Konami Erases Kojima From Metal Gear History

The rift between Konami and Hideo Kojima looks to be intensifying, as the publisher has today effectively erased the Metal Gear creator's name from series history.

[JoeMcCallister]

They really need to come out and start talking, PR is dropping the ball and this all just looks weird to the masses.

[breakpad]

and here starts the downfall of MGS and possibly the real reason of Kojima s departure...Konami goes for quantity over quality (as COD and other Western crap) ..thing that Kojima didnt accept

[XB1_PS4]

Title is wrong. They erased Kojima off of some box art. They absolutely cannot erase Kojima from Metal Gear History. He is Metal Gear. We decide if something from Metal Gear history can be erased.

[aCasualGamer]

Well, that's quite a big leap you're taking there. I'm sure Kojima is a mastermind but the success and quality of a game doesn't lie on one persons ability rather than the cohesive effort of the whole team, commitment from one person doesn't bring quality if the whole team is weak.

My concern is whether Kojima has dropped out of Silent Hills in result of this. That project was early on in the production and if the project leader dropped out, there's reason for concern.

About projects after Phantom Pain and Silent Hills, i'm sure he left the franchise in good hands. But i'm more concerned over the ongoing projects that he was involved with.

Removing his name is a conscious choice from the head of the company so the franchises value won't be weighed through Kojimas involvement.

It's a way of saying, the franchise can live on without Kojima.

Personally, i don't think any game should be named after a person, the reason these games are great is again because of the effort of the whole team. This goes to everything from games to movies to other products. The fact that Apple products were synonymous with Steve Jobs is a disgrace and slap in the face for the hard workers around the world.

[Moldiver]

"We decide if something from Metal Gear history can be erased."

Exactly. Because we are the sons of liberty!

But seriously,something is amiss. The silence from both parties does not help. But all these rumours could turn out to be nothing more than a renegotiating between both parties over metal gear or something. Hope it does not negatively effect the development of MGS 5.

[SoulMikeY]

Western crap huh? That seems to be quite the ignorant statement. I'll agree that shit like COD and Minecraft is crap. And it also happens to be "western". But trust me, Japan doesn't have a lot to brag about at this point. Metal Gear, the Souls games.... That's about it.

Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 9 were their last great ones. Anything, Japanese or not, with "Tales" in the title should have never been created.

[XB1_PS4]

@Casual

He's the head writer, prodcuer, director, and game designer to the main MGS games. Without him, the games don't exist. He's a legend in the gaming industry. That's why his name is on the box.

"It's a way of saying, the franchise can live on without Kojima."

To me, it seems like a slap in the face to Kojima. Like he hasn't been the pushing force for Konami for decades. The franchise will not be the same without him. No matter what.

[HiddenMission]

@acasualgamer

Your name kind of says it all...

Miyamoto made Mario and Zelda and Starfox...do you think the sequals to those titles would have been as great without him...if you do you're showing how very little you understand about a creative work of art.

It takes a creative artistic mind to build an IP and it take the highest caliber of artistic individuals to leave a mark or a legacy.

Saying that the team or a team can just keep on going is well ignorant. Look at Apple after Steve Jobs not the same...look at Apple when they forced him out...almost broke the company.

Hideo is a Steve Jobs of gaming and while you fail to grasp that others do and we see that this could and most likely will see the series fall apart or even worse turn into something a shell of its former self.

As far a branding changes its like taking Steve from Apple or Miyamoto from Nintendo the product decreases it's appeal once you know the individuals who brought the secret sauce are no longer there.

Don't believe what I'm saying what happened to Capcom when they laid off Clover Studios...the company has never been the same and all of its IP's have suffered greatly due to the parting.

So yeah you're very wrong with the optimistic assumption that it might be for the best.

[andibandit]

Who's Kojima??

[LordMaim]

Pfft. I wouldn't be surprised if this is just another stunt. Just like Joakim Mogren.

[XBLSkull]

Metal gears gameplay was always fun, but the ludicrous story and insane amount of cut scenes really ruined the games for me. If they can get a group of developers together that can continue with great gameplay and drop all that frivolous story crap and give us a nice and simple "bad guy wants to take over the world" story I think they will really take the series to a new level of awesome and reach a much wider audience.

[N4Flamers]

@ casual

yeah i can tell you dont have a firm grasp of the metal gear series if you think someone else can make a narrative thats as complicated and engaging as any of the previous games. We will probably end up with something along the lines of MGSRaising again. Fun game but the absurdity of the mgs universe was mishandled and the game suffered.

