Controversy Clocking Episode 2: The downfall of Konami

Konami, where do I begin? Controversies surrounding the game company have exploded in 2015; bad business, mistreatment of its employees and downright arrogant methods of handling their franchises have all combined to drag their reputation through the mud. The #FucKonami hashtag became quite popular on Twitter as the gaming community voiced their distaste for the company’s decisions, not to mention many prominent YouTubers criticising them left and right. It’s all boiled into Konami exiting the triple A scene, something which they once prided themselves on. Where it all went wrong comes down to many things, but hopefully I’ll be able to paint a clear enough picture.

The first wrong step Konami took lies with their games; nearly all of their franchises went from lacklustre to worse; Silent Hill: Downpour and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 were two major examples of franchises which had fallen far from what they been before. Rather than listen to criticisms and improve for next time, Konami elected to give up on the franchises instead, going as far to cancel the incredibly ambitious Silent Hills earlier this year. While Metal Gear and Pro Evolution Soccer made it through this rough spot, it didn’t help that Konami’s business practices and decisions were beginning to falter; the Silent Hill collection and the Metal Gear Solid HD collection were released in either a poorly optimised state or supply problems and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes was widely criticised for being too expensive for a simple demo experience. Not only were Konami’s franchises failing, but their new IPs were hurting badly; Neverdead, Blades of Time and Birds of Steel couldn’t achieve the popularity Konami wanted in 2012 and they haven’t worked on a new project since then. Mediocre games and baffling decisions are one thing, but it was only the start of the troubles for Konami.

Konami then went on to do some pretty shameful things for both the gaming media and eventually its own employees. Blacklisting happened all over the place as the corporation attempted to censor their critics and withhold the press from reporting on their games while YouTubers had their videos removed through abuse of copyright systems. Following this spat with the internet at large, reports began to spread that Konami was spying on its own employees with surveillance cameras and assigning those who were uncooperative to cleaning duties. This was where things really started to heat up for Konami and its fans; word of Konami’s awful practices spread around the internet, prompting widespread backlash from the community. As a final show of arrogance, Konami removed Kojima’s name from Metal Gear Solid 5, a very disrespectful move that spat on the one man who has kept their company going for decades. The burning question in all of this is; who is to blame for all that went wrong with Konami? Like many controversies the answer is a vague one, though some believe that Konami’s executives are the blame; that they struck out on personal motives while stepping on everyone beneath them.

The aftermath

Now that Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has been released alongside the departures of Hideo Kojima and Fox engine director Julien Merceron; Konami’s fate has effectively been sealed and with this the controversy surrounding them has died down a fair bit. Gaming media recently reported that Konami would cease all AAA development for consoles except for Pro Evolution Soccer. That means no more Metal Gear, Castlevania, Silent Hill or Contra; franchises which were once widely beloved and enjoyed by legions of fans all over the world. As for Pro Evolution Soccer, I don’t think it really has much of a chance against FIFA these days. I know many people who purchase FIFA every year and usually that’s down to how it has both the licensed teams and the sheer mainstream popularity that keeps people playing. What will happen to Konami now? While they may have taken the embarrassing steps towards investing in mobile games and gambling machines, it’s hard to tell just how long they’ll last; they could end up going bankrupt in a year or two, never to be heard from again if their current focus doesn’t work out.

Looking back at all the bad moments Konami has had in modern gaming, it’s quite sad to see them go; after such a long career in the industry that stretches all the way back to the eighties, you’d think that all that experience would have kept them above other companies which exploit and disrespect both consumers and their own employees. Is Konami’s demise an indication of how ruthless and unforgiving games development has become? Given the once massive size and reputation of Konami as a company, we should keep a close eye on things in the future.