Support NeoGAF

[Kintaro]

Let's take this opportunity to admire what Igarashi has done with his Castlevania successor Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night

Over $1.9 million in a few days. No better way to tell Konami to fuck off than to back Iga.

Hopefully Kojima does the same, if he doesn't find full support with another publisher.

Do you realize how stupid this sounds compared to this?

Copy bump.

To note, for the Power Pro game he mentions, it came out recently and was grossing in the range of many hundred thousand to $1 million or so a day based on what its positioning was and what other at that position tend to gross.

$1 million a day. Iga's game isn't even made yet and will probably require more than whatever he ends up getting through KS. Whatever Iga does with his kickstarter will be chump change. Unless Iga makes $30 million in a month with his KS, he isn't telling anyone to fuck off.

 

[Lo-Volt]

Spot the lie, though.

The potential install base for mobile gaming is gargantuan and the AAA model is harder than ever to pull off; it's a big risk. And the domestic market for Capcom, Square Enix and Konami all shifted away from home consoles; they're responding to a transition that we've been seeing in weekly sales figures from Japan and talking about for years now.

And it isn't like companies like Konami are enjoying themselves in the mid-tier market because everyone keeps saying it's gone. There's full price, there's discounted stuff that won't sell and there's indie, and where is everyone else supposed to live?

I definitely don't think these companies should give up on consoles entirely. And I don't think they're going to. There's still a large global base of people who want recreation through dedicated video game devices, and that's great. But they'd be crazy not to move into mobile, too. It's a hard place to make money, especially if you're a small company relying on that one app to pay the bills. But mobile is no fad.

 

[PSOreo]

I don't understand why people are having such a dramatic reaction to this news; if mobile gaming is profitable for them why wouldn't they seek to continue to fund it? People have livelihoods that need to be sustained, companies need to see good returns and if this is the most profitable move for them then all power to them. A company isn't going to keep funnelling money into creating one or two AAA titles a year which they will barely see a return on.
I'm sad this is happening and that they can't rely solely focusing on console games but I do not blame them for this move.

 

[INFINITY TR1GG3R]

Selling features instead of items sounds like a much grosser form of f2p.

PES 2016 F2P:

Two teams free but 50+ Paid...
Career Mode - £30 to unlock...
My Club - Free (but contracts, players, kits, cost loads of £££)
Options Menu - £5
Ability to save - £1.50 a time....
Unhappy at a result online - £3.00 to erase it from your record....

The future of konami gaming right there.....

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Konami will die a slow death .
The future of any gaming company should be diversification see SE, BN over even Capcom to some degree .

 

[BIONIC-ARRRMMM!!]

MGR2 is totally happening now.

 

[Generalpsyduck]

This is only delaying there inevitable shutdown. Mobile is a short solution and the platform is losing consumers

 

[Yagharek]

Ewww. So what about that new Suikoden game, Verendus?

Pay to win freemium shit.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Seeing that thread title broke my freakin' heart. I guess MGSV will actually be my last Konami title.

Seeing these companies go all in on mobile is disappointing. There may not be a market for consoles in Japan, but the rest of the world is doing okay right now. At least Nintendo is jumping in with a clear idea that will go hand in hand with their own platforms.

 

[DannyDanger]

Mobile is gonna make them the most money, and keep the company alive. So yea its kinda hard for me to disagree that Mobile Gaming is the future (for them)

 

[RPGCrazied]

Pay to win freemium shit.

Well, he said:

"1. New Suikoden game in the works now. This one is very far off though as it's a recent thing as far as I know. I'd think 2016 is the earliest we start hearing stuff about it."

I guess it could be on mobile, since he doesn't know. Man, I can see it now a mobile Suikoden game where you have to pay for the 108 stars in microtransactions.

 

[Grisby]

Shit, end of an era.

 

[Hours Left]

Waiting for that rumoured Suikoden VI still...

*shakes violently*

 

[SmokyDave]

You cannot play BioShock on your phone (try for yourself, it exists).

Just tried it. Works fine. iPhone 5S with Hori Horipad Wireless

I had to buy a controller to play my PC games comfortably, and now I've bought one to play mobile games comfortably. If mobile gaming keeps going as it is, I expect I'll get some good use out of it. The bulk of titles will always be touchscreen games, but I don't play the bulk of titles on any format, I play the titles that interest me personally.

 

[Rezae]

I don't follow the behind the scenes stuff that much, especially on the Japanese side, but I guess this explains it all pretty well right? New CEO sees $ signs in mobile, thrashes everything not mobile, and here we are. He just Mattrick'ed Konami with twice the conviction.

 

[StevieP]

Don't worry guys. You still have ubisoft, ea and Activision. Also, ubisoft ea and Activision.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Don't worry guys. You still have ubisoft, ea and Activision. Also, ubisoft ea and Activision.

We still also have SE, BN , Capcom , WB .

 

[Savitar]

You've found one of the 108 Stars!

To be able to select this character for 5.99 press here.

