It's Finally Official: Kojima left Konami, Non-Compete to end in December. - Polidicks

[url]http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/why-did-hideo-kojima-leave-konami[/url] [QUOTE] On Friday, October 9th, Hideo Kojima left the Tokyo offices of Konami, the video-game company where he had worked since 1986, for the last time. The departure ceremony, according to one of the hundred or so guests who attended, and who asked that I not use his name, took place at Kojima Productions, the director’s in-house studio, and was “a rather cheerful but also emotional goodbye.” He said that he did not see Konami’s president, Hideki Hayakawa, or its C.E.O., Sadaaki Kaneyoshi, at the party, but some of Kojima’s colleagues from other studios showed up to pay their respects, as did many of the people who worked on his most recent directorial project, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The game, which takes place in mid-nineteen-eighties Afghanistan and Zaire, made a hundred and seventy-nine million dollars on its launch day, in September—more than the two highest-grossing films of the year so far (“Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Jurassic World”) combined. In the past several decades, Kojima’s name has become synonymous with such blockbusters, and with the Konami brand itself. His impending resignation had been rumored as early as March, but the fact of it remains startling—as much as if Shigeru Miyamoto, the originator of Donkey Kong and the Mario brothers, left Nintendo.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]It’s likely that, after Kojima’s non-compete clause expires, in December, he will find a new studio and continue making lavishly produced games. But these future projects will be anomalies in a mobile-dominated Japanese market. Although Western fans may mourn the loss, McCarthy doesn’t share their despondency. “Honestly, I am not so sure that any threat to yet another shouting, shooting game full of American grunts saving democracy from the wiles of dark-skinned terrorists is any great loss to the art,” he said.[/QUOTE]

How long till he opens his own company? Will it be right away, or will you think he might take a break for a bit?

so fucking sad Konami is where they are today because of him [editline]19th October 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Intoxicated Spy;48939744]How long till he opens his own company? Will it be right away, or will you think he might take a break for a bit?[/QUOTE] he should take a year off or something

He should move to Sweden and set up Moby Dick Studio for real

[quote]He said that he did not see Konami’s president, Hideki Hayakawa, or its C.E.O., Sadaaki Kaneyoshi, [/quote] i dont think its possible to be anymore of an asshole

[QUOTE] Although Western fans may mourn the loss, McCarthy doesn’t share their despondency. “Honestly, I am not so sure that any threat to yet another shouting, shooting game full of American grunts saving democracy from the wiles of dark-skinned terrorists is any great loss to the art,” he said.[/QUOTE] grade A fuccboi Even at its worst points, MGS has never been about that.

[Quote]Although Western fans may mourn the loss, McCarthy doesn’t share their despondency. “Honestly, I am not so sure that any threat to yet another shouting, shooting game full of American grunts saving democracy from the wiles of dark-skinned terrorists is any great loss to the art,” he said.[/quote] :s:

[QUOTE=Wii60;48939735]It’s likely that, after Kojima’s non-compete clause expires, in December, he will find a new studio and continue making lavishly produced games. But these future projects will be anomalies in a mobile-dominated Japanese market. Although Western fans may mourn the loss, McCarthy doesn’t share their despondency. “Honestly, I am not so sure that any threat to yet another shouting, shooting game full of American grunts saving democracy from the wiles of dark-skinned terrorists is any great loss to the art,” he said.[/QUOTE] ..Has this guy even played a Metal Gear game?

Wait... uh I thought he left like a month ago?

Wouldn't surprise me if he took a break. Every time a new MGS game came out, you'd read about how he was finished with it and was sick of getting death threats about ending the franchise and people trying to track down his family and such... Then again, often passion overrides such feelings and his newfound 'freedom' from Konami might get him excited to work on some truly individual projects for a change. Who knows?

[QUOTE=Svinnik;48939803]grade A fuccboi Even at its worst points, MGS has never been about that.[/QUOTE] He has clearly never played a single MGS game. [editline]20th October 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Sobek-;48939823]Wouldn't surprise me if he took a break. Every time a new MGS game came out, you'd read about how he was finished with it and was sick of getting death threats about ending the franchise and people trying to track down his family and such... Then again, often passion overrides such feelings and his newfound 'freedom' from Konami might get him excited to work on some truly individual projects for a change. Who knows?[/QUOTE] ZoE spiritual successor maybe

Snatcher reboot would be amazing

[quote]Although Western fans may mourn the loss, McCarthy doesn’t share their despondency. “Honestly, I am not so sure that any threat to yet another shouting, shooting game full of American grunts saving democracy from the wiles of dark-skinned terrorists is any great loss to the art,” he said.[/quote] I don't think McCarthy has ever played a Metal Gear Solid game in his life. It's sad to see a company that made such great games as Silent Hill 1-4 and all the Metal Gear Solid games go under like this. It looks like MGSV is going to be the last Konami game I ever buy. Fuck all this mobile, free to play nonsense. I honestly don't see the appeal from a consumer standpoint.

[QUOTE]The game, which takes place in mid-nineteen-eighties Afghanistan and Zaire, [B]made a hundred and seventy-nine million dollars on its launch day[/B], in September[/QUOTE] Alright, so the argument about Kojima's games being too expensive to make is right out the fucking window and blasted into the sun. Makes it even worse to think how the game would have been if management wasn't so short-sighted and let Kojima finish his work. And as for Silent Hills...

he and gorilla de toro or whatever his name is should team up and make a movie together

[QUOTE=Ager O'Eggers;48939974]Alright, so the argument about Kojima's games being too expensive to make is right out the fucking window and blasted into the sun. Makes it even worse to think how the game would have been if management wasn't so short-sighted and let Kojima finish his work. And as for Silent Hills...[/QUOTE] To be perfectly honest he [i]was[/i] given a shitload of resources to work with, if he couldn't get the job done with how much he was given then he probably should have had way less unrealistic expectations.

