Konami bans Hideo Kojima from video game award ceremony
- Thread starter Shaissa
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It's so refreshing to see a corporation like Konami have so little care or regard for their public image. Not enough bridges have been burnt, so everything is being incinerated in one of the most veritably glorious instances of scorched earth policy I've seen occur in this industry.
Let's hope that exclusive Japanese market of health and pachinko doesn't collapse on them anytime too soon, eh? They've more or less given up on the rest of the world after all these decades finding vast, enviable success with the western market. Now they're going totally insular and if I recall, they voluntarily delisted themselves from the New York stock exchange earlier this year. It's like a yakuza gang retreating to its natural fiefdom.
Let's hope that exclusive Japanese market of health and pachinko doesn't collapse on them anytime too soon, eh? They've more or less given up on the rest of the world after all these decades finding vast, enviable success with the western market. Now they're going totally insular and if I recall, they voluntarily delisted themselves from the New York stock exchange earlier this year. It's like a yakuza gang retreating to its natural fiefdom.
I watched the awards last night. Stefanie Joosten came all the way from Japan to perform Quiet's theme for Kojima and the fans. Hearing that he could not go to the awards to accept the award for best action adventure game when he made the goddamn game is maddening. Konami keep on getting worse and there is no way they can ever redeem themselves. Blocking Mr. Kojima himself from getting his award has to the the death knell for Konami. Yes, it is true that he is under contract but it is incredibly dumb that he can't accept his awards due to some stupid lawyer saying so. He has been at Metal Gear for 28 years and this is truly unacceptable. Konami's behaviour last night was unmatched in terms of ruining the gaming industry. I'm not a fan of Geoff Keighley much, but I have found some respect for the guy because he called out Konami on television, LIVE without being scared of the criticism he would get from them. All the fans were happy last night but Kojima should have been there. I cannot even explain in words how mad I am at this.
Kojima did respond to all his fans: https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/672641470948503552
Kojima did respond to all his fans: https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/672641470948503552
That's the juicy question. Providing Kojima's contract is just about to expire soon, I wonder if he's going to be able to reveal to everyone what exactly Konami's problem with him is...at least without the yakuza mob at the top echelons sending in their legal team to sue him for libel or something. I dunno, I wouldn't put it past them to try and pull something like that.
I mean, it HAS to be something personal, because effectively putting him under house arrest in Tokyo does NOT come across as any reasonable falling out between an employer and an employee who was eating up a lot of the budget for his expensive swansong game project. Maybe he slept with the CEO's wife?
I mean, it HAS to be something personal, because effectively putting him under house arrest in Tokyo does NOT come across as any reasonable falling out between an employer and an employee who was eating up a lot of the budget for his expensive swansong game project. Maybe he slept with the CEO's wife?
I'm actually hoping that Konami effectively ceases to exist, exiled to the dustbin of history.
Konami has really fucked up with this and will most likely alienate more people with this being made public. How can they deny the person to come to the awards ceremony for the game he made, it's ludicrous.
I don't see how preventing him from taking to the stage to accept an award for a game Konami owns the license for is the same as barring him from the event. Surely he could still attend whilst honouring the stipulations of a contract he agreed to. I don't know any of the details, but I wouldn't be surprised if Kojima's camp are playing the victim here as a parting shot to his former employers.
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Maybe it's just the way that Geoff Keighley worded it.
"Mr. Kojima had every intention of being with us tonight but unfortunately he was informed by a lawyer representing Konami just recently that he would not be allowed to travel to tonight’s awards ceremony to accept any awards.”
My impression from that was that he could not even travel there, although it could have meant travel there AND accept an award.
However,
"it’s inconceivable to me that an artist like Hideo would not be allowed to come here and celebrate with his peers and his fellow teammates.”
This implied to me that Kojima wasn't allowed to celebrate with the people he worked on the game with. It suggest more to me than just accepting the award itself. Maybe he wouldn't be allowed to sit with the Konami Klan and would have to be hidden away somewhere else? I'm not sure.
I don't know any more about this than what was posted here, so I can't go to far in condemning it. If it is as it appears, it is very harsh and a bitter end to Kojima's Metal Gear.
I don't think there's any doubt Konami are playing hard ball but then that's their prerogative, they own the intellectual property and it most certainly comes with the territory. I guess I'm slightly harsher on Kojima given what I've heard on him shamelessly placing all the blame on Konami for not giving him even more money to burn making his unfinished MGS he saw fit to release anyway; fleecing his army of obsequious devotees.
I suspect it went something like this:
- Konami catch wind of anticipated Kojima appearance at awards event.
- They inform him he cannot represent MGSV in any capacity without being in breach of contract thus relegating his egocentric appearance to a bizarre cameo while a Hollywood actor accepts his award.
- Kojima decides if he can't take triumphantly to the stage he won't be some nobody in the crowd and runs his mouth to the organisers of the ceremony rather than being professional and keeping his well compensated trap shut.
- Rebellious host defames Konami to the public.
You better believe if I owned the rights to an IP I shelled out squillions to make I wouldn't let someone I had a dispute with lap up the plaudits having demonised me in the past.
But like I said I'm not clued in at all to this, it's just my impression. Someone who does know the facts might say "well actually..." and that would be me told.