Konami
Latest
Silent Hills concept trailer at TGS: Never sleep again
The concept trailer for P.T., the playable trailer for Silent Hills, was shown earlier today at the Tokyo Game Show. General trigger warning applies... 'cause it's a concept trailer for a Silent Hill game.
Castlevania producer Dave Cox leaves Konami after 17 years
Today is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer Dave Cox's final day at Konami, he announced on Twitter. Signed with the hashtag "#endofanera," Cox wrote the following: "After 17 years I have decided to leave Konami to explore new opportunities. Today is my final day with the company." In follow-up messages, Cox provided a personal highlight reel of his time at Konami, starting when he joined the company in 1997 as the UK product manager. His first project was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. He then managed some of Konami's "biggest titles," including Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Pro Evolution Soccer and Suikoden. With a Castlevania: Lords of Shadow hashtag, Cox discussed his final bow.
PES 2015's pre-order bonuses build your team of the year
Those that pre-order Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 in the UK will receive some bonus goodies, Konami revealed. The pre-order exclusives are for the game's new My Club mode, which stands as an overhauled version of the series' Master League management mode. My Club brings microtransactions to the soccer sim as well, which is where the pre-order bonuses come in. The exclusive pre-order content was "built around the UEFA Team Of The Year," Konami told Joystiq in an email. The bonuses include "10,000 Game Points, 10 Recovery Items to assist the fitness of the squad, and one player picked at random from the team voted by over 5 million people on UEFA.com." Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is the first in the series for PS4 and Xbox One, and will launch on November 13. A demo of the game will be available on September 17 for each of its platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. [Image: Konami]
Report: Metal Gear fan remake featuring Hayter shut down
A remake of the original Metal Gear - not Metal Gear Solid, for clarity - that reportedly featured David Hayter reprising his years-long role as Solid Snake has been shut down, according to Metal Gear Informer. The site reports that a producer on the game told them that "the guys over at Konami couldn't agree on a decision so [they] had no choice but to shut us down." Although fans of the 1987 MSX top-down stealth game won't get to relive Solid Snake's mission to take down Outer Heaven, they can still experience a sample of what the team had planned by checking out a recently-released trailer featuring David Hayter - or at least someone doing a spot-on impersonation of him. Ah, the bitter taste of what could have been. [Image: Outer Heaven Productions]
Deals With Gold: MGS5: Ground Zeroes, Titanfall, Risen
Microsoft's weekly Deals With Gold promotion has returned with discounts on Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, Titanfall and, to celebrate the launch of Risen 3: Titan Lords, the first two entries in Deep Silver's roleplaying franchise. On the Xbox One side of things, both Ground Zeroes and Titanfall have received 50 percent discounts. Ground Zeroes is now available at $15, while Titanfall can be purchased for $25. Titanfall's Expedition DLC has also been discounted to $7. Discounts on Xbox 360 games are more numerous, with a number of Square Enix games receiving a 50 percent discount, including Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. Following the August 12 debut of Risen 3: Titan Lords, both Risen and Risen 2 have had their prices slashed by 75 percent. For a full list of discounts available this week, visit Major Nelson's blog or the Xbox Live Marketplace. All discounts are valid until August 18. Edit: This article initially stated that the Titanfall Expedition DLC was now priced at $10, when it is actually now priced at $7. [Image: Konami]
Kojima promises Silent Hills will make players ruin their pants
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima confirmed that the interactive horror game unvealed during Sony's Gamescom 2014 press conference is indeed Silent Hills, a new, pluralized game in Konami's Silent Hill series. Kojima is working with Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro on a game that will make players "shit their pants," as Kojima said through a translator during Konami's livestreamed Gamescom event today, joking that a limited edition version of of Silent Hills will include an extra pair of slacks (you know, for all the pants-shitting you'll be doing). The interactive teaser, now available on PSN, was briefly discussed during Sony's event yesterday under the name P.T. As it turns out, that only stood for "Playable Teaser," as there's "no deep meaning into it." Kojima clarified, "you see all these trailers and teasers, but it is a game so I wanted to have something that was really interactive that you could play through and after playing it, clearing something, you will finally get to the IP or title or whatever it was."
PES 2015 demo arrives next month, full game in November
The next entry in Konami's flagship soccer simulation, Pro Evolution Soccer 2015, will arrive on November 13, according to a press release from the publisher. According to Konami, the developers behind PES 2015 have approached the game with an eye toward overhauling several key systems. "This focus sees the game faithfully recreating the heart-in-mouth tension of top-flight football through all-new control elements, including the most authentic close control system ever, new shooting and goal keeper routines, plus enhanced PES ID systems to recreate the playing styles of both individual players and their teams," states the announcement. Those who can't wait until November to get their fútbol fix will be pleased to learn that Konami has also announced a free demo of the game which is slated to arrive on September 17. Like PES 2015 itself, the demo will be available for download on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. [Image: Konami]
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes coming to Steam
Update: In a video featuring Snake sneaking around in a box stamped with the Steam logo, Hideo Kojima has officially announced Metal Gear Sold 5: The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes is coming to PC. The announcement was made during Konami's special Metal Gear Preview Party, broadcast on Twitch. No release date was revealed, only that Ground Zeroes would release first. Original Post: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes are coming to Steam. The news comes by way of Konami's official European site, which seems to have accidentally revealed the announcement prior to tonight's planned Metal Gear preview event. Though the press release Konami Europe's site is pointing to is no longer found online [link], we've discovered a text snippet of the announcement: Tonight's MGSV:TPP Preview Show revealed; with a twist of METAL GEAR SOLID humour, that MGSV: THE PHANTOM PAIN and GROUND ZEROES will be available on Steam, release date yet to be disclosed. The event featured a surprise message from Kiefer Sutherland; the voice of 'Snake', announcing an exclusive gamescom pre-order deal. Fans who attended received vouchers offering a 5 EURO discount on the PlayStation®4 and Xbox One versions of MGSV:TPP. This pre-order deal is also available at the KONAMI booth (Hall 7.1) – so if you're planning to visit gamescom, be sure to swing by! We'll be announcing more pre-order deals over the next few months, stay tuned. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain had previously only been confirmed to arrive for Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360. Ground Zeroes, the prologue to The Phantom Pain's story, was released earlier this year.
Old box learns new tricks in Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain
The cardboard box has been a Metal Gear mainstay for decades, but in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain the corrugated gadget has picked up a few new tricks. Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima took the stage at Sony's Gamescom press conference to demonstrate a few of the new tactics Snake can employ with the help of his cardboard pal. Not only can Snake use the box to crawl around without attracting attention, he can also maneuver into position, pop out of the box, fire off a few shots, then duck back into cover. Instead of killing foes, pacifist soldiers can opt to use the Fulton device to kidnap them directly from the battlefield like so many hapless goats. If you'd rather avoid enemy soldiers, the box also offers a new suite of distraction tools. Snake can now attach photographs to the sides of the box, including a saluting soldier that will fool enemies into thinking you're one of them, and a picture of a bikini model that will draw lecherous troops in a hurry. Once they're within range, you can leave the box in place as a decoy or use CQC techniques to repay their devotion to a photograph with a series of rapid strikes. For a full demonstration, see the trailer below the break. [Image: Konami]
Catch the Metal Gear Solid 5 preview at the Gamescom gala
In a powerful demonstration of the mantra "go big or go home," Konami will be previewing Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain not on a show floor, but at a special gala event in Cologne, Germany, the company has announced. The celebration will take place at the Cologne Musical Dome at 8 p.m. CET on August 13, coinciding with Gamescom 2014. The event will also be streamed via Konami's Twitch page, meaning you won't have to be a globe-trotting super-spy in order to attend. Simply tune in at 11 a.m. Pacific / 2 p.m. Eastern to catch the preview as it happens. A related Konami press release promises a live Q&A session with Metal Gear Solid series creator Hideo Kojima, as well as "a few surprises." Considering the last "surprise" turned out to be a massive fake-out revolving around a fake company and a Swedish pseudonym, we can't even begin to imagine what Kojima has in mind. [Image: Konami]
