Konami

Page last edited 2,544 days ago
From Film, Print, Cards & Games Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Konami Holdings Corporation
Native name
コナミホールディングス株式会社
Public|
Traded as Template:TYO
Template:OTC Pink
LSE: [Script error: No such module "Stock tickers/LSE". KNM]
Industry Entertainment|
Video game|s
Founded March 21, 1969; 55 years ago (1969-03-21)
Osaka, Japan
Founder Kagemasa Kōzuki
Headquarters Tokyo Midtown, Minato, Japan
Area served
Global
Key people
Kagemasa Kozuki
(Chairman)
Takuya Kozuki
(President)
Products List of Konami games
Revenue Decrease ¥| 15,995 million (April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014)[1]
Decrease ¥| 10,905 million (April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014)[1]
Decrease ¥| 12,170 million (April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2014)[1]
Owner Kozuki Family[2]
Number of employees
4,578 (2016)[3]
Website Konami Holdings Corporation

Konami Holdings Corporation (コナミホールディングス株式会社?, Konami Hōrudingusu Kabushiki-gaisha, commonly referred to as Konami; Template:Tokyo Stock Exchange Template:OTC Pink) is a Japanese entertainment company. It operates as a product distributor, which produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines and arcade cabinets|, video game developer and publisher| company. It also operates health and physical fitness clubs across Japan.

Konami is famous for popular video game series such as Castlevania, Contra|, Dance Dance Revolution, Gradius, Frogger, Suikoden, Ganbare Goemon|, Metal Gear, Mirmo, Beatmania IIDX, Pro Evolution Soccer|, Boktai, Silent Hill, Yu-Gi-Oh!|, and Sound Voltex. The 2012 purchase and absorption of Hudson Soft resulted in the addition of several other popular franchises, including Adventure Island|, Bonk|, Bloody Roar, Bomberman, Far East of Eden and Star Soldier. Konami is the twentieth-largest game company| in the world by revenue.[4]

The company was founded in 1969 as a jukebox rental and repair business in Toyonaka, Japan, by Kagemasa Kōzuki, who remains the company's chairman. The name "Konami" (Script error: No such module "IPAc-en".; Template:IPA-ja) is a conjunction of the names Kagemasa Kozuki, Yoshinobu Nakama, and Tatsuo Miyasako.[5]

Konami is currently headquartered in Tokyo. In the United States, Konami manages its video game business from offices in El Segundo and its casino gaming business from offices in Paradise. Its Australian gaming operations are located in Sydney. As of March 2016, it owns 21 consolidated subsidiaries around the world.[3]

History[edit | edit source]

1960s and 1970s[edit | edit source]

March 21, 1969 - Kagemasa Kozuki (current chairman) founded a jukebox rental/repair business in Toyonaka.,[6] March 19, 1973 - Kozuki transformed the business into Konami Industry Co., Ltd.[6] and began work on manufacturing "amusement machines" for arcades|. Their first actual game machine was not created until 1978, and they began exporting products to the United States the following year. They began to achieve success with hit arcade games such as 1981's Frogger, Scramble|, and Super Cobra, many of which were licensed to other companies for stateside release, including Stern Electronics| and Gremlin Industries.

1980s[edit | edit source]

