Broken Joystick
At least you can talk. Who are you?
Probably explains why there's no fucking marketing for this game.
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Kojima was too expensive apparently
- Thread starter Jindrax
- Start date
Shocking news. Kojima seems like enough of a detail oriented guy that he'd spend any amount of money to make a game meet his vision. Auteurs like him are great for fans like us, but he must've been a huge headache for Konami, especially when they're looking at mobile and pachislot and thinking "Shit! Look at what we could be doing with that money!"
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
So he's not a good fit for any company then?
not really. if they are not making much profit from the work he does
Palette Swap
Member
It's almost like this good guy / bad guy narrative seemed overly simplistic.
Well, it is pretty much the same reason Irrational got shut down with Ken Levine's inability to ship a product.
They arguably moved development of the series to an even more expensive location assuming the Hangar 13 speculation is true, but presumably expect them to ship on a more reasonable schedule/budget due to better production management.
That the guy who founded Hangar 13 was the same person who was brought in to make BioShock Infinite shippable and actually got the game done says a lot.
That said, I'm not sure who they intend to get to replace him. There's not many people in Japan who handle projects at this scale.
They arguably moved development of the series to an even more expensive location assuming the Hangar 13 speculation is true, but presumably expect them to ship on a more reasonable schedule/budget due to better production management.
That the guy who founded Hangar 13 was the same person who was brought in to make BioShock Infinite shippable and actually got the game done says a lot.
That said, I'm not sure who they intend to get to replace him. There's not many people in Japan who handle projects at this scale.
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
"Watergate" was the only case where it was appropriate to use. Apparently, writing "scandal" or "controversy" is too much for some people.
legacyzero
Banned
But fuck all the money he actually brings in for Konami, though. Right?
He is definitely in that generation of creative leads that are just as guilty of dragging on development as they flip-flopped on decisions, like Itagaki and Nomura. Kojima at least had the sales and the critical acclaim to back it up, but with how Konami is restructuring their business, there's no place for a type like him in that culture.
AHA-Lambda
Member
Not surprised, still this was the worst way of Konami handling this.
Doctor_Thomas
Member
When the follow up sells less than MGSV, then they will be ashamed of their words and deeds.
Iva Demilcol
Member
I always imagined Kojima's games were pretty expensive to make. If this is true then I can imagine why the new CEO "hated" him (now we know Kojima didn't have an affair with Konami's CEO's wife =P).
RipperGrim
Member
I think it's pretty much guaranteed that the game would sell enough to earn back all the money spent on the game.
Erasing his name and his companies names from the box is still inexcusable though regardless of the reason why he was fired. It's just a petty move.
Erasing his name and his companies names from the box is still inexcusable though regardless of the reason why he was fired. It's just a petty move.
I was about to quote that. It wasn't music from HGW that was thrown away.
If it sells, say, 75% of what Phantom Pain cost to make, but cost like 30% of what Phantom Pain cost, would they really?
wasn't that Rod Fergusson?
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...k-infinite-out-the-door-is-leaving-irrational
Jimmyfenix
Member
its pretty weird in the past week the Playstation social media accounts in europe and japan have been promoting the game mostly due to the console bundle so it will be interesting to see if konami would put out the tv adverts themselves or rely on sony to do it.
Infinite Xero
Member
Welp.
Guess Sony can't afford Kojima then.
Guess Sony can't afford Kojima then.
Team Alucard
Banned
I thought it was obvious that Kojima was always given a blank check. Not only for MGS either, just look at Castlevania and Silent Hill.
IGA and Hulett were stuck trying to squeeze blood from a stone with shoestring budgets game and game and then Kojima gets handed the reigns and suddenly you have games with Patrick Stewart and Norman Reedus.
IGA and Hulett were stuck trying to squeeze blood from a stone with shoestring budgets game and game and then Kojima gets handed the reigns and suddenly you have games with Patrick Stewart and Norman Reedus.
OverBlood 3
Banned
Yeah eff that guy for making quality experiences with detail unlike any other series. You pay peanuts you get monkeys.
Barry Burton
Member
Not a surprise. Kojima's exit from Konami pretty much marks the end of the video game industry's equivalent of "New Hollywood" era.
There have been fewer and fewer auteur-driven games at the AAA level, mostly over the last 10 years (Clover being closed down is the first big example of this that comes to mind), and you likely won't see many more after MGSV releases.
There have been fewer and fewer auteur-driven games at the AAA level, mostly over the last 10 years (Clover being closed down is the first big example of this that comes to mind), and you likely won't see many more after MGSV releases.
So Kojima was fired for being Kojima... There is a reason why the man is so great. Give an artist some room to breathe Konami.
His games sell very well so I am sure they are.
Agreed. I don't like it at all. People should just let gamergate stay dead.
Devilinthiscity
Member
Curious as to the actual amount it took to make the game. It's been in development for a while and also has a bunch of licensed music right?
What the hell?
We had how many mgs? Lots.
Obviously it wasn't working out businesswise anymore with how high budgets are then it makes sense.
Then if you aren't mixing well within the company then yes they have to get rid of you. They kept him for a pretty long time tho.
People have no clue how corporations work?
Conkerkid11
Member
Damn, fired for not bending beneath the will of his publisher. I wish other developers were this awesome.
Yes. He went to start and run Hangar 13 before moving to Black Tusk when Microsoft bought Gears.
He was Epic's lord of production and kept very strong schedules while maintaining quality.
Aaronrules380
Member
I mean, do you know how much money he's brought in compared to how much he's chewed through? You can earn millions for a company, but it's worthless if you're losing 10s of millions.
It's cool to be detail oriented and want to deliver a great project, but it's still important to be able to stay on top of a budget and schedule. It's pretty selfish to act like it's ok if fans get something they enjoy, regardless of what it costs anyone else
And even if he used to earn him money years ago, if his recent work is costing them tons, then yes, he deserves to be fired. I don't think it's right to give someone a pass simply because they did a good job years ago.
JordanN
Banned
In Kojima's case though, his portfolio of games is way bigger. Shipping not just Metal Gear games but stuff like Zone of the Enders as well.
Ken only had what? Bioshock 1 and then a 7 year gap for Bioshock 2?
Not to mention that some of the licensed music we've heard in MGS5 are REALLY well known songs, which can't be cheap at all.
Doctor_Thomas
Member
In all honesty, they'll probably be fine with it but non-Kojima Metal Gear games struggle for one reason or another.
That's called making an investment. If you have a guy in a company that costs a ton to maintain, is a general pain in the ass, but in the end he ends up bringing huge profits, the company should be more than happy to have him/her. Most companies have people like that as they are usually the ones that have all the great ideas.
MGSV is going to sell a shit ton of copies and will absolutely recover the investment. So I call bullshit, Konami execs cannot be that stupid to let go a guy like that because "he is expensive".
MGSV is going to sell a shit ton of copies and will absolutely recover the investment. So I call bullshit, Konami execs cannot be that stupid to let go a guy like that because "he is expensive".
LOL! Easy to say when you're not the one writing the checks.
semiconscious
Member
...Uhhh, no. His career did not start with Bioshock.
Vital Tundra
Member
I wouldn't want him either. He is wasteful it seems. Nothing wrong with ditching him. What's eff'd up is how they handled it.
What I will find amusing is when Konami start bringing in the money from MGS V. I'm fairly certain it will be are more popular and successful game than they expect, and I suspect there may be some regret when they inevitably attempt an MGS game without Kojima and probably see that the effect isn't replicated