No bones about it: Silent Scope returns to Japanese arcades
After more than a decade, Konami's fan-favorite sniper simulation franchise Silent Scope is making a return to the arcade with the decidedly anime-styled Silent Scope: Bone Eater. What peering through the lens of a high-caliber rifle has to do with munching skeletons is anyone's guess, but according to the intro cinematic seen above, Bone Eater bears all of the series' trademarks: a reduced, simulation-style field of view, bonus points for long distance headshots and endless legions of nondescript thugs unwittingly begging for a bullet through the brain pan. According to Siliconera, Silent Scope: Bone Eater boasts network connectivity, allowing up to four snipers to work together to dispatch enemies. Bone Eater is currently in development for Japanese arcades, with an estimated launch date of later this year. An international arcade release is possible, though given the dearth of arcades elsewhere in the world, it's unlikely you'll ever see a Silent Scope: Bone Eater machine outside of Japan. [Image: Konami]
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 expands shooting system on next-gen
Konami revealed details for Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 this week, the publisher's first soccer game for Xbox One and PS4. The game will include expanded passing options when dishing a final pass to strikers as well as a new shooting system with a "variety of unrestricted shooting styles," though goalkeepers are expected to react better and alter their center of gravity to block shots. The publisher also boasted improved one-on-one battles in the game, improving players' abilities to dribble into space and away from their marker. PES 2015 will be the "first full implementation" of the publisher's Fox Engine, which debuted in its "embryonic form" in Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 and gifted the game a much more exciting presentation. Konami says it recreated over 1,000 players for PES 2015, each one expecting to run and play as they would in real life, and provided more varied crowd animations as well as context-sensitive cheers. The soccer sim is due to launch this fall or winter for PS4, Xbox One and "additional formats." [Image: Konami]
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes in four minutes...GO!
The Metal Gear Solid 5 prologue known as Ground Zeroes is a short (if massively replayable) game, made even shorter in the hands of Reddit user Mimalmo, who completes the mission with a sterling S rank in just under four minutes. [Image: Konami]
New Nintendo eShop releases: Shovel Knight, Castlevania 3
The gardening tool-wielding Shovel Knight makes his debut on Nintendo platforms this week, joining Konami's NES classic Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console. Who would win in a fight, you think -- Shovel Knight or Trevor Belmont? I'm guessing that a shovel would do a lot more damage to a leather-clad vampire hunter than a bullwhip would do to a suit of armor, so we'll give this round to Shovel Knight. Other Wii U highlights this week include the 3D Arkanoid-like Brick Breaker 3D and the intriguingly-named Monkey Pirates. 3DS owners get a broader selection of choices with games like Skypeace, Toy Stunt Bike, and Mysterious Stars: The Samurai. This week's update also gives eShop users the chance to save some cash with price drops for Code of Princess, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, Urban Trial Freestyle, Darksiders 2, and a collection of Ubisoft-published games. You can read more about this week's eShop releases here.
Watch Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain's E3 demo
Snake? Yo, Snake? Snake! Oh, there you are. Hey Snake, check it: You've read our E3 preview of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and its animal-ballooning hijinks. Now watch all 30 minutes of the E3 demo for yourself in this recorded Konami stream. [Image: Konami]
Seen@E3: A visual history of Metal Gear
The walls outside the theater of Konami's E3 2014 detail a visual history of one of the company's most famous franchises. One poster showcases the evolution of Snake from his days as a bundle of pixels on the MSX to the gruff, high-res hero in Kojima's upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Another poster gives players a history of its various weaponized tanks, the titular Metal Gears. A third poster breaks down the environments Snake has infiltrated over the years. For fans, it's a wonderful display of the stealth-action franchise's history and something we had to try very hard not to steal to put on our walls at home. Thankfully, Konami released high-resolution images of each poster. Time to go to the printer!