May 1980 - Konami moved their headquarters to Toyonaka, Osaka. March 1981 - The Konami logo was established. A new logo with the name in italics was released in 1986 and was altered in 1998 from italics to Roman text. In 2003, Konami introduced a new logo for the company's 30th anniversary. The company also introduced the new tagline "(びっくり):Bikkuri" ("surprise" in Japanese), which is marketed as "Be Creative".[7] October 1982 - Konami began manufacturing and selling PC games. November 1982 - Konami of America, Inc. (currently Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.) was established in Torrance|, California. It moved to Buffalo Grove in 1984 and in 1998 it relocated again to Redwood City, leaving the location in Illinois open strictly for the manufacturing of Konami's arcade video games. In 2003, Konami of America closed down their arcade division due to heavy losses; the entire Buffalo Grove, Illinois location was shut down along with it. All machine inquiries and new machines would thereafter be handled by Betson Enterprises. As of 2007, Konami Corporation of America has moved its U.S. head office once again from Redwood City to Konami Digital Entertainment's office in El Segundo. November 1983 - Konami began producing MSX games. They would go on to become one of the most prolific game developer to support the platform during the next seven years, releasing a total of 70 titles on both, the original MSX and the MSX2.[8][9] Their MSX games included titles such as Antarctic Adventure (released in North America on the Colecovision), the Knightmare trilogy, the Gradius series (which was titled Nemesis in Europe) and Vampire Killer (a version of the original Castlevania|). Most notably Hideo Kojima's earliest games, the original Metal Gear|, Snatcher| (also released on the PC-8801|) and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, were all released on the MSX2. May 1984 - Konami Ltd. (currently Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.) was established in the United Kingdom. In October 1984, Konami was listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange (specially designated stocks in the second section). Subsequent stock listings include Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2/1988), London Stock Exchange (9/1999), New York Stock Exchange (9/2002), and the Nikkei Stock Average (Nikkei 225)(10/2003). In December 1984, Konami GmbH (currently Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH) was established in Germany. April 1985 - Konami began manufacturing and selling Family Computer| ("Famicom") video games. This new business was, in addition to their arcade market, from which many games were later ported. Konami began to achieve great success when the Famicom took off, being released in the United States as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Many of the NES/Famicom's bestselling titles were produced by Konami, including Gradius, the Castlevania series, the Contra| series, and Metal Gear. Konami was one of the most active and prolific third party development studios for the NES, which led to conflict with Nintendo of America's licensing restrictions. During the heyday of the NES, Nintendo of America controlled the production of all licensed NES software titles, and limited third party developers to a maximum of five titles per year. Several companies found a way around this restriction by founding quasi-independent subsidiary corporations, effectively doubling the number of games that they could release during the year. In the case of Konami, this subsidiary was known as Ultra Games, and many of Konami titles were published in North America under their banner, including Metal Gear, Gyruss, Skate or Die!, the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games and Snake's Revenge (a sequel to the original Metal Gear made specifically for the western market). In Europe, faced with a similar restriction placed by Nintendo's European branch, Konami established Palcom Software Ltd. to the same end. By the early 1990s|, Nintendo of America had relaxed many of its licensing restrictions, and, no longer needed, Ultra was reabsorbed into Konami's official American branch in 1992. December 1987 - Konami Kosan Co., Ltd. (currently Konami Real Estate, Inc.) was established. Chiefly due to the success of their NES games, Konami's earnings grew from $10 million in 1987 to $300 million in 1991.[10]

1990s[edit | edit source]

May 1991 - Konami Technology Development Center (currently Amusement Content Business's Kobe Office) opened in Kobe. June 1991 - Konami Industries Co., Ltd., was enamed to Konami Co., Ltd.. November 1991 - Konami started releasing games for the PC Engine. Notable titles include Snatcher CD-ROMantic|, Dracula X: Chi no Rondo| and Tokimeki Memorial June 1992 - Konami set up Tokyo headquarters. December 1992 - Konami started releasing games for the Mega Drive| (Genesis| in North America). Notable titles include Rocket Knight Adventures, Castlevania: Bloodlines and Contra: Hard Corps. 1993 - Konami headquarters was moved from Kobe to Tokyo. September 1994 - Konami (Hong Kong) Limited (currently Konami Digital Entertainment Limited) was established in Hong Kong. December 1994 - Konami entered the PlayStation video game business. April 1995 - Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka Co., Ltd. (currently Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka, Inc.) and Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo Co., Ltd. (currently Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Inc.) were established. May 1995 - Konami entered the Sega Saturn game business. December 1995 - Konami Music Entertainment Co., Ltd. (current Konami Music Entertainment, Inc.) was established. April 1996 - Konami Computer Entertainment Japan Co., Ltd. (current Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Inc.) and Konami Service Co., Ltd. (current Konami Service, Inc.) were established. May 1996 - Konami shifted to a business divisional organization. October 1996 - Konami Finance Co., Ltd. (current Konami Capital, Inc.) was established. November 1996 - Holding company Konami Corporation of America was established in the U.S. and Konami Australia Pty Ltd. was established in Australia. January 1997 - Konami Gaming, Inc. was established in the United States. March 1997 - Amusement Content Business plant was constructed in Kobe. Konami Computer Entertainment School Co., Ltd. (currently Konami School, Inc.) was established. October 1997 - Konami entered the gaming machine market in Australia. November 1997 - Konami was listed on the Singapore Exchange. A European company, Konami Europe B.V. (currently Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.), was established in the Netherlands. 1998 - Konami released Dance Dance Revolution, a dance simulation game that revolutionized the music game industry. December 1999 - The official registered address of Konami's headquarters was changed from Kobe to Tokyo.

