Report: Kojima Productions to Disband After Metal Gear Solid V

[Fat Hippo]

IF this is true, I honestly don't see the big deal. I think I recall Kojima already saying in the past that he doesn't even WANT to do any more MGS games in the future, but took a lot of convincing to do so anyway. Sure, he may be the creator of Metal Gear, but he has to hand the reins over at some point. It's not as if this is anything rare for video games.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

I would laugh really hard if, in 2016, we hear that Kojima's signed on as an independent Second Party developer for Nintendo, who has given him all the tools he needs to make any game he wants. My inner brain dialogue that's saying that Nintendo's picking up the leavings of other Japanese companies' screw ups and turning them into successful/interesting games and/or ideas would come true. I highly doubt it, but I'd just laugh hard.

But if true, a lot of Japanese companies are having trouble it seems these past couple years.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

New statement from Konami: http://www.konami-digital-entertainment.co.jp/en/news/topics/2015/0320/

Hideo Kojima will be "involved throughout" the release of MGSV, and there will be other MGS titles afterword. Konami will hold auditions for main staff positions for those titles.

So, assuming this isn't all some kind of trick marketing on the part of Konami/Kojima to promote the game, it looks like MGS will be handed off to others. This is -again- no surprise, as Kojima has said he didn't want to work on Metal Gear since after the release of MGS2.

But if true, a lot of Japanese companies are having trouble it seems these past couple years.

Yes and no. The crash of 2008 damaged the Nikkei quite a bit more than it did the American exchanges, add to this the 2011 tsunami and Japan itself is still in pretty bad shape. However, Konami is a still reasonably well-capitalized. One, they are traded in Tokyo, New York, Frankfurt, and London exchanges, rather than just the Nikkei. Two, the company is diversified with health spas, taxi cabs, sporting equipment, industrial production, etc, not just games. In this sense, Bandai Namco and Konami recovered far more quickly than say Capcom, Sega, and Square, who are more or less wholly in gaming. Konami has shown profits every fiscal year this decade so far, so they are not about to fold.

Also, I'd like to remind everyone of the last time Mr. Bogos ran a single-source story:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/139842-Rayman-Leaked-as-New-Super-Smash-Bros-4-DLC

 

[Saltyk]

You've already let Suikoden fall by the wayside.

Noooooo! There is still hope! As long as I still breathe, there is still hope that Suikoden VI will show up...! Yes, denial is a very nice place to be, thank you.

On this actual subject, I do like the quote that, despite all of this, Kojima is still saying that the game needs to be good, not just made, for the fans. Developers could learn a lot from that type of attitude I think.

Hope springs eternal, my friend. Alas, this one seems close to drying up.

You've already let Suikoden fall by the wayside.

Noooooo! There is still hope! As long as I still breathe, there is still hope that Suikoden VI will show up...! Yes, denial is a very nice place to be, thank you.

On this actual subject, I do like the quote that, despite all of this, Kojima is still saying that the game needs to be good, not just made, for the fans. Developers could learn a lot from that type of attitude I think.

This is how I feel about Zone of the Enders. I was hoping maybe this will free Kojima to revisit other works of his that still hold his interest (and/or to push on to brand new things that he's been prevented from focusing on). If Konami retains all the rights though... we may be staying a spell in Denial.

Oh, Zone of the Enders is another game I would love a sequel to. Unfortunately, I don't think Kojima will retain the rights to that game, despite the fact that Konami hasn't made one in years. At best, he might make a spiritual successor, ala Mighty Number 9.

I, for one, would buy Zone of the Outers.

IF this is true, I honestly don't see the big deal. I think I recall Kojima already saying in the past that he doesn't even WANT to do any more MGS games in the future, but took a lot of convincing to do so anyway. Sure, he may be the creator of Metal Gear, but he has to hand the reins over at some point. It's not as if this is anything rare for video games.

