Post by: Br26 on March 19, 2015, 05:18:37 PM
The long term relationship between Konami and Hideo Kojima seems to be at an impasse.
Hideo Kojima, Konami Allegedly Due to Split Soon
A inside source allegedly connected to Konami has said that power struggles between Metal Gear producer Hideo Kojima and the publisher will lead to Kojima's exit from the company next year after work on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
GameSpot reported the allegations early this morning, citing that senior staff members at Kojima Productions are now being switched from long term employees to contractors. As a result of the fallout, Konami is also said to be restricting Kojima's opportunities to promote the game. Once their contracts are out in December, it seems that the studio will be disbanded and Kojima will move on from the game company.
All promotional material for Metal Gear Solid V in recent weeks have had the Kojima Productions logo removed, and the branding on social media has been removed as well. In a statement, Konami has said that "Konami Digital Entertainment, including Mr. Kojima, will continue to develop and support Metal Gear products. Please look forward to future announcements."
While Metal Gear hasn't primarily been on Nintendo systems, a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake was released several years ago for the Nintendo 3DS, as well as Solid Snake appearing as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Our Take: "This is kind of stunning. I'm assuming Konami has the rights to keep making Metal Gear and other Kojima Production games if a fallout is imminent, but I'm not really sure what they have without Kojima." - Bryan Rose
"It seems like all of Konami's main talent is leaving between Igarashi, Tak Fuji, the Love Plus devs and now Kojima. Does Konami have anything left on console besides Pro Evo?" - Donald Theriault
Free DLC Coming to Etrian Mystery Dungeon
Free DLC is on the way for Etrian Mystery Dungeon fans when they buy their copies on April 7.
For the next month following the release, there will be five different free downloadable quests for adventurers to discover. They include finding wanderers, a Princess, and a Landsknecht. There is also a quest that has you looking for a Red Pooka as well as defeating the Gold Guardian.
A paid theme will also be released a week before the game is due out, on March 31.
Our Take: "Nice to see that many 3DS developers are releasing free DLC for their games. Everyone wins!" - Bryan Rose
A-Train: City Simulator Due in April
For those looking for a city building simulator, good news! A-Train: City Simulator will be out in North America this April.
Developed by ArtDink, and published by Natsume, the game has you creating buildings in order to support transport services such as bus routes and subways. The game has you needing to balance citizen's needs as well as maintaining a budget. It will be released on the Nintendo 3DS.
Our Take: "I'm always up for a new city simulator. Can't be as bad as SimCity. Actually, that would require effort to be as bad as SimCity." - Bryan Rose
- An interesting site has popped up in recent weeks, with allegedly all evidence pointing to developer Aksys developing a third Zero Escape game.
Post by: MASB on March 20, 2015, 10:00:46 AM
I think that 5 years from now, many of the old-school Japanese game giants will be gone. Because if the mobile milk and honey doesn't keep flowing or start flowing in some cases, they've got nothing to fall back on, because they've told all other gamers to **** off. If they have side businesses to fall back on (Konami's fitness centers, for example) they'll survive as companies, but not as game companies. It's going to be strange if Nintendo somehow ends up in a last man standing kind of scenario. What happened to these companies? Even chasing the mobile dollar doesn't explain it all. It feels like management at some Japanese companies is completely divorced from any reality. It seems like making money is their business, fucking over the employees that made them that money, well that's just pleasure (especially at Capcom/Konami).
Post by: Ian Sane on March 20, 2015, 12:13:43 PM
Post by: broodwars on March 20, 2015, 12:31:21 PM
So you've got a very prominent talent leaving a major videogame company. You've got Nintendo clearly understaffed to fully support both the 3DS and Wii U. Will Nintendo try to hire Kojima? No, of course not.
Nintendo would never give Kojima the unlimited budget & lack of oversight he demands. Twin Snakes probably made that a certainty. He's more likely to get hired on by Sony to finish The Last Guardian than to do anything with Nintendo again.
Post by: ClexYoshi on March 20, 2015, 12:32:40 PM
Also, Bryan. If you want a truly good Urban Planning simulator for the modern age, then I suggest you look at http://store.steampowered.com/app/255710/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/255710/).
Onto Kojima bleeding out from Konami, because that's actually really worrying news. There's a mini-documentary out there on Metal Gear Rising: Revengence's production and how that game was a mess without Kojima's direct supervision. there's a reason why they had to call in Platinum Games to come and save that game.
I'm worried about Silent hills and what this does to that game if they deon't wrap that game's development up alongside phantom pain. I'm... also sad that this likely means we're never going to get to revisit Snatcher or Policenauts. (Shout-outs to Slowbeef for making a fan-translation patch for that game.)
