As I look into the calendar of upcoming releases, I recently spotted that the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection had released for the Playstation 3. I shouldn't be surprised at another MGS title being released at such a fast pace, but the fact that the title has no advertisement whatsoever is pretty sad. Especially considering that it's Konami's only franchise running for them right now.
Which is sad in it's own. This Generation, I would like to say that Konami is the absolute worst publisher and developer. I don't like saying this because, as both a Silent Hill and MGS fan, among other things, it sucks to say.
-Godawful Reboots of beloved franchises
Bomberman: Act Zero is a perfect example to use for games that /don't/ need a gritty reboot to appeal to a wider audience. Act Zero absolutely tarnished what reputation of what the Franchise and Hudson Soft. and general had with godawful gameplay and art direction. Not to mention that, before Bomberman LIVE, it was the first Bomberman title to have online play. Which they, of course, botched the hell out of. Other notable blemishes are, of course, Silent Hill: HOMECOMING OH GOD I FUCKED UP I MEANT HOMECOMING NONONONO SHATTERED MEMORIES WAS GOOD, Dance Dance Revolution, Sparkster, the myriad of piss poor Frogger titles, and (this is my opinion, I know the game is normally well recieved in other places) Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.
Terrible New IPs, and gaining more IPs to not do anything with at all
As a Dynasty Warriors fan, my reaction to the Ninety-Nine Nights series was pretty lukewarm. The title felt to me like it was just intended to be a tech demo to show off what the Xbox 360 can do. So when the sequel released I figured to give the first game the benefit of doubt in regards to it being a launch/near launch title. The second title just managed to dampen my spirits more of the title. Fluxuating difficulty from brain dead easy to totally unnessecary hard, dead voice acting, ass online ONCE AGAIN from Konami. It felt more rushed than the original title. After that, there wasn't anything really notable in the new IP department for Konami,
Then came the acquisition of Hudson Soft by Konami, which was last year. With Konami now owning the Bomberman, Bonk, Lode Runner and Fuzion Frenzy (?) IPs, you would figure that the company would do something measurable with those franchises? Hell, Bonk had an HD release ready to be released, but nothing came out. Nothing since last year has been produced by Konami's Digital Front.
Poor treatment of their legacy IPs with awful HD re-releases.
Silent Hill HD, for Konami, could have been the easiest moneymaker in the century. Silent Hill in general had a very large upswing with an upcoming (awful) continuation of the franchise, a (decent enough) film, an (awful) Vita title, and of course, the HD collection of two of the greatest Silent Hill titles. With the success of the HD collection of MGS, you would figure that Konami wouldn't fuck up Silent Hill, right? ...Well, they did. Awfully. So awfully that the titles on their worst incarnations look better than what the HD collection produced. Not even the future patch (that 360 owners didn't get) couldn't fix that botch job of shit that the SH HD was. Then we get an underclocked HD port of Zone of the Enders--a very niche series-- that was supposed to reignite faith in the franchise. At that point of it's release, it was sadly only known for having a demo for MGS: Revengeance.
So, at this point, Konami is nothing more than Metal Gear machine. After being burned too many times by their prior escapades, I don't feel good about supporting their titles, regardless if their only acting as a publisher. I hope that at least for the next generation, Konami gets their shit together.
I've yet to buy Metal Gear Rising: Revengance because of my disaste for Konami.
Which is sad in it's own. This Generation, I would like to say that Konami is the absolute worst publisher and developer. I don't like saying this because, as both a Silent Hill and MGS fan, among other things, it sucks to say.
-Godawful Reboots of beloved franchises
Bomberman: Act Zero is a perfect example to use for games that /don't/ need a gritty reboot to appeal to a wider audience. Act Zero absolutely tarnished what reputation of what the Franchise and Hudson Soft. and general had with godawful gameplay and art direction. Not to mention that, before Bomberman LIVE, it was the first Bomberman title to have online play. Which they, of course, botched the hell out of. Other notable blemishes are, of course, Silent Hill: HOMECOMING OH GOD I FUCKED UP I MEANT HOMECOMING NONONONO SHATTERED MEMORIES WAS GOOD, Dance Dance Revolution, Sparkster, the myriad of piss poor Frogger titles, and (this is my opinion, I know the game is normally well recieved in other places) Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.
Terrible New IPs, and gaining more IPs to not do anything with at all
As a Dynasty Warriors fan, my reaction to the Ninety-Nine Nights series was pretty lukewarm. The title felt to me like it was just intended to be a tech demo to show off what the Xbox 360 can do. So when the sequel released I figured to give the first game the benefit of doubt in regards to it being a launch/near launch title. The second title just managed to dampen my spirits more of the title. Fluxuating difficulty from brain dead easy to totally unnessecary hard, dead voice acting, ass online ONCE AGAIN from Konami. It felt more rushed than the original title. After that, there wasn't anything really notable in the new IP department for Konami,
Then came the acquisition of Hudson Soft by Konami, which was last year. With Konami now owning the Bomberman, Bonk, Lode Runner and Fuzion Frenzy (?) IPs, you would figure that the company would do something measurable with those franchises? Hell, Bonk had an HD release ready to be released, but nothing came out. Nothing since last year has been produced by Konami's Digital Front.
Poor treatment of their legacy IPs with awful HD re-releases.
Silent Hill HD, for Konami, could have been the easiest moneymaker in the century. Silent Hill in general had a very large upswing with an upcoming (awful) continuation of the franchise, a (decent enough) film, an (awful) Vita title, and of course, the HD collection of two of the greatest Silent Hill titles. With the success of the HD collection of MGS, you would figure that Konami wouldn't fuck up Silent Hill, right? ...Well, they did. Awfully. So awfully that the titles on their worst incarnations look better than what the HD collection produced. Not even the future patch (that 360 owners didn't get) couldn't fix that botch job of shit that the SH HD was. Then we get an underclocked HD port of Zone of the Enders--a very niche series-- that was supposed to reignite faith in the franchise. At that point of it's release, it was sadly only known for having a demo for MGS: Revengeance.
So, at this point, Konami is nothing more than Metal Gear machine. After being burned too many times by their prior escapades, I don't feel good about supporting their titles, regardless if their only acting as a publisher. I hope that at least for the next generation, Konami gets their shit together.
I've yet to buy Metal Gear Rising: Revengance because of my disaste for Konami.
