• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

GameSpot: Kojima to leave Konami after MGSV, power struggle, communications embargo

Status
Not open for further replies.
Kojima has given his heart and long nights to Metal Gear for decades, bringing consistently great revenue to Konami, and this is how he's repaid. I know he will land on his feet, but I also know this has got to hurt. I won't be buying another game from Konami. Fuck those guys.

I assume this means we'll never see another KojiPro Metal Gear, as Konami owns the IP. And his Silent Hill remake must be off the table too.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
The way I see it, you are telling Konami that the market doesn't mind when they treat their developers like disposable garbage.

And the way corporate might see bad sales of MGSV is that MG is not as relevant as it once was.

Really?
I tought the game have good sales only in Brazil and Japan

Well someone posted the money each franchise gets, and PES was first, MG second.
 
Inb4 "Kojima joins Nintendo"

Sony seems like a better fit, but Nintendo seems much more "free" to creativity and letting him do anything he wants to do.

Nothing more free than going independent. Kojima's not gonna want to chain himself to any one company I think. Not after this.
 

Boke1879

Member
Ding ding ding. It's probably this. They sold a $30 demo for this reason

Note: I think Ground Zeroes is great but let's not pretend that it isn't exactly that.

that's cool and all but going back and removing his name? Something much bigger happened. For them to punish Kojima when he was pretty much the only man making them money in the games space is absurd.

Seriously Kojima gave them a very good franchise, created a studio in LA they Konami now controls and made the Fox Engine now that Konami controls.

Something happened behind the scenes and now they are just plundering everything the man built.
 
Really?
I tought the game have good sales only in Brazil and Japan
It sells really good in Japan, South America and some parts of Europe.

It doesn't have to sell 10 million copies every year to be a success like FIFA but it still manages to sell a couple million every single year. MGSV can sell 6 million but then PES 2017 will sell another 2-3 million and so on and so forth.

I remember in the 90s Mexico being all over the International Super Star Soccer and Winning Eleven games. Sometime during the PS2 era (when out Liga MX was featured in the game) we went completely FIFA and never turned back. FIFA is the #1 best selling videogame over here every year.
 

Jintor

Member
I know kojima is like 90% movies, but how much of konami is games anyway? I know they got them sports clubs, but how feasible is them just pulling out of games altogether
 

Sami+

Member
image.php

image.php

image.php

image.php

Yes! Four posts in a row representing our dedication to Kojima! Keep it up! Let the conversion continue!


"Happy anniversary KojiPro! You are all going to be fired after this game comes out!"

Horrible, let's hope wherever Kojima ends up, he helps the people who helped him make his excellent games.

(lol, this is a little late, forgot to post this for a while, still hype!)

I'm in.
 

Eppy Thatcher

God's had his chance.
I aint even mad. Time for Kojima to unfurl the insanity and hand us new hotness. MGSV is the wrapup to all of MGS.. his words... so it'll probably end up being the last thing I ever buy from Konami.

Just pause for a moment and think of the pure insanity that is likely around the corner for this gen with Kojima off the chain. Please god Sony swoop dude and hand him a sandbox to play in. I am - in fact - hyped.

Sad about Z.O.E though. Gonna have to hang that dream up in the closet for good now. :(

edit: I missed the "ripping his name retroactively from MGSV" and all that. Despite my excitement at a free range Kojima burger... that's pretty fucking low.
 

Boke1879

Member
But people are saying Metal Gear without Kojima isn't Metal Gear, so what would be lost at that point?

But he made this game. He directed it and had full creative control. It's HIS game. After this though. If he's not a director the MGS name is dead, and I'm sure that sentiment rings true for most fans of the series.
 
You guys think we'll begin to see new box art for MGSV Ground Zeroes with the "A Hideo Kojima game" part removed popping up in stores soon?

You'd think Konami would be so petty and willing to piss of fans that much?
 
Fucking hell, this is awful news. The man has devoted his life to this series and now they are retroactively removing credit from him? I can't even express how disgusted I am with this whole thing,

I want to play MGSV badly, but I rather not support Konami after this mess.

