Konami is Actively Trying To Kill The Metal Gear Franchise
During the development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, tensions between industry giant, Konami, and Hideo Kojima, one of the most notable icons in the field of video game development, came to a head. First it was a sudden cancellation of Silent Hills, Kojima’s first attempt into the horror genre and what could have saved a series that was on life support.
Then came the big revelation—Hideo Kojima would be dismissed from the company following the launch of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
In September of 2015, development was cut short to push the title out in state that was near finished. The final act of aggression of Konami towards Hideo Kojima would be to strip his name from the boxes of the game, and bar Kojima from accepting any awards the game would receive at 2015’s Game Awards. From there, it seemed as though Konami’s attacks would end.
Then came Metal Gear Survive, the first Metal Gear game after Hideo Kojima’s departure that was an alternate-universe spinoff where players are pulled into another reality to kill zombies. The game received a mediocre critic scoring, while gaming audiences shunned the title. It wasn’t just a reaction to making a new Metal Gear title without Kojima either, it was a genuinely poor game.
The majority of Metal Gear Survive was reused assets from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, amidst smaller maps with a poor survival system integrated. It reused gameplay and altered it to focus around melee weapons that were never the primary focus against hordes of zombies with forced co-op mechanics that ended in a poor, buggy, and just not fun experience. They also sold it for less than normal retail price at launch, at only $39.99. This is a move of a company that wants their product to receive a vote of no confidence even before launch. The question is why?
Metal Gear Survive was nothing less than the most obvious attempt by Konami to kill the Metal Gear franchise. My opinion is at first glance a bold claim, but the writing is on the wall and it’s clear to see that Konami doesn’t want to be known mostly for the work of someone they parted with on bad terms. Let’s look at another major way that the footprint of Metal Gear has been sabotaged.
In July 2016, 10 months after the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Konami insulted long time fans of the series by “remaking” one of the series most loved entries, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, as a pachinko machine.
Featuring incredibly updated cutscenes of some of the most crucial moments in the plot, it was a wound that cut deep.
At the time to me it just seemed like an incredibly poor business choice, trying to latch onto the growing popularity of the pachinko machines in Japan. But when it was followed up by Metal Gear Survive, I speculate the intent was more sinister.
If they can create more and more distaste for the series, then they can reach a point where they slide it onto a shelf never to be heard of again. Konami will continue on business as usual, but they are trying to distance themselves from the legacy that Kojima helped build for the company and what better way to do it than to make fans quit asking for new entries to the series in his absence?
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