Topic: Koji Igarashi Leaves Konami, Founding New Studio, Metroidvania GDC

[Viskod]

IIRC, Mercurysteam owns the LOS engine

Well that is very very unfortunate for Konami then.

That's a possibility, given the timing.  I'll sure bet it wasn't a decision to be taken lightly, to leave Konami.

Perhaps IGA got wind of what was on the horizon (which may be nothing at all!), and either he wasn't going to be part of it, or he didn't like it—the straw that broke the camel's back.  Maybe the Lords of Shadow 2's release played a factor in his thoughts, made him reflect on what once was.

Speculation . . . but all the best to him.  Will be very intriguing to see what happens next . . .

I don't see any reason to not take the man at his word.

[beingthehero]

I guess it's worth noting that the failure of Lament and Curse probably had more to do with KCET overall than specifically IGA, because every 3D game they made - whether IGA was involved, like Nanobreaker, or not, like Sword of Etheria/Over Zenith, were beat em ups consisting of long hallways and sparse enemies that you slowly trudge through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKMvaMgtrdo

IGA wasn't involved at all with Over Zenith, yet it had all the same faults as Curse and Nanobreaker.

On the other hand, Michiru Yamane did the music to that game as well. The conspiracy grows deeper.

[The Silverlord]

I don't see any reason to not take the man at his word.

This new Polygon interview seems to sums it up:
http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5523676/koji-igarashi-interview-castlevania-konami-and-going-independent

Igarashi's move from creating core games to social games was largely driven by Konami's internal direction, he said. He stepped away from making 2D Castlevania games because, he said, while Konami recognized that its 2D legacy franchises had a passionate fanbase, it saw the video game business moving in a different direction.

[beingthehero]

Damn dude, IGA's flinging interviews left and right. I hope the IGN one is even more in-depth.

One of the things, that made me happy is [that] a lot of people said, 'Hey, I want you to hire me, take me with you.' So that felt good."

Hahaha, that's kind of awesome

[Chernabogue]

I want the next CV to have the soul of an IGA game and the produciton of a MS game. That'd be glorious.

[Ahasverus]

I want the next CV to have the soul of an IGA game and the produciton of a MS game. That'd be glorious.

AMEN

[The Silverlord]

... it was two years of making a game that leaned too 'hardcore' for the social market. So it was canceled. Then I'd try again and be canceled. And again and be canceled.

Worryingly, for all that time/money/effort spent working on cancelled projects (probably with small teams), Konami could have just as easily given IGA a CV side-project.

[Viskod]

Well he wanted to do social games because that's the trend Japan itself is going in and welcomed doing something new, but I guess his personal design tastes didn't fit their social game mold.

[Ahasverus]

Fuck social games. I wish Konami just sold the Castlevania IP. I'm counting days for Castlevania FTP, 50 hearts for $0.99.

[Viskod]

Well Konami is a Japanese game company and that's where Japan is headed. Fewer and fewer AAA and console titles and more and more handheld and mobile games.

Take a look at the most recent sales data there.

Media Create Sales: Week 11, 2014 (Mar 10 - Mar 16)

