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Ever wonder what happened to Konami as a game development powerhouse in the 80's and 90's? They haven't had launch titles on any of the new consoles.
Besides diving into social gaming and moving more than 95% of its development staff to mobile years ago, they are aiming to be a top 3 gambling machine player as you can see here. Apparently, they are licensed in 43/50 states.
I'd love to see them sell their good IPs to someone capable of doing something useful with them. Castlevania peaked in 1993. Contra followed a year later. Even in 2004, Konami had to outsource to get a competent Gradius game. Sell Castlevania to Bethesda, so they can give it to Shinji Mikami after he's done with The Evil Within. Sell Contra to whomever will outsource it to Platinum, preferably Sega. Gradius may be tougher, but I'd be fine with another Treasure entry; Sega could publish that too.
The current Konami frustrates me. Getting tired of seeing God of War-vania and very little from Konami that isn't outsourced.
It blows my mind that they're still releasing beatmania IIDX games. There are twenty one of them now.
It blows my mind that they're still even releasing games.
How does Metal Gear fit into the current business plan? Grandfathered?
James
I figure the 5% that didn't go to working on mobile are the ones left working on Metal Gear.
Last time I read their financial statements, almost half of Konami's revenue comes from casino/pachinko machines and their fitness centers (only in Japan). Besides Kojima Productions, I think they only have teams for Winning Eleven, Power Pro, the Boy's Love stuff and Bemani. Everything else is outsourced.
Tired of the new Castlevania? There's been 1! The second one has not even released. Did you mean to say Metroidvania? There is like 100 of those.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brianvgplayer
I like those.
One of the Western gaming websites should post an article explaining in plain English why Japan gaming has dried up. There's still shock and confusion in the West when a Breath of Fire mobile game is announced, or when it's revealed that Sony is a more successful insurance company than CE company. Or more recently, when a PS4 launch doesn't stir as much chaos as people expected.
Seriously. The series was held prisoner for a damn decade. I'm concerned the new one may be the worst of both worlds though.Quote:
Originally Posted by SamuraiMoogle
We will never see a sequel to Double Dribble :(
Besides the Genesis one?
And here I was waiting for that Adventures of Bayou Billy remake. :(
Pro Evolution Soccer and Pro Baseball Spirits are two great sports series.
Metal Gear is still cool.
Other than that, I can't think of anything good Konami's done lately.
Blades of Steel deserves a sequel, too!Quote:
Originally Posted by kingoffighters
That never existed in my mind.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
Didn't know that existed. Gonna try it now.
It was terrible if I remember correctly.
Besides the PS1 one?Quote:
Originally Posted by jyoung
And the two N64 games?
"Entitled Consumerist Audience Demands Consumer Products"
I'm not sure big budget video game releases meet the criteria for risk/reward anymore. One failure and all your shit's gone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
The 3D games don't count.Quote:
Originally Posted by bVork
Blades of Steel is meant to be a 2D game.
I believe the answer you're looking for is "Midway's Open Ice Hockey", which is inexplicably not named NHL Jam.
I was referring to the Mercury Steam games. Mercury Steam also made that 3DS CV with mixes God of War-ish stuff with 2D style gameplay. I admit I only played the demo, but I heard mixed things. I forgot when 2 was coming out (just looked it up and it comes out tomorrow), but I'm skeptical since it's still Mercury Steam. I wasn't thrilled with what they said about wanting to make a less hardcore Contra either.Quote:
Originally Posted by SamuraiMoogle
Blades of Steel also got those GBC games, which I heard mixed things about. I like the GB b/w Blades of Steel, though.
The GBC NBA In the Zone games seem to be based on Double Dribble with similar graphics, but I'm not sure if they are any good. IGN didn't like the first GBC one, but also cited a couple of flaws that are actually true of Double Dribble, as well.
I really liked the online castlevania game
Konami should probably sell Gradius, Salamander, and Xexex to Treasure. Maybe even Hudson's Gate of Thunder?Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
Quit sitting on all this good stuff, Konami. If you're not going to keep it alive, pass the torch to someone who cares. Treasure can call on G.Rev again if needed.
Konami needs to hire M2 to do another collection and more remixes. I wouldn't mind if M2 ended up owning Konami's stuff.
Yes! I like where Brian is headed here: Konami 3D Classics.
I would buy the shit out of 3D Classics Castlevania 3 with a proper soundtrack option.
Nobody cares about any of that crap.Quote:
Originally Posted by gameoverDude
Treasure will buy it for 10 dollars
It looks like some former staff from Konami is now at Good Feel. I like their street pass shmup and a couple of their games sound promising.