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Konami's new CEO: Mobile is the future of gaming, is Konami's main platform
- Thread starter HGH
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Chû Totoro
Member
A 3DS version please <3
silvermember
Banned
If you travel through time Kodak was one of the biggest companies in the world. If you travel through time, IBM (PC division) had 80% of the market share in PC. The point I am saying is what you said is meaningless, this is NOT the past this is the present. History is littered with companies such as Konami. All those companies were once big in their area and they are no longer.
IBM smartly deduce it had a better chance of surviving as a service provider not hardware manufacturer, so it sold if it. Koonami has decided that it might be better to move from a console game publisher to a entertainment publisher.
In any case, except for Metal Gear solid and possibly Silent Hill none of those games seem to be heavy hitters. I doubt Boombeerman could be modernize for the new generation and generate millions of sold units. I think some properties are forever stuck in the past.
Once a company reaches a certain size, some markets are forever lost to them because they need to generate more money than a small market can produce.
cloudstrife
Member
Also, Goemon.
I'm very curious to see who the next "AAA" publishers to focus on mobile will be. The ballooning costs to profit ratio of the console games vs mobile is only going to increase, and the inability to increase the pricing of games and their content, is likely going to keep leading to companies reducing focus on that big budget console game market
silvermember
Banned
Terminators can only kill, they can't change a culture as far as I know.
FinalStageBoss
Banned
Goodbye Konami you assholes!
Alex_Mexico
Member
What do they mean by "We hope that our overseas games such as MGSV and Winning Eleven continue to do well..."???
As far as I know MGSV and PES are developed in Japan. They're not "overseas games" unless they're admitting those are the only two Konami IPs people outside of Japan still care about.
As far as I know MGSV and PES are developed in Japan. They're not "overseas games" unless they're admitting those are the only two Konami IPs people outside of Japan still care about.
The obvious choices are the Japanese publishers, but frankly I'm not sure there are any left. SquareEnix is the only one still significantly pushing console software, I think, but even they are going increasingly mobile. After them you get to notably smaller publishers like Atlus.
We have others in the US, however. Crytek and Epic have significantly shifted towards digital/F2P/mobile, for instance.
minor effort
Banned
So when can I expect to see Gradius VI?
silvermember
Banned
That is exactly what they are admitting if you look at the sales data. Those two games will do extremely well in the west, being developed in Japan is not relevant to anything.
Chû Totoro
Member
Bubble may be an exaggeration but at least what people think of mobile gaming is often wrong. Actually some big mobile gaming studios already died since making many successful games on mobile is very hard and lasting more than 5 years seems to be the biggest challenge.
When did Konami was created yet? 1969, 46 years ago. We'll see if they can last another 46 years
Konami, however, opted to END most of their franchises long before their expiration date. Plenty of their games were still making money and being profitable.
Again, this is the same company that bought Hudson Soft... and then closed the whole company down within only a few MONTHS, long before they ever got see any financial results from the IPs they purchased (and killing off dozens of previously successful franchises in the process).
This is the same company that disbanded the critically and commercially successful Team Silent and gave the series over to western developers.
This is the same company that spent millions of dollars on games like NeverDead and Blades of Time, and then decided not to market them at all.
Konami, as Jim Sterling proudly claimed, is simply "bad at business".
Alex_Mexico
Member
This wouldn't hurt so much if I knew Konami was willing to sell some of their properties they've been neglecting for the past decade And plan to continue to neglect indefinitely.
They'd never sell Silent Hill or Castlevania for example, but I don't think it would be implausible to think that Konami could sell IPs like Goemon, Gradius, Contra, Suikoden or anything from Hudson Soft (Bomberman!) which they've never used since they bought them.
They'd never sell Silent Hill or Castlevania for example, but I don't think it would be implausible to think that Konami could sell IPs like Goemon, Gradius, Contra, Suikoden or anything from Hudson Soft (Bomberman!) which they've never used since they bought them.
Companies that are good at making AAA games will continue to do so because it's huge money and they've optimized themselves in such a way that there's not a lot of competition. Companies that aren't very good at it are the sort that need mobile more than ever.
Send them back to 2005 to kill Steve Jobs before the iPhone reached an advanced point in development.
Having spent multiple $1000s of dollars on Konami games since 1986, they will never see another penny from me. Hopefully they will have to sell of their IPs in a fire sale auction.
