News

Konami announces 'aggressive' move to mobile

"Mobile games are our main platform now," says CEO

Konami announces 'aggressive' move to mobile

Konami is the latest console company to put its head above the parapet and announce a shift of developmental focus to mobile.

Speaking to Nikkei and translated by a user on gaming forum NeoGaf, the Konami's president Hideki Hayakawa echoed his Japanese contemporaries in saying that the games industry of the future is a mobile one.

He revealed that the publisher’s main platform will now be mobile, building upon a F2P model that focuses on selling features rather than goods.

Game now, pay later

"Following the pay-as-you-play model of games like Power Pro and Winning Eleven with additional content, our games must move from selling things like 'items' to selling things like 'features,'" he said.

"We saw with these games that even people who buy physical games are motivated to buy extra content. The success of Power Pro especially has motivated us to actively push more of our popular series onto mobile than ever before."

He added his belief that mobile’s multiplatform approach means the market no longer need be divided into categories. Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices will now be the link between the general public and the gaming world.

It’s the third Japanese company to make the shift towards mobile, following announcements from Nintendo and Square Enix in the same vein.

Previous earnings reports had seen Konami infer an interest into expanding into mobile games, but this is the most direct the Hayawaka has ever been in outlining the company’s plans.

While the Japanese market is clearly shifting to a mobile-first landscape, Hayawake outlined that he intends to help the West embrace their mobile titles in the same way.

He said he hopes that “our overseas games such as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Winning Eleven continue to do well, but we are always thinking about how to push our franchises onto mobile there too."


News Editor