+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted August 3, 2015 Subscriber² Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) According to a report on Nikkei, the corporate culture at Konami—home of Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Pro Evolution Soccer—hasn’t only soured over the past few years, but has become almost terrifyingly Orwellian. Nikkei’s report alleges that the culture at the corporation’s video game division, famous for its console games, worsened in around 2010 when a mobile title called Dragon Collection became a smash hit. As a social game for phones, development costs were low and profit returns were huge. Not long after, the report says, Konami’s corporate bosses shifted the company’s focus away from traditional, hardcore games and towards cheaper, and potentially more lucrative social titles. (Somewhat related, the same Nikkei report says that Metal Gear Solid 5’s development costs have surpassed 10 billion yen/US$80 million). In a country where mobile gaming has exploded in popularity, the fact Konami has pivoted to this type of offering isn’t in itself surprising. What is, however, are some of the office conditions Nikkei reports have arisen as a result of the shift, especially with regards to how Konami treats employees. Here’s a breakdown of the Nikkei piece’s allegations. Some of it we’ve heard before. Some of it is new: More @ http://kotaku.com/report-konami-is-treating-its-staff-like-prisoners-1721700073 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyJordan Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Some pretty shameful stuff going on. President Devil 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kierax2016 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Boycott time. Shocking stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyJordan Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Boycott time. Shocking stuff. I wouldn't be able to do that until next month, thanks to MGSV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praetor Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 yeah most of the gamers (not casual ones) are only going to buy MGSV because of Kojima, not Konami. And then they are done with Konami for good. pretty shameful stuff happening at Konami though. MightyJordan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LimeMaster Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I wouldn't be able to do that until next month, thanks to MGSV. Do it anyway. The game can wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Nikkei’s report alleges that the culture at the corporation’s video game division, famous for its console games, worsened in around 2010 when a mobile title called Dragon Collection became a smash hit. As a social game for phones, development costs were low and profit returns were huge. Not long after, the report says, Konami’s corporate bosses shifted the company’s focus away from traditional, hardcore games and towards cheaper, and potentially more lucrative social titles. I wonder Nintendo would do the same, if those they also ditch console and entered mobile gamimg market? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 #FlipKonami Let them kill themselves. I'd like to see what they do when the casual audience that doesn't give a flip about who's developing what moves to other games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aergan Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I hear Konami's next working title will be Mega-lo-mania - and no, I'm not referring to a remake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterTHX Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Report: Konami Is Treating Its Staff Like Prisoners Konami staff are making iPhones now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceelf Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Sounds lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfirth Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 To be honest, with that title... I was expecting much worse. And everything is so vague. Like... they are monitoring employees who take long lunch breaks. But what do they define as an excessively long lunch break? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trag3dy Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 That's not all they are doing. They're turning our beloved franchises into slot machines: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted August 5, 2015 Author Subscriber² Share Posted August 5, 2015 That's not all they are doing. They're turning our beloved franchises into slot machines: The erotic violence Castlevania is even worse than this... it's just.... **** Konami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹ Posted August 5, 2015 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 5, 2015 The erotic violence Castlevania is even worse than this... it's just.... **** Konami. holy crap. this guys do not care at all. switching to mobile i understand, but using beloved franchises for gambling machines.... ######! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted August 5, 2015 Author Subscriber² Share Posted August 5, 2015 holy crap. this guys do not care at all. switching to mobile i understand, but using beloved franchises for gambling machines.... ######! Look at the dislikes on Youtube, lol. Aergan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted August 5, 2015 Member Share Posted August 5, 2015 I went through the list on the source site and to be honest it just sounds like any civil service job here in the UK. Yeah, a ###### place to work, but I wasn't particularly shocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remixedcat Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Konami hasn't been "in the game" for years.... nobody cares for/about them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted August 6, 2015 Author Subscriber² Share Posted August 6, 2015 On Steam is now MikeChipshop 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margrave Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Boycott time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe84 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 I went through the list on the source site and to be honest it just sounds like any civil service job here in the UK. Yeah, a ###### place to work, but I wasn't particularly shocked. Sadly I have to agree, here too things go like that, under the new labour reform employers will be able to do all those things Konami is doing, including GPS monitoring on company's mobile devices, video surveillance, Internet usage monitoring and demotions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted August 6, 2015 Author Subscriber² Share Posted August 6, 2015 What you have to remember is we should never be comparing working in government to being a game dev There are far too many great examples of how to allow game devs to work, and how creative and enjoyable workplaces will make for better games/ideas. Look at MM Aergan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted August 6, 2015 Member Share Posted August 6, 2015 What you have to remember is we should never be comparing working in government to being a game dev Absolutely agree. Any creative work of any sort flourishes far better in an open, friendly, relaxed environment. Actually...scrap that, any work should flourish better in those environments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aergan Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 On Steam is now I don't like how they seem to think it's ok to erase Hideo Kojima's existence from a franchise that pretty much carried Konami throughout the 90's. MightyJordan 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
President Devil Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 The concentration camp business appears to be profitable for them though. Whether that remains the case for them long term remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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