September2016
News Fangs For The Memories Castlevania, You're Now 30 Years Old
Three decades of miserable secrets
Want to feel old? Konami's Castlevania series has now been going for 30 years. The franchise began life on the Japan-only Famicom Disk System as Akumajou Dracula. This title was released in North America as Castlevania in May the next year and was followed by two NES sequels - 1987's Castlevania II: Simon's Quest...
July2016
News Tom Dubois Talks About Creating Some Of The Most Iconic Boxart Of The NES And SNES Eras
"There was never any direct influence from Konami of Japan"
We're used to video game art assets being more or less consistent across all regions these days, but back in the 8 and 16-bit eras it was common for games from Japan to receive entirely new box artwork when released in the west. In the majority of cases the replacement covers were woefully...
Book Review The Unofficial Guide To Konami Shooters
A timely reminder that Konami was really good at making games, once
Konami may be retreating from the production of video games these days but not so long ago the company was seen as one of the leading lights in the industry, challenging the likes of Capcom, Sega and Nintendo when it came to creating compelling, must-have experiences. This...
June2016
News Super Street Fighter II and The Legend of Mystical Ninja Heading to New 3DS in Japan
More SNES goodness
Sometimes the Japanese eShop line-ups, particularly with the Virtual Console, can provide a little advance warning on what's heading to the service in the West. We hope that's the case with the latest arrivals on the New 3DS VC in Nintendo's homeland, as it includes a couple of classics. One title heading to Japan this week is...
May2016
Stranger than fiction
YouTube's copyright system is a bit of a mess right now. The popular video streaming site makes efforts to protect the property of those who use it, but the whole thing is set up very much in favour of big companies at present, with individual users often hit with takedowns which - if they choose to fight - could lead to loss...
March2016
News Konami and Capcom Are Bringing Some SNES Classics to New 3DS
More Nintendo titles on the agenda, too
One of the most pleasing reveals of the most recent Nintendo Direct broadcasts - for retro fans, at least - was confirmation of Super NES titles coming to the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. Various titles were confirmed for the first few weeks of the service in North America and Europe (see link above for...
January2016
News Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time Gets CD Quality Audio Hack
Cowabunga doesn't even begin to cover it
Prolific hacker DarkShock strikes again, increasing his already impressive list of similar enhancement hacks in the past, this time adding MSU-1 high quality PCM audio support for Konami's stellar SNES title Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time. In place of the already quite impressive SPC music,...
News Shadow Moses Is A Fan-Made Metal Gear Solid For The HD Era
But how long before Konami closes it down?
As we all know, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has parted ways with Konami, which means that we're unlikely to see another "true" Metal Gear title, despite plans by the publisher to continue the franchise without its founder. If such a realisation leaves you feeling a bit blue, then cast your eyes over...
News There's a New Yu-Gi-Oh! Game on the Way to 3DS this Summer
Will 'Yu' be picking it up?
With all the negative press surrounding Hideo Kojima's departure from Konami - along with the notion that it's looking to wind down AAA game development - the company could sure use a break. While it'll still be interesting to see what other new games are announced in the near future, Konami just recently announced that a...
News Get Ready for Light Gun Action in This Week's North American Nintendo Download Update
The Adventures of Bayou Billy! Wild Gunman! Hogan's Alley!
Starting with Duck Hunt in late 2014, Nintendo has been retrofitting and re-releasing - along with third-party partners - some iconic NES light gun / Zapper games for the Wii U eShop. They naturally utilise the Wii Remote pointer to recreate that old-fashioned practice of zapping pixels on...
November2015
News You'll Be Able To Dress Up Your Felyne Palico As A Yu-Gi-Oh Dark Magician In Monster Hunter X
Or "Dark Maginyan", to be precise
The latest issue of Weekly Jump reveals that the forthcoming 3DS title Monster Hunter X will allow players to dress up their Felyne Palico as a Dark Magician from the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! series. Known as the "Dark Maginyan", the costume will be obtainable via an event quest. This is likely to be the first of many...
News Konami Already Planning Next Metal Gear Game, Presumably Without Hideo Kojima's Input
"A large-scale investment will become necessary"
The Konami drama continues. After rumours that the veteran publisher is leaving AAA development and the confusion surrounding the employment status of Hideo Kojima - its most famous staffer - Konami has recently confirmed that it is shuttering the LA-based studio responsible for Metal Gear Online,...
October2015
News It's Official, Hideo Kojima Has Parted Ways With Konami
Final day was October 9th
It has been confirmed today that Hideo Kojima has left publisher Konami. October 9th was his final day at the company. The news had been anticipated for some time, with rumours circulating that Kojima would leave the firm once work on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was completed. The rumour mill started running when...
September2015
News Konami Denies That It Is Walking Away From AAA Game Development
...for the second time this year
We recently reported on rumours that suggested veteran publisher Konami was abandoning AAA console development with the exception of its Pro Evolution Soccer series. The report - published by French site Gameblog but seemingly verified by ot
August2015
News Nintendo Is Licensing Hudson Soft IP From Konami
New Momotaro Dentetsu title in development
Earlier this morning, we posted some rather worrying news regarding the current situation at Konami, including claims that staff are being used as cleaners and security guards. If there's one positive to come out of the whole situation it's that Konami is so disinterested in harnessing its catalogue of IP...
News Scathing Nikkei Report Hints At Shameful Treatment Of Staff By Dictatorial Konami Management
"Useless" employees used as cleaners and security guards
All is not well in the world of Konami. Recent rumours have suggested that the Japanese veteran could be planning a move out of the home gaming business, and the company's recent treatment of Hideo Kojima - surely its most famous staffer - has raised eyebrows throughout the industry. However,...
June2015
Video Latest Teens React Episode Proves Age Has Done Little To Dull Contra's Insane Difficulty Level
Co-op for experts
We're keen followers of the excellent React YouTube channel, especially the retro videos which show gamers young and old struggling to come to terms with some of the most famous titles in the business. This time up, it's Konami's hard-as-nails run-and-gun shooter Contra (or Probotector if you're in Europe). Contra is considered to...
May2015
News Konami Not Turning Its Back On Consoles After All, Says Sorry For Causing Such A Fuss
Japanese company admits "conjecture" has caused "anxiety"
We recently reported on an interview with Konami boss Hideki Hayakawa which stated that the company was putting all of its eggs in the basket marked "mobile". However, these comments were translated from what was little more than a summary of the interview and the full, official transcript -...
News Mobile Is Konami's Future, According To President Hideki Hayakawa
"We will pursue mobile games aggressively"
Konami president Hideki Hayakawa has been speaking to Nikkei Trendy Net about the company's future, giving the strongest indication yet of how the firm's business is changing. Hayakawa states that smart devices represent the core focus of Konami's business moving forward. The success of Konami's current...
News Konami And Square Enix Post Positive Financials, Despite A Lack Of Major Console Releases
A sign of the times?
Japanese publishers Konami and Square Enix have both reported positive financial results for the past year, despite the fact that neither company has released all that many AAA console titles during this period. Konami has reported a 147 percent increase in net profit for the year ending March. Profits reached 9.5bn Yen, which...
Talking Point Is Konami About To Exit The Console Game Business?
Nintendo's old ally could be leaving the industry it helped to grow
Konami has been in the headlines a lot lately. First up were those troublesome rumours regarding the impending departure of Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series and arguably the Japanese company's most valuable and famous employee. It would appear that Kojima is set to...
April2015
News Renegade Kid Twice Pitched Silent Hill DS Projects to Konami
Was quickly and then politely rebuffed
Renegade Kid is best known to most Nintendo fans - we suspect - as an indie download developer, in particular stepping up a notch in popularity with Mutant Mudds on the 3DS eShop. In the DS era, though, the studio released a variety of respected retail efforts, very much part of the mid-tier market subsequently...
News Konami Removes Its Listing from the New York Stock Exchange
Will raise eyebrows, but doesn't mean imminent doom
Some of the Nintendo Life team on the wrong side of 30-years-old recall the days when Konami was a true powerhouse brand in gaming. The Castlevania franchise was hugely popular, Pro Evolution Soccer was the mainstream choice ahead of EA's FIFA - really, that was a thing - and Hideo Kojima could get...
News Game Freak's GBA Title Drill Dozer Rated By The Australian Classification Board
Konami's The Adventures of Bayou Billy is also on the way
The Australian Classification Board has revealed Game Freak's GBA hit, Drill Dozer, will be arriving on the Wii U Virtual Console in the near future. The critically praised action platformer previously released in Japan in 2005 and North America in 2006 has players take control of a...
March2015
Rumour Metal Gear Creator Hideo Kojima Is Leaving Konami, But The Series Will Go On
Will part company after finishing MGSV
It is being reported that Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima will be parting company with Konami after the launch of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Tongues started wagging after Konami removed the Kojima Productions name from Metal Gear Solid V press material. Kojima's name was also absent from an updated...