Konami Digital Entertainment announced that Hideo Kojima, famed creator of the Metal Gear franchise, has been appointed the role of vice president within the company. The announcement was made earlier today, and Kojima will officially start his new position on April 1. Let’s hope the folks over at Konami don’t have a twisted sense of humor and announce to Kojima that the whole thing was an April Fool’s gag.
The new move may have something to do with the lackluster sales figures Konami reported for 2010. Despite several delays, the company claimed to have “roughly” met their expected quota. With Kojima as the new vice president along with Shinji Enomoto, the producer of Pro Evolution Soccer, there’s no telling how Konami will be impacted in terms of growth. As a supporter of the industry, I hope these two individuals bring along some great company changes.
The decision a part of some major moves by Konami in order to increase productivity and revenue. Hudson, which will be 100 percent property of Konami beginning April 1, will also be affected by these changes. Current Hudson CEO Michihiro Ishizuka will be replaced with Konami’s Kazuhiko Uehara.
It will be very interesting to see how Hideo Kojima’s new role will affect Konami. It’s also uncertain whether the Metal Gear creator’s new position will affect any games he may have potentially had in store for release. I hope Kojima knocks some sense into Konami and tells them that turning Hudson into a social game developer is completely absurd.
