Haven't seen anybody post this yet so I thought I'd make a topic about it. So basically Konami has gone off the deep end and isnow shifting their focus to mobile games. It appears all their franchises including Metal Gear will shift to mobile in the future. While I'm sure they'll produce a few console games, they'll definitely be focusing on mobile. This seems to be an unfortunate trend in the video game industry these days and I think may seriously endanger it. I know Konami isn't a very bright company but it is very worrying to see them focusing on mobile. I'm not even a fan of Konami's games and have only played a few but I'm saddened to see this happening.

Source: IGN

Have they really gone off the deep end though? Mobile games are still insanely huge and they'll probably end up just as much if not more money with a fraction of the risk. Of course, things could always go horribly wrong there, but it's not like their console/PC focus was raking in the huge bucks.

I'm sure Metal Gear will fit great on mobile!

(sarcasm)

Hoping V sends the series off well before I have to pretend their bullshit iPhone game doesn't exist.

What if it was a Hitman Go clone?

Metal gear match 3 yeaaaaaaaaaa :(

This is just a big giant DUH at this point.

Peace be with you Konami.

Status quo for Konami then.

Well, that's about the least surprising news at this point.

PUT METAL GEAR AC!D ON PHONES. THAT IS ALL.

I actually do wonder what this means for Pro Evolution Soccer. Because I'm too entrenched to switch to FIFA. Focusing on mobile doesn't mean abolishing console products but it does maybe mean downsizing budgets or marketing which... doesn't sound hot.

I'll take MGS Acid on iPhone.

I'll just wait for Kojima's kickstarter - Alloy Contraption: Resurgence

This isn't really a surprise. Konami was one of the last hold outs of that era of Japanese developer/publishers.

Low Risk High Reward Son!

Konami just bein' Konami.

Dance Dance Microtransaction

I do not think Konami will be the last big Japanese company to make this transition. It's sad to see this happening, but given how poorly they've handled their IPs up to this point this announcement was a long time coming. Still, it's pretty freaky to see what I always considered a major game publisher move on to mobile games and gambling. This is probably a good fit for Konami, but if this is indicative of larger problems with the Japanese games industry the worst may be yet to come. I just hope Nintendo doesn't revert to a playing card company anytime soon.

Monster Hunter Mobile incoming.

Awesome.

This is kinda worse than them just getting out of the industry completely. At least then they could liquidate their IPs. Now it just means you get a MSG heroes charge clone and 5 Nights at Silent Hill. What a shitshow. Congrats to terrible people who are happy about this.

Fuck you too Konami.

Yep. They have unfortunately mostly crashed and burned in AAA development.

I hope the indie scene there rises from the ashes, as it is baby stepping to right now.

An important fact to also consider is how weird the game market is over there right now. For example, the PS4 isn't exactly lighting the world on fire (and obviously the Xbox isn't). The reality is mobile games are what is very popular in Japan over the console market.

Two main crappy things to come out of this: We get to see MGS, SH, CV, etc, all become mobile trash, and a lot of talented people will lose their jobs. Here's hoping they find another position soon. And that Konami decides to sell some IPs off.

I think that two main factors led to this happening: Konami just stopped giving a shit about quality. It is my understanding that Konami was always a company ruled and led by egos. Whatever happened between Kojima and the Konami higher ups only sped up an inevitable process. I feel as though that the Super Bunny Hop video hit a little bit too close to the truth with the speculation it did than they would've liked, given the DMCA takedown they attempted.

The second factor is just that AAA games development is overall becoming a bloated mess. Konami will not be the last company to make a decision like this.

This doesn't seem that crazy given how risky big games are, and how much money Konami makes on other ventures. If they see themselves as more of a diversified business than just a home console video games company then there's no way soldiering on in that space looks appealing on paper.

What this means for games though...I don't know. Silent Hills has been dead for a while, and with MGSV the loop is closed on that story anyway. It's been a while since they've given forum frequenters much to be excited about so I don't see this as any great tragedy.

you know whats risky nowadays? triple A games, maybe not Metal Gear but especially new IPs are risky. Sadly from a business perspective mobil games make sense, they cant cost much to produce, unlike Metal Gear lol.

I don't see how this trend "endangers the video game industry." That sounds alarmist and knee jerk nonsense.

I am kind of surprised they are doing this and I've never really heard news about how they're games are doing so from the outside it always seemed like they were doing alright.

I think more than anything video game development has just gotten too expensive for the return and the reason you see a lot of big companies making this shift is because mobile development can be cheaper, shorter cycles, and have significant return on the investment. It does make some sense.

This is very interesting. I wonder what companies we'll see rise up now that most of the big companies are no longer making big budget games. EA and Activision will still make them (at least for now), and TakeTwo/2K is fine as far as I know. Bethesda, maybe to some extent CDPR counts. WBi. Ya, it's weird being able to count the companies on one hand. I suppose you could argue (correctly) that the more companies go away the more other companies make due to the loss of competition.

Hmm, ya very interesting. It's not at all endangering to the industry, but it is interesting. This is called evolution, restructuring, kids. It happens. You'll see it again in your life time, too. It's happened before, but apparently you didn't notice last time (in the 80s).