Basically my take on it, though I'd say I haven't spent much more than $1,000 on Konami games in my life. But I still remember that Konami sign appearing before games when I was a little kid, and it meant something. It still did until just a couple of years ago. It's sad. MGSV should be a glorious send-off for the Konami / Kojima golden age. That's more than Konami deserve at this point.
But the whole imploding industry thing has made me realise just how insulated I've been from a lot of this as someone whose main gaming interests are Nintendo games, open-world games, sports games and 2D retro-styled games. I'm really as well taken care of as ever despite the fact that so much of the rest of the AAA industry has gone in the shitter.
akidnamededdy
Banned
Right, they need to send it back in time to kill Thaddeus J. Mobilegames.
Alex_Mexico
Member
True but it's not like they also don't sell well in Japan! To call them "overseas properties is wrong. MGS4 sold close to a million in Japan alone (and PS3 only) and Winning Eleven consistently sells more than FIFA over there.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JohnSzczepaniak/20150506/242768/Konamis_games_console.php
This was an interesting article about Konami's history with cancelling projects, rebranding, and having core staff leave in waves at a time.
This was an interesting article about Konami's history with cancelling projects, rebranding, and having core staff leave in waves at a time.
Chû Totoro;163973053 said:Bubble may be an exaggeration but at least what people think of mobile gaming is often wrong. Actually some big mobile gaming studios already died since making many successful games on mobile is very hard and lasting more than 10 years seems to be the biggest challenge.
When did Konami was created yet? 1969, 46 years ago. We'll see if they can last another 46 years
The fact that companies die is not the sign of an unhealthy or dying market -- that should always happen, as sometimes people fail and their companies lose as a consequence. Instead, the sign of a stagnant or unhealthy market is that no one is rising to take their place. To sustain a healthy market, you need churn; the old guard loses a step and falters, a new guard that is faster steps in and outcompetes them.
So it's not necessarily a bad thing if people/companies are failing. It absolutely is a bad sign if nobody seems interested in entering a market to take their place. For example, how long has it been since any company made a serious effort to join the traditional console hardware space? It's been about 15 years since Microsoft joined, and very few have made any real attempts since. If the market were hugely profitable, you'd see a lot of companies show interest -- everybody loves huge profits -- but it's not, so you see very little interest instead. Contrast that with the early days of home console development, when the console industry was far more profitable and growing rapidly: from 1975 to 1995, we saw Atari exit the market, we saw Turbografx exit the market, we saw Sears come and go, Collecovision, SNK/Neo Geo, 3D0 and so forth. A superficial look may make you think that the console market was less healthy in 1995 than it is today, because so many console manufacturers had left over the last decade. But that's not the case -- it was very healthy, because these companies weren't casualties of a dying market, they were simply losing out to better, faster, competitors like Nintendo, Sega, and (the new entrant at the time) Sony.
hydragonwarrior
Member
This is one franchise Nintendo can deliver on...
Wait, maybe. Nintendo still needs to work on it's online... sigh
ForsakenLotus
Member
And Konami will hold onto fantastic IP so they can make mobile games with them. Gross.
Amazon, Google and upcoming Valve and likely Apple. The strategy is slightly different (coming at it from media or apps versus games, gaming consoles expanded to opposite direction) but it's clear that the box under the TV is not dying.
silvermember
Banned
Jim Sterling is just a game with site, not an analyst. So his opinion doesn't really amount to much.
Wasn't hudson soft was consolidated not simply shut down (although the results are similar). it seems to me Konami bought the company for its IP not is workers especially since a lot of the key employees had left over a decade ago. Also it seems Hudson was already going down long before Konami bought them.
Both blades of time and NeverDead were pretty mediocre games that marketing wasn't necessarily going to improve their sales.
I am not saying Konami hasn't made bad decisions, I am saying the argument you are making isn't really strong.
Konami seems to expect BIG numbers, none of their properties except MGS and PES can produce those big numbers.It would be logical from a business POV (at the present, we cannot predict the future) to focus on a more profitable market. Console/PC do not have a high ROI as compared to some of the more successful mobile games.
I hope you do realize MGS 4 came out in 2008. The market in Japan, deteriorated since then.
Mobile is just a slice of a great pie. Hopefully they maintain a presence in the console market, unlike say, Sega (then again they have a few collaborations still in the works)...
