Konami Social Media Manager responds to fan concerns
On Reddit, Konami Social Media Manager Benjamin Kinney addressed some concerns by fans regarding the future of the series and the company as a whole, as well as addressing the backlash caused by Kojima’s departure and the recently announced Metal Gear pachislot machine.
First, in a reddit thread about the future of the Metal Gear subreddit in light of recent events, he posted the following:
Hello! Ben via Konami Social (Verified on /r/MGO, but just in case – Potato Verification of my messy desk )
Just wanna jump in an say two things:
A) There is a great community, unique content and a variety fantastic people on this sub. We respect that you are/get salty about the way things have gone at points, it goes with the territory, but we still love & respect this community. Things have not always gone as smooth as we would like, but we are always doing our best to assemble your views (good, bad and ugly) and present them.
B) The above post is a great discussion starter and /u/KJPDev [Robert Peeler] and I will continue to read your thoughts and feedback. As has been publicly said, Konami is committed to the MGS franchise and not just one off examples of niche products. Robert is an active advocate for the brand and does a great job representing you at the table when there are discussions.
Furthermore, responding to someone who stated that he has no hope for the future of the Metal Gear series (and other Konami franchises):
Within the industry, many projects are slow burns, slow starts or even none starts. While I understand your frustrations/desires (as a long time Castlevania fan i totally want more) after LOS2, Konami needs to take the time necessary to review the IP and find a good fit. METAL GEAR is important to a lot of people here and as has been stated publicly, will be supported in the future in a console market.
It can be hard as fans. One day I hope we may earn you back and surprise you. Hope that helps and does not sting.
Someone also suggested that Ben would hold an Ask me Anything session on reddit (where users can ask questions to a specific person), to which he responded that there are always restrictions to what a community manager can say:
Working in Social/PR/Marketing is a fine balance. We want to interact, but we also cannot run around spoiling secrets or game announcements willy nilly. That is not even Konami, that is the Industry as a whole. […] There are always going to be legal/contract/etc restrictions on what any employee anywhere can say. That is just life! But, I and u/KJPDev have worked in and around the industry a fair amount of time, so we could provide some insights into the industry…maybe.
Specifically talking about the Metal Gear pachislot machine, he had the following to say:
Hello! In the interest of our continued efforts to be more involved with you all, there are a few things you should know/understand about this:
A) These products / licenses take years of approval and development on their own.
B) This product is local to Japan.
C) This product does not impact the video game / console development cycle which also takes years (If any of you know anyone who has access to IDG or Superdata, there are some great very recent reports on the entire console market and dev cycle)
D) Hey, seriously, the graphics look great. And we (social/PR) report actively your expressed interest in remakes and updates.
There are some seriously scary / dangerous comments on here, on YouTube and on metalgearinformer. Just in case, while there is plenty to be mad about, if you are considering self harm or other harm, there are people who can help you. We love your passion, but dont hurt yourself or others over a trailer.
Answering some more questions on a HD collection for PS4 (e), adding co-op to MGSV (f) and the future in general (g):
e) First party like MS and Sony are doing a lot of work to make games easier to port. So you never know there. Sometimes, like Castlevania SotN the approvals and turn around was very quick because we had direct support from microsoft. This applies to all retro titles and is something that many publishers are looking at. It is also one of the reasons you see Microsoft moving forward with there “super compatible” business model they announced at E3.
f) Co-Op game play is often requested and many of us enjoyed Peacewalker, so that feature has been noted and reported as a suggestion for future content.
g) Hah, well next year is 30th anniversary, my crystal ball is broken, but I will go shake the 8 ball and get back to you 🙂
Edit: 8 Ball said future unclear, check back in a few months. Huh.
About Konami’s commitment to AAA game development:
Hello! Bit of a broken record here, but Konami has already stated numerous times we are committed to AAA titles and games. This journalism / off the cuff interview, is not typically how any company would announce a new title or discuss internal projects or plans. But it got you all to click and read and get riled up and me to respond, so that is a thing.
We were at E3 talking about PES and FOX because that is literally why were were there. No Comment just means exactly that.
Also, as has been noted elsewhere, other branded products and projects are just that, other divisions and have often been in production or development for years on their own with long standing history and their own teams.