 

[commish]

This is only delaying there inevitable shutdown. Mobile is a short solution and the platform is losing consumers

Mobile is losing customers? I think that's news to me.

Anyway, mobile IS the future of gaming for many/most companies, as there is a lower cost of production and a better chance to make profits. If you aren't one of the big players (e.g., EA), it's hard to get millions of title sales, even if your game is awesome. That's just how it is.

I wish Konami well.

 

[GayForMaster]

They're officially dead. Also, subtle confirmation of MGS6 being mobile.

 

[Beckx]

Copy bump.

To note, for the Power Pro game he mentions, it came out recently and was grossing in the range of many hundred thousand to $1 million or so a day based on what its positioning was and what other at that position tend to gross.

Yeah, I guess console/handheld baseball is dead for them.

Which wouldn't be such a huge deal if the mobile stores weren't region locked.

Namco already moved Famista from handheld to mobile, now this from Konami suggests that Power Pro all but assured to be mobile only, and PYS is probably just dead unless they decide to milk PS3 again next year. No more console/handheld Japanese baseball games, in all likelihood.

It does answer why PYS was PS3 only...no way they were going to spend time & money on a PS4 version if they're going mobile.

I love Japanese baseball games so with region locked mobile stores this is a huge bummer.

I'm going to go drown my sorrows by watching Otani beasting over the Lions.

 

[Durante]

$1 million a day. Iga's game isn't even made yet and will probably require more than whatever he ends up getting through KS. Whatever Iga does with his kickstarter will be chump change. Unless Iga makes $30 million in a month with his KS, he isn't telling anyone to fuck off.

He's getting enough money to develop the game he wants to make with more control and fewer outside influences, and he actually gets to own it. I don't see how he can't tell them to fuck off.

And the nice part is, when Konami has no one left to make interesting games for them, we can tell them to fuck off with him without missing anything. It doesn't really matter - from our or Iga's perspective - how much money the make with gambling and shitty mobile F2P games.

 

[ScribbleD]

The abandon ship attitude of some execs has always seemed short-sighted to me. Mobile isn't going to kill console/PC any more than Vine is going to kill films.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Good luck to them in their cheap, forgettable, and disposable gaming future.

 

[Lux R7]

Oh damn you Konami.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

Don't worry guys. You still have ubisoft, ea and Activision. Also, ubisoft ea and Activision.

lol

got me good there.

on a side note i wonder if koji-pro told them to fuck off when they asked him to make an endless runner MGS game for IOS hence the horrible break up

 

[InsaneTiger]

RIP Konami

 

[Teletraan1]

As someone who has played quite a few mobile games and has never spent a single cent on IAPs I don't understand those who do. Cheap/Free time waster is the draw for me. If the game is designed around IAP and is a chore without I drop it. I guess they are lucky others have a different view of this. I can't imagine the pool of people spending big money on every game that comes along is some unlimited wellspring. Eventually whales will go extinct.

 

[liquidtmd]

Yeah but mobile companies are ten a penny these days and knock offs can appear in 10 seconds.

Konami seeing the profit some mobile games make and shutting up console shop to go chasing it is as short sighted as the companies seeing Call O'Doody money and changing their business model overnight to go chasing that.

 

[Pyramid head]

Just tried it. Works fine. iPhone 5S with Hori Horipad Wireless

I had to buy a controller to play my PC games comfortably, and now I've bought one to play mobile games comfortably. If mobile gaming keeps going as it is, I expect I'll get some good use out of it. The bulk of titles will always be touchscreen games, but I don't play the bulk of titles on any format, I play the titles that interest me personally.

Do you have to sit yourself at a table and put your phone on a little stand and hunch forward to squint at a tiny screen? Seems like a disgusting way to play games. I think I'd rather do pretty much anything else with my time than play games on a phone.

 

[Chezzymann]

I just don't buy that it's the same transition though, I mean Arcades to consoles made sense, it was just putting something you did outside in your house and expanding on it.

With the transition from consoles to mobile it feels like they are taking something you do at home, putting it outside the house again but stripping the whole home experience down.

A new gen of gamers may jump on board but i feel a large chunk won't... well i won't at least.

Its simiplifying it. All the devices you used to have, pagers, mp3 players, gaming devices, hell even credit cards if apple pay works out, onto one device. Kinda off topic but Id imagine PCs, tablets, and TVs will merge together into one device in the future and extend that simplification trend. Not sure how though. If I did id make millions lol. Kids in the future will be like 'whaat, you had all these different screens in the house for doing different things, sounds inefficient.

 

[Crayten]

Won't be very long now till everything coming from Japan are mobile games.

That would be the day i quit gaming forever.

 

[Firemind]

I'm fairly certain you were never getting sequels to any of those games with or without Konami. I'd go as far as to say you might even have a better chance now of them selling the IP's to the highest bidder and somebody else taking care of a sequel.

