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Kojima leaving Konami after MGSV due to internal fallout / Reduction in KojiPro Senior Staff (Rebranding)


Carbo

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That's true. 

 

To be clear, I'm not saying Nintendo is going to crush his spirit and clamp down on his style or whatever. They'll surely accommodate him like you say, I don't doubt that. It's just that if it's going to be any of the Big 3, Nintendo makes far less sense than Sony when you factor in everything else. Kojima has a better working relationship with Sony (as in a very good one rather than one that at best has barely existed for years now), there's tons of overlap between his own fanbase and the PlayStation audience, and his signature style fits Sony's own to a tee - very much because he was a major factor in the creation of that style to begin with. Not to mention Sony has a lot more to offer in the way of money and technology, both of which he's known to take heavily advantage of with his biggest games.

 

The more people that get to play his games the better, but really if it comes down to any of the Big 3 Sony's just the most obvious choice. He's got way more history with them and they're very much known to let their developers do whatever the fuck they want so long it makes a decent amount of money in the end. They're also in desperate need of competent Japanese AAA developers right now and Hideo would be a MASSIVE asset to Sony Japan Studios.

 

 

Honestly, you just never know for sure what a person's thinking, and everybody makes their own choices, heck was there anything prior to the announcement to make you think Devil's Third was going to be a Nintendo exclusive? Just saying, we won't know till it happens

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Honestly, you just never know for sure what a person's thinking, and everybody makes their own choices, heck was there anything prior to the announcement to make you think Devil's Third was going to be a Nintendo exclusive? Just saying, we won't know till it happens

Nintendo is one of the last places Kojima would go. It's not going to happen.

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Kojima and Konami have now issued a joint statement, all but confirming (in a very carefully worded way) that Kojima will commit to MGSV and that the Metal Gear franchise will continue without him afterwards.

https://www.konami.com/news/mgsvnotice/

 

Thank you for your continued patronage of Konami products and services.

The latest title in the Metal Gear series, "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" (below, "MGSV: TPP"), will be released as planned starting on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 in North America, Latin America, and Europe, followed by Japan and Asia on Wednesday, September 2. Hideo Kojima will remain involved throughout.

Hideo Kojima stated, "I want to reassure fans that I am 100 percent involved and will continue working on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; I'm determined to make it the greatest game I"ve directed to date. Don't miss it!"

In addition, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. will continue to develop and distribute top-quality content in the Metal Gear series following "MGSV: TPP." We greatly anticipate and deeply appreciate your ongoing support for Metal Gear.

As the next step in the series, Konami has already resolved to develop a new "Metal Gear" title.

We will be conducting interviews for main staff to lead the development.

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I knew they wanted off, but I had no idea they had their sights set on Contra. wow. 

 

Nothing definite, but David Cox wasn't exactly subtle about it when he talked about what the studio was thinking of doing next.

 

Still, Mercurysteam seems to be a mess right now, if a former employee's assertions are correct, LoS2 was such a mess because of internal infighting caused by one of the guys in charge of the studio got a big head and started fucking with things, which never ends well.

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Not to mention the implication that Nintendo'd force him not to be himself, should they hire him.

 

Kojima would be allowed complete creative freedom up to the exact point where his desires clashed with one of the ones at Nintendo all the way up the totem pole that are used to getting what they want. Probably Sakamoto, based on the similar creative output. Then we'd likely be back where things are now.

 

 

Nintendo can expand their game repertoire and branch out into new genres and ideas all they want, and it's fantastic that they are: but they still have had the same corporate hierarchy for 20+ years now.

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Why would Kojima ever go to Nintendo?

 

The only thing Kojima has done for Nintendo is shit out bad ports and force Sakurai's head on his cock and make him say "Snake for Worst Smash Bros Game" as he's sucking. Seriously what in the world even raises Nintendo as a remotely likely contender?

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Why would Kojima ever go to Nintendo?

 

The only thing Kojima has done for Nintendo is shit out bad ports and force Sakurai's head on his cock and make him say "Snake for Worst Smash Bros Game" as he's sucking. Seriously what in the world even raises Nintendo as a remotely likely contender?