About Kojima:
Within our posts, tweets, and social content, we have only respect for the work and legacy of Metal Gear and Kojima-san. Our “thank you” to him on launch day via Twitter was one of the highest engagements we have seen. The community and its frustrations are not something we take lightly. We all have friends and colleagues who worked on MGS, some of us are in the credits. We have our pride as well. We love the fans, the art, the passion good and bad.
Source: KonamiUSSocial on Reddit
Thanks for the info and somehow cool they mentioned MGI along with Youtube !!! ;D
Although said “somehow” because the context is a bit sad, MGI’s community comments are generally a bit more distinguished than Youtube’s.
I suppose most are not mad about the slot’s trailer (quite the opposite actually), but more about the sum of last year events, and the cherry on the cake, last December..
Guys, thanks for this subtle, pleasant and flattering concern, but we can re-insure you that none has that psychiatric issues here, thanks… Despite few angry reactions, I don’t think anybody around here is subject to “self or other harm”… Or at least not as much as Konami last year, hehe 😛
However…
Yeah, surprising to see the site mentioned as a source of ‘dangerous comments’, this is supposed to be a nice and friendly community and it most of the time is. Hopefully it didn’t leave too much of a bad impression.
Yeah I found it a bit too easy and not really fair…
Truth always hurt, probably one or two comments were difficult to digest for them, but hey… 😀
Everybody can always just come, check the archives and simply judge by themselves.
They probably saw my username, and all the Konami related joke gif’s posted on here. It seems they misinterpreted the jokes and satire as genuine hate.
You may consider putting it back to your original JJBYACH then… I was and still am very flattered. And the spirit is still there, through the avatars pictures… ;D This could officially seal your come back as JJ… ;D
You’ll decide !
I may indeed. Once I find a new profile pic, I will revert. Time to move past the phantom pain of Konami’s Konami-ness.
Hopefully, you’ll find tons of cool profile pics tonight… For example something like this would rock ! ;D
Off-topic: Our beloved HALO jump is almost even with Cyprus, now… xD
I feel responsible
There is nothing to feel responsible about, they are just mistaken about our real feelings about the franchise. After what happened last year, I suppose they are lucky we did not roasted them even more…
Did they kinda threaten us though or is it just I didn’t understand shit
No, they probably just posted that without thinking / doing their homework before, probably because they were wounded by one or two comments.
You know, considering how in some scenes the terrain is completely re-done, the Ground Map Re-made…i’m pretty confident that is footage from a Metal Gear Remake that we will get soon, after a lot of analyzing i came to the conclusion that what we see is The Fox Engine, and the Pachinco is the way to tease footage from the Game!
Call me dumb, but i don’t think Konami is that Evil, to put tons of Money in Remdoeling everything, with slight camera angles changes (New Director) in Fox Engine, instead of making it CGI, just for Pre-Rendered Video Files for a Pachinco machine!
I am confident that a Metal Gear Solid 3 Re-Make will be revealed soon, officially announced soon!
Would be cool, although if you inspect more in depth, there are few elements that look a bit botched, in fact we are far from good old Koji-Pro modeling quality, despite the cool general aspect of all the meshes and of course the quite fair amount of work on all of them.
http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/3967/7728/original.jpg
It does look like Fox Engine, and it also looks like they used Kiefer’s Snake head, look at the ears!
I am fine with most heads and clothes shading, no pb at all with that. But there are some other stuff that looks typically amateurish, like “ok/fine for the slot”. The articulations of skins / soft bodies was a difficult discipline years ago but it is pretty well mastered now. Check also Eva’s right arm… There are likely influence issues between the upper and forearm which cause this weird but typical artifact at her elbow’s level…
They reused tons of assets from mgsv but hey a remake as I said would be dope
Gamescom.
Guess I’m negative but I don’t really think Konami actually cares, this is just the usual damage control from the PR department -which is their job, nothing wrong with that-. Why do I think this? Well, because actions speak louder than words, and Konami’s actions these years are nothing to be proud of. No matter what they state one time and another, I still think they don’t care much for AAA development until they prove me wrong, specially Metal Gear wise.
Also, this:
https://youtu.be/uphcEJW-MDA
So yeah, I don’t really like Konami -I don’t think I ever will again- and tend to not believe what they say.
Not surprising. We’ll have to wait for Gamescom, Pax and/or TGS for announcement(s) which will happen in a few months.
