Konami Speaks Out About Video Game Division Closure
The latest whispers from the world of gaming claim it could the end of an era for Konami, and that the award-winning studio could be shutting down its video game division. Giving players everything from Frogger to Silent Hill, Castlevania to Metal Gear Solid, this is on a par with the idea that Rockstar Games could eventually close its doors. They say there's no smoke without fire, but with Konami on the offensive in terms of damage control, those holding the keys to the kingdom are keen to clarify whether there's any truth to the rumours.
Founded way back in 1969, Konami started out in jukebox rental and repair before branching into arcade machines - a lucrative model that's still booming to this day. However, it was early success with Frogger, Scramble, and Super Cobra that saw Konami broaden its gaming horizons. Although its big names like Silent Hill have become lost in the fogs of franchise fatigue, there's no escaping the fact the Konami name carries a lot of credence with it. With this in mind, can we really imagine the Konami video game division closing?
Is the Konami video game division closing?
Before you start painting your "Bring Back Konami" placards, rest assured that the straight-up angle of Konami stopping work on developing and publishing games is far from the truth. The official Konami site seemed to reveal plans to dissolve the company's three production divisions "to respond to the rapid market that surrounds us". This led to a flurry of stories that Konami was pulling out of the video game market, but instead, it's being billed as a "corporate restructure".
In a statement, Konami representatives explained, "The announcement made refers to an internal restructure, with Production Divisions being consolidated. We have not 'shut down' our video gaming division." Well, it definitely sounds a lot more promising than Konami shuttering its gaming division. According to Konami, the divisions supervised production departments. From February 1, the process will be streamlined by the departments reporting directly into upper management. The idea is that Konami will be able to respond much quicker to market changes.
Konami video game division: What's next?
While this is good news for now, let's not forget many actually thought Konami shutting down its video game division was a possibility. It's no secret there have been plenty of critiques that Konami isn't what it used to be and that it could soon go the way of Atari - RIP. In recent years, there's been a shift toward churning out Pro Evolution Soccer games and remastered or anniversary collections of fan-favourites like Castlevania.
At the moment, PES 2022 is the only next-gen game scheduled from Konami, while the company is still shying away from officially announcing what's next for Silent Hill. The release of Metal Gear Survive in 2018 was proof that Konami can survive without Hideo Kojima, but that hasn't stopped the company's annoyingly cautious steps to move with the times. As the likes of Bethesda and Ubisoft continue to announce next-gen games on a nearly weekly basis, Konami is in serious danger of being left in the dust. Seriously, how hard is it to at least announce a return to Silent Hill or tease another outing for Solid Snake?
Thankfully, it sounds like Konami will live to scare another day. Now, we can get back to those swirling rumours we'll get a new Silent Hill game some time before 2050. We're guessing Pyramid Head is a little rusty by now.
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