Hideo Kojima barred from attending The Game Awards by Konami
What is undoubtedly a "low blow" move in the part of the publisher to someone who deserves the respect and courtesy for his creation of the franchise, Hideo Kojima was "barred" by Konami from attending this year's "The Game Awards" and accepting anything won for his latest and arguably final installment in the Metal Gear franchise in "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain".
To paraphrase a Metal Gear Solid line: “Gaming has changed“… And not for the better it seems when it comes down to not honoring a creator and doing things “strictly for business”.
During this year’s The Game Awards show, Canadian video game journalist and host Geoff Keighley had the unfortunate task of informing the gaming audience and attendees that Metal Gear franchise director and creator Hideo Kojima was not allowed to attend the show, because a lawyer for video game publisher Konamihas reportedly barred the gaming prodigy from attending or accepting any award related to his recent magnum opus of a release in “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.”
You can check out the video below from the event, which pretty much speaks for itself on how everyone felt about the news:
From the resounding “boos” and disappointing reactions from the crowd, it’s understandable why everyone is upset. This is following the recent and well-documented controversy surrounding the strained relationship between Kojima-san and Konami, which saw the former tendering his resignation which becomes effective after work on The Phantom Pain has been completed… Which is the end of this year. Konami has been wrapped in a ton of controversy over the months, from its restructuring plans to focus more on mobile games and panchiko slots to how it treats its employees. The closure of Kojima Productions and the actual departure announcement of Kojima were telltale signs of things shifting to the worst… And now this is the ultimate disrespect anyone could do to a visionary who pretty much created a gold mine in a beloved action-adventure game franchise that is recognized around the world as “A Hideo Kojima Game”.
