silent Hill Developer and producer of pinball machines Konami Opened a new studio in Osaka, Japan.
The developer and publisher of Yu-Gi-Oh just recently celebrated its 50th anniversary last month, announcing in a press release last week that it had just opened another studio, Konami Osaka Studio (thanks, GamesRadar). According to a press release, the Konami Osaka studio is “a developmental relocation of an existing studio with a ‘creator first’ philosophy,” explaining that it “features a well-developed environment where creators can Showcasing their full potential.”
The press release doesn’t explain what “creator first” means beyond that, and whether it refers to internal or external, so we’ll have to wait and see.It also does note that Konami’s “next-gen [Research & Development] Center, ‘Konami Creative Front Tokyo Bay’ is in the process of being built,” so it sounds like the company is pulling out all the stops after a few years of inactivity. There’s a positive side to staff, too, as Konami has “significantly raised its base salaries.” It’s always nice to hear that developers get paid more!
Finally, the press release states, “In order to achieve further sustainable growth in the significantly expanded ‘entertainment’ field, Konami Group will strengthen its product development capabilities and continue to provide products and services for the next generation.” A second game and m ore new titles to revitalize the Silent Hill franchise, along with a movie in development (with a major character recently cast), could be what Konami wants to mean by expanding in the entertainment space.
The Silent Hill live event is also taking place this year, and obviously it’s a bit different than a movie or a video game, so it seems like Konami is trying to broaden its horizons in a number of ways.
