The Rise And Fall Of Konami: Can The Game Publisher Survive Its Bad Reputation?

Video gamers once thought of Konami fondly: after all, the video game publisher gave the world such titles as Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, Frogger and the Silent Hill and Metal Gear franchises.

However, over the past few years, that opinion has changed, with gamers becoming aware of a great deal of internal strife within the company, so much so that it lost its vice president, Hideo Kojima, as well as the man behind Castlevania, David Cox, both long-time employees of the company.

So what's going on with Konami? It seems that the company is not only going through a major shake-up, but it's also shifting focus, recently claiming that it will no longer publish console video games and will spend its future focusing primarily on the mobile market. However, there's more to the story, including recent reports that the company mistreats its employees.

Because of these events, video gamers now find themselves wary of the company, and some have publicly denounced it.

So what happened? Let's take a look at Konami's history and what's brought it to its breaking point.

The birth of Konami

Konami dates back to 1969, when Kagemasa Kozuki founded the company as a jukebox rental and repair business. However, by 1973, that business evolved into a company that developed video game arcade machines. Its first game machine debuted in 1978, and after that, the machines started arriving in the U.S. and some of those titles became arcade hits, including Frogger, Super Cobra and Scramble. In 1984, Konami got listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1985, Konami began developing computer games, not just for the PC, but also for the new Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Some of these titles became instant classics, including Castlevania, Contra and, of course, Metal Gear.

Throughout the years, the company continued to gain ground in the console market, eventually developing games for the both the Xbox and PlayStation. Konami also stepped into the casino gaming market.

The story of Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear

In 1986, game designer Hideo Kojima joined Konami. There, he helped develop games such as Penguin Adventure and Antarctic Adventure, but in 1987, he took on the project that would make him famous: Metal Gear.

The most iconic part of playing a Metal Gear game is the stealth gameplay, which was actually a solution to a problem that Kojima faced when creating the first game in the series: because at that time, there wasn't enough memory in the game for a player to use more than two bullets to take down an enemy. To get around this limitation, Kojima decided to create a game where the point was to avoid the enemy, rather than confront them. And so, the Metal Gear franchise was born and Kojima eventually formed Kojima Productions, a subsidiary of Konami.

That franchise lasted over 25 years, with a new game, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain getting a release in just a few weeks.

Although Kojima did play a part in other Konami games, it was the Metal Gear franchise that defined him, as well as Konami.

"My biggest failure is Metal Gear," said Kojima to IGN in 2012. "It's my biggest failure and my biggest success."

In 2011, Konami promoted Kojima to vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment. Just two years later, in 2013, Kojima announced his final Metal Gear title: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Of course, he'd said as much before, with previous titles, but this time, he admitted he was serious about bringing the franchise to a close.

"I always say 'this will be my last Metal Gear'," said Kojima to IGN earlier this year, "but the games in the series that I've personally designed and produced – Metal Gear on MSX, MG2, MGS1, 2, 3, 4, Peace Walker, and now MGSV – are what constitute a single Metal Gear Saga. With MGSV, I'm finally closing the loop on that saga."

The fallout between Kojima and Konami

Unfortunately, Metal Gear V: The Phantom Pain saw a lot of delays, with rumors that Kojima's strict attention to detail and obsession with perfection led to the delay of the title. This, along with the amount of money spent on making the game, led to a rift between Kojima and Konami. Japanese publication Nikkei posted an article that stated that Konami spent over $80 million developing the game.

In March 2015, Internet rumors started to appear stating that Konami had cut all ties with Kojima Productions after a Reddit user uncovered evidence that Kojima's name got yanked from the Metal Gear Solid V artwork. Kojima Productions also seemed to disappear from existence, with its L.A. branch being renamed as Konami Los Angeles Studios. However, Konami denied the rumors.

"As we have already announced, we are shifting our production structure to a headquarters-controlled system, in order to establish a steadfast operating base capable of responding to the rapid market changes that surround our digital entertainment business," stated Konami to IGN at the time. "Konami Digital Entertainment (including Mr. Kojima), will continue to develop and support Metal Gear products. Please look forward to future announcements."

Kojima also openly stated his commitment to finishing Phantom Pain, but as most now understand it, it's likely he'll leave the company after its release.

Another sign pointing to the departure of Kojima came earlier this year when Konami pulled the new Silent Hills project, a collaboration between Kojima and horror film director Guillermo del Toro that was to star The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus.

Other employees flee Konami

Although Kojima is most often associated with Konami, the company also recently lost another long-term employee, David Cox, who announced his decision on Twitter.

Cox worked for the company on titles such as Metal Gear Solid, Evolution Soccer and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Games. Cox also worked on the Silent Hill titles, so could his departure have something to do with the cancellation of the most recent game? It's likely, but, as of yet, there's nothing to confirm that theory.

Konami also lost the creators of Motaro Dentetsu, Tokimeki Memorial, Love Plus and Suikoden over the past few years. At this point, it seems like rats abandoning a sinking ship.

Reports of Konami's treatment of its employees surface

On top of everything else, recent reports started surfacing about the treatment of employees on Konami's staff. Harsh working conditions include strict control of emails, lunch breaks regulated with punch cards and under-performing employees forced to clean the company gyms or take side jobs as security guards. And it isn't just the lower levels of employees faced with these conditions: reports state that even senior staff has to put up with this sort of treatment.

Konami shifts to mobile gaming

Perhaps all this drama is why Konami recently decided to forego console gaming in the future and focus solely on mobile gaming.

"We hope that our overseas games such as Metal Gear Solid V and Winning Eleven continue to do well, but we are always thinking about how to push our franchises onto mobile there, too," said Konami President Hideki Hayakawa to a Japanese publication. "With multiplatform games, there's really no point in dividing the market into categories anymore. Mobile will take on the new role of linking the general public to the gaming world."

This comes just months after the company pulled itself from the New York Stock Exchange, a sign that perhaps Konami understands that something is wrong and needs fixing.

Can Konami survive its downfall?

Although most gamers now ostracize Konami for its shift to mobile, along with its apparent separation from Kojima, the company has already seen its change in perspective affect the company in a positive way. Last week, the company reported that its profits were up by 159 percent. Of course, that could have something to do with the imminent release of the final Metal Gear Solid game, so who's to say if the company will see similar profits when all it has to offer are mobile games?

At this stage, Konami's fate is still up in the air, and only time will tell if the company will survive the roller coaster of its relationship with Hideo Kojima and its new shift to mobile gaming.

Photo credit: Konami

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