I question what the end-game is here for Konami. I know that Kojima probably gets to enjoy himself being freed from the shackles of a series he wanted to stop working on a while ago, and I have no doubt he has enough money for his own start-up or enough clout for another company to pick him up and shower him in dosh if he wanted to keep making video games.
Konami, however... I've looked around, and outside of maybe obscure japan only arcade stuff that doesn't even have a wikipedia article and VC releases... well, they haven't done any 3DS Development since Yugioh Duel Carnival, and uh... yeah, PES is the only console franchise they have coming out that doesn't have Kojima as a big part of it. Hell, even the Lords of Shadow Trilogy had the Kojima production logo slapped onto it, so...
I dunno. If I had it my way, we'd be getting a Parodius XBLA/PSN release made by treasure that has a ton of DLC characters, a Ganbare Goemon game with a super goofy version of the Batman combat in it and humor in spades, and a Konami developed 2D Metroid game as to completely cross the streams on that genre. oh, and Suikoden remakes.
Post by: Adrock on March 20, 2015, 12:47:01 PM
So you've got a very prominent talent leaving a major videogame company. You've got Nintendo clearly understaffed to fully support both the 3DS and Wii U. Will Nintendo try to hire Kojima? No, of course not.Lulz, you managed to derail yet another thread by turn Kojima leaving Konami into something negative about Nintendo.
In an attempt to get this thread back on track, Kojima has been wanting to walk away from Metal Gear for nearly 15 years. This works out well for him and the series. The Phantom Pain fills in a major gap in the canon, just about the last major gap and completing Naked Snake's evolution into Big Boss. Kojima gets to walk away from the series he created on a high note having completed the story. Sure, Konami can (and probably will) try to insert more games in between Kojima's Metal Gear games, but they're likely to feel forced. I'm looking forward to seeing what Kojima works on next.
Post by: Ian Sane on March 20, 2015, 05:09:38 PM
To Donald: The Tokimeki Memorial lead dev left as well. Due to the upcoming fiscal year (starting April 1), I think Konami is just taking that opportunity to end itself as a functional games company (in terms of console/handheld). Now it'll just be mobile/pachinko. Outside of Pro Evo anyway. Presumably that's too big a money maker for them to abandon it, but I would have said the same about MGS, so who knows at this point.
I think that 5 years from now, many of the old-school Japanese game giants will be gone. Because if the mobile milk and honey doesn't keep flowing or start flowing in some cases, they've got nothing to fall back on, because they've told all other gamers to **** off. If they have side businesses to fall back on (Konami's fitness centers, for example) they'll survive as companies, but not as game companies. It's going to be strange if Nintendo somehow ends up in a last man standing kind of scenario. What happened to these companies? Even chasing the mobile dollar doesn't explain it all. It feels like management at some Japanese companies is completely divorced from any reality. It seems like making money is their business, fucking over the employees that made them that money, well that's just pleasure (especially at Capcom/Konami).
There is a feeling of nervousness in Nintendo's recent announcement about mobile software and this is why. We're seeing the Japanese gaming industry effectively pack up and leave. Nintendo as the last man standing might be the BEST case scenario. They were holding but now they're going down that mobile path. What was Konami's intentions when they starting down that path? Were they thinking that they would be turfing their traditional videogame talent at that point?
Though with all this talent leaving their original employers and they all having some legitimate desire to make "real" games this is a perfect opportunity for someone to load up on talent. I don't assume Nintendo will but I think they should. The Japanese gaming industry is dying but the bigger money has always been in America. Americans like Japanese games like Mario, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Mega Man, etc. Even if someone like Kojima may have little present day market value in Japan, he is worth something in the West. The few Japanese companies dedicated to "real" games have the opportunity to grab all-star talent and be the de facto choice for Western gamers that like Japanese games and that is not an insignificant market. The Japanese companies are looking at Japan and are abandoning an audience in America. That just makes it that much easier to be the guy who picks up the slack. It's probably going to be someone smaller like NIS or Atlus (assuming Sega doesn't ruin them). It could be Square Enix if they learn from the surprising Western success of titles like Bravely Default. It could be Nintendo if they can get their next console to appeal to the Western market.
Look at the indie scene. There is a very large Japanese influence on indie devs from the West because we all grew up playing Nintendo, Sega and PlayStation. Something like Shovel Knight has an audience and they're basically making the type of game Capcom and Konami don't make anymore.
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 20, 2015, 05:14:35 PM
Post by: Khushrenada on March 21, 2015, 01:46:05 AM
To Donald: The Tokimeki Memorial lead dev left as well. Due to the upcoming fiscal year (starting April 1), I think Konami is just taking that opportunity to end itself as a functional games company (in terms of console/handheld). Now it'll just be mobile/pachinko. Outside of Pro Evo anyway. Presumably that's too big a money maker for them to abandon it, but I would have said the same about MGS, so who knows at this point.
