What’s Going on at Konami?

Writing this article came as a real suckerpunch for me. It was a bit like finding out your favorite morning cereal is made from GMOs and kittens. Konami is a name which I’ve been familiar with since an early age. Many great classic titles have emerged from this company over the years and you’d be hard pressed to find a gamer who has not spent time on at least one of their releases. Despite a bit of bad press here and there, I thought things were good at Konami. Well, perhaps this is not entirely incorrect, but what has been revealed through preparing for this piece is that what might be good for Konami might not be good for gamers, or the world as we know it. Let’s explore the situation in a bit more detail.

“Konami SUCKS”, says Internet

The past year has not been a very good PR experience for Konami. Fans are furious over a litany of horrible decisions. Countless contributors have voiced frustration over everything from the fallout surrounding Hideo Kojima to the cancellation of the anticipated Silent Hills and delisting itself from the NYSE the same day. Circulating reports suggesting Konami is a miserable place to work certainly aren;t helping their public image. We can see that Konami is not high on the opinion polls of gamers, but one does wonder if the executives at Konami lose much sleep over this.

If you thought video games were the primary focus of this company then you would be surprised to learn that the people steering this company don’t even know anything about them!

Diversification is key to survival in the business world. Over the years, Konami have developed other revenue generators which include the manufacturing of pachinko machines and the establishment of a successful health and wellness franchise in Japan. While ‘digital entertainment’ still brings in the bucks, it has been revealed that Konami is making good money through its other ventures. This is shown on their public financial statement, which is discussed in detail by popular YouTuber Bunny Hop.

Fun Fact: Bunny Hop received a copyright complaint issued by an executive at Konami for this video commentary. The video was temporarily removed and restored on the grounds that the complaint was unfounded. Damn Konami. You play dirty.

The Dark Side of Konami

Could it be that the comments expressed in Bunny Hop’s video hit a nerve? Seems Konami has been developing a great deal of interest in an emerging development in the gambling industry, skill-based gambling machines. Imagine you’re faced with an arcade machine with a great looking game and the promise that you could make money if you were good enough. Your risk vs reward systems rage as you weigh the cost of practicing against the gains of winning. This is the very core of what keeps the gambling industry alive.

Now as much as Konami would love to dive head first into the gambling industry they do have their hands tied as gambling is technically illegal in Japan. Rest assured that Konami is eager for the laws to change, as shown by their hopes to one of Japan’s first casinos.

While the laws in Japan remain unchanged, Konami sits as a gold member of the AGEM and is very interested in working with partners to develop their vision of skilled based gambling machines. Here is a link to a Youtube commentary that goes further into the details concerning AGEM connection and Konami’s sinister business plans.

“This isn’t even my final form!”

While fanboys rage and introspective opinions flow through the social media currents, one thing is for certain: Konami isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. They’ve shown willingness to embrace the dark side in return for greater profits. Just take a look at this and ask yourself, ‘Do I want more of this?’. If the answer is yes… well, there may not be any hope for you and Konami has won. Konami has today released the much-anticipated
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, yet with a year like this it will be a hard sell for many gamers to trust Konami’s brands again. The fans will certainly decide in the end.

If anything, the direction Konami is steering should stand as an early warning sign of a new and disturbing trend in game development and gambling culture that has been slowly evolving over time. Dark will be the day when people can DDR their mortgages away.