Buy it used. Enjoy the last of Kojima's life's work with Konami all while saying, "Lick my ass hair, Konami."
 
it could end up to be a good thing though


if he lands on his feet.... at a good place with creative freedom and resources just imagine the possibility of a new Kojima I.P
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
But people are saying Metal Gear without Kojima isn't Metal Gear, so what would be lost at that point?

What would be won if people boycott the game? It's obvious that we're not their market target, and they certainly won't change their ways with a Twitter campaign and low sales of their only high profile game.

Heck, as the creator of the game, I'd be sad if people were taking it up with my creation just to stick it to the man.
 
I aint even mad. Time for Kojima to unfurl the insanity and hand us new hotness. MGSV is the wrapup to all of MGS.. his words... so it'll probably end up being the last thing I ever buy from Konami.

Just pause for a moment and think of the pure insanity that is likely around the corner for this gen with Kojima off the chain. Please god Sony swoop dude and hand him a sandbox to play in. I am - in fact - hyped.

Sad about Z.O.E though. Gonna have to hang that dream up in the closet for good now. :(

Same, least we can say it went out with an amazing game unlike other franchises that died on a bad note.
 
I dont really see why peoplenare so mad and sad. Kojima always sounded like being at Konami was a burden, that he wanted shit his own way etc. That he didnt want to do another MGS etc. He's finally free
 

Vire

Member
If it wasn't for Silent Hills I wouldn't be that torn up about it...

But I fucking loved P.T. :(

At least Kojima can do something besides Metal Gear now.
 
It has just dawned on me that we may never get a Rising 2 because of this... god dammit Konami...
Didn't Kojima had very little to do with the final MGR that Platinum made? He was in front of the original MGS Rising but at the end of the day didn't he got very little involved?

I don't see how a MGR2 can't happen without Kojima.

Silent Hills and another MGS without him would be an entirely different matter.
 

newjeruse

Member
Wait they're letting Hideo Kojima finish the game with all this acrimony going on? I can't wait to see the Easter eggs this causes him to put in the game that never get caught by Konami QA.
 

ezekial45

Banned
Didn't Kojima need to be asked to make every single Metal Gear game after the original one in 1987?

No. They made Snake's Revenge, which was an unofficial Amercian-made sequel to the original Metal Gear. They didn't tell him about that and he's never even played it.
 
Im surprised he doesn't have some pull being a former vice president. All in all not happy to read that Kojima and his team will possibly get relieved and presumably temporarily unemployed. But, it might do him some good to change enviroment and create some completely different.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
But he made this game. He directed it and had full creative control. It's HIS game. After this though. If he's not a director the MGS name is dead, and I'm sure that sentiment rings true for most fans of the series.
Meanwhile, Konami is laughing all the way to the bank.
What would be won if people boycott the game? It's obvious that we're not their market target, and they certainly won't change their ways with a Twitter campaign and low sales of their only high profile game.

Heck, as the creator of the game, I'd be sad if people were taking it up with my creation just to stick it to the man.
I understand the sentiment. I don't think that a potential boycott would achieve much, either, but I think that people who feel this strongly about this issue should not be surprised when the game industry pulls another move like this in the future.
 

TriAceJP

Member
Konami a shell of it's former glory and Kojima makes junk with the insanely high budget he gets.

This is good news in my opinion. I really can't wait to see if he can pull off some decent stuff with a modest budget and a new company.

More Snatcher, less Metal Gear Solid everything after 3.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Wrong that I think this is fantastic news? He can start his own company, or go with someone else who will let him off the MGS leash.
 

Eppy Thatcher

God's had his chance.
Wait they're letting Hideo Kojima finish the game with all this acrimony going on? I can't wait to see the Easter eggs this causes him to put in the game that never get caught by Konami QA.

Are you kidding? Can't you just imagine being one of the lowly QA guys at konami that probably idolize the man? You hold up a fat, wheezing, silly voiced, flatulent useless soldier and snag his tags that say "K. NAMI" .. laugh your ass off and check off that base as clear of bugs right before fist pumping.

