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Konami's new CEO: Mobile is the future of gaming, is Konami's main platform
- Thread starter HGH
- Start date
MadNinjaZero
Member
The_Inquisitor
Member
I wonder if Konami has seen the financials of companies like Zynga after the "sweetheart" period. Maybe they think they can do things differently somehow?
I am an old man now who really doesn't like mobile games. But I guess I will enjoy pc/console games until we succumb to our freemium future.
I am an old man now who really doesn't like mobile games. But I guess I will enjoy pc/console games until we succumb to our freemium future.
CamHostage
Member
Good post, though it's one probably nobody can answer for you because even inside the walls of these companies, they're asking the same questions. Obviously, they are an IP warehouse, but that only pays off if they either A) use those licenses, or B) divest themselves of the brands. And they do seed development studios for products that they're interested in putting on their label, though the indie market has made questionable the value of that deal. They do attract producers and marketers that can help you better target your game or get your product visible, though horror stories say that products are just as often mismanaged as they are elevated by signing to a publisher. And there is the possibility that a good relationship with a publisher might lead to a buy-out of the studio to bring the team in-house, although with all the developer closures we've seen recently, I'd be scared shitless if somebody handed me a bag of cash for my company.
Let's ask the Music industry what value big companies have for the artists...
CamHostage
Member
And from what I've seen, Collective has shown some success already as far as vetting products through the community, both in the feedback and funding stages. So even with what Square Enix has now in this early stage, they could have enough structure that fans would say, "I want this Space Invaders game to be made, not this Space Invaders game", or "If I wanted to return to Ivalice again, it wouldn't be for this..."
Of course, that's a scary way of approaching the market and employing your brands (although ironically enough for a country that is known for its legal headaches, Japan has a rich tradition of doujinshi product and semi-professional indie creations.) But it is part of the promise of Square Enix Collective that their licenses might find their way into the program, and shockingly, they have slowly started to enact that approach. Three brands have already been opened up: nothing great, but Gex, Fear Effect, and Anachronox are all now open for pitches (on a 20% profit cut + 5% crowdfunding kickback... Fair enough as far as I can tell.)
It's too much to dream right now (especially with hope so bleak ... really, my whole post is masturbatory for a Konani fan-mark,) but it'd be nice if Konami is paying attention to Square Enix's moves and were be thinking along the same lines. Just replace "Gex, Fear Effect, Anachronox" with "Keith Courage, Lethal Enforcers, Hybrid Heaven", and see how that checks out, Mr. Hayakawa.
And if not? Well, Konami,. you've already plainly told me you're not interested in my business anymore, so sadly, I'm going to have to say kiss off.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
What if MGSV is about this? Big Boss is a major videogame franchise from the 80s who wakes up as a reboot in the modern world of mobile gaming. Recognizing the fate that has befallen all his brothers (franchises) and in this new body that is not his true body, all he wants now is revenge. It was the "taboo subject" Kojima mentioned wanting to tackle that would make him need to leave the industry if he messed it up. I guess he wasn't subtle or convoluted enough and Konami sniffed out the analogy.
Spuck-uk
Banned
Sales sure, but Profit is what matters, and a successful mobile game is hugely more profitable than anything on PC or Console
Nemesis121
Member
Metal Gear Solid Candy Crush edition..
That explanation is too simple. I demand an incredibly convoluted and indecipherable one.
Not surprising at all after the recent events, it just hurts to hear this from a developer you used to respect.
I don't blame publishers and developers for pursuing the mobile markets as there're a lot of "easy" money to be made, but to simultaneous kill everything you have build up is just sad when you own so many great franchises as Konami.
I don't blame publishers and developers for pursuing the mobile markets as there're a lot of "easy" money to be made, but to simultaneous kill everything you have build up is just sad when you own so many great franchises as Konami.
Mithos
Member
Video slot designs are essentially skins from one game to another. Some minimal bonus round animation and programming. The math model is where most of the design work goes.
Sound familiar?
We are going to see SILENT VILLE very soon aren't we :'(
Gnome Scat
Member
So when's the wake?
GoonerTRON
Banned
What happens to PES ? I bet FIFA anounces Champions League rights.
No Dice.
Beelzebufo
Banned
VivaciousSoul
Member
Is mobile really sustainable? Who are the biggest most successful mobile companies? I had gotten the impression that hitting it big was hardly repeatable and that it will be random company this year and different random company next year. I've felt this is why I don't know any mobile companies because there aren't enough hits in a row for me to remember their names. Maybe mobile is so amazing that it takes significantly less hits. Maybe half a hit is worth 5 console hits.
Who is the Activision of mobile?
Who is the Activision of mobile?
Portugeezer
Member
What it has shown is that you can have consistent success on mobile, but you can't really knowingly re-create the next mega hit such as angry birds or flappy bird, it just sort of happens.
