By/March 26, 2018 2:27 pm EST/Updated: Nov. 11, 2019 3:45 pm EST

Much like Nintendo, Konami's early days reach far back beyond the introduction of console gaming. The company started as a jukebox rental company before its founder, Kagemasa Kozuki, moved Konami into the recently birthed world of arcade games in 1973. Legendary games like Frogger soon followed, and before long, Konami was making games for the Atari 2600 and, later, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Konami's jump into the console space kicked off a legacy that has helped shape the gaming landscape we know today, giving us instant classics like Metal Gear, Contra, and Castlevania, along with the 'Konami code' still used by titles to unlock secrets and uncover easter eggs.

Konami has announced a new Silent Hill based slot machine titled Silent Hill: Escape. Konami referred to the new machine as a “for-wager slot experience.” This will only be one of many new. Finance, Silent Hill Escape is a “ f or-wager slot experience”. The new Silent Hill slot machine will debut on Konami’s latest cabinet which features a 49-inch 4K curved display. Players have been clamoring for a new Silent Hill game ever since Silent Hills, the Kojima game teased by the viral demo P.T., which was announced in 2014 and canceled six months later. Konami has heard their cries, and is releasing a new Silent Hill game in the form of a cutting-edge, progressive-linked video slot machine. Konami’s Latest Silent Hill Project Is a Slot Machine Zarmena Khan Saturday, October 12, 2019 Chances of a new Silent Hill game are slim to none but that doesn’t stop fans from hoping for a.

But it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows with Konami. Like a large ship, there's the sheen and grandeur visible from above the surface; the majesty the industry attaches to a stalwart that's been around since the start. But there's also that 'seedy underbelly;' the unseemly quilt of ugly sea things attached to the hull that no amount of scraping can displace. Some might believe Konami has been a stand-up company for most of its existence, with some of its more egregious infractions coming only in the Metal Gear Solid V era. But digging into the game giant's past, it's apparent that their questionable behavior isn't a recent trend.

Below, we'll take an up-close look at Konami and shed some light on some of the shady practices the company has engaged in over its long history.

Separating from Hideo Kojima in the ugliest, most childish way possible

Hideo Kojima is the design wizard behind the Metal Gear franchise, taking the series from its 8-bit roots all the way through the rise of 3D and, eventually, the arrival of high-definition gaming. Then Metal Gear Solid V happened. The game, which was first teased in 2012, appeared to cause a lot of internal strife between Konami and Kojima Productions. Development of the title was done on a brand new engine and rang up costs to the tune of $80 million. That exorbitant amount kicked off an internal power struggle between Kojima and Konami that did irreparable damage to their business relationship.

Much of what happened next occurred out in the open. Konami, during a company restructuring effort, renamed Kojima Productions Los Angeles to Konami Los Angeles Studio. It started to wall off corporate communications access to Kojima Productions staff. Before the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Konami removed the phrase 'A Hideo Kojima Game,' as well as the Kojima Productions logo, from the box art. And more confusing yet: Konami continued to insist all along that Kojima was still very much a part of Konami.

But Konami was full of it, and the stunt it pulled at the 2015 Game Awards turned much of the gaming community against the company. The Phantom Pain won two awards, but when it came time to hand out the trophy for Best Action/Adventure Game, a somber Geoff Keighley had to tell the crowd that Konami would not let Kojima accept it.

Kojima's departure from Konami was later made official on December 15, 2015.

Removing P.T. from the PlayStation Store

Interwoven into all the madness attached to The Phantom Pain is the story of P.T., a short, surprise PlayStation 4 demo unveiled by Konami at Gamescom 2014. Fans were treated to a trailer of the demo, showing genuinely frightened gamers playing and screaming their collective heads off. But what exactly P.T. was remained a mystery until several hours after it hit the PlayStation Store and smart puzzle solvers cracked the code.

We know now, with the benefit of hindsight, that P.T.was a 'playable teaser' for Silent Hills, a new game in the Silent Hill series. It was a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and movie director Guillermo del Toro — two men who admire each other greatly — and was set to star The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus as the main protagonist.

But sadly, the Kojima and Konami fallout occurred. Konami adopted — as del Toro put it — a 'scorched-earth' policy with how it handled the fates of both P.T. and Silent Hills. Silent Hills was canned in early 2015, shortly after all of the Phantom Pain-related shenanigans began.

And as for P.T.? Konami somewhat shockingly announced it would also remove that title from the PlayStation Store.

The reaction wasn't pretty. P.T. had received wide critical acclaim, with some even listing it among the best games of all time. And removing it from the PlayStation Store meant those who had it could play it, but those who didn't would never be able to download it again. There was no real reason for Konami to pull the teaser offline, other than to be vindictive.

Running a ridiculous 'boot camp' for Metal Gear Solid V reviewers

It may come as a shock to website commenters and the Twitter brave, but game journalists really do try to offer a fair, critical look at the games they review. No one is 'in Activision's pocket,' for instance, and for the most part, publishers play ball and give reviewers ample time to review a game without applying any pressure. There's definitely some crunch — where reviewers stay up all hours of the night trying to play through and write a piece before deadline — but that crunch at least happens on the reviewer's terms.

That's what makes the 'boot camp' review process applied to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain so stunning. According to those who took part, they were put up in a hotel where they were given strict 9am-to-5pm blocks to play The Phantom Pain. The game could not be played outside those hours, and when time was up, time was up.

If you assume every second of that time was spent playing the game, that only gave reviewers a total of 40 hours to get through The Phantom Pain, or at least play enough to formulate an opinion. And if you look the game up on HowLongToBeat, you'll find it takes players, on average, 45.5 hours to get through the story alone.

The Phantom Pain wound up being a critical success, but it can't be said for certain that the limited amount of playtime didn't affect the reviews that came out of the event. Several outlets complained about the 'boot camp' afterward, and at least from Konami, we haven't seen one since.

Charging for save slots in Metal Gear Survive

Thanks to its very public spat with Hideo Kojima, Konami found itself on very thin ice with fans of the Metal Gear franchise. So you would think the company's main focus when bringing out a new title in the series would have been to tread lightly, deliver a good game, and above all else, avoid controversy.

It didn't.

Sweeping aside the fact that Metal Gear Survive, released in early 2018, isn't a traditional Metal Gear game, Konami opted to embed some questionable microtransactions into the experience. The game sells a currency called 'SV Coins' for real money, enabling players to purchase add-ons that enable faster leveling and additional load outs for characters. These are a bit gross by themselves. But the most striking, audacious microtransaction by far is the one that unlocks an additional save slot.

Silent Hill Slot Machine Trailer Music Box

This particular item got the most attention from the press, and rightfully so. An extra save slot, which most games include as a matter-of-fact feature, requires one Alexander Hamilton to be removed from y