No way they throw hate at the man at this point. If anything they are probably fearful for their careers with him leaving and the actions/attitude of Konami probably don't instill much faith that the company values or respects them if they don't respect fuckin Kojima.
 

Elios83

Member
Inb4 "Kojima joins Nintendo"

Sony seems like a better fit, but Nintendo seems much more "free" to creativity and letting him do anything he wants to do.

I don't think that Kojima will join either Sony or Nintendo (or Microsoft) , not directly at least.
He will try to stay independent forming a new studio (which will basically be the New Kojima Productions). I guess that the fact that Konami is shifting to mobiles and wouldn't greenlight any new project but MGS sequels was a major factor into this divorce.
Of course if he plans to make an other AAA title for consoles he will need a big publisher to pay the bills so the usual big companies including platform holders might try to grab the rights to publish their new IP.
So basically the same as Respawn, Bungie, Platinum, Mistwalker, Valhalla.
The other option is trying to stay totally independent but that means episodic digital games on consoles and mobiles as well.
In any case it will take a while until they have some new concept/prototype for a new IP in their hands and even more time until they can announce something publicly, also they have no engine considering that Fox belongs to Konami so they'll probably have to use UE4.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
Meanwhile, Konami is laughing all the way to the bank.

I understand the sentiment. I don't think that a potential boycott would achieve much, either, but I think that people who feel this strongly about this issue should not be surprised when the game industry pulls another move like this in the future.

It's a crappy situation all around, that's for sure.
 

border

Member
Based on what? The Order: 1886? Because there's no reason at all to believe MGSV will be anything other than a success, especially based on Ground Zeroes success, and THAT is what will determine where he lands.

Based on the fact that nobody really makes cinema-heavy games anymore.....unlike that 1998-2004 period, nobody is trying to ape the cutscene-heavy style of Final Fantasy and Metal Gear.

But MGS5 is an attempt to tone down the dramatic dialogues and bring in open-world mechanics, which is why it's something of a test to see if Kojima can continue to make games that are relevant and successful in the AAA development.

Ground Zeroes debuted at #6 on the March NPD with the highest-selling SKU moving 141K copies. After that it disappeared from the NPD. While I don't think it's fair to compare that to the sales of proper full-sized MGS games, I'm not sure if it bodes very well for the series.

5 years of development time is something that nobody but Rockstar can or will afford anymore. Konami got an engine they can use, but that slow development time means that the effort poured into putting FOX Engine on 360/PS3 is kinda useless since those platforms are now nearly irrelevant.

I personally expect that like most people who have spent a couple decades in the AAA space, Kojima will probably "retire" to smaller projects.
 
I would rather buy Metal Gear Solid V in order to honor Kojima's efforts. Remember he's finishing the game for us, the gamers and fans.

I know it would give money to Konami, who deserves a painful death, but it would also be a great homage to decades of Kojima's work.
 

Boke1879

Member
Meanwhile, Konami is laughing all the way to the bank.

I understand the sentiment. I don't think that a potential boycott would achieve much, either, but I think that people who feel this strongly about this issue should not be surprised when the game industry pulls another move like this in the future.

They are laughing all the way to the bank anyway. Majority of their money is made outside of gaming. And we do know Kojima is still contractually obligated until December. He's still working on HIS game.

The series dies for me after MGSV is released.
 
I dont really see why peoplenare so mad and sad. Kojima always sounded like being at Konami was a burden, that he wanted shit his own way etc. That he didnt want to do another MGS etc. He's finally free

I'm not mad that Kojima is leaving Konami and I'm sure most people would agree that it's a great thing that he's moving on. What is frustrating is the way Konami fucked him over and wiped his name from every piece of marketing for MGSV.
 

Permanently A

Junior Member
image.php

image.php

image.php

image.php

Yes! Four posts in a row representing our dedication to Kojima! Keep it up! Let the conversion continue!


"Happy anniversary KojiPro! You are all going to be fired after this game comes out!"

Horrible, let's hope wherever Kojima ends up, he helps the people who helped him make his excellent games.

(lol, this is a little late, forgot to post this for a while, still hype!)

I'm in there dawg.
 

