Konami, are you kidding me?
Really?
Really really?
Never get rid of the face of the franchise, no matter what. I argued this in baseball, and I am arguing this in business. Never, ever, ever get rid of the face of the franchise unless you have an awesome backup plan. And I am sure that Konami doesn’t have that backup plan. Konami survives on everything BUT gaming, and trust me that can only take you so far if you are one of the biggest gaming companies out there---eventually that expensive tab needs to be paid for.
Konami is nowhere near what it used to be in the gaming industry, they are a long way removed from their Turtles in Time days. Their revenue definitely doesn’t come from their video games because that aspect is down to the bare minimum. They have Silent Hill (seen better days), Pro Evolution Soccer (getting mauled by the FIFA franchise), Yu-Gi-Oh (The Abridged Series has higher ratings) and of course Metal Gear Solid (which may never recover after Kojima’s departure).
Why would you ever manage to lose the man responsible for your best-selling games in the past decade? 4 of the best-selling games in Konami’s history are guess what: Metal Gear Solid games. Why would you get rid of the man that gave you your only two games that sold over 6 million? And even more astonishing is that those Metal Gear games were only on the PS2. Why get rid of the man that has earned you nearly 2 billion in revenue through his creations? Kojima isn’t just a name, it’s a brand, it’s a guarantee that your video game will be good.
It may have been a power struggle within the industry, but Kojima earned his power by being one of the top developers in the industry. Kojima earned this power by providing the effort that the company he worked for could not and did not provide. Konami has been merely playing business chess for years as opposed to improving their brands of Silent Hill, Pro Evolution, Castlevania, and even the acquired franchises like Bomberman, Adventure Island, and Bonk (It has been over 20 years since a true Bonk game….are you kidding me?).
You keep him, you keep the Walt Disney of your company on board. At all costs. There really is no excuse. You know once he goes, most of his talented followers will leave as well. It’s the equivalent of removing five pieces from the center of any jenga set. Kojima is to Konami what Miyamoto is to Nintendo---absolutely irreplaceable, especially when your company doesn’t churn out the Nintendo profits.
Make nice. Buy him a car. Buy him a plane. Give him company stake. Do whatever it takes. Because of Kojima leaves, then Metal Hear Solid will slip and ultimately so will your company.
I am sure Sony (and maybe even Hollywood) is eagerly awaiting his departure……….
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