Do Let the Door Hit You on Your Way Out, Konami

By StarWarriorRobby

Konami is dead. Yes, I know I'm rather late stating that but I feel that I need some type of closure on this whole deal so that's what this little editorial piece is for. So again, Koanmi. Is. Dead. "Oh, they aren't dead. They've just gone the mobile and pachinko route." That's not what I'd call living.

Oh, Konami, what happened to you? I'd love to be a fly on the wall so I could hear moronic after moronic decision that was being made within the confines of what used to be one of the greatest third party publishers in the video game industry. I was never a Silent Hill fan, but a plethora of other gamers were. Still, I was really surprised to hear that Silent Hills was canceled, but it was one of the many games that shared the unfortunate fate of this new era of Konami. Contra, Castlevania, Gradius, some of my and your favorite franchises won't be getting any new entries and no, that mobile pachinko crap does not count.

The death of Konami has been a long time coming. For years, we've watched them wither away. I may not keep my eyes on all the gaming news as much as I used to but Konami's missteps were too big to go unnoticed. That Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zero was quite the red flag. Selling a small sliver of a game for $40 just because Konami wanted cash with the quickness was not a slap to the face but a kick to the junk.

Many were outraged by the fact that Hideo Kojima couldn't accept his award for best action/adventure game for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain at the the 2015 Game Awards. He was actually bared from appearing at the show by lawyers represented by Konami. While I do think that is all kinds of effed up, the stink brewing at Konami goes well beyond Kojima because as much as I love the Metal Gear series, Konami was so much more than that. Konami's cancellation of long running series, awful treatment of their employees and hitting YouTube videos with copyright claims to shut up anyone who tries to call them out on their BS has earned them every single ounce of wrath gamers dish out.

Detractors love to say how much Nintendo is dead, irrelevant and how they abandon their fans, when all that nonsense isn't even true. Nintendo still makes great games and they still cater to the hardcore crowd. The Big N is very much still alive and kicking. Konami, however, is about as alive a roach that just got hit with some Raid. When the company decided to dump the console business and just do pachinko and mobile phones so they can rape your wallet with micro transactions, they have given up on living in the gaming industry. Konami has transformed into such a horrible company that they are close if not on the same level of EA and Ubisoft. That's how far Konami has fallen. Konami, you'll be missed but at the same time, you won't be missed.