By now, the video gaming community is all but painfully aware of the sudden divorce between game director Hideo Kojima and game developer Konami. Solid Snake himself has even tweeted the fact that studio Kojima Productions has been disbanded, the studio logo having been removed from advertisement posters for the upcoming title, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Konami
- Japan
- (Hideo Kojima • Konami • Metal Gear Solid • split • video games)
When the mobile game Flappy Bird was taken off the market last year, sales of mobile phones with the game installed were quickly put on auction sites to the tune of US$300 to US$90,000. The sales on eBay technically violated the site’s Terms of Service, which required smartphones and tablets to be restored to their factory settings. Many were pulled by eBay before anyone was able to drop cash on the listings.
- Global
- (Anime News Network • auction • Konami • P.T. • Playstation 4 • Silent Hills • video games)
Enter the rumour mill: Hideo Kojima, Konami and the death of Silent Hills
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Philip Kendall
Apr 30, 2015
If you have even a passing interest in video games, then you’ll no doubt have heard that Silent Hills, the new, crazy-scary, Daryl-from-The Walking Dead-featuring reboot of long-running survival horror series Silent Hill, has been cancelled.
For many, Silent Hills represented the sole reason to own a PlayStation 4 as it bobs along in a sea of multi-platform titles and high-definition re-releases of last-gen games. But with the removal of its “playable teaser” from the PlayStation Store today, Silent Hills is gone – poof – into dust because director and industry veteran Hideo Kojima is to part ways with parent company Konami the moment he finishes work on his other big project, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
But what exactly is going on over at Konami? And why on earth would the company scrap a game that was already garnering so much praise and generating such excitement? Join us after the jump as we explore the myriad rumours and theories regarding Kojima and Konami’s messy breakup.
- Global, Japan
- (Kojima • Konami • Metal Gear Solid V • Silent Hills • video games)
Is Metal Gear Solid V finally getting a release date? Mysterious countdown appears on website
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Casey Baseel
Mar 3, 2015
Instant gratification and quick answers aren’t exactly the hallmarks of the Metal Gear video game franchise. Not only does its stealth-based gameplay reward patience over diving head-first into combat, but the events set in motion in 1998’s Metal Gear Solid, most modern gamers entry point into the series, didn’t get any sort of conclusion until the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, a full 10 years later.
There’s been a similarly slowly paced trickle of information about the series’ newest chapter, the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which has been featured in trade show videos for years, and even had its own commercially released, extended-length preview game, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Now, the next tidbit seems to be coming soon, as a mysterious countdown clock has appeared on the official Metal Gear V website.
- Global, Internet, Japan
- (Hideo Kojima • Konami • Metal Gear • video games)
Konami wants videos of you playing horror title P.T. for this year’s Tokyo Game Show
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Philip Kendall
Sep 10, 2014
Calling all scaredy-cat exhibitionists! If you’re easily frightened and love broadcasting yourself to the world, you’re just the kind of person Japanese video game developer Konami is looking for!
Following on from its video series of sample-group players reacting to forthcoming horror title Silent Hills, Konami is looking for footage of everyday people playing the game and their reactions to it. Better yet, the best videos will be shown at next week’s Tokyo Game Show.
Details on how to submit your own reaction video after the jump.
- Internet, Japan
- (Konami • P.T. • Silent Hills • video • video games • YouTube)
Nostalgic for Japanese video games from the late 1970s and ‘80s? Barcade, a combination bar and arcade, recently opened in Chelsea, Manhattan with about a dozen classics from Japanese game developers such as Taito, Nintendo, Namco, and Konami.
The games are still only a quarter (there are change machines on site), and the machines are in great condition. Marvel at the old-school graphics of Space Invaders, Galaga, Mappy, Crazy Climber, and Frogger.
- Japan, USA
- (arcade • Barcade • Japan Culture NYC • Konami • New York • nintendo • retro • video games)
Japanese special edition Metal Gear Solid V buyers get a Diamond Dogs jacket
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Philip Kendall
Dec 11, 2013
Well now here’s an odd little promotion. Japanese gamers planning to pick up a copy of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, one of the prequel chapters in Hideo Kojima’s convoluted-plot-’em-up/stealth espionage action game series, are now being offered a special edition bundle that comes with a track jacket emblazoned with the logo of in-game mercenary unit “Diamond Dogs”.
- Japan
- (fashion • jacket • Konami • Metal Gear Solid 5 • special edition • video games)
Food Becomes Art: These Metal Gear and Final Fantasy Bentō Lunchboxes Will Blow Your Mind
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Philip Kendall
Dec 19, 2012
“Hideo-kun! What do you want in your lunchbox for school tomorrow? Ham and cheese? Peanut butter and jelly? Or how about Solid Snaaaaaaaake!”
The image you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is genuine, 100% completely edible food. We’ve seen colourful character bentō lunchboxes before, but this is something else.
As part of its 25 years of Metal Gear and Final Fantasy celebrations, Japanese game developer Konami has had a set of truly amazing lunchboxes made for a photo event. Featuring characters from both of the long-running series, the lunchboxes are so detailed that they almost look like waxworks. No matter how many times we look at these things, we can’t quite get over the fact that it’s actually food.
- Japan
- (art • bento • Final Fantasy • food • Konami • lunchbox • Metal Gear Solid • wow)
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Norman Reedus comments on Silent Hills’ reported cancellation
Apr 27, 2015
The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus posted his reaction to reports that director Guillermo del Toro said their Silent Hillsgame project is not going to happen.
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