I just want Contra and Castlevania in good hands - in the home console market. Don't care about Metal Gear nor Silent Hills.
I just want Contra and Castlevania in good hands - in the home console market. Don't care about Metal Gear nor Silent Hills.
They are not entering that space. I'm not sure where you heard that, but you're wrong.
Edit: Oh, you're saying "traditional console" is literally anything that is a box under your TV. That's not really what a console is, and it's certainly not what a traditional console is.
maniac-kun
Member
This is the result of an industry that is so focussed on this AAA bullshit.
Its getting to expensive to have an failure in that environment.
Its getting to expensive to have an failure in that environment.
The market has changed considerably in the seven (seven!) years since MGS4 came out in Japan.
lmao.
Maximus.
Member
It's sad how gaming went from making great games to how much money can we make. I know that's the way businesses work, but the jump that mobile gaming took has really damaged the quality of games that I personally enjoy. Mobile gaming on dedicated consoles have been impacted by this switch for instance (with Nintendo mainly making games that I can enjoy on my 3DS).
Well, traditional since the PS2. If we're talking 90s-style consoles then nobody's been doing that since the Gamecube.
Bigboss242
Banned
Nineteen mobile four a brave new world.
I want to propose the possibility that they were always about the money, but your personal tastes just happened to be the market they were focusing on.
My proposition is this: when Konami was making tons of console games, they absolutely were focused on the money, but you didn't notice that so much because you happened to personally like their output. Now you don't like their output, so you are much more likely to view their motives cynically.
Conversely, someone who hates console gaming but loves mobile gaming may experience the opposite phenomenon, where Konami seemed like a stupid company before (if they had heard of them at all), but who are now finally listening to what he, as a customer, actually wants.
minor effort
Banned
Honestly, even if Konami stops making games I love, I wish they'd do a bit more to curate their back catalogue.
I'd love if if they'd put their Gradius, Parodius, Salamander, and Twinbee collections on the PSN for Vita, worldwide.
I'd love to see some digital releases of the PS1 Goemon games.
I can keep going on, but I'll stop myself short of creating a Konami archives wishlist. At least we got Suikoden II and Gradius V on PSN.
I'd love if if they'd put their Gradius, Parodius, Salamander, and Twinbee collections on the PSN for Vita, worldwide.
I'd love to see some digital releases of the PS1 Goemon games.
I can keep going on, but I'll stop myself short of creating a Konami archives wishlist. At least we got Suikoden II and Gradius V on PSN.
dream
Member
But what Apple, Google, and Amazon are putting under your TV are very philosophically and architecturally different from Xboxes and Playstations. These media boxes are much cheaper than a gaming console because they're not playing the tech. arms race game.
Chû Totoro
Member
I agree but the companies you're talking about crashed with the gaming market so it's a little bit different. Now with mobile gaming, seeing the mobile penetration between iPhone launch and now it shouldn't be the case (smartphone doubled in the world between 2012 and today).
And even if I don't like it, the way the system work there has to be growth in a market for it to be viable. It's the principle of capitalism more and more profit. I find this stupid since ressources and people's needs won't grow indefinitely but still, it's the case. You have a company you have to grow, get more profit every year :/
Well I'm not a specialist and you seem to know a lot but I wanted to answer explaining my understanding. At the end I just wanted to say that the market is not as big and as easy as everyone think it is. There is not room for everyone and I wish Konami good luck
(not really actually)
They should buy all the Hudson IPs. I miss that Bee.
silvermember
Banned
I feel bad for the people here that think gaming companies exist for anything other than making money. Once you realize that any shareholder corporations by law (in some places) are required to maximize their money making scheme, then Konami's actions becomes clearer to understand.
If you ain't making $$$ you ain't going to last for long.
Alex_Mexico
Member
True but Winning Eleven continues to sell well over there.
And I still expect MGSV to sell close to MGS4 numbers in Japan if only because there are more PS3s and PS4s than there ever were PS3s in Japan in 2008.
Japanmanx3
Member
This is one of the first good things I've seen you say about Nintendo recently. And I fully support it.
OT: I believe this probably had something to do with Kojima being sat down. Imagine the Konami suits approaching him and asking for a mobile MGS...
plebegamer
Banned
That really depends on how far back they go and who they kill.