SmellyFingers
Banned
If he means Nintendo 3DS then sure. If not, well then he can stfu.
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Konami's new CEO: Mobile is the future of gaming, is Konami's main platform
- Thread starter HGH
- Start date
I agree mostly, but for S-E there are many projects running, so it will take time to switch to mobile, they still got some arrows in the bow
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Ok good thanks!
Maximus.
Member
You are absolutely correct. I know and realize these companies are in it for the money and business and yes before their output matched my expectations and what I wanted.
I wish Nintendo would pull its head from its 4th point of contact. And get agressive with buying companies and IPs. The will likely be the console savior in japan.
Also how hard can it be for the next system to plug into android, and Google play store? Problem solved. Now I can play boom beach on my wiiu 2 pad on the can. Capcom, Konami,namco, sega, and square should be stalked by Nintendo.
Sorry it took me so long.
Glorious.
The worst part? Konami execs are probably getting ideas from this... :-/
Who's to say they aren't? The problem mostly lies with 3 things:
1) Developers who have been beaten around by publishers are founding independent studios and leveraging their successes for contract partnerships (see: Platinum) and resisting outright control of their operations.
2) Relying on Kickstarter to forge their own success in the indie scene, hoping to leverage the strength of the mobile market with their namesake.
3) Most publishers are growing into other markets and that protects their games businesses, their employees and their IPs from acquisition.
But at the rate that the Japanese gaming business is going, Nintendo and Sony will be the last Japanese game publishers standing.
So the IPs are there to be taken in theory, but the talent that made them great has become fragmented across the country there and current IP holders outside of Capcom are too protected for an outright buyout without a lot of red tape to cut out only the parts of the business that Nintendo or Sony would want.
That's not to say it can't happen, it's just a very messy proposition.
The weaker these companies and their IP value get, the more likely we will see some movement in that regard.
But the talent... well, aside from Monolith Soft and a handful of others, buying up those independent contract companies for the talent to leverage any purchased IPs (or to create new ones) will involve a lot more money than it would have when the industry and all of its players were primarily focused on the business of just making video games.
Not to say it's impossible, and I've made the case that it's something for Nintendo to consider even without the IP from the major publishers, but it's a huge financial risk and whoever moves first will spook the others into action, with each of them making plays to control Japan's industry in totality.
If the first move is going to be made, it's going to be against Capcom, who is the least protected of all of the Japanese game publishers and has the largest catalog of desired IPs other than Sega.
LowParry
Member
That draws the question of, if it ever happens which I doubt, who will be the more aggressor. Sony or Nintendo? My bet is on Sony. But I highly highly doubt Nintendo is in any state of mind of buying IPs. They're starting to swim in the iOS ocean.
That's why the next 5-10 years are going to be interesting. If someone makes a move, the other can't stand idly by, it forces action, because neither of them want to see the entire Japanese industry (and/or its heritage IPs) controlled by their competitor.
My guess would be Nintendo actually would be the first mover and the more aggressive of the two, so long as the timing and market conditions are right.
Between them and Sony, Nintendo seems like the one who is the most invested in the health and success of their nation's gaming industry (something close to 90% of their SPD developed games from 3rd-parties are developed by studios in Japan), while Sony invests a significantly higher amount of dollars in the Western development market, relying less and less on Japan as time moves on, even so far as relying less and less on Japanese 3rd-parties to sell their consoles, with the exception of Square Enix.
Chaos2Frozen
Member
Nintendo should buy all of Japan... And America, for good measure.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Hey look you guys we made it to Kotaku.
http://kotaku.com/konami-could-suck-worse-sure-the-future-of-the-silent-1704942076
Our internet fame will last forever!! AHAHAHAhahahaha!!!!
http://kotaku.com/konami-could-suck-worse-sure-the-future-of-the-silent-1704942076
Our internet fame will last forever!! AHAHAHAhahahaha!!!!
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Chinese news services (AFAIK?) ran it. Yay? http://www.yxdown.com/news/201505/188473.html
After running through Google translate they seem to reference some existing Silent Hill trilogy on mobile over there. Obviously could be nothing, but anybody know anything about it?
After running through Google translate they seem to reference some existing Silent Hill trilogy on mobile over there. Obviously could be nothing, but anybody know anything about it?