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/65422421.jpg
Guys, guys, guys: new trailer may be dropping today
https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/756847596971302912
No SHIT !??? THX JJ !!! ;DD
How is he doing this? He is not fucking around with this game. Most devs would still be at the conceptualisation stage of development by now.
And he said it’ll be his best game!!
Dunno but no worries, cut-scenes, besides being quite separate teams / efforts from dev are still heavily necessary to better contextualize everything. I mean you can prototype with just dummy contents, but is more convincing / inspiring if more artistic assets are there. It helps feeling like the project is really moving forward for everybody.
Should be perhaps just a longer version with elements that were not yet ready for E3… Like more about the 5 dudes… So excited here ! 😀
Regardless on what the footage is, I’m hyped now.
I was previously going to go to bed and watch the footage later, but now I’m going to stay up and watch the whole thing.
answer in 4 hrs… AAAAARRRRRGGGHHH ! xD
Feels like 9 years… What am I going to do in that time…
I’m gonna die https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b50376627c4bede4baa45c1061d44ab1a28fbb580f4d5de2ddf8efed70cbb1f5.png
So am I.
Bloody SG and it’s time zones
I know. It doesn’t start that late over here (11pm), but still. I want it now.
What’s worse is that I’m not used to it
Used to what?
The time zone and livestreams this late
Ah. It’s always late over here.
xDxD me tooo, going to the supermarket and grab tons of ships or maybe the necessary to cook MB Burgers, for me to eat in front, hehe !
It won’t be a Death Stranding trailer. It will most likely be a Ludens trailer.
? Luden’s is not a seperate game. It’s just the company mascot, which may or may not be related to DS. Death Stranding is the game. There’s no way he can work on 2 games at the same time.
What he’s talking about is a character trailer
Ohhhhhhhh. Makes sense. I would be a bit disappointed with that though, considering that Luden’s isn’t part of DS according to Kojima.
Eh
I don’t take him seriously
It would be awesome if Ludens shows up at the very end of the game and it’s kept a secret till release
That would be cool.
Imagine he shows up.
Then “I’ll keep coming” plays. I’m fucking cry yo
Hell yeah
Would look like a sad stunt / twist… I am probably mistaken but pretty confident it is 100% DS related, perhaps hopefully with those guys on Yoji’s cards.
http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/3981/7861/original.jpg
Well done, you were right !
New trailer coming for death stranding?!!
Boss is definitely teasing it ???!!!!
I thought I was going crazy when I was theorizing how something big may be dropping today.
Please theorize something playable asap… xD
Playable?
I’d love that but I doubt it :/
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR-dHy3v0ZbfsswXd705v1H74hdyD8I3H9DCZcQRla0DEhGqcp3
xD I know, I was just trying to invoke JJ’s powers and give it a shot just in case it worked out… ;D
*Strokes brain*
I see a five min long “Not Your Kind of People” style trailer.
Yes, JJ, concentrate… Guys, silence, let him concentrate and use his magic… Yes… More… JJ … Stay focused … Do you want me to sacrifice a chicken or two ?… Would it help ? You have only one word to say…
https://media.giphy.com/media/eynU9e3p7uS08/giphy.gif
Do it.
At your commands, Roger, Copy that, Sir, Yes Sir… Here it is :
https://66.media.tumblr.com/1649ba37af00c38f1c3d089f7f37e7f2/tumblr_n4ibkvAdda1tyajh8o1_500.gif
Now I’m hungry.
I’m hungry
Got a chicken ?
I got knives loool
As a black man, looking at that KFC is making my hands shake.
As a dude who hates KFC , my stomach is calling out to me to go fuck myself
You hate KFC? Da fuk?
What’s the point? Even if they make another MGS game it won’t be good enough because Konami doesn’t want to give a budget worthy of a AAA game.
MGS3 Remake Announcement = Great
MGS6 Announcement = Fuck Off
Konami , we know you are more than gaming (Need I say more) and want PACHINKOS for profit butttt…
Wtf was that shit you called music?
I love old school techno but that was a big “FU” to me
That’s a whole lot of bullshit. What a way to throw it back on us for their ineptitude. Calling the fanbase “salty” is a bad way to start. Saying there are “dangerous” comments. Don’t release pure garbage and there won’t be such a huge backlash.
I see Konami is keeping with the tradition of bad PR. Never change Konami, that way it makes it easy to hate you.