Honestly, the idea that this is probably the last Metal Gear game that Kojima is going to make is not what's surprising to me. I knew he had stated that he was tired of making Metal Gear (Metal Gear Solid IV was supposed to be his last one) and that he was likely to end his reign here. And I was well aware that Konami would probably continue the series with someone else at the helm, though I can't imagine anyone else doing it as the series is full of Kojima's fingerprints.

No, what surprises me is that Kojima is apparently leaving Konami. This is like if the Beatles fired Paul McCartney. What's next? Is Shigeru Miyamoto going to leave Nintendo?

 

[hermes]

And so it falls. At this point, the Kojima name carries more weight than Konami itself (to the point they attached his name to every other franchise, like Castlevania and Silent Hill). I don't think it will hurt MGS 5 too much (it is pretty much done), but it will not bode well for the rest of the series.

At this point, I am guessing every single publisher with a foot in Japan (including Sony and MS) are desperately making phone calls, all willing to give their left arm to get a hold on this golden egg goose.

 

[hermes]

I would laugh really hard if, in 2016, we hear that Kojima's signed on as an independent Second Party developer for Nintendo, who has given him all the tools he needs to make any game he wants. My inner brain dialogue that's saying that Nintendo's picking up the leavings of other Japanese companies' screw ups and turning them into successful/interesting games and/or ideas would come true. I highly doubt it, but I'd just laugh hard.

My guess is that he will go to Sony. At that point, I would give him a blank check to keep him there.

Or he could go to Platinum... Think about it.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

You've already let Suikoden fall by the wayside.

Noooooo! There is still hope! As long as I still breathe, there is still hope that Suikoden VI will show up...! Yes, denial is a very nice place to be, thank you.

On this actual subject, I do like the quote that, despite all of this, Kojima is still saying that the game needs to be good, not just made, for the fans. Developers could learn a lot from that type of attitude I think.

Hope springs eternal, my friend. Alas, this one seems close to drying up.

Hope is what you make of it. It is entirely up to you to have it or not. Also, did you not see what I said above? I'll quote myself:

Also, Suikoden and Silent Hill. Some have declared Konami dead, but well, it is far too early for that. Hirotaka Ishikawa (not to be confused with Fumi Ishikawa, Suikoden's long-time character designer) will now be one of the most powerful people on the development side of KDE, and since he is one of the original producers of the Suikoden series as well as Silent Hill 3 and 4, this could actually bode well for both series.

I will add that I am pretty disturbed by the alarmist reporting here and other places, Ars Technica and Kotaku of all places seem to be the least alarmist at this point. And this is not the first time Bogos has basically sounded the alarm for what is effectively a false story. So really, don't believe the hype.

 

[Vivi22]

So, if this happens, I'm guessing Konami keeps Metal Gear and Kojima, the man who freaking made it what it is, gets nothing. That's sort of what it sounds like with the statement that Konami is removing Kojima's logos and branding from Metal Gear media.

Of course Konami would get to keep Metal Gear Solid. Not that it matters because no one at that company would know what to do with it anyway.

And I wouldn't say Kojima gets nothing. He's one of the few people left at a major publisher in Japan who has the clout to literally walk out the door at Konami and do pretty much anything he wants anywhere else. Meanwhile, Konami is going to be left struggling with the fact that they lost the only development studio they had that was capable of actually making a decent game for years now. Trust me, Konami is getting the short end of the stick on this one whether they realize it or not. Meanwhile Kojima and anyone who goes with him are almost guaranteed to land on their feet.

 

[Kaimax]

And there goes the final one that Konami had left. Castlevania, Contra, Mystical Ninja, Gradius, Silent Hill, Suikoden, and now MGS; once great franchises driven into the ground due to mismanagement by a bunch of idiots. I don't think I have seen any other Japanese company with the exception Square-Enix screw up their lineup as badly as Konami has by undermining every property they have ever made.