2000s[edit | edit source]

January 2000 - Konami received a licence of manufacturing and sales of gaming machines from the U.S. state of Nevada. June 2000 - Konami Software Shanghai, Inc. was established. July 2000 - Konami Co., Ltd. was renamed to Konami Corporation. September 21, 2000 - Konami and Universal Studios announced that they had entered an agreement that would enable Konami to publish a Crash Bandicoot| game for next-generation game systems (PlayStation 2 and Xbox|), with Universal Interactive (Vivendi Games) handling the production of the games. October 2000 - Konami Marketing, Inc., was established and began operations. February 2001 - People Co., Ltd. (later renamed Konami Sports & Life Co., Ltd.) became Konami's subsidiary through a friendly TOB takeover bid and Konami entered the health & fitness business. May 14, 2001 - Konami made a deal with Universal Interactive to team up by producing and distributing more titles in addition to Crash Bandicoot series. August 2001 - Konami invested in Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.| and made it an affiliated company. October 2001 - Konami entered the toy candy business. February 2002 - Konami entered the Xbox| game business. Konami Sports Corporation acquired the shares of Daiei Olympic Sports Club, Inc. (currently Konami Olympic Sports Club Corporation, which would be merged by Konami Sports Corporation in October 2002) and became Konami's subsidiary. August 2002 - Konami's headquarters was moved from Minato| to Chiyoda|, Tokyo. 2003 - Konami teamed up with the Japanese film production company Toho Company, Ltd.| in creating their own genre of tokusatsu TV series, known as the Chouseishin Series, in attempt to emulate and rival the success of Toei|'s Super Sentai genre.[11] 2005 - Konami accepted new third-party shares issued by Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. and made it a consolidated subsidiary. Konami opened an office and gaming production facility in Paradise, Nevada for its casino gaming equipment subsidiary, Konami Gaming.[12] October 2005 - Konami Logistics and Service, Inc. (currently Konami Manufacturing and Service, Inc.) was established. December 2005 - Konami was declared the sixth largest game developer in Japan after Nintendo, Square Enix, Capcom, Sega Sammy Holdings, and Bandai Namco. February 2006 - Internet Revolution, Inc. was established as a joint venture company with Internet Initiative Japan Inc. March 2006 - Konami acquired capital in Resort Solution Co., Ltd. (equity method affiliate) and business alliance. Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. was newly established to take over Konami’s digital entertainment business and Konami became a pure holding company. May 2006 - Konami acquired entire stake in Combi Wellness Corporation and made it a subsidiary. August 2006 - Konami entered the pachislot| market. April 2007 - Konami's headquarters was moved to Minato, Tokyo. The offices of the Konami Group in Tokyo were subsequently moved to Tokyo Midtown. March 2008 - Konami transformed Sportsplex Japan Co., Ltd. into a consolidated subsidiary through a share purchase.

