Kojima Leaving Konami? The Patriots swing into action.

[chopemon]

It looks like Hideo Kojima is leaving Konami. Earlier it was discovered that as of April 1st he will no longer be a Konami exec. People have done some digging and found that the Patriots (Konami) hasve scrubbed his name from box art and promo materials. The Kojima Productions twitter account is switching to @metalgear_en and the Koji Pro sites redirect back to Konami.

Neogaf are digging down the rabbit hole here.

[doodledude]

Some very odd things happening especially removing his name from box arts etc.
Konami without Kojima is pretty much nothing.
He may have to leave Konami to finally not do anymore MGS though.
Metal gear is my favourite game series, but Kojima could start his own independent dev without too much trouble I'm sure.

[dave heats]

I'm immediately concerned about Silent Hills now. With Evolution closing and this news, it's turning into a fairly crap news day today!

[wakka]

If he starts making mobile games... :l

[fuse]

This is it. He's finally going to make that ADV with Suda and Chiyomaru.

[Brad]

The @Kojima_Pro_Live has announced it has moved to @metalgear_en so somethign is definitely up.

[chopemon]

Edit - that's fake.

[Golgo]

!

Noooooo

[MrKirov]

Wouldn't be surprised if this is Konamis way of distancing him from MGS, so if this is his last they can continue the franchise without him without the stigma of not havin his name attached- like a pre emptive damage limitation.

[Asura]

If he starts making mobile games... :l

Heh, related - saw this today.

Massive ads for Clash of Clans all over Tokyo.

[JU!]

Chopemon thanks for posting. This is a nightmare and why take his name off he box art so petty. Worry for other games aka Silent Hills, guess this mean Kojima Productions going Solo? Or he will start his own studio again.

What happens with Fox Engine!?? Can Konami still use it for Winning Eleven/Pro Evo? Can Kojima still use his own engine.

Speculation he guess I wannt make a diffrrent game. Konami said no. He said do one I'm leaving. Or he just wanted to do his own thing.

[chopemon]

Looks like part of this is a massive rebranding of Konami. They want a more unified, headquarters down approach so everything is being branded as Konami rather than Koji Pro.

However, the Kojima stuff still seems suspicious because I can't imagine that would go down well with him and he is no longer an exec. I think after 7 years, a brand new engine and an LA studio, MGS5 has cost quite a lot and Konami want more MGS to get a return on investment. Kojima wants out so he left and they've swooped to take control.

I bet they want to Assassin's Creed (annualised franchise) MGS.

[eastyy]

https://twitter.com/AnnoyedGamer/sta...98197657878528 that made me laugh

[JU!]

Eurogamer article here with dodgy looking Tweet seems ominous.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-19-hideo-kojimas-name-removed-from-metal-gear-solid-5-branding

More here interesting piece from Patrick Klepek and Kotaku

http://kotaku.com/why-people-are-freaking-out-about-hideo-kojima-right-no-1692392079

Taken from Neo Gaf

http://www.videogamer.com/ps4/metal_...t_rumours.html

"Konami Digital Entertainment, including Mr. Kojima, will continue to develop and support Metal Gear products. Please look forward to future announcements."

Thread http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1013350&page=3

MGS2 Trailer music plays du du du du dudududu...

If he is anything like Shinji Mikami he will similarly set up Tango Game works, Konami will regret this as Capcom seemed to in that situation.

[Asura]

If he is anything like Shinji Mikami he will similarly set up Tango Game works, Konami will regret this as Capcom seemed to in that situation.

Well, that depends. It'll be make-or-break time.

Personally I hope he does, but that's borne out of my usual cynicism, as to whether a successful public figure is genuinely some kind of genius, or whether they stand tall from the work of a skilled team that props them up. I'm not suggesting Kojima isn't a talented guy, quite the opposite, but it takes more than just talent to make a success in that way.

I mean do Sega really regret losing Yuji Naka? Do Capcom regret losing Keiji Inafune?