Konami moves to the mobile graveyard

[system11]

"We will pursue mobile games aggressively," says Konami's new CEO Hayakawa in an interview with Nikkei Trendy Net.

"Our main platform will be mobiles. Following the pay-as-you-play model of games like Power pro and Winning Eleven with additional content, our games must move from selling things like "items" to selling things like "features."

"We saw with these games that even people who buy physical games are motivated to buy extra content. The success of Power pro especially has motivated us to actively push more of our popular series onto mobile than ever before."

"Gaming has spread to a number of platforms, but at the end of the day, the platform that is always closest to us, is mobile. Mobile is where the future of gaming lies."

"We hope that our overseas games such as MGSV and Winning Eleven continue to do well, but we are always thinking about how to push our franchises onto mobile there too."

"With multiplatform games, there's really no point in dividing the market into categories anymore. Mobiles will take on the new role of linking the general public to the gaming world."

http://jin115.com/archives/52080348.html

So.. yeah. Another one bites the dust. Even despite their recent bizarre behaviour, this makes me sad.

[copy-paster]

Meanwhile, in KOnami headquarters.......



and this is logo when they releases games on mobile platform

[soprano1]

So sad...

[BIL]

Ok, I'm long past the point of caring about BIG VG BIZ, but that gif actually made me sad for a sec!

But I can just boot up my 16-bit Konami goodies to counteract the effects!

Some music for the occasion:

GRADIUS GAIDEN "CEMETERY"
THUNDER CROSS "MACHINE GRAVEYARD" (SHOOTING BATTLE VER)

[Ex_Mosquito]

"the platform that is always closest to us, is Toilet gaming. Toilet Gaming is where the future of gaming" lies."

[Blinge]

[BIL]

BLINGE YOU READ MY MIND

There was a good company here. It's shit now.

[Skykid]

"the platform that is always closest to us, is Toilet gaming. Toilet Gaming is where the future of gaming" lies."

Indeed.

[copy-paster]

[Xyga]

"the platform that is always closest to us, is Toilet gaming. Toilet Gaming is where the future of gaming" lies."

Sega Toylet ftw.

[broken harbour]

Sad, Konami was one of my favorite devs in the 8/16/32 bit era.

Also, when will 'gamers' understand that overall, mobile gaming blows. Buy a Vita or a 3DS or something, gaming on your Iphone sucks, it's always sucked, it always will suck.

Candy Crush Sucks
Puzzle and Dragons Sucks
Angry Birds Sucks
Anything Squeenix Mobile Sucks.

The only game I even got remotely into was Danmaku Unlimited 2, and once I bought it on Steam I never went back to it.

[system11]

Well that's the thing, they aren't gamers.

They're....

Casuals.

[broken harbour]

Since when did Casual gamers become the ONLY audience?

It seems like every big developer other than EA and Ubisoft is just putting all their eggs into the casual-mobile market.

[Icarus]

Since when did Casual gamers become the ONLY audience?

When the devs realised that "casual" gamers far outnumber the core players, have deeper pockets, and are more willing to dip into those pockets.

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

Since when did Casual gamers become the ONLY audience?

It seems like every big developer other than EA and Ubisoft is just putting all their eggs into the casual-mobile market.

It sucks shit for us, but it is an incredibly lucrative market. Maybe the bubble just hasn't burst yet or something - but at the moment it's massively more cost-effective than making more mainstream games.

[Specineff]

It will burst. There's only so much you can do with a touchscreen and farm simulators, QTE-based games and Tetris/Columns clones. It's all a matter of it reaching enough saturation.

Kojima and Igarashi leaving the husk of the old guard was warning enough. Konami can sink in its watery grave for all I care as long as those two can provide solid gaming experiences. Just look at what happened with Capcom (And Sega to an extent).

[SuperSoaker360]

Remember the days when devs were all about quality and reputation and not about the money?

[HydrogLox]

Also, when will 'gamers' understand that overall, mobile gaming blows.

By and large the word 'gamer' has lost its meaning but ever since the influx of mainstream money attention has shifted from the 'game player' to the 'game consumer'.

Since when did Casual gamers become the ONLY audience?

It's a numbers game. Due to the ubiquity of smart devices corporations now have access to a vast number of "consumers" - even if any one "consumer" doesn't spend that much on their type of product, the profits roll in if a sufficiently large number of consumers gives their product a try and don't get too pissed off when they don't like it - not that their taste is that discerning to begin with. Most purchases are treated like a piece of gum - unwrap it, chew it, spit it on the sidewalk, be done with it. "Game players" actually get way too much value out of their purchases as they prefer products that they revisit again and again - can't make money off of people like that. Also the mainstream brought the social aspect to 'gaming' so they consume what everybody else is consuming.

The free-to-play/pay-to-win model is a bit more insidious as it is designed and engineered to prey on people's inclination to get addicted, i.e. to continue playing/paying even though the fun has long gone out of it - basically big tobacco without the second-hand smoke. Ironically the consumers who make a sport out of 'playing-without-paying' aren't helping as they give "the product" increased exposure which helps it to snag even more unsuspecting victims. You could almost say that the 'play-without-pay' crowd is consuming at the expense of the 'paying-addict' who makes the proliferation of these products possible in the first place.