 

The ports you're referring to had nothing to do with Kojima (hell, we may not even have Metal Gear Solid had developers on Snake's Revenge not asked Kojima to make a true sequel to the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear) aside from MGS3 3DS, which wasn't that bad, and Twin Snakes was at least a decent remake. Not sure how much involvement he had with Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, but it's utterly criminal that it hasn't gotten a 3DS VC release, it's pretty much as good as MGS1.

 

As for Smash Bros, you do realize that the only reason Snake wasn't in Melee was due to lack of dev time, right?

 

Seriously, knock off the hyperbole.

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The ports you're referring to had nothing to do with Kojima (hell, we may not even have Metal Gear Solid had developers on Snake's Revenge not asked Kojima to make a true sequel to the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear) aside from MGS3 3DS, which wasn't that bad, and Twin Snakes was at least a decent remake. Not sure how much involvement he had with Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, but it's utterly criminal that it hasn't gotten a 3DS VC release, it's pretty much as good as MGS1.

 

As for Smash Bros, you do realize that the only reason Snake wasn't in Melee was due to lack of dev time, right?

 

Seriously, knock off the hyperbole.

The other thing to note is that Kojima is on good terms with Nintendo (especially Sakurai), and it is Konami who prevented Metal Gear from appearing on Nintendo, not Kojima. Kojima was not responsible for publishing the games at all, just for developing them. If it was up to Kojima, he may very well have made them for Nintendo consoles as well.

 

 

Kojima worked for Konami, period, end of story. It was up to Konami to decide what platforms the games ended up on. And yes, as @Candescence stated, Kojima begged Sakurai to add Snake to Melee. Sakurai was up to doing it, they just didn't have the time to make it happen. As I've heard, Nintendo was ok with Snake being in Smash as well.

 

I'd bet it was probably Konami that kept Snake out of Wii U/3DS, and with Kojima leaving, there's absolutely no chance of Snake being in Smash again.

 

 

I won't say I think Kojima will go to Nintendo. At the same time, I think its ridiculous people are being so dismissive of even the possibility of it happening. None of the arguments make sense. Kojima is actually on good terms with Nintendo, and as others have noted, Kojima's audience is mostly on Playstation consoles.

 

If Kojima is a free agent, and if Kojima is on good terms with Nintendo, maybe they'll offer him a great spot in Nintendo to try and attract that audience on Nintendo's consoles. Think about that for a second, and not about the fact that you don't want see Kojima going to Nintendo. It could very well happen, and nothing is off the table at this point in time.

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I'm fairly certain Snake was in Brawl because Kojima asked Sakurai to put him in. Was this a rumor?

 

And it still doesn't answer my question: What reason would he have to go to Nintendo? His install base has never been on Nintendo, and never will be on Nintendo.

 

I don't see why he'd join Sony either. He seems like the kind of Dev who has enough clout in this industry to just start his own company.

Seriously, knock off the hyperbole.

But Hyperbole is what I'm made out of

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I don't think the point being made, Solkia, except maybe by Mando, is that he WILL go to Nintendo- most agree he'll likely stay independent.

It's just that the reaction of "KOPJIMA?? OJH NINTEEEEEEENDO?? WHAAAAAAAT A CRAZY WOOOORLD" is absurd.

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I get that. I'm confused as to why Nintendo was brought up at all.

 

Like, I could understand bringing up Nintendo if this was about Koji Igarashi, but I'm really struggling to think of a reason Kojima leaving Konami would make someone think of Nintendo.

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"Kojima's leaving, could he go somewhere else?"

"Well the two biggest players in Japan are Nintendo and Sony"

ta-ta-ra-ta-ta-ra-ta-pa!

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I see Kojima either joining Sony, or going indie. He has a good relationship with Sony, however I can also see him going indie to ensure complete creative freedom.

Kojima and Konami have now issued a joint statement, all but confirming (in a very carefully worded way) that Kojima will commit to MGSV and that the Metal Gear franchise will continue without him afterwards.https://www.konami.com/news/mgsvnotice/

That Kojima quote doesn't sound like something Kojima would say.