Boke1879

Member
Based on the fact that nobody really makes cinema-heavy games anymore.....unlike that 1998-2004 period, nobody is trying to ape the cutscene-heavy style of Final Fantasy and Metal Gear.

But MGS5 is an attempt to tone down the dramatic dialogues and bring in open-world mechanics, which is why it's something of a test to see if Kojima can continue to make games that are relevant and successful in the AAA development.

Ground Zeroes debuted at #6 on the March NPD with the highest-selling SKU moving 141K copies. After that it disappeared from the NPD. While I don't think it's fair to compare that to the sales of proper full-sized MGS games, I'm not sure if it bodes very well for the series.

5 years of development time is something that nobody but Rockstar can or will afford anymore. Konami got an engine they can use, but that slow development time means that the effort poured into putting FOX Engine on 360/PS3 is kinda useless since those platforms are now nearly irrelevant.

I personally expect that like most people who have spent a couple decades in the AAA space, Kojima will probably "retire" to smaller projects.

MGS Will sell dude. Fans of the series follow it. This one will sell well into the millions as well.
 

LeonSPBR

Member
It just pisses me off, why can't Konami give Kojima and his team a break from Metal Gear. I mean they worked on this series for fucking 27 years now. Kojima always said yes but of course there comes a time where he's just done with it... he wanted to left the series after MGS2 but he always returned and said ok i'll do another one so that mr. konami is pleased.

Kojima always tried to improve the series. MGSV for example looks to be the most ambitious game ever. They put all their heart into this game and created a fucking new engine for over 5 years now. Opened a new company in LA so they can work on another Metal Gear Online. Troy Baker said "MGSV may be the biggest game I've ever seen." But nooo it's not enough for mr. konami.

Kojima said he sleeps 4 hours a day to be most productive during the day.

The most disgusting and disrespectful thing is the erasing of Kojima's branding of all Metal Gear products.

What a terrible sendoff for someone who made Konami what it is today.

It's so sickening, I don't even know what to say anymore.

/rant

This is perfect.
 

Patryn

Member
But what else do they have apart from MGS? Silent Hill may not be big for them but they cant avoid MGS and the MGS audience is on consoles so they cant possibly milk MGS branding for the mobile audience surely?

Though knowing Konami's recent history I would not be surprised if they try something stupid like that.
Your problem, as with many in this thread, is that you think Konami is primarily a games publisher.

In reality, they're a mobile company with a heavy interest in health clubs and gambling machines that does console games on the side.

It would appear that they're thinking that side business isn't worth it and are refocusing on the core businesses.
 
Didn't Kojima had very little to do with the final MGR that Platinum made? He was in front of the original MGS Rising but at the end of the day didn't he got very little involved?

I don't see how a MGR2 can't happen without Kojima.

Silent Hills and another MGS without him would be an entirely different matter.

But would Platinum even touch the series again without Kojima?
 
Fucking hell, this is awful news. The man has devoted his life to this series and now they are retroactively removing credit from him? I can't even express how disgusted I am with this whole thing,

I want to play MGSV badly, but I rather not support Konami after this mess.

actually, I would think that kojima would want us to play this game. Yes, we are giving konami our money but wouldn't we be honoring kojima by playing the last metal gear game he ever made?
 

neptunes

Member
MGS Will sell dude. Fans of the series follow it. This one will sell well into the millions as well.

enough to recoup the time and resources spent developing it? at least compared to their competition?

For all we know, upper management may have seen other publishers release numerous million selling products in the same time frame and was asking questions.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
Ive been affected all day by this news. Really liked Kojima. Barely anyone in the industry is capable of emotionally affecting me with news like this.

Konami are a dumb bunch of fucks for making the absolutely dumbshit move of taking it upon themselves to go through every piece of promo material and remove Kojima's name from the game. They arent fooling anyone and it is a legit fucked move. That will be their downfall whatever comes out of this.
 

foxtrot3d

Banned
How can Konami be this stupid? I don't care what Kojima demanded whatever it was, was reasonable considering his star power and the draw of MGS. Konami is now dead.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom