Konami announces new Executives, new Gaming Division to focus on Games

Japanese gaming giant Konami has put out an official statement on their website, stating the introduction of their new Production Division 3. They further announced new appointments for executive positions. Go read the official announcements for the new division here and the new executive appointments here.

According to the post on Konami’s website, the newly formed division called Production Division 3 is intended “to respond to the rapid market changes that surround us, and to achieve further growth of our digital entertainment business.” The wording makes it clear that this new team is going to be responsible for games, whether it is traditional console and PC ones or mobile.

Koji Kobayashi will become the Division Manager, climbing up the company ladder from his former General Manager position in Production Division 1. Other new position changes include Tatsuhiko Yamamoto as the General Manager of the new division and Kenji Nakamura filling the now vacant General Manager position in division 1.

In the other announcement Konami made today, they introduced the establishment of a new Chief Creative Officer CCO position “to strengthen the quality of product and service for each sub segment to achieve further growth of our digital entertainment business.” Sadaaki Kaneyoshi is a newly appointed CCO with the task of overseeing Mobile Games, Computer & Video Games, while Shoji Dewa is the other new CCO in charge of Cards Supervision.

It remains to be seen what the new opening of a division will bring for the future but it is safe to say that it whatever it might be, it is going to take a while for its fruits to bear. Konami has been getting a lot of vitriol from the gaming community ever since their fallout with legendary game designer Hideo Kojima towards the release of Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain, which ended in Kojima’s departure after acting for decades as a creative figure in the company. Konami shifted its focus from traditional games into their highly financially successful Pachinko business with notable franchises getting new Pachinko games, all the while disregarding the wishes for “normal” games from their fanbases.

Could the newly established Production Division 3 be aimed at producing games the core audience wants or will it end up being just another cog in the mobile and Pachinko machinery? It’s not possible to tell yet but it is definitely intriguing to see Konami expand their gaming divisions, whichever way it might go.