Konami's imminent exit from the video game business?

[FSR]

Terrible company and all that, but you know what: On purpose or not, the way their CEO worded his statement is refreshingly clear. No "we have an unpredecented partnership with XXX" here or "we have something for our longtime fans coming up" there that never ends enjoyable. In short, and no reading between the lines, it was just a hard and cold:
We will be doing mobile games mainly
Other companies are guilty of the same mobile and F2P/DLC milking strategies, just try to hide it behind nicer words.

[The Coop]

Oh no, what will PC gamers do without any hope of getting poorly thought out Silent Hill updates and dull soccer games? [/straight-faced sarcasm]

[Pixelepsy]

I'd wish them luck but I'd be lying.

I was going to wait until the last minute to back Igarashi's Kickstarter but fuck that, I'm doing it right now.

Gaming has outgrown companies like this, and it's going to be a laugh when the freemium mobile market finally implodes from over-saturation.

I'm amazed that it hasn't already. I realize that there has to be SOME decent mobile games out there, but the mobile market to me looks like the games that were available before the crash of 83. Too many of them, too little quality control, and they all look the same (like shit). The few that are good out there aren't anything spectacular (not the ones I've played, atleast) so it does little to balance it.

Back when I was trying to give them more of a chance, I could never choose between a mobile game and its 20 (or more) clones. They had different things I liked about them with many more that I did not, and as a result I ended up not even trying to play them. Haven't really touched it since.

[Obviously]

That's exactly my problem with mobile gaming. There's some good stuff there to be sure but you have to wade through oceans of garbage to find it. There's very little control over the content that goes on these platforms and to me at least, it's overwhelming.

Maybe they think brand recognition will help them rise above the rabble? The problem there is that other than some ports of older games the big Japanese publishers are releasing the same rip-off freemium crap as everyone else. For instance the future of Sonic for Sega right now is likely a series of Endless Runners.

I can't wait to see Silent Hill and Metal Gear on mobile. What a joke.

[Gentlegamer]

I'm amazed that it hasn't already. I realize that there has to be SOME decent mobile games out there, but the mobile market to me looks like the games that were available before the crash of 83. Too many of them, too little quality control, and they all look the same (like shit). The few that are good out there aren't anything spectacular (not the ones I've played, atleast) so it does little to balance it.

Good point, but the difference is these "games" are designed as endless skinner boxes requiring constantly spending money, tied in with social networking to amp up the pressure. So the games just tap into and exacerbate OCD for revenue, without really needing to be good games in themselves.

[Pixelepsy]

Maybe they're hoping brand recognition can carry them, but the fact is hardcore gamers will only let that cloud judgement for so long, if at all. I realize that the main market are the casual gamers, but to them the name recognition means even less I would wager.

If you're a casual gamer, why would you care about what this company did in the past? I'm positive they would have absolutely no clue about the fact that Konami made Contra, Rocket Knight Adventures, Castlevania, and other classics. Even if they did know, I doubt that they would have played them much if at all or understood how good those games are. The casual gamer from what I've observed cares about one thing and one thing only; a brief distraction.

It doesn't have to have stellar game play, it doesn't need to be innovative. It has to be just interesting and fun enough to hold their attention for a few minutes at a time and nothing more. One of my friends who falls into this category plays "candy crush" all the time. I even asked him once what he liked about it, and the answer was more or less what I thought it would be. It lined up perfectly with what I expected a casual gamer to say.

Name brand recognition doesn't carry with casual gamers for those reasons, I often find, and as a result it will just end up blending with the rest of the trash. Also, Silent Hill and Metal Gear aren't exactly the kinds of games that a casual gamer would want to play. Its too involved, too much thought process is required (even with some of the terrible, more recent iterations), and that is an immediate turn off for most casual gamers. I'd still laugh my ass off if they did attempt to make mobile versions of them, though.

Good point, but the difference is these "games" are designed as endless skinner boxes requiring constantly spending money, tied in with social networking to amp up the pressure. So the games just tap into and exacerbate OCD for revenue, without really needing to be good games in themselves.

This is true, and it makes me very, very sad to see that people actually "play along" into that cycle of money with this trash.

[Lan Di]

Mobile gaming is mainly for people who habitually play casual games. There is a huge market for people who play mobile games strictly to kill time like at a doctor's office, subway train, or even at a church. Games like Minecraft. Angry Birds, Candy Crush are living proof of this. Konami wants to spend the very least in order to gain the largest profit. Its a lot cheaper to loose money on a game you didn't spend a lot for in the first place.

Activision, EA and Ubisoft, are the last bastions of big budget video games. Sega and Konami have thrown in the proverbial towel.