2010s[edit | edit source]

March 1, 2012 - Hudson Soft was absorbed into Konami Digital Entertainment.[13] August 2014 - PlayStudios in association with American MGM Gambling struck a content deal with Konami Gaming's myVegas app. April 2015 - After the cancellation of Silent Hills, Konami delisted itself from the New York stock exchange.[14] May 2015 - In a translated interview with Nikkei Trendy Net, newly appointed CEO of Konami Digital Entertainment Hideki Hayakawa announced that Konami will shift their focus towards mobile gaming, claiming that, "Mobile is where the future of gaming lies."[15] The trade name of the company was changed from Konami Corporation to Konami Holdings Corporation.[16] August 2016 - Konami merges its arcade, pachinko and pachislot divisions into Konami Amusement Co., Ltd.. March 2017 - Super Bomberman R was released as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch console and sold over 76,801 copies in its first week. These positive sales numbers prompted Konami to publicly announce that they would be reviving some of the company's other well known video game titles.[17]

Corporate structure[edit | edit source]

Japan[edit | edit source]

  • Konami Holdings Corporation
    • Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
    • Konami Sports & Life Co., Ltd.
    • Konami Amusement Co., Ltd.
    • Konami Real Estate, Inc.
    • KPE, Inc.
    • Konami Manufacturing and Service, Inc.
    • Konami Facility Service, Inc.
    • KME Co., Ltd.
    • Takasago Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    • Hudson Soft Company, Limited|: On 2011-01-20, Konami Corporation announced turning Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. as its wholly subsidiary via share exchange. The exchange became effective on 2011-04-01.[18]
    • DIGITAL GOLF Inc.: On 2011-01-20, Konami Corporation announced the acquisition of DIGITAL GOLF Inc. via share exchange. DIGITAL GOLF would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation. The exchange became effective on 2011-03-01.[19]
    • Internet Revolution, Inc.
    • Biz Share Corporation
    • Combi Wellness Corporation
    • THE CLUB AT YEBISU GARDEN CO., LTD.
    • Konami Holdings Corporation[20][21]

Australia[edit | edit source]

  • Konami Australia Pty Ltd (established in 1996)

America[edit | edit source]

[[wikipedia:File:Konami America booth, E3 20060511.jpg|thumb|Konami America booth at E3 2006|]]

  • Konami Corporation of America: Current U.S.-based holding company.
    • Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.: Former American holding company, formerly Konami of America Inc., Konami Corporation of America. On October 13, 2003, Konami Corporation of Redwood City announced it was expanding its operations to El Segundo, California under the new name of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. The Redwood City operations have since been consolidated to El Segundo in 2007.[22]
    • Konami Gaming, Inc. in Paradise.

Europe[edit | edit source]

  • Konami Digital Entertainment B.V.: Current European-based holding company.
    • Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH: Former holding company Europe, formerly Konami Limited, Konami Corporation of Europe B.V.. On March 31, 2003, Konami of Europe announced it would be renamed as Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH at the start of Konami’s new financial year (2003-04-01).[23]

Asia[edit | edit source]

  • Konami Digital Entertainment Limited (科樂美數碼娛樂有限公司): Established in 1994-09-? as Konami (Hong Kong) Limited. Korea and Singapore divisions were established in 2000-10-?. In 2001-06-?, the company changed name to Konami Marketing (ASIA) Ltd. (科樂美行銷(亞洲)有限公司). On 2006-03-?, the company was renamed Konami Digital Entertainment Limited.[24][25]
  • Konami Software Shanghai, Inc. (科乐美软件(上海)有限公司): Established in June 2000.[26]
  • Konami Digital Entertainment Co. (주식회사 코나미 디지털 엔터테인먼트): South Korea-based game producer and distributor, originally established as the Korea branch of Konami Digital Entertainment Limited. On 2008-05-01, it became a separate company, and inherited the existing operations of the former Korea branch in 2008-06-?.[27]

On November 7, 2005, Konami Corporation officially announced restructuring Konami Corporation into a holding company, by moving its Japanese Digital Entertainment Business segment under Konami Corporation. The Digital Entertainment Business would become Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. The newly established Konami Corporation was expected to begin operation on March 31, 2006.[28]

Konami Digital Entertainment[edit | edit source]

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (株式会社コナミデジタルエンタテインメント?, Kabushiki-gaisha Konami Dejitaru Entateinmento) is Konami Corporation's Japanese video game development and publishing division. Before Konami Corporation had formally changed to a holding company in 2006, various forms of Konami Digital Entertainment companies had been established either as holding company or publisher. The last of the company, the Japan-based Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., was split from Konami Corporation during the holding company restructuring process.