No, it's repeatable -- we're seeing the same thing in mobile that we saw in the early days of consoles and, generally, in most markets.
Consider how consoles started: you had Collecovision, Sears, Amiga, and of course Atari rise and fall very rapidly. Even in the middle years, you had SNK/Neo Geo, TurboGrafx, 3D0, Philips CD-I, and so forth. But then things began to slow down and stabilize, and in the last 15 years the only major competitor to be budged out was Sega. We've also seen no major new entrants in that time, either (last one was Microsoft 15 years ago).
This is a common trend in industries; when they are young and growing, nobody has perfectly figured out what the consumer wants yet so you see lots of company churn, failure and out-of-nowhere success. Then, as consumer tastes become better known, the market stabilizes and you see more repeatable success.
In short, the lack of repeatable success isn't typically a sign that a market sucks and will go away, it's a sign that the market is young and everyone is still figuring out how it works. Coca-Cola and Pepsi weren't always the uncontested two software drinks, either -- markets don't start out that stable.
The mobile market is following this trend rather well so far. Yes, there was virtually no repeatable success in its very early stages, but now that we're in the "early but not quite that early" stage, we're seeing companies like Supercell and Gung Ho have multiple huge hits.
Spieler Eins
Member
wth are you talking about? DoS, OoE and Contra 4 aren't worthwhile? Japan also still got a Goemon title for the DS (although I don't know how that one is). And it's not the same thing to begin with, since the DS still had buttons and allowed for amazing classical core games like the ones listed above.
These examples are similar. I didn't disagree that there are cases where console controllers are at least easier to use, but the same is true of mobile; I already named a few, but another would be card games. I'd much rather play Hearthstone on my tablet than on a console with a controller, because the console controls for it would be awful.
It really is the same thing, generally; consoles are less powerful, less flexible and less precise than PCs, but they offer increased convenience and simplicity, which some people care about, and that's fine. Similarly, compared to consoles, mobile platforms are less powerful and less precise, but they offer even more convenience and simplicity, which some people want, and that's also fine.
It's not different, you just don't like the comparison because it's very inconvenient for you. Please note again I'm not saying you have to like mobile, I'm just asking people not disparage it, in the same way I (typically) try not to disparage consoles. Even here, while I'm expressing my personal disinterest in consoles, I am freely admitting that it's just my opinion and if someone else wants a simpler/more convenient design, that's fine and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm asking you to do the same.
Xamtheking
Member
Mobile games are awesome when the reason the game was made was because there wasn't a game like it before, not if it's a clone of a popular game
Coming Spring 2016, the return of Solid Snake.
You can laugh, but I actually wouldn't rule out something very similar to this actually coming out.
Can someone please 'shop this for shits 'n giggles?
I swear like 90% or more of mobile games are simply clones of other mobile games that have come before.
EARTH TO KING: You can't keep making Candy Crush clones ad infinitum and expect to make money!
There's worse things. At least they're staying with games. I had thought they were exiting the gaming biz entirely, instead focusing on fitness and gambling.
Not really enthused by that move, but a business goes where the money is, and in Japan it's with mobile phones right now.
Oh well. Best of luck, Konami.
I'll still never forgive you for killing off Hudson Soft.
Not really enthused by that move, but a business goes where the money is, and in Japan it's with mobile phones right now.
Oh well. Best of luck, Konami.
I'll still never forgive you for killing off Hudson Soft.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
synchronicity
Member
I can't fault a company for trying to make money, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I mourn the loss of the classic Konami. It's a shame to see, but change is inevitable.
A dirt nap, that is.
I just want to highlight this as a great post and response to this news.
It's completely fine to have personal preferences. Do you prefer console games to mobile games? No problem! I don't personally like either one very much, and that's okay too.
It's another thing entirely to act like any company which pursues mobile are stupid dumb dumb head jerks who will get their comeuppance because they have offended the Gods of "real" gaming and will be punished for it. It's fine to prefer console games, and it's fine to be sad when a console publisher migrates to a platform you personally have less interest in, but stop acting like your personal preferences represent some divine truth, and that others with different preferences are unwashed masses who don't understand what true gaming is. Again, I'd point you to how PC gamers sometimes treat console gamers as a comparison here. That elitism can be obnoxious, can't it? I agree. Don't turn around and do the same to mobile.
Synchronicity has done a good job of expressing a perfectly valid position: he understands that mobile is where the money is, and he doesn't fault a large, public company for pursuing it. Still, it's sad for him and his personal tastes. Totally appropriate perspective, thanks Synchronicity.
DrROBschiz
Member
Its all about implementation and quality right?