I think people need to put a line in the sand and make a distinction here. SE and Capcom and Namco Bandai may lean on mobile now more than ever before, but they still have respect for their legacy businesses atleast and make an effort, even if we personally may have certain issues with that effort.
Its a world away from Konami simply giving up entirely, taking their ball and going home
Its a world away from Konami simply giving up entirely, taking their ball and going home
Who cares about ps4 sales when you can make a mobile game for a million bucks and make it back in a week? The roi in mobile done right is insane compared to aaa gaming. Puzzle and dragons made more profit than a decent chunk of popular aaa franchises put together.
Robot Pants
Member
thelastcrusader
Banned
Can we all make a giant card that just says "FUCK YOU KONAMI" in Japanese, get everyone to sign it, and send it to the CEO?
Haunted
Member
They're next.
Man I wish the dude who made/directed/wrote Suikoden 1-3 would do a Kickstarter, call the KS " The 108 Star warriors" or something. heh
ATXAlchemy
Member
Would you like another roll on the 108 Stars of Destiny Gacha?
Sounds like a good money earner to me.
I think the likelihood of Nintendo or Sony buying companies depends on how well the kickstarted expies of games do... In essence, if games like Mighty No. 9, Yooka-Laylee, and Bloodstained end up being successful in their own right and parlayed into franchises, why would either Nintendo or Sony need IPs like Mega Man, Banjo-Kazooie, or Castlevania beyond legacy concerns? It is possible that companies like Konami will find that their IPs are worthless without actual quality behind them even in the mobile realm.
Also... Um, don't expect much from former Konami directors beyond IGA and Hideo Kojima that hasn't already happened. Of the developers big franchises that Konami had, most of them had already went off to do their own thing successfully before IGA did.
Famed developer Treasure is the result of the Contra and Gradius teams leaving to make their own games, which is why they end up being talented with shmups.
The Suikoden creator, Yoshitaka Murayama, also left and sadly ended up leaving the game industry.
The Silent Hill creator, Keiichirō Toyama, is working on Gravity Rush at this point and pretty much works for Sony at this point.
Etsunobu Ebisu, the director for Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 and the basis for longtime Goemon regular Ebisumaru, founded Good-Feel and is working for Nintendo at this point.
Most of Hudson is working for Nintendo now at Nd Cube including the former president of Hudson who is currently the president of Nd Cube. Even NeoGAF noticed that.
So yeah, IGA was the last notable Konami developer to leave Konami, until Hideo Kojima, the last notable Konami developer still at Konami, leaves.
Also... Um, don't expect much from former Konami directors beyond IGA and Hideo Kojima that hasn't already happened. Of the developers big franchises that Konami had, most of them had already went off to do their own thing successfully before IGA did.
Famed developer Treasure is the result of the Contra and Gradius teams leaving to make their own games, which is why they end up being talented with shmups.
The Suikoden creator, Yoshitaka Murayama, also left and sadly ended up leaving the game industry.
The Silent Hill creator, Keiichirō Toyama, is working on Gravity Rush at this point and pretty much works for Sony at this point.
Etsunobu Ebisu, the director for Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64 and the basis for longtime Goemon regular Ebisumaru, founded Good-Feel and is working for Nintendo at this point.
Most of Hudson is working for Nintendo now at Nd Cube including the former president of Hudson who is currently the president of Nd Cube. Even NeoGAF noticed that.
So yeah, IGA was the last notable Konami developer to leave Konami, until Hideo Kojima, the last notable Konami developer still at Konami, leaves.
Pro from Dover
Member
Good luck out there, Konami.
Damn, MGS is absolutely without a doubt my favourite game series.
This actually is almost heartbreaking. MGS is dead after 5. I was very much looking forward to a modern take on the transition to and re-introduction of young snake and the complete vilification of Big Boss.
I suppose the most approriate thing to say now is...
Snake?
Snaaaaaaaaaaaake!
But this time he's not coming back.
This actually is almost heartbreaking. MGS is dead after 5. I was very much looking forward to a modern take on the transition to and re-introduction of young snake and the complete vilification of Big Boss.
I suppose the most approriate thing to say now is...
Snake?
Snaaaaaaaaaaaake!
But this time he's not coming back.
It's a mighty big "if", for starters.
It also makes pretty big (and false) assumptions:
1) Inafune, Igarashi and Mayles et al have some sort of power over a franchise's themes and gameplay elements, that they are the one and only authority on what makes the IPs they laboured on great.
2) Kickstarting new franchises with base mechanics of another franchise, replicating a past success, somehow devalues an IP by prior association.
Let me start off with an example: Igarashi is not and never has been the authority on what makes Castlevania games great. There were game designers before him that made great games in the franchise. He is only an authority on "Igavania" style games. He made a very particular sub-category of titles in the Castlevania franchise and, due to him being the only one making games in the Castlevania franchise for several years, having a preference for that style and a possible unwillingness to deviate from it, people make the false assumption that his vision somehow defines Castlevania.
But if Igarashi can supposedly "re-define" what a Castlevania game is, why couldn't anyone else?
The same can be said of Inafune and Into Creates.
The IPs hold value so long as you put out a quality product that people want with the name on it... sometimes even without the quality product, people will buy on name alone, at least a few times.
And in spite of several missteps, these names do still hold weight and have value. Hell, do you think people would have bought Lords of Shadow (aka Belmont of War) if the name Castlevania didn't mean something to people and were willing to try one that Igarashi hadn't touched?
I'm not saying that having the original teams on these games is worthless, but I am saying it does not necessarily make or break an IP's value, either. In some cases, it may in fact be beneficial to let someone else take a crack at them.
The only thing potentially devaluing these IPs is that their IP holders want nothing to do with them anymore. Bomberman isn't appreciating in value with the franchise's extended absence. And if someone wants to buy them, that might be exactly what is being hoped for: that they'll get them at a low price simply because the current IP holder sees no value in them anymore and has let their perceived value depreciate due to lack of releases.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Honestly I can only hope the satire has influenced people who actually make decisions. But, really, I know better.
Your assumptions of what I am saying is faulty. What I am saying is that IPs do not matter unless there is talent behind them, and the lack of talent to make those games are what's going to kill those franchises. MercurySteam made a great game with Lords of Shadow but it isn't like Konami's announced another Castlevania in that style or any other style, even a budget digital release. Nor has Capcom announced another Mega Man in any sort of style. Both Castlevania and Mega Man lost their top talent and are currently going unused. To use the example you give of Bomberman, the property is being mishandled because it is one of those properties that should theoretically be perfect for the F2P model. In my vision of a F2P Bomberman, you download the game and it's multiplayer Bomberman, but by purchasing outfits with real money, you can customize your Bomberman's look. It's one of the few games that could fit with the Valve Hat Model. I expected the Bomberman released on mobile last year to be exactly that, but apparently it's just a spinoff from what I hear.
In any case, it would not be a problem, but it does become one when a creator is making a game in the same genre as what they are known for while the original property languishes in limbo or mediocrity. To give a counter-example, Naughty Dog originally made the Crash Bandicoot games for PS1 and Crash was a pretty popular thing back then, even being treated as an equal to Mario and Sonic. However, once Sony lost the rights to make Crash Bandicoot games, Naughty Dog went on to make another platformer series for Sony, Jak & Daxter, and eventually shifted focus to make Uncharted and the Last of Us. However, throughout all of this, Naughty Dog kept making high quality games... Now their name on a box means that a gamer will get a high quality game no matter the name of the game. Meanwhile, Crash Bandicoot had mediocre game after mediocre game until the franchise was put to rest by Activision. Another counter-example is with Bungie as they made excellent Halo games but then moved on to make the excellent Destiny while Microsoft and 343 have mismanaged the Halo IP so far. It is this sort of mismanagement of a property compared to a creator's successful launch of a similar property that leads to games like Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained to find success in the market while Capcom and Konami languish as companies despite having Mega Man and Castlevania which should be the bigger name.
That's exactly what I just said in my previous post. The only thing devaluing an IP is nothing good being made for it. But here's the mistake you've made:
They lost their top talent at Capcom and Konami. Capcom and Konami have neither the desire nor the talent to keep making these games (hence farming out Mega Man to IntiCreates, though their quality in some aspects is very spotty). That means the only companies that perceive the IPs to have no value are... Capcom and Konami.
An outsider that does have the talent pool to do something with those franchises, even if it won't be a carbon copy of the previous game's designs, will obviously see things differently.