Divisions[edit | edit source]

  • Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.: Japanese division, established on 2006-03-31.
  • Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.: North American division, established on 2003-10-13.
  • Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH: European division, established on 2003-04-01.
  • Konami Digital Entertainment Limited: Hong Kong division. Established in September 1994 as Konami (Hong Kong) Limited. In March 2006, it was renamed to Konami Digital Entertainment Limited.

Former subsidiaries[edit | edit source]

Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya, Inc. (KCEN), founded on October 1, 1996,[29] was dissolved along with Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe, Inc. (KCEK) in December 2002.[30]

On December 16, 2004, Konami Corporation announced Konami Online, Inc., Konami Computer Entertainment Studios, Inc., Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Inc., Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Inc. would merge into Konami Corporation, effective on March 1, 2005.[31][32]

On February 22, 2005, Konami Corporation announced Konami Media Entertainment, Inc. would merge into Konami Corporation, effective on March 1, 2005.[33] On March 11, 2005, Konami Corporation announced Konami Traumer, Inc would be merged back into Konami Corporation, effective on June 1, 2005.[34]

On January 5, 2006, Konami Corporation announced the merger of Konami Sports Corporation merged with its parent company, Konami Sports Life Corporation. The parent would be dissolved under the merger, and Konami Sports would become the wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation after share exchange between KC and KS. After the share exchange, KS would be renamed Konami Sports & Life Co.,Ltd.[35] On February 28, 2006, Konami Sports Corporation merged with its parent company, Konami Sports Life Corporation, and became Konami Sports Corporation.[36]

On September 21, 2010, Konami Corporation announced it has signed an agreement to acquire with Abilit Corporation via share exchange. After the transaction, Abilit Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation, effective January 1, 2011.[37][38] On January 1, 2011, Abilit Corporation was renamed to Takasago Electric Industry Co.,Ltd.[39] As part of the acquisition, Biz Share Corporation also became a subsidiary of Konami Corporation.

Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo[edit | edit source]

Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, (aka KCET, KCE Tokyo, Konami TYO, and Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo Co., Ltd.) is a former subsidiary of Konami Corporation. Konami absorbed KCET along with several of its other subsidiaries in 2005. KCET was a Tokyo-based game developer responsible for many of Konami's most notable video game franchises, including Pro Evolution Soccer/Winning Eleven, Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, Gradius and Silent Hill.

Konami Computer Entertainment Japan[edit | edit source]

Konami JPN Ltd., formerly Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ), is a video game developer and subsidiary of Konami Corporation, located in Tokyo.

The development house has worked on titles for a wide variety of platforms, ranging from Game Boy to PlayStation. KCEJ is split into two different development teams, located in two offices in Tokyo. KCEJ East developed 7 Blades as well as a number of dating sims for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Game Boy. KCEJ West is known for the best-selling Metal Gear Solid series, as well as the Beatmania and GuitarFreaks series.

On April 1, 2005, KCEJ (along with KCET and KCES) merged with its parent company. Hideo Kojima (the company's former vice president) has formed his own subsidiary, Kojima Productions.

Megacyber Corporation[edit | edit source]

On October 2, 2006, Konami Corporation announced it had completed the acquisition of mobile phone content developer Megacyber Corporation.[40]

On February 6, 2007, Konami Corporation announced Megacyber Corporation to be merged into Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., with Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. being the surviving company, effective on April 1, 2007.[41]

Distribution of Konami's games in Australia[edit | edit source]

Since the NES| was released in Australia in 1987, Konami's games were distributed by Mattel Australia, just like the NES was. In 1994 when Nintendo Co., Ltd opened Nintendo Australia Pty Ltd, Konami's products were distributed by Nintendo Australia until GT Interactive (Infogrames) Australia was opened when they took over the distribution. GT Interactive then turned into Infogrames Australia and then Atari Australia|. In early November, it was announced that Konami of Europe had granted exclusive distribution of its games in Australia to Red Ant Enterprises and was to commence distribution with them in February 2009. In early January 2009, Red Ant Enterprises went into receivership and closed down completely in May 2009, and Konami of Europe was quick to re-sign with Atari Australia| after the announcement of their closure in January 2009.

