Metal Gear Publisher Konami: Mobile Is Now Our Main Platform

Late commenting, but this seems insane for North America: phones are evolving faster than almost any device class, but getting a hardcore gaming experience vs a casual one seems five years away at least. They probably realized everybody has phones but only some people have consoles and there the business goes. Moreover, you can see the genesis of the thinking that led to MGSV mobile-like pay to unlock achievements system; probably will be integrated well, but they view multiple micropurchases as more secure than single purchases at traditional price points.

war has changed...

R.I.P. Konami

Times are definitely changing.....

Well, ****.

Oooooh....that's....not going to gain them fans.

It's a shame really, beside my vita and 3DS I rarely play on my mobile anymore. I also hate free to play model. Seeing how well good games sell I still believe konami should have kept kojima around to make great console games. It's sad to hear so many good games be left aside for mobile gaming, you just can't capture the same level of experience on a mobile. Maybe vita with better hardware can handle it but I'm guessing when they say mobile the area talking about iOS mainly. Just sad

Unfortunately, this is the best way to rake up some money. Many people would have spending hundreds for a game that's (mostly) not worth more than 5 bucks.

It is a disappointment for gamer who wants real game, a complete game from a single purchase which unlocked things by doing some tasks or complete a challenge.

I'm utterly shocked reading this article, as the president of Konami himself speaks openly about this decision for selling items and features for a free-to-play games.

Is this the reason why Kojima left?

People are saying that this is going to drive Konami out of business mostly because as far as the west is concerned Konami is a just video game publisher but in Japan video games are just one of the many business ventures they have. Kojima's "when it's done" development style was just not viable to a "many irons in the fire" type of company like Konami. The whole existence of Ground Zeroes was Konami trying to gain some bit of the money they've spent on MGSV back sooner. AAA games just aren't worth it for a company like that, mobile games are less of a risk. The silver lining I'm seeing here is that the Metal Gear series will end in a way. Metal Gear is my all time favorite game series but I've been wanting it to end before it sucks for a while. It sucks that we'll probably never get another proper Castlevania or Silent Hill game though. Bloodstained will scratch the Castlevania itch though.

What a waste. Disgusting. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but-- oh wait, yeah I can.

So lets take our most successful games that are on console and end them. Then while we are at it lets get rid of Hideo Kojima who help put us on the map... Make sense... RIP Konami

It's a smart business move yet I can't help but be disappointed. This is pretty much the end of Silent Hill, MGS, ZOE, Castlevania as we know it. While you can make those games for mobile, they just won't be the same.

Mobile is terrible.

I've tried for years.

So much for my hopes of an awesome new Castlevania. I never game on my phone.

There's a place reserved deep in hell for whoever did this to SNAKE!

Having personally grown up with Konami when they put out classics like the original Contra, Double Dribble, etc., it feels kind of weird but unavoidable to say that I do find their current state generally sad and frustrating. As a few others have expressed, it really feels like Konami's overall management has frankly gone crazy - caring so extremely about pure profit that it's blinding them to the big mistakes they are making. I for one can't stand mobile games; heck, I don't even like smartphones (didn't get one till this year and only did so because my old phone broke and it was cheaper than getting a flip phone).

Stupid kids thinking that Konami just make games and wish them "a total failure", because poor kids aren't going to play more games from the publisher, as I said, stupid kids.

Mobile Gaming... WTF Konami. Way to make more money!

Somebody high up in Konami is going through a massive nervous breakdown right now.

Rather than criticise Konami, we should send them some doctors.

Jim Sterling is going to have a hay day with this next week on jimquistion.

Without Hideo Kojima it seems Konami just hit rock bottom.

Yay more MGS Mobile....no....

Honestly the only ray of light I see in the future for brand new, interesting ideas in gaming are platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
People give a lot of shit to Square-Enix (sometimes rightfully so), but they are doing what I think is the right move: bringing new, risky projects based on old and new IPs to Kickstarter.
The real problem nowadays is that the AAA market is risky. Either you make a successful AAA Game and milk it year after year after year or you could be really in trouble if your next big project or two fail (look at THQ).
Sadly, only a handful of software houses are managing to stay afloat making great AAA Games, almost always backed up by huge publishers that are willing to take the risk (Naughty Dog and Sony, for example).
Switching the pitching project to fund-raising platforms could a great way to see if there is a market for your product and it looks like the idea is picking up with projects like Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained.