[sinspirit]

@XBLSkull

That is one of the worst comments I have ever read on this site. The amount of sense it makes to get rid of what makes Metal Gear what it is in order to make it a run and gun and repeat-fest is the worst thing I have heard from a "gamer". You SHOULD play games for multiple unique experiences. Not for point a to point b crap. If you don't want story driven then don't even come here and post. Don't tell anyone to rid of what makes it what it is. Just find something else. You're insulting this game with what you just said.

[CuddlyREDRUM]

What about Japanese crap?

[phoenixwing]

@mikey
Why did you have to hate on the tales series of all things? The tales series is a consistant series with its offerings. I mean sure there are some bad ones out of the bunch but last gen the tales of series provided good jrpg's to play when final fantasy XIII was too linear for my taste.

[sikandar201]

Title is wrong but Konami has also removed kojima's name from Ground Zeroes as well.. first it was only from Phantom Pain!

[sonarus]

Oh God, Please Please Please, don't let this affect Phantom Pain. We have waited long enough as is.

[DVAcme]

No, you mean EA and Activision, not "Western" crap. Cause the West right now is giving Japan a beating in terms of innovation and delivering good games. Kojima is a legend, but he's also, by his own admission, the most Western-influenced Japanese developer. His themes and characters are based on many well-established Western concepts, and the Metal Gear series, even with its moments of Japanese weirdness, is most appealing to Western audiences. Hell, Kojima gives ample praise to developers like Rockstar and Bethesda with their open worlds, and MGS5 is a direct response to that kind of gameplay.

[NerdBurglars]

In other news Konami is un-invited from Kojimas birthday party! http://nerdburglars.net/430...

[freshslicepizza]

does anyone else have their name displayed on the cover? i don't even recall shigeru miyamoto's name being there and he is nintendo.

hideo kojima always came off as full of himself anyways. it's like he's talking about himself in third person. yes he's made a huge name for himself and yes without him mgs is nothing but there is also a team that helps make the game, he's not an indie developer.

[ZombieKiller]

"Konami TRIES TO Erase Kojima From Metal Gear History"

Fixed.

Sorry but even if they try their hardest, it will never happen. Kojima is MGS and MGS (plus a few other games and movies) is Kojima. I only say movies because his Twitter says he's 80% movies :)

[HumanatPlay]

This could be one of the most epic April fools jokes...5 stages of grief man...5 stages of grief...

[tmh3593]

I'm so glad they came out and said this because now I am sure and relieved knowing that this is just Kojima trolling.

[UKmilitia]

well i can guarantee that PPain will be my last metal gear.
i expect them to carry it on and i wont support it and that way they will sell off and hopefully leave gaming for good.

nothing like the company they was in the 90s

[showtimefolks]

if this is indeed true and Kojima has decided to leave(and that's a huge IF, April Fool is coming)(

Join Sony and work on some awesome games

[CBOAT]

ܝܘܚܢܢ ܒܝܬ ܐܦܪܝܡ

[Noami]

isnt kojima a expert aprils fools person he always had preparation earlier b4 in the past..most of the time i hope thats the case..

[Jalva]

Wherever Kojima goes next, it seems obvious that he'll want to own the rights to his creations, so that rules out Sony.

[SaveFerris]

I don't think he'll go to either of the console companies, nor EA, Ubisoft, etc. He'll likely open his own studio.

[Jalva]

Seems like the best option by far.

[Palitera]

Or reveal the reason for all this trolling in April 1th, "the day Konami will reveal their next head guys".

Seriously, this is Kojima and there is an statement scheduled for April's Fool. What else do you need?

-

Crimzon, Sunset Overdrive was my most wanted game last year.
Don't worry if you miss on playing it. It is not THAT good.

[Dark_king]

@Paliterav shh don't mention that this man loves to prank gamers.Just sit back and enjoy all this.

[Moldiver]

"He'll likely open his own studio."

The issue would be finance. He could do crowd funding but there are two problems there. A kojima game, is very expensiv. And his games tend to get delayed for his own reason. Crowdfunders would want him to be very transparent on that or he would run the risk of damaging his reputation. Which works against his pretty secretive approach.

But EA, Bathesda or activision would be interested.And they have the resources to fund and market A new Kojima IP. whether we like or loathe these companies, who else can afford an ambitious kojima project? Maybe namco-bandai or square enix, but I think the latter would prefer to spend that money on one of their own franchises.

[Aloren]

@Moldiver, You're forgetting Ubi.

[Crimzon]

I was really disappointed that I'll never get to play Sunset Overdrive because Sony refused to let Insomniac Games own the IP. If Sony's smart and want to snag Hideo, they'll let him make whatever he wants and let him own it as well.