Video games[edit | edit source]

Major titles by Konami include the vampire-hunting side scroller Castlevania series, the survival horror Silent Hill series, the action/shooter Contra| series, the platform/adventure Ganbare Goemon| series, the espionage action Metal Gear series, the console role-playing Suikoden series, the music-oriented Bemani| series (which includes Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania IIDX, GuitarFreaks, DrumMania, and Pop'n Music, among others), the dating simulation Tokimeki Memorial series, and football simulation Pro Evolution Soccer.

Konami also produced its shoot 'em up arcade games such as Gradius, Life Force|, Time Pilot, Gyruss, Parodius|, Axelay, and TwinBee. Konami's games based on cartoon licenses, especially the Batman: The Animated Series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Tiny Toon Adventures series, but other American productions like The Simpsons, Bucky O'Hare, G.I. Joe and The Goonies and French production (Asterix) all have seen release at some point in the past by Konami either on arcades and/or video game consoles.

Recent cinematically styled franchises from Konami are the continuing Silent Hill survival horror franchise, and the Metal Gear series, which underwent a public renaissance with Metal Gear Solid. Another successful franchise is Winning Eleven|, the spiritual sequel to International Superstar Soccer, which is extremely popular in Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Europe, where it is sold by the name Pro Evolution Soccer. And in Japan, it is known for the extremely popular Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū series baseball series and the Zone of the Enders games. The company has also recently picked up Saw| from Brash Entertainment when the game's production had been suspended due to financial issues.[42]

Konami is also known for its password, the Konami Code, which traditionally gives many power-ups in its games. Although variants also exist, as in the Parodius series, and button naming can differ depending on the controller used, the classic Famicom or NES combination is up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A. However, use of this code in more recent Konami productions has been sparse.

The company was widely criticised for distributing the PC retail release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with a disc containing an 8 MB| Steam| installer, leaving the player to download the 28 GB| of game content.[43][44][45]

Marketing[edit | edit source]

Konami is represented by the goroawase number "573". "Five" in Japanese is go, changed to the voiceless form ko; "7" in Japanese is nana shortened to na; "3" in Japanese is mittsu, shortened to mi; "573" = ko-na-mi.

This number appears in many Konami telephone numbers and as a high score| in Konami games like Dance Dance Revolution, (which also featured songs with a max combo of the number) as an example; in some other games like Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, the number is occasionally used as minor self-reference to the company.

In 2003, Konami started distributing game contents for mobile phones to Vodafone's customers in 13 European countries, including Britain, Germany and Italy.

Film production[edit | edit source]

In 2006, Konami started producing movies based on their popular franchises. Konami produced the Silent Hill movie| (released in 2006) and has announced that they will produce a Metal Gear Solid movie|.[46]

Criticism and controversy[edit | edit source]

In early 2015, following a series of controversial business decisions centered around the cancellation of Silent Hills and the subsequent departure of longtime developer Hideo Kojima as well as many other Konami employees, including Kojima's own production company, Konami became the object of intense criticism and scrutiny from both the video game community and video game news publishers.

