Is Konami really quitting games? - GameSpot's The Lobby

[MUSIC] [UNKNOWN] What's going on guys? I mean really. You make some good games. You make that soccer game, almost the really good one. You make that [UNKNOWN] game, they're alright. They're a bit long winded at times but they're pretty awesome. You've got those Pachinko machines. They['re pretty fun. They're okay. You've got those gyms. They've got like a set of gyms as well. [CROSSTALK] They've got a set of gyms. This is a serious question. Yeah. They got a set of gyms, like Konami-like gyms where you go and you work out. Yeah. [LAUGH] And everyone dresses up like Solid Snake and leave you a message. And they work out. Isn't that right, Peter Brown, expert on all things Konami? I guess, yeah. That's my official title now? Yeah. Yeah. [INAUDIBLE] a bunch of health centers. They run a bunch of gambling stuff. They run pachinko. It's okay, they're backing out of video games in a way that is sort of unprecedented. Mm. So many companies Fold and they put out a press release like, "Well, we're done." Forcing them to lay people off. Th, th, the Japanese way is very different. They tend to sort of hi, like mask- Yeah. Decisions like that and mask the fact that things aren't going so well. Is this because the major Japanese business being that like corporations like this Have their fingers in many pies. As opposed to the Western tradition of a business very much being like in one sort of vertical. Like Konami is a very, got a wide-spread portfolio. Just kind of- They're unique. But, I think where you got someone like Sony, then you can say they're not totally unique in that regard, right? Yeah. But I think it has more to do with the, the culture. In Japan. Things are handled differently, for sure. Hm. So, do you think this is Konami basically stepping away from games in a sort of a intentional, but just maybe slightly protracted way? Before that, can we just list the evidence real quick? Yeah, good point. Of what, why we are thinking Konami is getting out of games in, in a way? Yeah, so, somebody That spoke to me. [LAUGH] On the record but anonymously, you know, he basically laid down the groundwork for everything that has sort of come out now, Yeah. Where Konami has pushed Kojima aside, he is no longer an executive content officer, he is no longer even an official employee. He is a contractor at Konami Along with other heads at the studio, from Kujima Productions which is now Konomi Tokyo. Yes. Kujima Production's name is not off the record there. Kujima Productions LA, which opened about a year and a half ago, to now Konomi Los Angeles. Really? No more Fox with lightning legs. Yeah. [CROSSTALK] Out. Pulled off the graphics and everything. And that's how everything started, right? They were removing all these, all this text and, you know, A Hideo Kojima Game was gone. He's one of the few developers out there who, whose name is credited on boxes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, so of course people are going to notice when that happens and we can ask a lot of questions and, you know, Konami's response to all these rumors that we reported on was Hey, no, he's still working on the game. And also, we're making a new Metal Gear and we're hiring right now. Hm. Basically skirting around the issue, without denying it, without confirming it, and placating fans who may think, oh, no, we're not going to get any more Metal Gear. Yeah. But what Konami is missing when they say that, for that end, assuming that's their goal Is that people don't just want new Metal Gear. They want a new Metal Gear game from Hideo Kojima. Yeah. Because Metal Gear is Hideo Kojima. And, and so that's a big problem, and you know, people were excited for Silent Hills because, hey, we love Metal Gear but we've, you know, it's kind of been the same story being told in different chunks over the course of a few decades now. Hm. Silent Hill was a chance for him to do something really, really new. He brought in blood like Guillermo del Toro, obviously who is very exciting. Especially in that realm of, of horror and this sort of dark fantasy. And Konami to pull the plug on that, it's not surprising given what I was told. That Kojima, yes, he is the contractor. But he's also pissed. And he- Yeah. He wants to do right probably by his name and also for the fans. To finish Metal Gear. But work on, work on Silent Hill hadn't actually begun. Hm. It was still in the planning on paper phases. After PT they were just heads down on Phantom Pain [UNKNOWN]. Yeah. And so yeah. And so, you know, that's been canceled. And the guy I, that I spoke with he, you know, when I asked him about Silent Hill initially his answer was, well that's between del Toro and Konami and so that's what I assumed was the deal. Yeah. But del Toro at this event, this film event this weekend said that he's really sad he doesn't get to work on this game. Hm. I don't if that because he only would have done it with Kojima. I bet. That part of it. It sounds like that that was the, sort of, the exciting part of that relationship. Well it definitely was. [CROSSTALK] That was the impotence, really, of the entire project. Yeah, [INAUDIBLE] If that's the exciting part of the relationship, even if Kujima's leaving Kunami, I mean this is a new opportunity for him. And presumably all his co-workers who are also getting shown out the door. Yeah. To do something new. It might not have Metal Gear solid in the name. Right. But you still have that creativity behind it. Yeah. And so there are two discussions here. Right? There's the point you bring up where this frees up Kojima to do something new and exciting. Which I am personally very interested in. Yes. Absolutely. And I think. Anyone who appreciates the work he's done should look forward to that, because he is not limited to just one series. In a, from everything, every evidence we've seen over the years, even that series has changed a lot. And he's done really interesting things with that. So we have every reason to hope and believe that he'll be able to do something creative, and very interesting and unique moving forward. On the other hand, you have a company like Konami that's been around for a very long time, is responsible for publishing so many great video game series. But since the dawn of the HD era, it's just been [CROSSTALK]. And I just realized today which was a surprise to me but winning 11 perevo makes more money than melegerden. Melegerden has been on a decline for every game that comes out.>> For every game that comes out this year. Yeah sad times for Konami maybe something will see [UNKNOWN] in the future. I have fingers crossed. Peter Brown, thank you so much for coming on. [MUSIC]