[dolphin_supreme]

Sony's proven they don't mind developers doing their own thing.

[DafunkyRebel]

Considering the freedom Sony gave Naughty Dog and the relationship between Kojima and Playstation over the years I have a a fair certainty that he will join a Sony team for sure

[TaylorSwiftFan]

Come to Naughty Dog, Kojima San!

[XB1_PS4]

Eww no, he's a leader. He needs to build his own studio. If he went to Naughty Dog, the only position acceptable would be the president. That would change Naughty Dog. Naughty Dog needs to stay exactly the way it is. Right now they're perfect.

Kojima is coming from a Vice President position at Konami. He's not going to just join in as a scrub at ANY studio.

I hope he makes his own studio.

[RiseofScorpio]

I'm pretty sure he doesn't speak English.

[vallencer]

He does actually. Just isn't that great at it. He's spoken English on various occasions. Hell one was at e3 on Microsofts stage.

[iceman06]

He speaks English, but is more comfortable speaking in his native language. Thus, most of his conferences have a translator. If you watch most of his interviews, it's clear that he understands the English. He'd just rather express himself fully in Japanese.

[OrangePowerz]

What a disgrace Konami is removing the creater of their cash cow from the marketing.

[rdgneoz3]

Even more of a disgrace.

"while somewhat ominously announcing that it will be hiring a new development team to begin working on a new Metal Gear title following the conclusion of The Phantom Pain"

Guess Phantom Pain is the last MGS I'll be playing.

[vallencer]

To be fair he did always say he wanted someone else to take the mantel from him for MGS. However I agree if he isn't part of it or his old team then I won't buy it.

[spicelicka]

lol this sounds like a high school girl fight, where they black out each other's faces on facebook photos.

[Akuma2K]

Lmaoooo......bubble for you, that was funny.

[RGB]

Absolute disgrace! He's single handedly carried Konami in the last decade. May even boycott The Phantom Pain dependent on further news.

[KimDongHwan]

Phantom Pain will be the last Kojima Game, so buying it its like to honor the man, the creator. After that if you want boycott the nexts metal gears without him.

[RGB]

Is The Phantom Pain his true vision anymore?
What will Konami do between now and release?
If Kojima isn't getting anything from this and his named been dragged through the dirt, why should I buy it?

I'll get it 2nd hand and support Kojima in his future non-Konami projects, they've lost me and no doubt thousands of others, their loss.

[jon1234]

Your boycotting will have absolutely no effect... All you're going to be doing is missing out on a good game.

[Benjammin25]

This is pathetic. Konami are acting like little children. It doesn't matter. Everyone knows Konami is done for when Kojima leaves. Let them have their little tantrum.

[Veneno]

Yeah this whole situation is juvenile. But maybe it was just better for business if Konami let go of Kojima.

[Red]

This is disrespectful.

[WCxAlchemist]

WoW wonder what happen betwwen Kojima san and Konami

[stuna1]

Erasing Kojima from the history of Metal Gear is like erasing the faces off of Mt. Rushmore! It's simply will not happen. Kojima is synonymous with Metal Gear! Even without it being publicized it a known fact he's the creator.

[theshredded]

april fools joke, u never know just kidding

[Joe913]

Hope so lol.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Well Kojima......

Platinum Games or Tango would welcome you with open arms.

[FullmetalRoyale]

Kojima really IS Big Boss...

😱

[TheFallenAngel]

Sony should give him his studio. Doesn't he and Sony have great relationships? I always see him hanging around playstation.

[pwnsause_returns]

Konami really wants to commit suicide. I'd say let em, their loss.

I still find this weird...why distance yourself from their best Dev..

[pwnsause_returns]

Also, he doesn't need to work for Sony, he Can make his own studio and make whatever he wants to make!

Ironically, he would be free from The system! Lmaoooo

[SaveFerris]

Maybe the last Metal Gear game by Hideo Kojima?

[MCTJim]

That would be my guess if the story and rumors are true.

[ICANPLAYGAMES2]

April fools b!tc#es, j.k. ;p (at least I'm just hoping this is some kind of early start on the year's prankiest of days, fingers crossed).

[donwel]

This is what I'm thinking. It HAS to be some kind of April fools prank.

[Ratty]

That makes Konami kind of sound like the Patriots XD

[2pacalypsenow]

If it doesn't have Kojima it's not a metal gear game ,just like those crappy NES ports ,they are not considered real MG games

[bangoskank]

First they ruined Suikoden, then Castlevania, now Metal Gear. Sad to watch one of the great publishers go to sh!t over the years.