01./00. [PS3] Dark Souls II <RPG> (From Software) {2014.03.13} (¥7.800) - 255.197 / NEW
02./02. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch <RPG> (Level 5) {2013.07.11} (¥4.800) - 37.247 / 569.720 (+3%)
03./03. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru to Ruka no Fushigi na Fushigi na Kagi # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2014.02.06} (¥5.490) - 18.728 / 737.593 (-40%)
04./01. [PSV] Soul Sacrifice Δ <ACT> (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2014.03.06} (¥4.980) - 17.357 / 66.143 (-64%)
05./04. [3DS] Harvest Moon: Linking The New World <SLG> (Marvelous AQL) {2014.02.27} (¥5.040) - 15.883 / 176.180 (-46%)
06./06. [3DS] Fossil Fighters: Infinite Gear <RPG> (Nintendo) {2014.02.27} (¥4.800) - 13.362 / 93.900 (-40%)
07./09. [3DS] Kirby Triple Deluxe <ACT> (Nintendo) {2014.01.11} (¥4.800) - 12.225 / 501.835 (-13%)
08./10. [3DS] Pokemon X / Y # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2013.10.12} (¥4.800) - 10.106 / 3.994.938 (-6%)
09./07. [PS3] Yakuza: Ishin! <ADV> (Sega) {2014.02.22} (¥8.600) - 10.034 / 222.147 (-49%)
10./14. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V <ACT> (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2013.10.10} (¥7.770) - 7.910 / 736.810 (+8%)
11./11. [3DS] Puzzle & Dragons Z <RPG> (GungHo Online Entertainment) {2013.12.12} (¥4.400) - 7.755 / 1.407.075 (-26%)
12./12. [PS4] Battlefield 4 <ACT> (Electronic Arts) {2014.02.22} (¥7.665) - 7.539 / 55.286 (-23%)
13./05. [PS3] Ar Nosurge: Umareizuru Hoshi e Inoru Uta # <RPG> (Gust) {2014.03.06} (¥7.140) - 6.751 / 33.787 (-75%)
14./00. [360] Dark Souls II <RPG> (From Software) {2014.03.13} (¥7.800) - 5.950 / NEW
15./13. [PS4] Yakuza: Ishin! <ADV> (Sega) {2014.02.22} (¥8.600) - 5.451 / 119.722 (-41%)
16./21. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 # <ACT> (Capcom) {2013.09.14} (¥5.990) - 5.132 / 3.239.571
17./15. [WIU] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze <ACT> (Nintendo) {2014.02.13} (¥5.985) - 5.117 / 72.401 (-29%)
18./23. [3DS] Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Daimakyou - Peko to 5-nin no Tankentai <ACT> (FuRyu) {2014.03.06} (¥5.229) - 4.813 / 9.665
19./22. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (¥4.800) - 4.759 / 3.692.937
20./17. [PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Full Boost # <ACT> (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.30} (¥7.980) - 4.395 / 338.323 (-25%)


Top 20

3DS - 10
PS3 - 5
PS4 - 2
360 - 1
PSV - 1
WIU - 1

The 3DS is clearly leading the pack.

[Ahasverus]

Fuck Japan. I can't take the market seriously. They just elected Lightning from FFXIII best charater of the generation. Yeah. I want japanese designers making games for the western world, because Japan just doesn't care about consoles anymore (PS4 sold laughably bad while it's the best selling console in every other country).

Edit: While that list is dominated by 3DS games, they are at the most hardcore 3DS games, not casual stuff. Casual: Farmville, Flappy Birds.

[Viskod]

If by "laughably bad" you mean "all of the consoles allocated for the region". But this is why we've seen Konami and Capcom reach out to western developers for some projects. They want games that appeal to a wider western audience, because eventually they're going to need games to appeal to a wider western audience.

EDIT: As to your own edit, I'm not entirely sure how I'd find a record of games sales for smartphones and tablets for the same week in Japan, but I would assume that they would be staggering.

[e105beta]

Fuck Japan. I can't take the market seriously. They just elected Lightning from FFXIII best charater of the generation.

So THAT'S why Toriyama can get away with saying how Lighting is super popular.

Final Fantasy got so extraordinarily Japanese post Nomura. Even beyond Square Enix, I feel like all of the old Japanese franchises either:

A. Died
B. Went completely insular
C. Outsourced to Western devs

It's like Nintendo is the only company that tries to make games that are marketable overseas and locally, but then again, I remember Miyamoto saying last year how their games are declining in popularity in Japan.

Japan is like the hipster country of the gaming world.

[Ahasverus]

Japan is just creepy in the gaming world the same it is in everything else.

[Nagumo]

Hahaha, that's kind of awesome

Ouch, the sympathy for the IGA rebellion is great. This doesn't make Konami look good.

Konami wants to make more social games? Just sell the IP to IGA and let the company wither away.