And no, no F2P Bomberman. It's the worst idea I've ever heard. Mind you, Konami can't even get a regular iOS game right, both Bomberman games I see on iOS are rated 1 to 2 stars due to game-breaking lag. And this is the company moving into mobile... why would you condemn Bomberman to such a pathetic demise?
All this shows is that certain companies made a certain specific mistake in thinking that an IP name alone is all that's required to sell a game. Crash Bandicoot was mismanaged by Universal and Activision. Halo was mismanaged by Microsoft. Those are stories you tell when you want to frighten people from ever considering having another development team work on a franchise. But that's not always what happens, is it?
And yes, game creators can have their own brand power in and of themselves, but that doesn't somehow invalidate the same being said about an IP, so long as there's still a quality product behind it. In fact, as you say, the only thing devaluing these franchises is no games being made by the publisher that owns them.
But if you remove them from that, you could "double up" by pairing a well-known IP with a developer known for, as you say, always delivering a quality game, and what do you think would happen? Which cancels out the other? That's right, neither. Since most of that talent works independently now, another publisher could scoop up the IP, go to that independent studio and say "remember this series you were told didn't sell well enough to make a game for it? If you want to, the offer is on the table." What gamer wouldn't be thrilled by that proposition?
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Sorry for the bump you guys but I'm still kind of hung up and pissed off about this whole thing, missing PT and all, so I took another pass at it.
EDIT: Here, have a 1920x1080 if you want.
EDIT: Here, have a 1920x1080 if you want.
A Link to the Past
Banned
Sucks that it also probably means that all of Konami's DS games, such as the Castlevanias and Contra IV, are not coming to Wii U's VC.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
lol guess they feel the same on /r/gaming cuz this one's "controversial"... wtf all of reddit is down now wasn't me!
Maybe it's also too subtle compared to the last. Here's a "before."
witchedwiz
Member
I think my japanese got better!Konami said:
Moon_frogger
Member
Just read the forbes piece that lifted all it's info and talking points from neogaf. So bad.
For a long while now, I’ve been one of the biggest proponent of the idea that mobile games are not killing traditional gaming. The two markets are both growing, and even if mobile is perhaps growing faster, the two seem content to co-exist with one another
yeah except it's already been public knowledge literally for ever that japanese console market is shrinking while the japanese mobile market grows exponentially. now that the flavor of the week punching bag is doing something you dont approve of , you're all paranoia and doom and gloom about gaming in general.
But if more and more companies want to stop trying to make money by selling high quality games, and try to trick people into buying cheap, addictive crap instead, that is what could ultimately doom the gaming industry.
also, uses the phrase 'diamond in the rough' completely wrong and in general is just a terrible writer who has no place speculating on the future of the games industry in general, much less the future of mobile games.
If this is the future, it’s a dystopian one I don’t want to live in
yes, kill yourself because konami is making mobile games. Who want's to live in that world? I'd rather be dead for sure.
For a long while now, I’ve been one of the biggest proponent of the idea that mobile games are not killing traditional gaming. The two markets are both growing, and even if mobile is perhaps growing faster, the two seem content to co-exist with one another
yeah except it's already been public knowledge literally for ever that japanese console market is shrinking while the japanese mobile market grows exponentially. now that the flavor of the week punching bag is doing something you dont approve of , you're all paranoia and doom and gloom about gaming in general.
But if more and more companies want to stop trying to make money by selling high quality games, and try to trick people into buying cheap, addictive crap instead, that is what could ultimately doom the gaming industry.
also, uses the phrase 'diamond in the rough' completely wrong and in general is just a terrible writer who has no place speculating on the future of the games industry in general, much less the future of mobile games.
If this is the future, it’s a dystopian one I don’t want to live in
yes, kill yourself because konami is making mobile games. Who want's to live in that world? I'd rather be dead for sure.
Moon_frogger
Member
Might as well just say why did I post in the thread, period. Or why post in any thread at all, ever.oh no I bumped a thread that was last active a whole 7 hours ago! Lol Maybe because his article was lifted wholesale from the thread, therefore it's relevant to the topic?
Posting this in response to a comment in another topic.
