he approved Ghost Babel, the Boktai's, Lunar Knights and Twin Snakes for Nintendo systems and got Snake in Smash Bros), he knows where the majority of his fanbase is (PS systems) and has a very good relationship with Sony. While MGS1-3 may've been ported to other systems eventually, those ports were all outsourced (even going back to MG1/MG2, the NES ports were outsourced). MGSV is the first time he's worked on a true multiplatform game and even then, the PC port was outsourced to KojiPro LA.
I think the bolded above should be looked at to. Part of MGSV's budget was to make a new game engine that Konami could use for all of their games as a next gen engine. It has now been used on two games and most likely won't be used again. I dunno if that should be really held against Kojima
6 games if we're counting Ground Zeroes and P.T.. There's GZ, TPP, P.T., PES 2014, PES 2015 and PES 2016.
It'll almost certainly be used again in PES 2017, PES 2018, PES 2019.....
Not that that matters anymore. (Still waiting on Julien Merceron to devise his all-new XOF ENGINE (tm))
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We are talking somebody who has had largely free reign with large budgets for something like twenty years, after all, and who also has no problem fucking over the consistency of his own setting just to screw with his own fans. A Kojima Kickstarter would end in lots of tears, but at least I know they wouldn't be mine; I've had a good run of Kickstarter projects, but those have all been from folks who can actually operate without crazy budgets and had histories to prove it.
He would do so much better with somebody to have some solid oversight of his projects, instead of him putting together whatever the hell he feels like without regard for how much sense it makes in any kind of capacity. Not enough to step on the zaniness, but enough to keep the zaniness from becoming so all-consuming that it makes it pretty much impossible for the stories to have any kind of actual coherency.
Ehh, yes and no.
I played it without problems on a Radeon 9700Pro 128MB. They released an ATi patch which fixed many issues, and I only tried it after said patch was released, so I never knew how it ran on my machine without it.
"Fuck you, I'm keeping the name."
And the world rejoiced.
(please be not-silent hills)
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