Update: The original title which mentioned Tora Shiro as a Konami Executive has been edited.
Original Story:
Ever since the release date of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was announced, there has been nothing but drama within Konami. According to reports Hideo Kojima is all set to leave Konami by the end of the year and Italian neurosurgeon apparently wants to sue to the Japanese firm for using his likeness in the game. This was followed by the cancellation of Silent Hills, something that had amazing potential if P.T. was anything to go by.
It’s not far fetched to think that Konami may be moving away from console business altogether. Remember, digital entertainment is only a part of Konami’s revenue stream, one that is dwindling down in the recent years. Konami was once considered a behemoth in the games publication sector but since 2014, the company has published only 3 titles and it has only The Phantom Pain for 2015.
I guess it goes without saying that fans are not happy.
But it seems that Konami might be listening to its fans. Tora Shiro, who works at the North American branch of Konami recently responded to a user with the following statement on Neogaf: “Totally fine, I take no offense and always encourage fans to let us know where we are royally screwing up as to find out where we should be improving.”
Will they actually listen to its user base is something that we will know in the future. Moving on, information on The Phantom Pain has totally dried up. Kojima used to tweet out images before the Konami drama but that is not happening anymore. So when can fans expect to hear more about the game? Perhaps at E3?
“That would be the logical expectation. Can’t comment on exact details or dates at this time. I don’t think I need to remind you to make sure you are following our channels for updates and news,” Tora stated.
“We are not ready to confirm our E3 activities, but we have launched major trailers for the game the last 2 years running at E3 and we are releasing the game in September, so I’ll just leave you with the assumptions that can be made given our previous asset releases,” he vaguely hinted that a new trailer might be shown during next month’s event.
He also revealed that they are in talks with Steam regarding pre-load and other platform specific details. “We’re still in talks with Steam about all sorts of details. While I’m not privy to the specifics, I am sure that pre-load will come up at some point. I will of course push for, as I’m sure our Digital Team is/has/whatev, and hope to have an answer in the future, though this is unlikely to be resolved until we get closer to launch.”
Furthermore he also clarified that the come back early 2015 to claim your downloadable content pamphlet was only a placeholder.
“It doesn’t. Not yet. The “early 2015″ people float around was actually placeholder text from an early build of the website we had made but wasn’t supposed to go out. Then, oops, those copies of GZ got leaked in the Middle East and people had a website to go to that wasn’t supposed to be live yet with placeholder text. Continue to hold on to your code, they will be instrumental in redeeming your GZ->TPP loyalty reward, and we will have more details for that as we come up to September 1. But until the game comes out there’s really nothing to worry about, yet.”
How will this apply for new and used copies of Ground Zeroes? “If you purchase a new, physical copy with insert, then absolutely. No guarantees on used. Details still being finalized for digital redemption,” Tora clarified.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain launches on 1st September on PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360. The Steam version will launch on September 15th.