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I won't say I think Kojima will go to Nintendo. At the same time, I think its ridiculous people are being so dismissive of even the possibility of it happening. None of the arguments make sense. Kojima is actually on good terms with Nintendo, and as others have noted, Kojima's audience is mostly on Playstation consoles.

I'm not dismissive of the possibility of Kojima going to Nintendo than I am wary of the bias most people here have toward them and how they're always the first company towards certain IPs and hardly anyone else. And I've been noticing this creep up more ever since the same thing happened for Sonic over his 3-game exclusivity deal for the Wii-U, and let's not even go back to that period when it was brought up.

 

I know many people here are major Nintendo fans. I love the company as much as everyone else, and don't get me wrong when I say I wouldn't put it as an impossibility for Kojima to join Nintendo if that's what he chooses. But good god, if I had a nickle everytime I heard their name pop up over owning a certain IP or hiring a game designer, I'd be able to buy a new system or three, maybe even a new cash car. I think we can put out more options than that, people. Especially when we also realize what system most of Kojima's audience is actually on, because I don't think they'll be willing to jump to Nintendo that easily.

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I would think it'd make sense that, if his next game is on the Wii U, that the console wouldn't be the only one it's on.

 

Of course, who knows with Kojima?

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For me, the issue isn't about releasing Metal Gear games on Nintendo consoles in general, it's about releasing them on the Wii U. Do people here honestly expect a new Metal Gear game to be released on the Wii U which has a smaller user-base compared to PS4, Xbox1 and PC? Until recently, MGS games have always (first) been released exclusive to PlayStation consoles, which has never hindered them due to the massive fanbase and excellent sales. 

 

I don't think it's an impossibilty for future MG games to be released on the next Nintendo consoles, but certainly not on the Wii U. Why do you think The Phantom Pain is not being released on Wii U? Well, like I said, a small user-base - especially the online community - and a lack of sales which will not generate a big enough prophet to offset the massive development costs of TPP.

 

You have to ask yourself if Metal Gear games appeals to a big enough Nintendo audience. I would have to say yes in terms of the Metal Gear Rising game due that kind of gameplay being popular with Nintendo fans. Whereas, I'm not convinced there's a big enough Nintendo fanbase that would want to play the Metal Gear Solid stealth games. Although, I think it's is more down to the Wii U not being a good enough success rather than there not being a big enough Nintendo audience for MG.

 

Kojima will still be on good terms with Sony and Microsoft, so you can bet your life if he (and his Kojima Productions team) decide to work on a new project (for all we know he might retire), that it will not be exclusive to a particular console. Kojima said that part of the reason why he developed the fox-engine was because he and Konami wanted the game to be multi-platform.

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I'm a huge Nintendo fan and even I don't think Hideo Kojima is going to join forces with them! Most likely he will go to Sony or go indie like Keiji Inafune.

 

I just don't think Kojima has a big enough history with Nintendo, which is why Snake being in Brawl always bothered me. I don't see this character as being a part of Nintendo's history plain and simple. Sure you had those mediocre NES games, but he had no hand in those. And Twin Snakes and MGS3D? They're just ports. Did Nintendo get any of the highly acclaimed MGS games on their consoles? Nope. So less reason to have Snake in Super Smash Bros (I was not surprised when he didn't turn up in the Wii U/3DS games) and less reason for seeing Kojima with Nintendo.

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Well... There's Microsoft at least! Hahahaha

Considering the Wii U's abysmal sales I don't think he'd even consider going to Nintendo at this point TBH.

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I could see him with MS if he wasn't Japanese tbh. Then again, they do have the money to just give him his own studio overseas and file a blank check for whatever he wants to make. I guess it could work.

Edit - that said tho MS' history of butchering their acquisitions doesn't leave my comfortable with the idea

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Microsoft burned all of their bridges they built with Japanese developers about midway through the 360's life. There was just too much of a disconnect between how the Xbox brand was managed before then to how it has been managed since, and I'd say it unlikely that they get the chance to start anew in that regard. Sony has also been pretty much terrified of doing anything that even looks like the stuff they did about a decade ago, so I don't see them coming to court him either.
 