It's getting to the point that 'game-players' will have to rely on the output of individuals who have a passion for making great games that isn't driven by the profit motive. However that tends to severely limit the quantity and scale of those titles.

It will burst.

Even if it does there might not be a lot left to build on anyway. And "at-home-entertainment" will probably be dominated by interactive complete immersion experiences - but even these days most movies are only "consumed" once by their audience.

[Jonathan Ingram]

Just look at what happened with Capcom (And Sega to an extent).

Sega is in the top 20 iOS/Google Play publishers by revenue, has been making more money than ever since going mobile and plans on releasing 46(!!!) f2p mobile games next year.

It seems like every big developer other than EA and Ubisoft is just putting all their eggs into the casual-mobile market.

EA was the the 7th biggest mobile publisher in 2014.

[cave hermit]

In a recent press statement, Konami has announced that formerly canceled IP Silent Hills has been resurrected for iOS and Android platforms.

"We know that Silent Hills fans have been waiting quite some time for a new release", said Jared, Konami's head of mobile development, "and we're happy to say to them that it was worth the wait!"

Silent Hills: Puzzle Stories, is a Match-3 horror-puzzler where you match colored orbs under varying conditions in order to lead Harry Mason through the town of Silent Hill in an apparent remake of the story from Silent Hill 1.

"We felt that while the character and monster designs from the original game were already quite excellent, they didn't reach out to as many people as we hoped for. To that end, we have revamped much of the designs in an effort to relate to the modern player." Jared added.

While Harry didn't appear in any of the gameplay shown, the cutscenes in between some of the levels (presented in a comic-book style format), seem to show that Harry has undergone quite a radical makeover: the former everyman is now portrayed as muscular and foul-mouthed, clad in a sleeveless wife beater top and cargo shorts, with his arms covered in a multitude of tattoos. Cutscene dialogue also seems to imply that the story has had some changes, with Harry in search of his girlfriend rather than his daughter. While the new monster design mentioned was not extensively showcased, one cutscene ended with Harry confronting a butcher knife wielding Robbie the Rabbit.

Both the iconic flashlight and radio were shown off as premium single level duration skill-booster items, with the flashlight ($.99) allowing for an extra orb movement per turn, and the radio ($5.99) allowing for more lenient level conditions.

"We hope that by updating the classic Silent Hill experience for a modern audience, we have created a game that Silent Hill fans both new and old can enjoy."

Silent Hills: Puzzle Stories is expected to be hitting mobile marketplaces next week for $1.99.

[Stormwatch]

Also, when will 'gamers' understand that overall, mobile gaming blows. Buy a Vita or a 3DS or something, gaming on your Iphone sucks, it's always sucked, it always will suck.

I'll be the devil's advocate and say you are mistaken. Yes, there are tons of awful casual games. But yet, there are many good mobile games out there, like Asphalt, Modern Combat, Cordy, Shadowgun, Riptide GP, Dead Trigger, Dead Effect, Gridrunner, Zenonia, Giana Sisters... some of them may be a bit generic and simplified, but they're a world away from Angry Birds or whatever. True, touch controls are shit, but you can get a Bluetooth gamepad like pic related below. Also, fuck yeah emulation! Also, to hell with iPhone, it's all locked and shit. Viva freedom, viva Android master race!

[Strikers1945guy]

So much for that Gradius VI petition thread lol

[SuperSoaker360]

Silent Hills: Puzzle Stories, is a Match-3 horror-puzzler where you match colored orbs under varying conditions in order to lead Harry Mason through the town of Silent Hill in an apparent remake of the story from Silent Hill 1.

god damn it cave hermit

[BulletMagnet]

Remember the days when devs were all about quality and reputation and not about the money?

Honest to goodness, not really.

On a more serious (or at least longwinded) note, there were always shameless cash grabs that sold bazillions of copies while well-made products gathered cobwebs and skilled/passionate devs were forced out of their element as a result. This is simply the latest incarnation of the phenomenon, though admittedly to shmuppers it's a particularly nasty sting this time around. Here's hoping that offshoot/expatriate stuff like Iga's Kickstarter thing turn out well in the meantime.

[Pretas]

Opened this thread and for a moment I thought I had accidentally stumbled into NeoGAF.

[Specineff]

Sega is in the top 20 iOS/Google Play publishers by revenue, has been making more money than ever since going mobile and plans on releasing 46(!!!) f2p mobile games next year.

DAMMIT.

I still hope the bubble bursts, regardless of results.

[cave hermit]

Opened this thread and for a moment I thought I had accidentally stumbled into NeoGAF.

Saw your post and for a moment I thought I had accidentally stumbled into /v/.

Actually that applies to pretty much all your posts.

Spoiler

[BrianC]

Did Konami actually make anything good for moblie, or anything that was not outsourced, for that matter? I tried the free version of Frogger and was not impressed.

[system11]

Opened this thread and for a moment I thought I had accidentally stumbled into NeoGAF.

Exactly where I found out and got the link/translation from.

[Cata]

"Gaming has spread to a number of platforms, but at the end of the day, the platform that is always closest to us, is mobile. Mobile is where the future of gaming lies."

Good lord, I hope not