[Servbot41]

Not to mention ruining Bomberman, Silent Hill, Contra, Gradius‎, Frogger, etc.

[Veneno]

I honestly am not concerned with Metal Gear. I believe that it will live on in some way. And we have enjoyed more than enough MGS games. What we should all be concerned with is Silent Hills.

[tmh3593]

Really silent hills was the game I was looking forward to the most. Kojima and del Toro were going to make a masterpiece and I hope that doesn't get thrown away.

[Joe913]

I wonder how this affects the MGS movie if Kojima was working with Sony to make it and now is not even at Konami anymore and it being a Konami IP will Kojima be involved in the movie at all anymore?

@ Veneno Konami confirmed they will continue with MG games. It is funny because they said Metal Gear not Metal Gear Solid could be they don't know the difference but just saying this could mean future games will be solid snake missions before MG1 or after MG2 before MGS1. Anyway the big question is Kojima going to be involved in anyway I would say read the comment Konami made when news broke they said Konami and Kojima will continue to support Metal Gear games could mean they will contract him out for future MGS games but not sure what that would mean for Silent Hills they could contract him out for that as well.

[Parhelion69]

Fuck Konami!

Kojima > Konami

[hulk_bash1987]

My guess is, he wants to branch off and do other games. But Konami is trying to lock him into developing MGS games forever.

[Nightcyberspud]

If he leaves Ubisoft should hire him to make Splinter Cell.

[Captain_Wormy]

After MGSV I'm boycotting anything these bastards make hoping it sells like shit so they can stop making them.

[Kingdomcome247]

Is that actually legal, removing someone's name from a product that there they were involved with from top to bottom?

[hellothere1977]

Konami humored him by allowing his team to be prominently displayed on their property. It seems Kojima did something to piss the head boss off enough to shame him by expunging his name from the metal gear property.

Likely scenarios:
1) Kojima tried a power struggle to become head of Konami,

2) Kojima tried to wrestle the IP control from Konami,

3) Money, or

4) Creative differences

My guess is 1 or 3.

[Relientk77]

This is ridiculous what is going on

You can't just take his name off projects/games he's worked on

[hellothere1977]

Yes, they can. Same reason your employer has no obligation to put your name on any of the products you work on that they own rights to.

Something big must have gone down for them to deal with the likely aftermath.

[dust_radio]

Konami and Metal Gear are both nothing without Kojima.
We all know what a travesty MG Rising was. :P

On the Konami website if you go the games tab there are two; "all games" and "metal gear solid" ....goes to show no one gives half a f*** about any of the other crap they're putting out.

Getting rid of Kojima will most likely be the death-knell of Konami. They're diggin their own grave!

[arugula]

If Kojima doesnt want to make MGS games anymore it cant be branded as kojima productions now can it?

Hes not being erased from Konami or the history. They only doing this to keep this current. If Kojima is leaving and so is his team, how can they keep MGS under Kojima Productions brand when that is no longer true.

He will most likely be under Konami doing something else. This is just a basic restructure of Kojima Productions.

[ManAnimalX]

Shades of Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki and Tecmo?

Sounds like it and Tecmo hasn't been the same since, in fact are they even still around? (sarcasm lol), it was a Prideful arrogant move that did not benefit Tecmo at all, and was pretty much the nail in the coffin.

Konami is known for the MGS series in the West, this separation is going to greatly affect and reduce mindshare in the West.

$$$ is a universal language, we all speak it and this is like taking a poison pill for Konami, the upside is what? lol. Pride always comes before a fall, and Konami will fall and I predict even fail long term here in the West( UK/US).

[hellothere1977]

It's funny you mention pride and its evils, since Kojima is hands down leagues more prideful and boastful than Konami is as a whole.

[ManAnimalX]

You may be right idk, I just know its financially not the best option for Konami and the MGS series.

I do believe culturally(Japanese) speaking, pride in general could be an issue within the Corporate ranks.

[BABY-JEDI]

I just wonder what Kojima will do next. He could pretty much do anything that he wanted. I really hope that he & Guillermo del Toro can hook up to a survival horror game if it's not Silent Hill. I got the impression that both really wanted to team up.

[aLiEnViSiToR]

BIG mistake Konami, big mistake...

[g-nome]

Maybe a publicity stunt?

[syne49]

I am going to laugh if Kojima, a notorious troll, is trolling all of you. Especially considering the changes supposedly go into effect April 1st. Well either way I am excited to see what he pulls out next. I love MGS but I want to see this guy stretch his legs on a new adventure.

