Kojima quits?

[Xeogred]

Bone hates games released after Pong, so yeah.

There's nothing quite like MGS, probably top 5 material for me.

[Exhuminator]

The Metal Gear games are among Kojima's worst... Interested in seeing what happens.

Dude, regardless of what people think of the plotline of MGS2, the gameplay is totally spot-on.

I agree the gameplay and aesthetics were hitting the right mark.

I enjoy most Metal Gear games honestly, but recently I was a little disappointed with Peace Walker. And I'm that guy who enjoyed the AC!D series even so that says something.

[Gunstar Green]

I've never been a huge Kojima fan (though I tend to like some of his games that aren't Metal Gear) but he's seemed like the glue holding Konami together.

Sega, Konami, Capcom... soon these names won't mean a whole lot.

This is good news though if it's true, he won't be chained to a franchise anymore.

[brunoafh]

Konami has done nothing but weigh down Kojima since the success of MGS. I'm not convinced this is the real deal since there is always "controversy" of this nature regarding Kojima/MGS/Konami, but I would welcome the split. I love the MG franchise dearly but it's gotten entirely stale. Some new projects out of him could be very exciting. Snatcher and Policenauts are amazing and really showcase his ability to produce great games outside of the MG world and I would absolutely welcome more of that.

*Edited due to several complaints from the membership*

- The mod team

If the post the Gooseberrysoda quoted is seriously what he got modded for then you guys should be embarrassed for getting upset over something so silly. Japanese people make fun of themselves on a regular basis and on a far greater magnitude than goofy Engrish jokes. I suppose the City Wok guy from South Park is off-limits here too.

[AppleQueso]

I suppose the City Wok guy from South Park is off-limits here too.

Uhm... South Park is indeed pretty rife with genuinely offensive characters and stereotypes.

[Thierry Henry]

*Edited due to several complaints from the membership*

- The mod team

If the post the Gooseberrysoda quoted is seriously what he got modded for then you guys should be embarrassed for getting upset over something so silly. Japanese people make fun of themselves on a regular basis and on a far greater magnitude than goofy Engrish jokes. I suppose the City Wok guy from South Park is off-limits here too.

To be honest nothing much was meant by it aside for my admittedly feeble attempt at humor, and I'm as surprised as yourself that I got a PM to "edit this post to remove the Japanese stereotype".
Not sure how it works over there but in this side of the world we don't tend to get all riled up like that. Especially taking into account our history. To our credit, I think.

BTW, not sure how effective the removal process was as my original post has been quoted by a couple others.
Are they also to receive PM's to remove the "offending" text?

That said though, I'll be mindful in the future of those particular sensibilities so as not to be interpreted as being offensive.


Anyway, back on topic,

A fallout between Kojima Productions and its owning publisher, Konami, has led to senior staff at the studio being restricted access to corporate internet, emails, and phone, GameSpot understands.

Along with the restricted communications, key developers at the studio, such as Hideo Kojima, will now have limited opportunities to lend their appearance to promotions of the studio’s upcoming game, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.

Power struggles between Kojima Productions and Konami have convinced the publisher to make drastic changes, including amending the employee status of its Metal Gear team. Some senior staff at the studio, including Kojima, now essentially work as contractors, not permanent employees.

The extraordinary measures were revealed by a source within Konami, speaking to GameSpot on the condition of anonymity. The person explained that, once the Phantom Pain project is finished, in all likelihood the management at the studio will disband.

"After we finish MGSV, Mr. Kojima and upper management will leave Konami. They said their contract ends in December," the source claimed.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojima ... 0-6426024/


And,


Konami is now seeking new main staff members for a new MG series.

Konami has put out a press release today assuring fans of the Metal Gear series that they will continue development on the series beyond MGSV:TPP. They also announce that they will be developing a new Metal Gear series, and they are looking to recruit brand new main staff members for the team. They are seeking people with experience working in high end game development, have creative ideas, passion for games, and good communication skills.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1014109

[Exhuminator]

Well obviously Hideo Kojima managed to upset the wrong person(s). Losing him however is a really dumb move for Konami. They may be trying to show him his place in the Konami ladder, but that ladder doesn't have a whole lot of interesting rungs in it without him. Anyway I hope Kojima forms his own independent studio after this and works on a contractual basis with varied publishers. And I also hope that morale stays strong enough within his existing team to make MGS:V the best it can be, despite who owns the property.

[Xeogred]

Well obviously Hideo Kojima managed to upset the wrong person(s). Losing him however is a really dumb move for Konami. They may be trying to show him his place in the Konami ladder, but that ladder doesn't have a whole lot of interesting rungs in it without him. Anyway I hope Kojima forms his own independent studio after this and works on a contractual basis with varied publishers. And I also hope that morale stays strong enough within his existing team to make MGS:V the best it can be, despite who owns the property.

Yeah.

I'd like if we could somehow dig up more info on the finances here. Kojima Productions was last noted to be 200 some employees in 2008 and I thought Kojima was incredibly high on the ladder (well guess he was some exec). All this leads me to believe he maybe had more pull and power than other big designers, like Sakaguchi with Square, or Inafune with Capcom, etc. They might have worked on franchises that were bigger or more spread out than Metal Gear, but Kojima pretty much trademarked his name on everything after awhile.

All this makes me think he probably has more money than they ever did, so him building a new army elsewhere might be pretty easy.

That's all guesswork though.

I still think it's garbage to strip his name from TPP stuff though, as it clearly will be his last now.

[Tanooki]

I'm curious once the hammer drops and they're out at the end of the year (if that's right) how the MGS fan pool will take it seeing him crapped all over like that, tossed out, then spat on with them hiring a whole new team to make a new MGS.

Will they just roll over and keep playing the series, or basically tell Konami to go f themselves and teach Konami some manners and cut off their big revenue stream. There's not much to that company anymore beyond that franchise and they just buried its leadership and full team under that.

Whatever happened to go to this point must be huge, but given what he was known for outside of MGS, definitely not putting up with Konami's crap (like Inafune and Capcom's blind arrogance) he's surely better off.

[Exhuminator]

Will they just roll over and keep playing the series

I believe so. The vast majority of gamers are not as vested in the credentials of gaming as some us are. I would wager half the people who have enjoyed Metal Gear games don't even know who Hideo Kojima is.