Yeah, was not sympathetic at all, yet another PR epic failure, this place is so hardly dedicated to MGS, with a lot of efforts in articles and close-ups.
The slot is just an insignificant detail in all this mess, as you said rejecting all on our shoulders
Maybe they also forgot this (we did not) :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKl5rYdwM6c
Well, the good news is: they read the comments on this site. Also, being a Konami PR person must be a pretty difficult job these days. They probably do have the best intentions for the fans, but the problem is that this doesn’t seem to be the case for the decision makers at the company.
Mostly agreeing, but they could have at least avoid the “dangerous” thing, was a bit clumsy… Some of previous months comments were way more aggressive… A lot of comments here were just truly praising the new MGS3 characters modeling initiative !? I did not really saw which danger they are talking about.
Crafting slot machines is from a moral standpoint far more dangerous to people lives than any MGI comments in all cases. They should better lay low on more morally fragile topics that they can intelligently avoid, to focus more on simple future MGS news to start from.
They complained about the few negative ones, but no words about the positive ones.
But yeah, the good news is that they check what we think and hopefully realize soon that most comments are positive regarding MGS universe.
There is only a pes 17 Teaser. Where is the full trailer? And a freaking gameplay. I need to see a gameplay or I will cut my veins. Lol. That game will be the same as 16.
“if you are considering self harm or other harm, there are people who can help you.”
-Ben
I seriously love that he said that haha
Yeah, truth hurts it seems. xD
He also likely missed of couple of details about his beloved corporation’s kindness last year… xD
I never read someone saying something about self harm for konami.
“if you are considering self harm or other harm, there are people who can help you. ”
This is a direct response to my reaction of the Pachinko character models haha
He was talking to you? XD
A better look at those cards Shinkawa was signing –
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoA5kyYWcAEFM_r.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoAs9hBVIAA_FEg.jpg
THX JJ !!!! Guys, perhaps wrong here but I feel 1000% sure he his one of our flying 5 villains…
He looks villainous sure… But I dunno if he’s one of the flying things – they just look alien, omniscient and terrifyingly malevolent – I get strong Gaunter O’Dimm vibes from them:
http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/vsbattles/images/c/c4/Gunterlikeshakespeare.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160106021308
http://i.imgur.com/VLvlQt0.jpg
http://www.snappow.com/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/Death-Stranding-for-the-PS4-00-msfzgun6ntn233qkz284bl5qi29rc29vurkolucdm0.jpg
The dude on the card seems looks more to me like a human wearing an exoskeleton.
Ok, although check also the light gray drawing on the right… Looks like a floating evil dude… Perhaps it is him without this nazi-style evil armor …
Edit: the one on the right matches heavily the statue prototype as well…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoA5kyYWcAEFM_r.jpg
Mmm. They are actually similar shapes. And I just noticed the guy in the middle is floating with his arms crossed, lol. They may be human indeed.
To me they are some kind of Terminators, either crafted by machines or evil humans that took Norman’s baby away from him.
here’s a though random PR Douche:
FucKonami.
I’m not holding my breath for Konami to do Snake justice.
Just put me out of my misery, already!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jehf-Dhwyao
Livestream. Please Enjoy.
Hey, guess what, if Konami actually makes another full-on Metal Gear game, it’s going to sting no matter what.
Let me sum it up: What a load of bullshit
Guys I don’t usually post around here, but I respect this community a lot. We should be very exceptical about Konami, games are no longer their focus, and I cant shake off the feeling that their PR people are kept off the loop of whats really going on the headquarters. I want another metal gear as much as the most extreme fan, but to expect a level of polish, resources, talent and vision equal to when Kojima was on board is unrealistic. We should all assume the metal gear franchise is done for and finished, painful I know, but it would be even worse to get your hopes up only to be dissapointed massively. It hurts, I myself am hurt by this, but really, the best we can expect is for Konami to release a new MG, fail miserably, and then sell the rights toa company that actually cares about games, and by extension, metal gear
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All I heard was death stranding death stranding DEATH STRANDING
Nothing I didn’t know, been saying this for months now. Konami will keep making AAA games, they stated it a million times now, and they will continue making MG games. The Pachi Slot is just a casino machine for the Japanese market, nothing more. Is no use to cry over that. Let’s hope for MG/MG2SS remake and stop crying. Cheers!!