Silent Hills cancellation[edit | edit source]

Silent Hills, set to be the ninth installment of the Silent Hill franchise, was abruptly cancelled without explanation despite the critical acclaim and success of P.T.|, a playable teaser.[47][48] Hours after the announcement, Konami delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange.[14]

Game co-director and writer Guillermo del Toro publicly criticized the cancellation as not making any sense, and questioned what he described as a "scorched earth" approach to removing the trailer. Due to the experience, del Toro stated that he would never work on another video game.[49]

Kojima Productions[edit | edit source]

On March 3, 2015, Konami announced they would be shifting focus away from individual studios, notably Kojima Productions. Internal sources claimed the restructure was due to a clash between Hideo Kojima and Konami.[50][51] References to Hideo Kojima were soon stripped from marketing material, and Kojima's position as Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment was removed from the company's official listing of executives.[52]

Later that year, Konami's legal department barred Hideo Kojima from accepting Best Action-Adventure for his work on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain at The Game Awards 2015. When announced during the event, the audience booed in disapproval of Konami's actions. Host Geoff Keighley took a moment to express his disappointment in Konami's actions. After actor Kiefer Sutherland accepted the award in Kojima's stead, a choir played Quiet's Theme from The Phantom Pain as tribute to the absent Kojima.[53][54][55][56] Kojima left Konami several days afterwards, re-opening Kojima Productions as an independent company.

Unethical treatment of employees[edit | edit source]

In August 2015, The Nikkei criticized Konami for its unethical treatment of employees.[57][58]