I would prefer that if they do invest in mobile they aim higher than their competitors. So far Capcom and SE have dipped their toes into creating games beyond what we have come to expect (along with also producing what we expect in the space as well) and also disappointing us fantastically (Mobile Port of FF6 and BOF6)
I am a believer in mobile but I would like to see less iteration and more innovation. We have certainly received some disruptive mobile titles here and there that have garnered universal praise on GAF.
My hope is that Japan someday appoached mobile with the same level of investment and care they put into their console titles
I can see where pessimism comes from when success can be achieved with minimal effort, whale fishing, and just straight up iterating or flat out copying existing titles and genres.
As of right now it looks like, for the moment, they are taking more risks in Japanese mobile development while at the same time pumping out the standard titles.
It kind of is approaching a similar look to the console space in some respects. I dunno. These are jsut my thoughts at the moment
Graphics Horse
Member
Mgo 3 can last for a long time, they just need to find a way to milk money from it...
More_Badass
Member
The tactile interface of touch screen allows for experiences that couldn't work anywhere else. The Room may be on PC, but playing that with mouse and keyboard is like playing an FPS with a gamepad; you just lose something, that immersive element that the direct 1:1 control brings
Or a narrative adventure like PRY, a story of a vet suffering from PTSD, slowly losing his sight. Where you pry open his words and notes to see inner thoughts and feelings. Later, when he goes blind, the text becomes Braille, so you must trace you fingers along the dots to read the text
I think for a lot of people, myself included, there's just something so odd and depressing about the mere possibility of something that's been such a constant source of joy as games as we know them going away. Because while technically the same thing the format of mobile games is so different in what it offers and what it doesn't that to me it's a bit like if feature length films disappeared and short YT films took their place. The smaller form factor forces you to be more creative, to strip down most of the non-essential stuff in service of a leaner final product. But for a lot of people that stuff in games is a huge part of what's enjoyable about the overall experience: the environments, the narrative, the secondary gameplay mechanics...
Maybe that's a taste of the feeling of loss most older women and men (not just 30+ but folks in their autumn years) must reconcile with as things and people they built their lives around slowly disappear from their daily routines.
Maybe that's a taste of the feeling of loss most older women and men (not just 30+ but folks in their autumn years) must reconcile with as things and people they built their lives around slowly disappear from their daily routines.
More_Badass
Member
But there are games with deep gameplay, unique environments, and compelling narratives on mobile. It's not just stupid time wasters. There are short games and there are games with hours of content. Every genre you can think of is on there: rhythm, RTS, TBS, action, horror, racing, adventure games, puzzlers, RPGs, point n click, interactive fiction and text adventure, shmups and shooters, etc. It's just as diverse as PC or console
Beelzebufo
Banned
Okay, you have to understand just because you say it's not different doesn't necessarily mean you're right lol. Console versions of those card games/endless runners/Angry Birds are playable, even if it's not ideal. A game like MGSV is completely unplayable on a mobile platform. Not that that even matters, because like I said (and you ignored), the problem here is not that mobile games exist, but that it appears that Konami will only be making games that a mobile platform can handle. Since most of the games people like are not possible on mobile, those games are disappearing.
So no, it's not like how much you'd rather play Team Fortress 2 on PC rather than Xbox, until you hear the announcement that Team Fortress 3, all future Team Fortress games, and all games you find preferable on PC from Valve will only be available on Xbox from here on out.
You would have had a point a few days ago before this news broke, but if this statement means future console-built games from Konami are unlikely, or rather that we will be unlikely to see console games from Konami that aren't also possible on mobile (which I would argue is a fair interpretation), your comparison goes out the window. I guess that interpretation is up for debate, but I don't know why a company would continue spending millions on something they now consider part of the "past", especially a company that clearly isn't particularly fond of the fans or industry that surround its "Digitial Entertainment" division. I get what you're trying to say, but this is something different we're talking about in this thread.
matrixman92
Member
that one mgs4 mobile game was awful
More_Badass
Member
Recently an 8+ hour survival horror game released on mobile. It even had some voice actors from Silent Hill 2.
The frustrating thing about this whole thing is that Konami is going to go for bottom-of-the-barrel F2P shit rather than making good games, which indie devs have shown is completely possible to do
The frustrating thing about this whole thing is that Konami is going to go for bottom-of-the-barrel F2P shit rather than making good games, which indie devs have shown is completely possible to do
Very true. I wasn't trying to say that PC/console games are better or more diverse than mobile games but that the mobile platform (the controls, the file size, the pricing) usually forced devs to re-think the scale and the amount of content and mechanics that these games had. And sometimes what you want it that scale, that immersion and that amount of content, despite how often games are criticized for being bloated. Sometimes you do want to get lost in Skyrim or Mass Effect, sometimes the fat is why you enjoy a game so much.