[quote]“Honestly, I am not so sure that any threat to yet another shouting, shooting game full of American grunts saving democracy from the wiles of dark-skinned terrorists is any great loss to the art,” he said.[/quote] Uh... Silent Hills?

[QUOTE=Intoxicated Spy;48939744]How long till he opens his own company? Will it be right away, or will you think he might take a break for a bit?[/QUOTE] someone better keep an eye out for a trademark filing on solid cardboard-box productions [editline]19th October 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Geikkamir;48940188]To be perfectly honest he [i]was[/i] given a shitload of resources to work with, if he couldn't get the job done with how much he was given then he probably should have had way less unrealistic expectations.[/QUOTE] i think he means that management probably cut development time, it doesn't mean he wasn't doing a good job, its like if you have everything scheduled, you're going along just fine then tomorrow you find out you have half the time you've scheduled

I wonder how long untill we see a kickstarter from him.

I hope he takes a break for a short while. Build up his development team for his next project, hopefully the people who he's worked with for so long and build up something amazing. Thats if he wants to stick with video games, does he consider Phantom Pain to be a failure?

[quote]David McCarthy, of the Tokyo-based developer Cybird[/quote] Never even heard of him or this developer before, but the quote he made downright demonstrates he has absolutely no knowledge of what the fuck he's talking about. [url=http://www.cybird.co.jp/en/]Also apparently he's a part of a company that handles dating sim games for girls on mobile phones, along with a puzzle game and a soccer/football game.[/url] And David's probably some guy in the translation parts of the company if not some PR rep or some shit. Why the hell is he interviewed for this for some random bits at the very end?

[QUOTE=meppers;48940002]he and gorilla de toro or whatever his name is should team up and make a movie together[/QUOTE] Guillermo (pronounced gi-yerr-mo) del Toro, and honestly I can't imagine a Hideo Kojima movie being all that great. From what I've seen of his style of story telling, I can't really see it working outside of video games.

[QUOTE=mugofdoom;48940497]Guillermo (pronounced gi-yerr-mo) del Toro, and honestly I can't imagine a Hideo Kojima movie being all that great. From what I've seen of his style of story telling, I can't really see it working outside of video games.[/QUOTE] Kojima is clearly a film fan and tbh I think he would probably do a good job with a film.

he could make a great stealth/spy movie,.

[QUOTE=matt000024;48940537]Kojima is clearly a film fan and tbh I think he would probably do a good job with a film.[/QUOTE] Considering how bad some of the cutscenes are in MGS5 I doubt it.

[QUOTE=BenJammin';48940585]Considering how bad some of the cutscenes are in MGS5 I doubt it.[/QUOTE] By themselves, the cutscenes in MGSV aren't horrible. Some of the dialogue is hamfisted or bad, but that's more writing, characterization and story. It's moreso the plot of MGSV is an unstable mess of inconsistencies and plot holes combined with a giant gaping hole right at the end.

[QUOTE=BenJammin';48940585]Considering how bad some of the cutscenes are in MGS5 I doubt it.[/QUOTE] [video=youtube;VofQjhpkJpY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VofQjhpkJpY[/video] Honestly, if Kojima can create a scene like this or like the entire Hospital escape mission, I think that he's more than capable of creating a movie. Throw in that he originally studied filmography in college and that for him creating a film would be a great tribute to his father; I could easily see a Kojima movie with a limitless budget being an instant classic.

[QUOTE=theevilldeadII;48940580]he could make a great stealth/spy movie,.[/QUOTE] I kind of doubt it. I mean if he made one, I'd watch it, but the dialogue in all the games he's made is hilariously stilted and the plots are chock-full of weird shit that makes no sense and are so incredibly convoluted that it's hard to follow. This works great in the Metal Gear Solid games but I can't see it working anywhere else. Can you imagine a spy movie where the main character is an anti-hero hell-bent on revenge that goes around saving puppies and training them to use knives, has an army comprised of sado-masochists with Stockholm Syndrome and his love interest is a sniper who has the inexplicable ability to make herself invisible when she's naked but she never actually is naked yet her clothes disappear anyway because I don't know? Actually I'd watch the shit out of that, but I just can't see Kojima's brand of story telling working as well anywhere outside of a video game. Video games are just as powerful at story telling and narrative as film is, if not more so in many cases (The Last of Us, Silent Hill 1-4), I'd prefer to see him stick to that medium.

Wherever he goes, I hope he's happy and appreciated. That being said, I hope he goes to work at From Software and directs an Armored Core game.

Konami begs to differ: [quote]According to Tokyo Sports, a spokesperson at Konami’s Tokyo headquarters said, “Currently, Kojima is a listed as a company employee [at Konami].” Konami denied that he has left the company. “Currently, Kojima and the development team are finished developing Metal Gear Solid V and are taking a long time off from work.” When asked about the farewell party, Konami replied, “We’re not sure what kind of thing this was.”[/quote] Source: [url]http://kotaku.com/konami-denies-hideo-kojima-has-left-says-hes-on-vacat-1737501388[/url]