Is there any precedent of IPs getting sold while the IP owner is still healthy? I mean these are Japanese companies we're talking about. Stubborn until the end.

 

[Z3M0G]

Well they should have put out Silent Hills first and then done this.

It's coming.

Silent Hills

Spoiler

lots

 

[Ivan Amiibo]

The abandon ship attitude of some execs has always seemed short-sighted to me. Mobile isn't going to kill console/PC any more than Vine is going to kill films.

They pretty much put their company at stake every time they make a MGS sequel. For that money, they can churn out a jillion mobile games and if one of them hits, it can rake in profits that make MGS look like a ridiculous proposition.

I hate it too, but I understand where they're coming from. Luckily they have an amazing back catalog and 1cc'ing some contra and gradius games is a lifelong pursuit.

 

[10k]

This is incredibly telling and the first I've seen a Japanese C-level admit it publicly, FWIW: AAA HD titles are being produced almost exclusively for export right now. There's no real base to sell PS4 titles to in Japan, so anything made has to be made with an eye toward export to be profitable. If it's domestic-oriented, it's going to mobile devices.

Really, as angry as I know people are at Konami (and as shitty as they've been to some of their former developers), he's just stating the market reality in Japan. If you want to make enough money to prosper, you develop for mobile or maybe the 3DS. Very little else makes sense right now. It's a grim, grim reality that has a lot of us in the loc biz setting our jaws, but it's there.

This logical post is going to be lost among all the emotional people.

Basically, if you want to make a profit as a Japanese publisher, you sell your AAA games and market them for export and develop 3DS, Vita or mobile games targeted for Japan.

 

[Sephzilla]

MGR2 is totally happening now.

 

[Metrotab]

I wish for mobile gaming to die:

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Mobile is losing customers? I think that's news to me.

Anyway, mobile IS the future of gaming for many/most companies, as there is a lower cost of production and a better chance to make profits. If you aren't one of the big players (e.g., EA), it's hard to get millions of title sales, even if your game is awesome. That's just how it is.

I wish Konami well.

Mobile is also rule by a few companies also .
And as cell phone tech get better i see cost going up more and more.

 

[kriskrosbbk]

These Japanese and their mobile games.I have never understood them.

 

[commish]

That would be the day i quit gaming forever.

"The day television airs in color is the day I stop watching tv!!!!"

Mobile is better. Embrace your future.

 

[More_Badass]

I think more people would be fine with mobile gaming if we got quality games from these big companies that weren't just gambling simulations in a F2P game dressing. Some of those gambling simulators are fun and can be enjoyed for little to no money if you are patient (I have been casually playing Puzzle and Dragons for over 2 years now), but most are greedy attempts at ringing as much cash as possible out of gamers before they are bored and move on.

The quality games came from the indie devs on mobile. Excellent PC ports of indies and excellent original games like Monument Valley, Device 6, Sorcery, etc. Sometimes we get lucky, like with Hitman Go, but really the quality unique stuff on mobile is all from indie devs.

 

[monlo]

RIP

 

[liquidtmd]

Mobile is better. Embrace your future.

Lol

 

[Necromanti]

Ultimately, maximizing profitability will be the only thing that investors care about. It's a natural conclusion.

 

[MrCunningham]

Konami CEO: "Hard core gamers were a mistake. They are nothing but trash."

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

No surprise, and wish I could say end of an era, or so long; but this was such a violent, malicious self implosion that any love I had for them died off long ago.

At least we'll always have the games.

 

[Kintaro]

He's getting enough money to develop the game he wants to make with more control and fewer outside influences, and he actually gets to own it. I don't see how he can't tell them to fuck off.

And the nice part is, when Konami has no one left to make interesting games for them, we can tell them to fuck off with him without missing anything. It doesn't really matter - from our or Iga's perspective - how much money the make with gambling and shitty mobile F2P games.

I think the point was, Konami doesn't and never gave a shit. So, telling them to fuck off in any way, shape or form doesn't mean anything. Because they told him and most of us to fuck off a long time ago. Most of gamers were just in denial or blind (gamers like to be both)

Meanwhile, most of us will still buy MGSV anyway because...its MGS. So, in the end, they still win and in some ways, we still win.

But the comment about telling this and that to fuck off is immature garbage any ways. Iga 100% understands their new path and probably wishes he never had to go to Kickstarter in the first place.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

Is there any precedent of IPs getting sold while the IP owner is still healthy? I mean these are Japanese companies we're talking about. Stubborn until the end.

Indeed, but one can at least hope. I honestly think we had zero chance of those games happening on consoles at all. Realistically, I expect Konami to use some of those titles to try and sell a few freemium mobile games (shmups with pay to continue) until they under perform next to other titles, then shelve them away again forever.

 

[commish]

Konami CEO: "Hard core gamers were a mistake. They are nothing but trash."

What's funny is that, in many ways, this statement is true. There's less money to be made with the "hard core gamers", and they are exceedingly harder to please. Just look around GAF and see the complaints about nearly everything.