Konami. One of the founding fathers of video games. Creating so many amazing games that defined their eras of gaming. Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Castlevania, Contra, Dance Dance Revolution, you name it. You ask yourself, where are half of these games now apart from Metal Gear Solid and most recently disappeared, Silent Hill. They have all been swept under the rug by Konami, never to see the light of day again. Silent Hill was an amazing survival horror franchise till around about Silent Hill 4, then it just became horrible sequel after horrible sequel until they just abandoned the formula that MADE the game as SUCCESSFUL as it is today, or, was. Then came a shining light, a beacon of hope for this fallen franchise, in the form of the very promising and very highly potential new entry to the franchise, Silent Hills. The demo of Silent Hills was breathtaking, an interactive trailer of sorts, it captured the atmosphere of Silent Hill, while adding its own spin onto the formula, I personally got the living shit scared out of me, and on multiple occasions too, this was it. The game that would revitalise the franchise. The game we were all waiting for. With the combined efforts of Hideo Kojima, Norman Reedus and Guillermo del Toro, they had done it, they had made the game to resurrect the Silent Hill franchise.However... They didn't. In late March of this year, 2015, it was rumoured that there were many internal discrepancies between Kojima, Konami and other members of senior staff. This led to the leaving of Hideo Kojima from Konami, prior to the release to be the finale to the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Konami were led to erase all traces of Hideo Kojima after this occurred, including any marketing materials, as well as Kojima Productions. In late April of 2015, del Toro announced at the San Francisco Film Society event that Silent Hills, had unfortunately, to the dismay of millions of fans all across the globe, been cancelled. Norman Reedus followed up and confirmed this on Twitter a day later. The same day that Reedus confirmed it, Konami pulled the P.T (Playable Teaser) from PlaystationStore. On the 27th of April, 2015 Konami issued a statement to popular gaming site Kotaku confirming that Silent Hills "would not be continued", but that they planned to continue the Silent Hill franchise. This sparked major chaos within the gaming community for what Konami had done to their beloved franchise, the franchise that single handedly built the foundations of the survival horror genre.Very recently, in a bid to "renew" Castlevania, Konami only went and dug their hole even deeper by releasing Castlevania: Erotic Violence... Yes. You're reading that right. Konami thought it would be a good idea to make an erotic pachinko machine. And that's not the only pachinko machine to come out, Konami recently revealed a Silent Hill pachinko machine, sort of a "firetruck you" to all those fans still angry at the cancellation of Silent Hills. You will be wondering what is going through the minds of those at Konami. You and the rest of the gaming community. A company who stood as a staple, a juggernaut in the world of gaming, has fallen so low. It was also reported by an anonymous insider working at Konami that working conditions were way below what you would expect from a company like this, almost prison like. Staff who were once a part of the illustrious Kojima productions, are allegedly working on computers that do not house internet and are only allowed to send internal messages to other employees. There are also cameras in every single corner of every office, you would think that these are to protect the company's integrity and the safety of its employees. You would be dead wrong. These cameras are in place to monitor every move of the staff, to spy on them and watch their every move, like a predator stalking its prey. It is also reported that well renowned developers at Konami are being put into lower jobs such as janitorial jobs, or even put to work on the manufacture of the wretched pachinko machines. Most employees don't even get a permanent email, but a temporary one that is changed every other day, this is done to as well known gaming journalist site The Escapist put it "To prevent headhunting from other companies." You think the list of horrid working conditions stops there? Oho, no. It is also alleged that employees have a time card, and if they are out too long for a lunch break, their name is announced throughout the entire company, mocking and shaming them. Finally, if a member of staff is caught liking an employee who has left Konami's status, they will have their job reshuffled as a result of that.Do you see how far Konami have fallen? They also are reported to be moving away from games, abandoning the media that made it the powerhouse it is today. I personally think that Konami should sell all their IPs (Intellectual Properties) to other companies in order to save the legacy of franchises that are now inevitably doomed to become a licensing shell. However, all hope is not lost, at least not for Castlevania, as the massive explosion of spiritual successor of Castlevania, headed by the father of Castlevania, Koji Igarashi, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Knight, is showing huge potential and funding. I want to know YOUR opinion on the matter. Do you think Konami have fallen? Or do you think they will realize their mistakes and turn it around?