I while ago I had a heated discussion with a casual gamer on a Sega's facebook page. I simply stated that current-gen Sega fans have battered wife's syndrome because they continue to exalt Sega's efforts while Sega continues to produce garbage while re-releasing classic titles on the 3DS with the 3D gimmick for a quick buck with little money spent in comparison to a traditional new release. In other words, the husband is providing food, clothing and shelter and at the same time he's abusing the wife while she defends his actions when challenged by others. I explained to her I was simply using hyperbole, but she insisted that Sega currently makes quality excellent games that are in demand and guys like me are stuck in the past and have no clue what good games are.

This is the future that Konami is banking on.

[EmperorIng]

I think for the most part it's as good a time as any to remove your emotional investment to the big third-party companies. Capcom and Bamco may still surprise here and there, but the others are finally completing the slide into obsolescence. New companies (or old standbys like Falcom) will have to fill the gap.

[Pixelepsy]

I while ago I had a heated discussion with a casual gamer on a Sega's facebook page. I simply stated that current-gen Sega fans have battered wife's syndrome because they continue to exalt Sega's efforts while Sega continues to produce garbage while re-releasing classic titles on the 3DS with the 3D gimmick for a quick buck with little money spent in comparison to a traditional new release..

I agree 100% with everything else you said, except for the 3DS games. Yea, they aren't high budget or completely new, but they are for some of them arguably the best releases of those games that exist, period.

The rest of the stuff...yea. There are some sega releases that I've really liked in the last few years, but by and large its crap as is what every other old big-name publisher is doing.

It wasn't too long after this thread first started that I first fully realized that it isn't worth putting any emotional investment in these companies. I haven't done so for years, but I never really and truly realized cognitively just how bad it had gotten. Maybe I hoped it would change secretly, but I've come to terms with that. I'm ready for new companies to build new and innovative material upon the husks of the old guard.

[Obviously]

[Kamahl]

Games like Minecraft. Angry Birds, Candy Crush and is living proof of this.

I wouldn't bundle Minecraft with those other two games. In fact it's diametrically opposed. Minecraft is a HUGE time waster that requires you to be creative to get any enjoyment out of it. It's a pure lego-like sandbox you pay once to enjoy. (Note: I don't like the game, just pointing this out).

Of course there might be mobile versions of the game now to cash in on the popularity, but that's like bundling all Sonic games with Angry birds because Sega publishes shitty Sonic endless runners on mobile now.

[Jump Space]

Konami has kind of been dead to me for a while now anyways. Mostly because they never made another Castlevania like Super Castlevania IV. Which is even more upsetting because of the half dozen Symphony of the Nights shoved in my face all those years. I don't want to go on a scavenger hunt with Hot Topic Reverse Dracula in some psuedo-Victorian shopping mall! I want to be able to really interact with the environment, leap bottomless pits and smash leaf monsters with a flail in some demonic wood while jamming to jazzy gothic-dub. Screw Konami.

[Metalwario64]

Konami has kind of been dead to me for a while now anyways. Mostly because they never made another Castlevania like Super Castlevania IV. Which is even more upsetting because of the half dozen Symphony of the Nights shoved in my face all those years. I don't want to go on a scavenger hunt with Hot Topic Reverse Dracula in some psuedo-Victorian shopping mall! I want to be able to really interact with the environment, leap bottomless pits and smash leaf monsters with a flail in some demonic wood while jamming to jazzy gothic-dub. Screw Konami.

I like Castlevania X: Rondo of Blood more than Super Castlevania IV.

But anyway, they were officially dead to me when they bought and killed Hudson, and their in dev games. Seriously, I WANT them to go out at this point. Even that aside, they haven't made shit worth playing in years.

[Obviously]

Konami has kind of been dead to me for a while now anyways. Mostly because they never made another Castlevania like Super Castlevania IV. Which is even more upsetting because of the half dozen Symphony of the Nights shoved in my face all those years. I don't want to go on a scavenger hunt with Hot Topic Reverse Dracula in some psuedo-Victorian shopping mall! I want to be able to really interact with the environment, leap bottomless pits and smash leaf monsters with a flail in some demonic wood while jamming to jazzy gothic-dub. Screw Konami.

I like both the Metroidvanias and traditional Castlevanias.

Regardless, even being a fan of the Metroidvanias doesn't matter because they haven't had a proper one of those in 7 years.

[Lan Di]

I wouldn't bundle Minecraft with those other two games. In fact it's diametrically opposed. Minecraft is a HUGE time waster that requires you to be creative to get any enjoyment out of it. It's a pure lego-like sandbox you pay once to enjoy. (Note: I don't like the game, just pointing this out).

Of course there might be mobile versions of the game now to cash in on the popularity, but that's like bundling all Sonic games with Angry birds because Sega publishes shitty Sonic endless runners on mobile now.

I agree. Maybe Minecraft is a bad example on my part. But I remember reading somewhere that Minecraft is a best selling mobile game.