I think that 5 years from now, many of the old-school Japanese game giants will be gone. Because if the mobile milk and honey doesn't keep flowing or start flowing in some cases, they've got nothing to fall back on, because they've told all other gamers to **** off. If they have side businesses to fall back on (Konami's fitness centers, for example) they'll survive as companies, but not as game companies. It's going to be strange if Nintendo somehow ends up in a last man standing kind of scenario. What happened to these companies? Even chasing the mobile dollar doesn't explain it all. It feels like management at some Japanese companies is completely divorced from any reality. It seems like making money is their business, fucking over the employees that made them that money, well that's just pleasure (especially at Capcom/Konami).
There is a feeling of nervousness in Nintendo's recent announcement about mobile software and this is why. We're seeing the Japanese gaming industry effectively pack up and leave. Nintendo as the last man standing might be the BEST case scenario. They were holding but now they're going down that mobile path. What was Konami's intentions when they starting down that path? Were they thinking that they would be turfing their traditional videogame talent at that point?
Guess you better but a Wii U and some games then. You're always harping on sending a message with one's money and how you don't want to support Nintendo and the Wii U with your money so that they aren't encouraged to make more consoles like it. Well, guess what? People with mobile devices are buying more mobile games than traditional games and showing the market that's what they want and that's where game companies are going since that's where the money seems to be. Trying to please Ian Sane is too expensive when they can sell Candy Crush Saga to a less demanding audience and make way more than the 5 or 6 games you may or may not buy if the company bows to your demands. The mobile gamers are less demanding and willing to shell out money more freely and so expect to see more product there than in the traditional game market. Looks like your argument of the consumer dictating the market by sending a message with their money has worked against you. You've killed traditional gaming.
Post by: Ian Sane on March 23, 2015, 12:48:31 PM
To Donald: The Tokimeki Memorial lead dev left as well. Due to the upcoming fiscal year (starting April 1), I think Konami is just taking that opportunity to end itself as a functional games company (in terms of console/handheld). Now it'll just be mobile/pachinko. Outside of Pro Evo anyway. Presumably that's too big a money maker for them to abandon it, but I would have said the same about MGS, so who knows at this point.
I think that 5 years from now, many of the old-school Japanese game giants will be gone. Because if the mobile milk and honey doesn't keep flowing or start flowing in some cases, they've got nothing to fall back on, because they've told all other gamers to **** off. If they have side businesses to fall back on (Konami's fitness centers, for example) they'll survive as companies, but not as game companies. It's going to be strange if Nintendo somehow ends up in a last man standing kind of scenario. What happened to these companies? Even chasing the mobile dollar doesn't explain it all. It feels like management at some Japanese companies is completely divorced from any reality. It seems like making money is their business, fucking over the employees that made them that money, well that's just pleasure (especially at Capcom/Konami).
There is a feeling of nervousness in Nintendo's recent announcement about mobile software and this is why. We're seeing the Japanese gaming industry effectively pack up and leave. Nintendo as the last man standing might be the BEST case scenario. They were holding but now they're going down that mobile path. What was Konami's intentions when they starting down that path? Were they thinking that they would be turfing their traditional videogame talent at that point?
Guess you better but a Wii U and some games then. You're always harping on sending a message with one's money and how you don't want to support Nintendo and the Wii U with your money so that they aren't encouraged to make more consoles like it. Well, guess what? People with mobile devices are buying more mobile games than traditional games and showing the market that's what they want and that's where game companies are going since that's where the money seems to be. Trying to please Ian Sane is too expensive when they can sell Candy Crush Saga to a less demanding audience and make way more than the 5 or 6 games you may or may not buy if the company bows to your demands. The mobile gamers are less demanding and willing to shell out money more freely and so expect to see more product there than in the traditional game market. Looks like your argument of the consumer dictating the market by sending a message with their money has worked against you. You've killed traditional gaming.
I don't own a smartphone but I own a fuckin' 3DS. So I'm very much sending the message that I like traditional gaming. What am I supposed to do about the Wii U? I want consoles but I do not want consoles like the Wii U. I'm not giving Nintendo the idea that gimmick controllers and last gen hardware passed off as a current system is something I'm in favour of.
Post by: Adrock on March 23, 2015, 02:03:49 PM
Gimmick controls and dated hardware? Yeah, that describes 3DS too, chief. That's a blatant double standard. You don't make sense.
Post by: Khushrenada on March 23, 2015, 02:06:02 PM
Post by: Adrock on March 23, 2015, 02:41:54 PM
You don't own a smart phone? And you say Nintendo are the Luddites when it comes to technology....
Post by: NWR_insanolord on March 23, 2015, 03:47:50 PM
Post by: Khushrenada on March 23, 2015, 04:18:50 PM
I don't do mobile gaming.