 
 
I think it more likely that Kojima just start up his own thing and maybe partner with one of the three for publishing deals; but probably get funding from a Western publisher.

 

 

 


And Twin Snakes and MGS3D? They're just ports.

In hindsight neither of those two were too terribly great (MGS3D in particular was drastically inferior to basically everything that was promised when it was first announced; and Twin Snakes has aged terribly mostly because of the improved presentation they worked so hard on), but it is a pretty strong disservice to call those merely ports. The former especially was a very distinct labor of love that had all the care and attention to detail that a game can have when being overseen directly by Miyamoto and Kojima; except it was done so when both of them were kind of entering dorky slumps.

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I'm not even sure why people are expecting Kojima to even stay in video games.

Last time he conducted an interview on prospects beyond Metal Gear he made it very clear that if he could quit making video games he'd probably pursue other venues of expression, one of the most notable ones being film making. He'd been offered many opportunities in the past that he couldn't live up to on account of being so busy with Metal Gear, and video games.

That's not the case now. Kojima is getting old. He has a lot of stuff he's been wanting to do. He's not just a "game director", he's an auteur, an independent "rock star" who under Konami's name was the equivalent to an indie with an endless budget. Chances are if he drops out of KojiPro, he'll drop out of video games as a whole for the foreseeable future.

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I thought about that, actually, but I feel he'll probably want to explore the merging of story and gameplay further, judging by his interviews about MGSV.

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I think that's a very real possibility as well, but leaving games entirely opens the doors of possibility so wide that there's no way to really guess what he'll do beyond "make a movie because he loves movies".

Going independent is very possible, but he'd need a lot of money to keep making the kinds of games he makes. Kojima spends years upon years on a per game basis to push out AAA products that push the boundaries of gaming as a whole a lot of the time. I'm sure he's earned himself quite a bit of cash over the years but I don't know if he has the money to keep making the kinds of games he clearly enjoys making without being bought by a publisher willing to write him a blank check every couple of years.

You're right though, he could just decide he wants to do something else and leave entirely.

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Kojima can do whatever he wants (hopefully.. I really do hope he's been able to leave Konami with a nice amount of money).

 

But I find it interesting that people are being a little rigid on the possibilities of what he could do or why he'd do them if he did continue to make new games. It's really not as simple as "he'd wanna make games for this one console because that console knows his work best". Not just that he'd necessarily approach specifically Sony or Nintendo (I doubt he'd like to be tied down to one demographic) but even the idea that he would favour one system over another for all his possible games.

 

Personally? I think that if he does continue to make games he'll start his own company. Sure there's a chance he'd join Platinum or something but his name alone is big enough to carry weight and attract talent if he started his own indie development company and just worked on what they could or commissions for a while.

 

The main reason I bring up Platinum though is because they've shown that talent doesn't just make games for the console they like best, but that they are more likely to get support in some places than others depending on the kind of game they create. Did Kamiya want W101 and Bayonetta 2 to be Nintendo exclusives? Nope, but Nintendo were the ones who showed interest in supporting and helping with the creation of those games. For example I can see why Sony and MS weren't interested in the concept for W101. It would probably be seen as ~too childish~ for their userbases or something.

 

Basically the point is that there are tons of reasons and factors for a game developer or publisher to make the decisions they do. It's not just about which one the developer likes best but also about how much potential support they'll get or if the kind of game they're making meshes with the system's userbase. Kojima made his more cinematic games for systems with userbases that appreciated games like that, but his Boktai project was made for Nintendo handhelds because it was clearly a very different style to his usual games and GBA's audience suited it best.

 

Freedom is the best thing for Kojima if he chooses to continue making games. He definitely wouldn't join up and work exclusively with one console manufacturer, but any of them is a possibility depending on the kind of project he wants to make.

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Kojima isn't a total sore thumb for Nintendo. Yeah, he fits Sony way better in his more well-known cinematic Metal Gear Solid series, but he has had a history with Nintendo, particularly before Metal Gear Solid released. He's also an admirer of Nintendo, being personally involved with Snake going to Smash Bros.

 

A Kojima game that is developed for Nintendo systems would probably be really good.

 

I agree he's probably a better fit for Sony from a business perspective though.

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