The Konami Implosion

For many years, Konami were one of the giants of the games industry. Within their walls were the rights to some of gaming’s biggest franchises, such as Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Castlevania, as well as some of the most legendary game designers in the world, such as Koji Igarashi, and of course, Hideo Kojima. Yet, despite this apparent recipe for gaming success, the company has recently gone insane, cancelling promising titles (the loss of Silent Hills still hurts) and driving their designers out.
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Konami owns the rights to many of the all-time great gaming franchises, but with this recent implosion, it makes sense to expect the quality of these franchises to drop, and we can see this drop already. Metal Gear Solid V was released recently, and while reviews seem to suggest that it is an instant classic, they also seem to suggest that a significant portion of the game’s ending has been cut for little to no reason, perhaps suggesting Konami interference towards the end of the development process. Although the game itself is a success, this already suggests a decline in quality, and with the loss of the father of Metal Gear, Hideo Kojima, it’s likely that any further Metal Gear releases will suffer.

One cancelled game doesn’t necessarily mean the death of the franchise, but recent actions suggest that both Castlevania and Silent Hill are doomed.

The other two of Konami’s biggest franchises, Silent Hill and Castlevania, have already started to suffer. Despite a lack of quality in recent releases, they are still prominent franchises, and when Silent Hills was announced a few years ago, things looked promising, with Kojima, Guillermo Del Toro and Norman Reedus all involved. But despite a promising start, Konami cancelled the project. One cancelled game doesn’t necessarily mean the death of the franchise, but Konami’s recent actions suggest that both Castlevania and Silent Hill are doomed; recently announced games for each series aren’t typical releases, but instead are designed for pachinko machines ( Japanese-style slot machines). The Silent Hill machine has no hint of horror or dread, but instead features disparate scenes from the franchise set to a heavy metal soundtrack with a man randomly shouting “Pull the Lever!”.

More problematic, however, is their new interpretation of Castlevania, their gothic horror franchise. Gone are the tales of the Belmont family and their wars with vampires and undead creatures, who have been replaced by scantily clad women fighting fantasy monsters, in a game which is apparently now about “erotic violence”. I’m not actually sure what Konami means by this term, but it most definitely isn’t Castlevania. If the mysterious “erotic violence” truly is the future of the franchise, then Castlevania is dead. All of these apparent deaths of franchises have all come about thanks to Konami’s implosion.

The other possible option for Konami and their game titles will undoubtedly be in the mobile realm. According to a report from Nikkei, after one successful mobile title, Konami is looking further into mobile gaming. It wouldn’t be surprising, then, if in the future, new titles in franchises such as Metal Gear will find their home on mobile devices. Konami’s future in console gaming seems murky at best, so this new platform may provide them with a way to keep their franchises going without having to deal with console game development.

Metal gear Solid V might be a critical success, but how much future is there for the franchise?

This possibility could be both positive and negative for the games industry. The positive side to this is that our favourite gaming franchises can live on, albeit in a different form. Mobile games are not necessarily the haven of hellish game design that many perceive them to be, and this may allow for exciting and fresh new takes on games that have begun to feel stale on consoles.

However, we must bear in mind that this is still Konami, a company that has shown the world it has no idea how to future-proof its franchises or appeal to their fans. With this in mind, it is likely that mobile titles from Konami would be terrible and riddled with micro-transactions. In addition, let’s face it, mobile titles will not be enough to cover the disappointment of fans over the failure of franchises on traditional consoles.

Despite all the doom and gloom, it may not be all bad for gamers. If Konami does indeed give up in terms of their ventures into traditional video games, a lot of game designers currently working at Konami will now be free to find work elsewhere, which could lead to great things for the industry.

This is Konami, a company that has shown the world it has no idea how to appeal to its fans.

Away from the harsh conditions at Konami, it’s possible that designers will be able to flourish and begin to create new. Just imagine what Kojima will do next, now that he is no longer under the shackle of Konami? That one thought is exciting in itself; Kojima may be literally insane, but the man is also a genius, and a new title from him could easily make the collapse of Konami be a good thing. This creative freedom has already expressed itself in the recent months. Koji Igarashi, creator of Castlevania, has already taken a new title to Kickstarter, raising $5.5 million to help him make his title Bloodstained, a spiritual successor to Castlevania.

The insanity taking place at Konami in recent months has shown the industry that this company is not as stable as everybody thought. There are clearly negative impacts to this, but let’s face it, it’s also a huge positive for gamers. Yes franchises may die (and not go peacefully) under the rule of Konami, but new classics may be born now that game designers have the freedom that Konami did not allow them. The time of Konami is over, but how can you not be excited about the future?
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Is there any hope for Konami? Let us know what you think @boargames