TL;DR The alternatives for a software house nowadays are:
- Milking AAA Games every year (i.e. Assassin's Creed, COD)
- AAA Games once in a while backed by publishers, hoping the games sell (i.e. Naughty Dog, Monolithsoft, Platinum Games). If one or two subsequent projects fail they could be in big trouble.
- Fund-raising platforms + Publishers (i.e. Square-Enix)
- Mobile gaming & Pay-to-win/play

That said, MGS5 will be the last game I'll purchase from Konami if mobile only pay-to-win/play/features "games" is their future.

I'm also really looking forward to Kojima's next non-MGS title(s).

Well there goes all hope of seeing another real Silent Hill game ever again. And I guess MGSV is the last one in the series last real one anyway.

The point of konami now is to suck :)

I would like to point out to Konami a few things:

1: Kagemasa Kozuki hasn't got a bloody clue what he's doing anymore.
2: None of your big franchises - PES, MGS, Castlevania, Silent Hill - work on a handheld. Castlevania could possibly work, given how many 2D platformers there are on the system, but frankly, it's not worth the effort.
3: None of your fans know you for your mobile games. In fact, no-one does, because there practically are none. Jumping into this market without a single clue of what you're doing is suicidal.
4: Those that do play your games on mobile will probably not play the proper mobile games. They'll emulate the games that you made years ago. Suikoden II, Castlevania...people will just play those on emulators, not buying them from you.
5: The way you're treating Hideo Kojima - the man who is bringing in the buck for your gaming division - is utterly disgusting. You're milking a respected, great developer and kicking him on the ground, and for what?

I'm surprised Konami lasted this long. I suspect that if they go down this route they will leave the games industry in 2018 at the latest.

MGSV: The Phantom Pain will be the last game from Konami I buy. After that, I have washed my hands of what was once not only a respectable publisher, but also a leader in incredible gaming entertainment.

One final knife in the back of the core gamers that have been their bread and butter since the beginning. Talk about burning bridges. Now their primary focus will be aimed at people who need to kill a few boring moments while sitting on the bus, the train, a waiting room, the toilet. Ambitious.

So, by "we will continue to develop the Silent Hill series" they really meant that they were just making a crappy freemium game with the moribund Silent Hill brand slapped on it?

This is so sad and disgusting.

R.I.P. Konami

/flowers

Mobile gaming can actually become the future, IF they can catch up with the power of consoles and PC, and somehow emulate a large screen or virtual surrounding through something more convenient and mobile than the virtual reality headsets. If they can't do that than mobile gaming is shit that would keep hurting people like us who prefer proper gaming platform and proper games.

AAA companies are in it for the money only. They would abandon consoles & PCs in favour of tic-tac-toes and Tetris if they are offering greater return. How many times did Don Mattrick give us the middle finger when he was in charge of the XBO development, insisting that it be pettier platform than it is and rely on always online gaming? In the end he ran off to Zynga to make mobile games because its mobile, always online & always paying. Had he gotten his way XBO owners would have been paying $ to unlock next stage/level of their games.

Konami is no hero. Its the same as Micro$oft. Lets prepare to be screwed all the time now.

R.I.P. Konami

In other words they want the least amount of effort and need for talent, in exchange for easy profits.

The future is not smart phone gaming. The day that happens I am done with gaming.

I will always require big blockbuster games, whether it is on console, PC or some type of online streaming these big games from the cloud and it is played on servers.

I couldn't care less about a 5 inch phone.

This is just a matter of them lacking talent and any games that compete, except MGS and they are failing miserably.

Who honestly enjoys playing games on mobile? They're so soulless, dull, and often so vastly limited it's hard to get any enjoyment from them. "The future of gaming is on mobile"? Somebody's had too many pills, GG Konami.

Lets see how many Soccer Moms and 9 year olds we can scam.