Polygon - ! - Something is going on between Konami and Hideo Kojima https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2016-01-05T09:23:03-05:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/80525722016-01-05T09:23:03-05:002016-01-05T09:23:03-05:00Guillermo del Toro to present Hideo Kojima Hall of Fame award at DICE
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<p>Hideo Kojima, the auteur formerly behind Konami's Metal Gear Solid series, was today named the twenty-first member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>The 2015 Hall of Fame award will be presented to Kojima by film director and writer Guillermo del Toro during next month's <a target="_blank" href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/4/7977589/dice-2015-gamings-brightest-gather-to-discuss-the-art-of-development">DICE Summit</a>.</p>
<p>The news comes after a <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/12/16/10220356/hideo-kojima-konami-explainer-metal-gear-solid-silent-hills" target="_blank">tumultuous year for Kojima</a>. The well-known developer left Konami last year during a corporate restructuring. His departure seemingly led to the mothballing of a new Silent Hill game that was to be co-directed by Kojima and del Toro.</p>
<p>In December, Kojima was meant to attend The Game Awards, but according to host Geoff Keighley, was blocked from the show by Konami. On Dec. 15, Kojima officially ended his...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2016/1/5/10715232/guillermo-del-toro-to-present-hideo-kojima-hall-of-fame-award-at-dice">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2016/1/5/10715232/guillermo-del-toro-to-present-hideo-kojima-hall-of-fame-award-at-diceBrian Crecente2015-12-16T06:00:02-05:002015-12-16T06:00:02-05:00Konami's bitter, yearlong breakup with Hideo Kojima, explained
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<p>A 30-year relationship goes down in the flames of a hundred burned bridges</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/16/10220356/hideo-kojima-konami-explainer-metal-gear-solid-silent-hills">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/16/10220356/hideo-kojima-konami-explainer-metal-gear-solid-silent-hillsSamit Sarkar2015-12-03T22:47:17-05:002015-12-03T22:47:17-05:00Konami prevented Kojima from attending The Game Awards, host says
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<p>Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima wasn't at The Game Awards 2015 because his longtime employer, Konami, prevented him from attending, host Geoff Keighley announced shortly after Kiefer Sutherland accepted an award on Kojima's behalf. Press play above to watch Keighley's comments.</p>
<p>Moments after leaving the stage, Keighley, who was clearly upset at Kojima's absence, tweeted Kojima publicly.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN">@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN</a> congrats, we miss you my friend!</p>
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) <a href="https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/672622979658833921">December 4, 2015</a>
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<p>This wasn't the first time Keighley tweeted to Kojima today. About five hours before the show, he also sent the Metal Gear mastermind the following tweet:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN">@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN</a> Are you ready for the show?</p>
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) <a href="https://twitter.com/geoffkeighley/status/672542755369828353">D...</a>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/3/9847206/konami-prevented-kojima-attending-game-awards-2015">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/12/3/9847206/konami-prevented-kojima-attending-game-awards-2015Dave Tach2015-11-03T21:06:27-05:002015-11-03T21:06:27-05:00Konami confirms closure of Kojima Productions Los Angeles studio
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<p>Konami's L.A.-based development studio, the team formerly known as Kojima Productions Los Angeles, has been closed. Konami confirmed the studio's closure in a statement emailed to Polygon today.</p>
<p>"Konami has made the decision to close its Los Angeles Studio, effective immediately, due to the product development resources being restructured into a more centralized unit," Konami said. "This facility contributed to the recent Metal Gear Solid games. Konami will continue its operations to support all Metal Gear Solid titles, including the recently launched <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain/7219"><i>Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain</i></a> and Metal Gear Online. Metal Gear Online is still scheduled to release for PC Steam in January 2016."</p>
<p>Kojima Productions L.A. officially <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/6/4701086/kojima-productions-opens-its-doors-in-los-angeles">opened for...</a></p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/11/3/9667230/konami-kojima-productions-los-angeles-studio-closed-metal-gear">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/11/3/9667230/konami-kojima-productions-los-angeles-studio-closed-metal-gearMichael McWhertor2015-10-20T08:45:02-04:002015-10-20T08:45:02-04:00Konami says Hideo Kojima is still an employee, just on vacation