[zodiac909]

Konami need to wake the f*ck up and pay some more respect to the man that has practically kept the company alive for the past 15-20 years!

[Kran]

Can they really do that though?

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Well I'm one of the Kojima faithful. Dude is a legend.

[fayz]

he might be trying to sell us another demo to bring his name back...

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Kojima...Kojima?...KOJIMA!!!

[DafunkyRebel]

Kuntnami is mucking it up

[jairusmonillas]

I would be pissed too if i keep making MGS games for my entire life.

It's no secret he wanted to do a different game but Konami just want him to do MGS lol.

[josephayal]

big mistake

[RowSand]

well this is just my opinion: I think its something to do with the storyline and the character setting? check this out from
Python and Selkan - latest analysis they did in youtube https://www.youtube.com/wat... theis guys are serious
but its intresting!!

[Dangerous]

They going to erase Kojima name from MGS series and the previous one!
Now that is deny for konami to kojima work he is the creator of the series

[my_wife_is_dead]

You might be able to erase the markings, but the memories will never disappear

[wannabe gamer]

ok if this is really happening then thats too far. I say if this is how Konami is going to treat Kojima then we the gamers/customers should do the same with Konami after MGS V. MGS V deserves support since it is Kojima's work and hopefully they haven't taken any money he would make away somehow.

[maelstromb]

If you can divert your attention away from the ongoing drama of the Kojima/Konami parting, just think for a moment: it would NOT surprise me in the least if Sony and/or Microsoft haven't already reached out to Kojima in some way, shape or form to try and woo him to their side. Only time will tell, but I have a feeling that his parting with Konami will only benefit us gamers.

[dizeestl]

Konami will be out of business within 5 years after they release 2 or 3 more god awful Rising games.

[gamer7804]

Kojima said several times he was ready to move on from the series. He wants to do something new and not be known as the "Metal Gear Guy"

[smashing4fun]

Really hope this all gets resolved, Kojima is such a legend, and I don't really want to dislike Konami

[urwifeminder]

Never played his stealth games so I am happy about this maybe they might make something I like for a change seen people play his over rated games before. Giant robots with sexy chorus girl legs lmfao.

[wannabe gamer]

you admit you never played them then you go on to call them over rated.... lol

[rocketpanda]

Misleading title. Erase his name from the box cover. Unless they remove it from the credits then here is no story nor news.

[upallnightgamer]

Except the fans remember Kojima-san's involvement, and Konami can't erase him from EVERY website on the internet. If it wasn't for Kojima-san, Metal Gear wouldn't be as popular as it is, and Konami would still be looking for the next big series.

[Petebloodyonion]

IT's call lack of respect!
Seriously this guy as been loyal to Konami since day one and created some of the best selling titles of the company.
The least you could do is showing respect for the work of the man!
But I guess that Konami will learn from the fan rage and hate mail that some peoples do make a difference.

[Neo_Zeed]

More like Konami just erased themselves.

Kojima was the backbone of Konami.

[Swonic]

We are legion We don't forgive We don't forget Konami

[Psytrix]

Sounds like Konami are having a huge tantrum - They are also demonstrating how childish and disrespectful they are. Hideo Kojima has done a lot for that company and they would be nothing without him. Good riddance.

[lordstark]

Sad to say this never ends well. Think of all the greats that left company's to start there own and are now struggling with raising enough money to fund there projects>>> Shinji Mikami Resident Evil 1 and 2, Dino Crisis,
Hideki Kamiya(Resident Evil 1 and 2, Devil May Cry Viewtiful Joe)

Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy Series, Blue Dragon) Tomonobu Itagaki (Ninja Gaiden DOA Series) this is becoming a trend and not for the good. Ever since these hardcore developers branched off to dot here own things the games have been sub par at most. With the exception of Hideki Kamiya and Bayonetta.

[2pacalypsenow]

I hope for nothing but the worst for konami after kojima leaves , last konami game I'm buying is MGS 5

[StormLegend]

That's just messed up!

[Kumomeme]

thats too much...removing him from history..kojima indeed was creator of series and man behind of the story and game design

hideo kojima and kojipro uppermanagement might be form new studio...like sakaguchi's mist walker...really curious about kojima next game..especially if it was new ip...

[UNKLE]

Kojima always wanted to make games to multiplatform so no more sony exclusive i think he done with videogames and he move on... so i guess konami did change mgs5 ending? (to make sequels??) i guess kojima dont wanted that...

[Gatsu]

Motherf*ckers ;(... Kojima's created the series for over 20 decades and they do this? It's thx to MGS and Kojima that Konami even is so succesful.