Sony 'in talks' with Metal Gear Solid movie director
Sony Pictures has finally infiltrated movie development hell on a sneaking mission to make its Metal Gear Solid movie. A Tuesday report in Deadline said the studio is in talks with director Jordan Vogt-Roberts to bring Hideo Kojima's tale of espionage and nuclear missile firing bipedal tanks to the big screen. Vogt-Roberts last movie was The Kings of Summer, a coming of age movie about teenagers building a house in the woods. The teenagers were not part of an elite soldier squad with crazy animal names. Sony Pictures has been trying to get its Metal Gear Solid movie in production since 2007. Last word about the project came in 2012, during the series' 25th anniversary celebration. Kojima and Konami announced that it was partnering with producer Avi Arad on the adaptation. Arad is largely responsible for the current boom of superhero movies, having produced early hits like Blade, X-Men, and Sony Pictures' own hugely successful Spider-Man series. While he's long held ambitions to bring the same success to video game to film adaptations, having been attached to properties like Mass Effect and Uncharted, he's yet to bring those plans to fruition. The one and only completed video game movie Arad produced was 1993's Double Dragon. [Images: Konami]
Konami net income half of last year's despite 'solid' game sales
Konami has released its financial report for fiscal year 2014, which ended March 31. The company's overall net income for 2014 was 6.2 billion yen ($60.9 million), down from 13.2 billion yen in 2013. Net revenue also dipped, though not as much: 217.6 billion yen ($2.1 billion) in 2014, down from 226 billion yen in 2013. The company's Gaming And Systems business segment was the only division to improve its operating income, but before you get your hopes up, know that this section of Konami actually handles casino games. Video games fall under the Digital Entertainment segment, which fell from an operating income of 11.7 billion yen ($114.9 million) in 2014, down from 21.2 billion yen in 2013. These numbers are despite what the company called "solid" sales of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. We'd make a joke about Konami's choice of words matching nicely with the name of Ground Zeroes' protagonist, but as we all know, the game doesn't star Solid Snake, it stars his father, Big Boss, AKA Naked Snake, AKA Punished Snake, who isn't really his father but is instead the person from whom Solid Snake was cloned, who died but wasn't dead, and was rebuilt using pieces from his other cloned "sons" and ... whatever. Nanomachines. For more numbers, check out Konami's full report. [Image: Konami]
MGS: Ground Zeroes learns to share DLC across all platforms today
When Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes launched in March, it featured additional content exclusive to both the PlayStation and Xbox platforms. As was announced last week, those add-on missions are now available across all platforms for free starting today, following updates on the respective consoles, because sharing is caring. Specifically, the previously PlayStation-exclusive Classic Snake skin and Deja Vu mission is now available to Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners. As for PS4 and PS3 players, the formerly Xbox-only Jamais Vu mission is now free to download, and features Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance star Raiden kicking the crap out of "body snatchers" that have taken over a U.S. Naval facility in Cuba. Konami revealed that it shipped over one million copies of Ground Zeroes globally as of this week. As the prelude to Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes is "too good to be a cash-in, too calculated to be satisfying and too intriguing to spurn," according to our review. [Image: Konami]
Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes ships 1 million across all platforms
Konami announced that its Metal Gear Solid 5 prologue, Ground Zeroes, has shipped over one million units worldwide since its launch last month. The milestone accounts for all copies shipped on the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3 in all regions. Developer Kojima Productions confirmed this week that Ground Zeroes' formerly console-exclusive gameplay modes will hit all available platforms on May 1 as free downloadable content. Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes takes series protagonist Snake, now played by Kiefer Sutherland, into an open world – with mixed results, according to our review. [Image: Konami]