Yunno, why don't all the big publishers just go this way already and get it over with. They only care about money, not making interesting games. There's enough good stuff coming out of the indie space now, clearly that's where the people who give a shit about games are going. Sucks the big money of the publishers won't be there to really push graphics ever forward, but oh well, I get it, it's expensive. Phew, felt good to get that out.

They've been moving in this directing for years now, not surprising at all.

@cornbredx said:

What I meant is that if these huge publishers shift to mobile then that's going to seriously change the video game industry. I think it'll be for the worse because Konami and Sega are likely to make a fortune on mobile. That will lead other companies to shift over to mobile. These companies will realize that spending the amount they do on console games isn't getting them huge returns and they'll see that mobile games are where the real money is. Why spend $60 million on a console game and only sell 15-20 million copies when you can make much more from cheap mobile games? Either that will happen or video games will continue to get so expensive that we'll see the industry crash because it can't support the bloated costs.

Sadly Konami, Sega and Capcom etc are not huge and haven't been for more than a decade. Japanese publishers make alot of games for their home market which has shifted to mobile. Japan has failed to make games that appeal to a worldwide audience so making mobile games with with higher ROI and lower cost for an audience they know is an easy choice.

edit: grammer

Metal Gear Saga: Solid Candy

@crimsonavenger:

What I meant is that if these huge publishers shift to mobile then that's going to seriously change the video game industry.

"Huge publishers" already make mobile games. That started years ago. For a few years Facebook games boomed, and then sort of crashed. None of this is a new thing.

I think it'll be for the worse because Konami and Sega are likely to make a fortune on mobile.

Sega and Konami are not "huge publishers" and won't affect the market if they shift priorities. It's actually because they aren't huge that they have to focus on one avenue or the other. Sega also hasn't really been relevant in years. The only thing they really hold is nostalgia. They're a lot like Atari in that way.

It would actually be really cool if Sega found their niche on mobile. Unless you'd rather Sega die entirely rather than make games you don't want to play. That seems a little selfish- if so.

That will lead other companies to shift over to mobile.

They already make mobile games. Most of the actual "huge publishers" already have mobile development teams and have for years.

These companies will realize that spending the amount they do on console games isn't getting them huge returns and they'll see that mobile games are where the real money is.

This won't happen because the "huge publishers" have more ability to actually have many different teams that work on different types of products.

For a moment let's say it will happen. That wouldn't be bad because that means they're still making games.

The idea that a "huge publisher" would only make mobile games is silly, though. They know there's still money in other areas of games. It's more about making safe bets in that space then getting rid of it.

Why spend $60 million on a console game and only sell 15-20 million copies when you can make much more from cheap mobile games? Either that will happen or video games will continue to get so expensive that we'll see the industry crash because it can't support the bloated costs.

Your example suggests they doubled their investment which in the business world is huge and would be considered incredibly successful.

What you're trying to suggest, though, is that the kind of games you want are going away. I'm telling you that's unlikely, and sort of ridiculous. You may see less big budget games, but they aren't going away. They'll always be around. Even if the publishers we know now all changed, or just went under, there would be someone else to give it a shot. It's not going away- it's just changing. Like everything in life always does.

The industry won't crash either. It can't at this point because of all the ways people can make games, and because of all the ways people can purchase games. Unless no one plays games anymore a "video game industry collapse" is now impossible.

The reality is that Konami make one regular annual franchise and another semi-regular product which must cost a bundle to make. They have a lot of properties as leverage so they could do some throwbacks on mobile. What maybe bothers me about that approach is that they haven't really got a track record in that space. Usually you see companies going into mobile in a softly, softly approach but a full, committed switch would indicate Konami have either big ideas or a big need to bring revenue in.

Or it could just be them slowing down on game production period and this seems like a way to keep some bodies employed.

They have been earning most money from other things than video games for a long time. I didn't expect them to completely stop making console games, but to cut it down heavily.

Still sad that all these great games will be used for mobile games.

Yeah I agree. They're not gone off the deep end so much as they're following the money train. Mobile games are cheaper to make, can get into the hands of more people and if even moderately successful make a lot of money.

If they're really successful, they make literal millions a day, every day for weeks on end. Look at things like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga. Those make upsetting amounts of money and barely took half the time or investment of something like Metal Gear Solid V.

I hate to say it, but they aren't wrong. Not from a $$ perspective, especially in their home market

And that may be the saddest thing of all.

I already miss Japan AAA's heyday.

The saddest part is that they will probably make tons of money doing this. WHO IS BUYING ALL THESE SHITTY MOBILE GAMES!? It can't all be kids, can it? CAN IT!?

This

Came to make/and or agree with this exact point. So, thumbs up to both.

Either new companies rise and take their place (i.e. a mobile company who fancy developing major products or a current Japanese developer who stumbles on to a hit series) or Nintendo flip the script and move into third-party development.

Puzzles & Draculas

that game literally exists. it's called Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night

Not that most of it is terribly relevant to the overseas market, but Konami also still makes plenty of arcade stuff, too. It's too bad more of it, like last year's Silent Scope game, doesn't come over. Silent Scope: Bone Eater is a pretty great name for an arcade game.