(Written on the 6th of August 2015)
Konami. One of the founding fathers of video games. Creating so many amazing games that defined their eras of gaming. Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Castlevania, Contra, Dance Dance Revolution, you name it. You ask yourself, where are half of these games now apart from Metal Gear Solid and most recently disappeared, Silent Hill. They have all been swept under the rug by Konami, never to see the light of day again. Silent Hill was an amazing survival horror franchise till around about Silent Hill 4, then it just became horrible sequel after horrible sequel until they just abandoned the formula that MADE the game as SUCCESSFUL as it is today, or, was. Then came a shining light, a beacon of hope for this fallen franchise, in the form of the very promising and very highly potential new entry to the franchise, Silent Hills. The demo of Silent Hills was breathtaking, an interactive trailer of sorts, it captured the atmosphere of Silent Hill, while adding its own spin onto the formula, I personally got the living shit scared out of me, and on multiple occasions too, this was it. The game that would revitalise the franchise. The game we were all waiting for. With the combined efforts of Hideo Kojima, Norman Reedus and Guillermo del Toro, they had done it, they had made the game to resurrect the Silent Hill franchise.However... They didn't. In late March of this year, 2015, it was rumoured that there were many internal discrepancies between Kojima, Konami and other members of senior staff. This led to the leaving of Hideo Kojima from Konami, prior to the release to be the finale to the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Konami were led to erase all traces of Hideo Kojima after this occurred, including any marketing materials, as well as Kojima Productions. In late April of 2015, del Toro announced at the San Francisco Film Society event that Silent Hills, had unfortunately, to the dismay of millions of fans all across the globe, been cancelled. Norman Reedus followed up and confirmed this on Twitter a day later. The same day that Reedus confirmed it, Konami pulled the P.T (Playable Teaser) from PlaystationStore. On the 27th of April, 2015 Konami issued a statement to popular gaming site Kotaku confirming that Silent Hills "would not be continued", but that they planned to continue the Silent Hill franchise. This sparked major chaos within the gaming community for what Konami had done to their beloved franchise, the franchise that single handedly built the foundations of the survival horror genre.Very recently, in a bid to "renew" Castlevania, Konami only went and dug their hole even deeper by releasing Castlevania: Erotic Violence... Yes. You're reading that right. Konami thought it would be a good idea to make an erotic pachinko machine. And that's not the only pachinko machine to come out, Konami recently revealed a Silent Hill pachinko machine, sort of a "firetruck you" to all those fans still angry at the cancellation of Silent Hills. You will be wondering what is going through the minds of those at Konami. You and the rest of the gaming community. A company who stood as a staple, a juggernaut in the world of gaming, has fallen so low. It was also reported by an anonymous insider working at Konami that working conditions were way below what you would expect from a company like this, almost prison like. Staff who were once a part of the illustrious Kojima productions, are allegedly working on computers that do not house internet and are only allowed to send internal messages to other employees. There are also cameras in every single corner of every office, you would think that these are to protect the company's integrity and the safety of its employees. You would be dead wrong. These cameras are in place to monitor every move of the staff, to spy on them and watch their every move, like a predator stalking its prey. It is also reported that well renowned developers at Konami are being put into lower jobs such as janitorial jobs, or even put to work on the manufacture of the wretched pachinko machines. Most employees don't even get a permanent email, but a temporary one that is changed every other day, this is done to as well known gaming journalist site The Escapist put it "To prevent headhunting from other companies." You think the list of horrid working conditions stops there? Oho, no. It is also alleged that employees have a time card, and if they are out too long for a lunch break, their name is announced throughout the entire company, mocking and shaming them. Finally, if a member of staff is caught liking an employee who has left Konami's status, they will have their job reshuffled as a result of that.Do you see how far Konami have fallen? They also are reported to be moving away from games, abandoning the media that made it the powerhouse it is today. I personally think that Konami should sell all their IPs (Intellectual Properties) to other companies in order to save the legacy of franchises that are now inevitably doomed to become a licensing shell. However, all hope is not lost, at least not for Castlevania, as the massive explosion of spiritual successor of Castlevania, headed by the father of Castlevania, Koji Igarashi, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Knight, is showing huge potential and funding. I want to know YOUR opinion on the matter. Do you think Konami have fallen? Or do you think they will realize their mistakes and turn it around?