When Konami and Kojima publicly decided to go their separate ways, many gamers shed more than a few tears. The death of Silent Hills and the thought that any future Metal Gear games would be produced without Kojima at the helm of the ship were both big blows to the video game community. The partnership between the eccentric game director and Konami has produced some incredible games and many fans of those properties are holding out hope that the drama will disappear and there will still be a future for those IPs (including Metal Gear Solid). According to some industry insiders, that might be a real possibility.
The exact reason for the Konami/Kojima split is still a mystery, but reports suggest that the main problem was money. No surprise there, obviously. Kojima produces some giant games with serious budgets and with that kind of money involved, things can always get complicated. Although the seemingly sudden end to the partnership seems quite final from the outside, EA's COO Peter Moore believes that the two parties will come to an agreement and get back together.
Moore and Kojima's paths crossed many years ago, while Moore was still with Microsoft. The EA COO believes that the drama will settle down and that Kojima and Konami will patch things up. He doesn't admit to having any real insider information, aside from an understanding of how Japanese business partnerships usually work.
Moore explained his thoughts to GameSpot in a recent interview...
"From my experience, and I’ve spent a lot of time working in Japan, I think that Konami and Kojima will figure it out. Those kinds of business relationships [in Japan] are typically for life, and Kojima is such an important part in what has gone on there."
"Clearly, they’re at a rocky stage in their marriage. But you could take what is said about [Kojima Productions], about a game not adhering to budgets, about a game not being ready, and you could apply that to a lot of people…they’ll kiss and make up. They’ll be fine."
Moore sounds like he has no doubt that the two parties will work things out, but no other statements or public evidence seems to suggest that will be the case. Konami has moved forward with wiping Kojima's name off of its products and website and the company isn't speaking out or offering any more details about the split. As for Kojima, the most optimistic fans are just hoping that he finds a new bankroll or launches an incredibly successful crowd-funding campaign.
It would be fantastic to see the two parties make up, but until we see more evidence than one industry insider's opinion, we don't recommend getting your hopes too high. After Konami finds out how much money Metal Gear Solid 5 makes during the holiday shopping season, maybe we'll hear some more details from individuals closer to the drama. For now, it makes sense that everyone stays quiet in an effort to not hurt the game's sales by causing more concerns about the game's quality.
Do you think there's a chance Konami and Kojima might work things out? If not, what would you like to see Kojima do next? Let us know in the comments.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is set to release on September 1, 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: GameSpot