To be fair, I've actually reconsidered my stance on your opinion about the value of IP, except that it is already happening but the Japanese IPs aren't being bought outright. Instead, the first-parties, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, are actually funding Capcom to make exclusive games for their systems save for a few games. Dead Rising 3, exclusive to Xbox One. Street Fighter V, exclusive to PlayStation 4. Monster Hunter 4, exclusive to the 3DS. All of Capcom's games seem to now be exclusive to certain platforms save Resident Evil, Strider, and various remasters. One could say Nintendo funded Sega to make their Sonic games exclusive to Wii U and 3DS as well. Sony even funded From Software to make Bloodborne and both Nintendo and Microsoft funded Platinum Games to make exclusives. While neither developer has a dominant franchise, From and Platinum are top tier Japanese developers. The first parties aren't buying Japanese IPs and developers, they are funding them to make exclusives for their systems.
While not the best solution, having Capcom and Sega get funded to make exclusives for the console makers is at least better than Konami's "burn everything to the ground and salt the earth" strategy.
To be fair, I've actually reconsidered my stance on your opinion about the value of IP, except that it is already happening but the Japanese IPs aren't being bought outright. Instead, the first-parties, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, are actually funding Capcom to make exclusive games for their systems save for a few games. Dead Rising 3, exclusive to Xbox One. Street Fighter V, exclusive to PlayStation 4. Monster Hunter 4, exclusive to the 3DS. All of Capcom's games seem to now be exclusive to certain platforms save Resident Evil, Strider, and various remasters. One could say Nintendo funded Sega to make their Sonic games exclusive to Wii U and 3DS as well. Sony even funded From Software to make Bloodborne and both Nintendo and Microsoft funded Platinum Games to make exclusives. While neither developer has a dominant franchise, From and Platinum are top tier Japanese developers. The first parties aren't buying Japanese IPs and developers, they are funding them to make exclusives for their systems.
While not the best solution, having Capcom and Sega get funded to make exclusives for the console makers is at least better than Konami's "burn everything to the ground and salt the earth" strategy.
EA always cares.. D:
Aizu_Itsuko
Member
Mobile is just a different market, that's true, but he's right in the sense that those games weren't designed for that market. A mobile version could still be a good game, but chances are it will not offer the same kind of experience due to multiple factors (design changes, control method, screen size, sound quality, budget, etc) and would leave fans rather disappointed.
From that point of view, I can understand why a fan of any of those games would prefer a console release. A Silent Hill or MGS game on a phone screen can't provide the same kind of immersive experience. Even watching a movie on a phone just isn't the same as watching it in your living room or a cinema.
More_Badass
Member
solokazama
Banned
Why do people always assume mobile gaming means playing on a tiny phone screen?
Because 99% of "mobile gamers" does that. Or even 99.9%
As mentioned in other threads. I am not against mobile gaming if the phone companies would take it seriously. If Apple cleaned up 99.9% of the trash on the App Store, they would have a much better gaming ecosystem on the platform.
I think Apple/Google should have a dedicated game store app (separate from the App Store) that has strict regulations for having your game posted on it. You would need to get it rated by esrb, (or other depending on region) play tested, screen for copyright infringements, etc.
This way, it is easier to find legitimate games. Apple needs to end this business where hundreds of games a week are posted and are all trash. It's embarrassing.
Mobile can be a real awesome place to play. The platform holders are just not interested in making it such a place.
I think Apple/Google should have a dedicated game store app (separate from the App Store) that has strict regulations for having your game posted on it. You would need to get it rated by esrb, (or other depending on region) play tested, screen for copyright infringements, etc.
This way, it is easier to find legitimate games. Apple needs to end this business where hundreds of games a week are posted and are all trash. It's embarrassing.
Mobile can be a real awesome place to play. The platform holders are just not interested in making it such a place.
More_Badass
Member
Considering that 30% of all IOS devices sold are iPads (250 million out 800 million total), I think your figures might be slightly off
Why do people always assume mobile gaming means playing on a tiny phone screen?
Even if I am playing on the bigass tablet, I would still have to use touch controls for the majority of games which is going to be a bit uncomfortable in the sort of configuration yours is currently in. Now, supposedly I could use a keyboard & mouse/touchpad or a game controller to play mobile games on the bigass tablet, but if I'm doing that, I may as well just play on a laptop with games designed for physical controls in mind.
Mors_Verigo
Banned
There just comes a time when you're not good at what you do anymore. Happens to athletes, actors, musicians and writers all the time. Such is life.