Konami is a Japanese Holdings company. It is involved in the entertainment and gambling industry. Aside from being a product distributor, it also acts as a video game developer and publisher. With many games under its belt, it is a well-recognized brand in the gaming industry. Konami is headquartered in Tokyo and also owns casinos and fitness clubs. The diversity in operations does not compromise the investment in the game development area. It has produced several hits and continues to deliver promising and intriguing video games.
Official website: https://www.konami.com/games/
When Was Konami Established? How Did It Enter The Gaming Industry?
Konami was established in March 1969 by Kagemasa Kozuki as a jukebox rental and repairing shop. It later delved into manufacturing machines for video arcades. In 1978, their first coin-operated video game was launched and subsequently, they started exporting their products to the US.
Konami initially achieved success owing to its intriguing arcade games such as Frogger and Scramble. They established a subsidiary in the US in 1982 and started to explore video games. Developed games for Atari 2600, MSX and subsequently for Nintendo in 1985. Their brief stint with NES made them popular as many franchises such as Castlevania, Contra and Metal Gear had become famous.
In 1991, it was supporting 16-bit video game consoles. With the launch of Playstation in 1994, it formed subsidiaries under Konami Computer Entertainment. KCE Tokyo developed the Silent Hill series while KCE Japan developed Metal Gear Solid. Konami continues to develop its older franchises and produces new games. It also invests in merchandise and produces rhythm games under the Bemani brand.
What Are Some Of The Best Games Of Konami?
Studio has many holdings in different countries. It aims to focus on mobile gaming. Nonetheless, it has developed many top-selling games over the years. Few of them are:
- Pro Evolution Soccer has 18 installments, one releasing every year since 2001. It was released under different names before being named PES. Also an expert and is listed as one of the best-selling game franchises. It has many game modes such as kick-off, online matches, Manager Mode, and so forth.
- Metal Gear is an action-adventure game and was first released for MSX in 1987. Metal Gear Solid was the third installment in the series and introduced a 3D gameplay. It has been released for many platforms and has many sequels. The story revolves around a special ops team assigned with the task of collecting ‘Metal Gear.’
- Other famous games and franchise introduced by Konami include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, The Simpsons, etc. These have been either introduced as video game arcades or games. Silent Hill, one of the best horror games, has been produced by Konami.
Enter The World Of Anime And Eccentric Ideas
Konami is also credited with the launch of ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ card game. It has diverse operations. Konami Digital Entertainment Company is the video game development division. With the merger of Hudson Soft, KDE added new franchises to its offerings. Perks, such as the Konami Code, makes the video game developer unique.