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<p>Kojima has left the building</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/10/20/9573213/konami-says-hideo-kojima-is-still-an-employee-just-on-vacation">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/10/20/9573213/konami-says-hideo-kojima-is-still-an-employee-just-on-vacationBrian Crecente2015-10-19T16:47:20-04:002015-10-19T16:47:20-04:00Report: Hideo Kojima has left Konami
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<p>Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, has left Konami, according to <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/why-did-hideo-kojima-leave-konami">a report from The New Yorker</a>.</p>
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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The New Yorker reports that Oct. 9 was Kojima's last day at Konami, citing an anonymous source who said they attended Kojima's farewell party that day at Kojima Productions, his game studio in Tokyo.</span></p>
<p>Kojima's relationship with Konami began to show strain <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/19/8257283/metal-gear-solid-konami-branding">in March</a>, when the company announced a corporate restructuring that left Kojima's name off the list of directors. He also began hinting at his planned exit from the studio in a series of tweets, while publicly stating his intention to break ties with the Metal Gear series he created.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/4/27/8503201/silent-hills-canceled-konami-confirms">Konami canceled</a> Kojima's collaboration with Guillermo del Toro, <i><a href="/game/silent-hills/37740" class="sbn-auto-link">Silent Hills</a></i>, in...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/10/19/9570941/hideo-kojima-konami-departure-metal-gear-solid">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/10/19/9570941/hideo-kojima-konami-departure-metal-gear-solidAllegra Frank2015-08-23T11:01:02-04:002015-08-23T11:01:02-04:00Retailer reminds us that Metal Gear Solid 5 is, in fact, a Hideo Kojima game
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<p>Well, at least someone — it appears to be an employee of an Australian retailer — is willing to acknowledge what Konami is not: That <i>Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain</i>, is a Hideo Kojima game.</p>
<p>Konami has been <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/7/14/8958401/the-box-for-metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain-also-wipes-its" target="_blank">KGB'ing Kojima</a> from its official websites and promotional materials, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/25/8288531/hideo-kojima-konami-metal-gear" target="_blank">portending a split</a> that will almost certainly be formalized once <i>MGS5</i> launches in a little more than a week. Fans of the series rightfully find this a little alienating, and some store workers have taken it into their hands to correct the record.</p>
<p>This picture, taken in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday isn't the first example, but it is one <a href="https://twitter.com/jasminleec/status/634184277228261376," target="_blank">that Kojima himself retweeted</a>, leading to an enormous viral spread for a tweet from a person with a few hundred followers.</p>
<p>S...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/23/9193571/retailer-reminds-us-that-metal-gear-solid-5-is-in-fact-a-hideo-kojima">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/23/9193571/retailer-reminds-us-that-metal-gear-solid-5-is-in-fact-a-hideo-kojimaOwen S. Good2015-08-03T09:09:30-04:002015-08-03T09:09:30-04:00Japanese report says Konami is a deeply unhappy workplace
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<p>A <a href="http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO89986400R30C15A7000000/" target="_blank">scathing profile by Nikkei</a> portrays Konami as a workplace riven by suspicion and terrible morale, and where the sizable development cost of <i>Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain</i> is the final straw in <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2015/5/29/8686879/konami-president-interview" target="_blank">the company's shift</a> to cheaper and more profitable mobile games.</p>
<p>Some of what Nikkei reports has been heard before, <a href="http://kotaku.com/report-konami-is-treating-its-staff-like-prisoners-1721700073" target="_blank">Kotaku points out</a>, but most of it highlights a workplace where employee movement is monitored by camera and developers are reassigned to menial jobs if they're considered no longer useful.</p>
<p>Of <i>Metal Gear Solid 5</i>, Nikkei says Kojima Productions is now internally named "Number 8 Production Department," and that the game's development has gone past $80 million. Konami began reorienting itself toward mobile games development in...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/3/9089247/konami-nikkei-report-workplace-culture-metal-gear-solid">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2015/8/3/9089247/konami-nikkei-report-workplace-culture-metal-gear-solidOwen S. Good