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.konami.co.jp/zaimu/2014/0508/en_h4dgg6.pdf
  2. KONAMI. "Shareholders Situation:As of March 31,2016 - KONAMI HOLDINGS CORPORATION". Retrieved 30 December 2016. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 KONAMI. "Corporate Data - KONAMI HOLDINGS CORPORATION". Retrieved 30 December 2016. 
  4. unknown (2015). "Top 25 gaming companies". newzoo. Retrieved 16 September 2015. 
  5. Kelvon Yeezy (2013). "The Stories Behind the Names of 15 Gaming Brands You Know". Hongkiat. Retrieved 21 June 2015. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Konami History". [[wikipedia:IGN|]]. Retrieved 6 August 2015. 
  7. "2003 Konami Group Report April 1, 2002 – March 31, 2003" (PDF). Web.archive.org. 2009-03-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved 2012-11-28. 
  8. "MSX software catalog (1983-1986)". Konami Group Homepage (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 1996-11-08. 
  9. "MSX software catalog (1987-1990)". Konami Group Homepage (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 1996-11-08. 
  10. "75 Power Players". Next Generation| ([[wikipedia:Imagine Media|]]) (11): 69. November 1995. 
  11. "超星神グランセイザー発表!玩具はコナミから!" (in Japanese). ITmedia. 2003-09-03. http://www.itmedia.co.jp/games/gsnews/0309/03/news07.html. Retrieved 2014-12-18. 
  12. "Konami Opens New Gaming Production Facility in Las Vegas". Japancorp.net. Retrieved 2012-01-03. 
  13. "Corporate History". Konami. Retrieved 2012-12-31. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 Brian Crecente. "Konami delists itself from New York Stock Exchange". Polygon. 
  15. Crecente, Brian (2015-05-14). "Konami CEO: 'Mobile is where the future of gaming lies'". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-03-07. 
  16. "Corporate History". Konami. Retrieved 2015-11-30. 
  17. Zarra, Jonathan. "Super Bomberman R Sales Indicate That It's The Best Selling In Its Franchise In Nearly 20 Years". Nintendork. Retrieved 15 March 2017. 
  18. "KONAMI CORPORATION Announces that It will Make a Subsidiary (HUDSON SOFT CO., LTD.) Its Wholly Owned Subsidiary through Share Exchange" (PDF). 
  19. "KONAMI CORPORATION Announces that It will Make DIGITAL GOLF Inc. Its Wholly Owned Subsidiary through Share Exchange" (PDF). 
  20. 商号の変更及び定款の一部変更に関するお知らせ コナミ株式会社 2015年5月8日
  21. コナミ、10月1日付けで「コナミホールディングス」に商号を変更 INSIDE 2015年5月8日
  22. "KONAMI ESTABLISHES NEW COMPUTER & VIDEOGAMES OPERATION BASED IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. 
  23. "Introducing Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH". Archived from the original on 2008-05-29. 
  24. "About Us (English)". 
  25. "About Us (Chinese)". 
  26. "科乐美软件(上海)有限公司:公司简介". 
  27. "KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT 회사 소개". Archived from the original on 2008-06-28. 
  28. "Announcement of Group Restructuring (Merger Between Subsidiaries, Stock Exchange with subsidiary) and Shift to Holding Company Structure by Company Separation". Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. 
  29. "Company Info". KCE名古屋ホームページ. Konami Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 December 2002. Retrieved 21 August 2010. 
  30. "Consolidated Financial Results for the Third Quarter and the Nine Months Ended December 31, 2002" (PDF). Investor Relations. Konami Co., Ltd. 13 February 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-04. Retrieved 21 August 2010. 
  31. "Konami's Merger with Konami Online". Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. 
  32. "Konami's Merger with its Subsidiaries". Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. 
  33. "Konami – KME Merger Announcement". Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. 
  34. "Announcement: Merger of Konami and Konami Traumer". Archived from the original on 2011-01-04. 
  35. "Announcement of official agreement for group restructuring (merger between subsidiaries, share exchange with subsidiary) and shift to holding company structure by company separation". 
  36. "Konami Sports & Life history". Archived from the original on 2008-04-22. 
  37. "KONAMI CORPORATION to Acquire Abilit Corporation through Stock Swap". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/9766.T/key-developments/article/1982065. 
  38. "Execution of Share Exchange Agreement by and between KONAMI CORPORATION and ABILIT CORPORATION" (PDF). 
  39. "Abilit Corp.: Private Company Information – BusinessWeek". 
  40. "Announcement of Share Acquisition of Megacyber Corporation". 
  41. "Announcement of Merger of Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. and Megacyber Corporation". 
  42. "Saw videogame picked up by Konami?". 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
  43. "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain PC disc only contains Steam installer". VG247.com. 
  44. "Metal Gear Solid V PC disc contains just the Steam installer". TechnoBuffalo. 
  45. Julian Benson. "Metal Gear Solid V's PC Disc Doesn't Actually Have The Game On It". Kotaku UK. 
  46. "Where did the Video Games site go?". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 2007-03-13. 
  47. Smith, Dave. "What it's like to play the best game of 2014, which is about to disappear forever in 2 days". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 December 2015. 
  48. Orland, Kyle. "Discontinued PS4 horror demo P.T. worth hundreds on eBay". Ars Technica. Retrieved 24 December 2015. 
  49. Parfitt, Ben. "Del Toro says killing Silent Hills 'makes no f***ing sense'". MCV. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 
  50. "Announcing Official Organizational Restructuring and Personnel Changes". 
  51. Ollie, Barder. "Understanding What Has Really Happened At Konami". Forbes. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 
  52. Kain, Erik. "Konami Cuts Hideo Kojima From 'Metal Gear' Promo Materials". Forbes. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 
  53. Tach, Dave. "Konami prevented Kojima from attending the Video Game Awards, host says". Polygon. Retrieved 4 December 2015. 
  54. Matulef, Jeffrey. "Konami blocked Hideo Kojima from attending The Game Awards". Euro Gamer. Retrieved 4 December 2015. 
  55. Klepek, Patrick. "Geoff Keighley: Konami Barred Hideo Kojima From Accepting Metal Gear Award". Kotaku. Retrieved 4 December 2015. 
  56. Skipper, Ben. "The Game Awards: Hideo Kojima banned from attending by Konami as show pays tribute". International Business Times. Retrieved 23 December 2015. 
  57. "コナミ、カリスマ経営のほころび". [[wikipedia:The Nikkei|]]. 3 August 2015. http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO89986400R30C15A7000000/. 
  58. Good, Owen S. "Japanese report says Konami is a deeply unhappy workplace". Polygon|. Retrieved 7 July 2016. 

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]


| Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences members Category:Amusement companies of Japan Category:Companies established in 1969 Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Category:Companies listed on the Pink Sheets Category:Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Category:Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Category:Entertainment Software Association Category:Health care companies of Japan Category:Japanese brands Category:Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Category:Slot machine manufacturers Category:Software companies based in Tokyo Category:Trading card companies Category:Video game companies of Japan Category:Video game development companies Category:Video game publishers