Ironically, Even the Producer and Character Designer of Love Plus is leaving Konami. lol
http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/16/loveplus-producer-character-designer-leave-konami/

 

[Trishbot]

Well, they've already run Castlevania, Suikoden, Silent Hill, and ALL OF HUDSON SOFT into the ground. Why stop now, right?

 

[Wuvlycuddles]

Wait wait wait, they are blocking him from promoting the game? That's many shades of stupid Konami, you may not be on good terms with the guy but promoting the game is an area of MUTUAL interest..... This is Ubi levels of dumbarsery!

 

[Fox12]

And now for the question we're all really asking. What does this mean for silent hill?

Also, this is practically the death knell for konami, since they have no idea what to do with themselves.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

What a bizarre situation.

It's too early to really know the full details of all this. So I'm going to hold my breath until we hear more. But as of now, it certainly doesn't look good.

TBH, I wasn't all that concerned about the future of the MGS franchise itself. I've been getting the feeling that Kojima really is stepping away from his position in the franchise to work on other things, and that Konami would continue the Metal Gear franchise in some other capacity. (More Rising sequels, for example.)

That much was obvious, and that following what seems to be Kojima's magnum opus for the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and him working on Silent Hills, it would also be fitting.

However, I did not expect him to leave the company entirely. If it was his own decision is one thing, but if Konami were the ones who pushed him out then... lol wut? I dunno, this is really odd.

 

[Callate]

Hmm. Inside source speaking to Gamespot anonymously.

I don't want to completely blow that off; it could be legitimate. But I think I'd wait for some corroboration.

A pity if it's true. It seems like the industry's name-recognizable figures, the one who undertake the grand and sweeping projects, are dropping out or creating reputation-tarnishing disasters, one by one.

 

[Ishigami]

Well I for once see this as positive.
MGS is one overblown franchise that in my eyes simply needs to end. Well it already ended but someone keeps resurrecting it.
Of course Konami won?t kill MGS, who would in fact put down their cash cow? But if the next game fails it could damage the franchise permanently as everyone would blame Kojima missing from the project which hopefully can?t be fixed since they seem to be on bad terms. That could potentially ruin MGS which I would favor.
Kojima on the hand is despite being a hipster a decent designer. So any project he turns to afterwards might turn out decently.
So it is a win-win situation: An old or new IP taken over by Kojima may end up decently and MGS may die finally. Cool, I like that perspective.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

I wonder if the fanbase will follow Kojima. As in, I wonder if the Metal Gear fans will act in accordance with the knowledge of "Kojima didn't lead the project and wasn't even on the team. This isn't a real Metal Gear game," and then not buy it.

Or, is the Metal Gear brand powerful enough to retain a fanbase even after he has nothing to do with it.

 

[Chatboy 91]

RIP Zone of the Enders. I was really looking forward to ZOE3, but I think it's safe to say it will never happen now. Oh, and RIP Silent Hills, and possibly Rising 2.

Konami, you're a bunch of dumb idiots. The only thing that's kept you alive is letting Kojima do whatever the fuck he wants. Now what do you have?

Kojima, go work with Platinum. I think you'll be a good fit.

 

[Spushkin]

I wonder if the fanbase will follow Kojima. As in, I wonder if the Metal Gear fans will act in accordance with the knowledge of "Kojima didn't lead the project and wasn't even on the team. This isn't a real Metal Gear game," and then not buy it.

Or, is the Metal Gear brand powerful enough to retain a fanbase even after he has nothing to do with it.

I guess I could count myself as part of the said fanbase.

I think I'll definitely follow the development of any future MGS games, but without getting my hopes up. I didn't even get Ground Zeroes until some six months later, second hand.

What I really want to know is what happens to Silent Hills, gosh darn it!

 

[PunkRex]

Okay, I don't like Kojima's writing and I'm not really into Metal Gear but this seems kinda dumb, wasn't he the only reason Konami's still a thing?

 

[Atmos Duality]

Assuming this turns out true...it makes little difference to me either way.
MGS has never really been my thing, and Kojima's eccentricities are wasted at Konami, IMO.