Kojima Productions Logo Removed From Phantom Pain Cover

The current state of Konami within the video game industry is not favorable at this moment. Not only is there a fairly notable rift going on between them and Hideo Kojima, but they have squandered an excellent opportunity to revitalize the Silent Hill series. Pretty much anything Konami does now that doesn’t involve them releasing more info about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain results in intense scrutiny across all social media channels. Even when new info comes out, like the game’s box art, Konami can’t come out ahead.

More from News

Some NeoGAF users spotted that the official box art for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released late yesterday, with a notable omission. Clicking on the featured image above will show you the final version of the left, noticeably removing the Kojima Productions logo near the ESRB rating. On the right, the Kojima Productions logo is sandwiched between the ESRB rating and the Fox Engine logo, confirming a change that removes game director Hideo Kojima’s name from the box cover.

This is a slap in the face to one of gaming’s few auteurs; Hideo Kojima. The strip his name from the cover of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a disservice to the long-standing excellence and oversight he has brought to both Konami and to the Metal Gear Solid series. “A Hideo Kojima Game” or the Kojima Productions logo has been placed on all of their games; it would be hard to imagine a physical copy that doesn’t bear the creator’s name on the cover.

Oh wait, it already exists.

Of all the things to complain about when it comes to Konami mismanaging the Metal Gear Solid franchise in its latest days, this is a molehill among mountains. As great as Hideo Kojima is as a person and as a game creator, slapping your name prominently on the cover of a video game that teams of hundreds helped to create always felt like an egotistical move, similar to naming movies “A Spike Lee Joint.” The reason nobody really called him out for it is because Kojima’s sincerity, trust in the audience and supreme effort comes across as authentic and heartfelt.

This will likely be the last Metal Gear Solid game we see from Hideo Kojima that we’re talking about. Focusing so much effort into hating Konami has distracted the ultimate point; to appreciate and admire the video game itself. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been years in the making, culminating to a boiling point of excellent stealth-action fervor starting September 1st on PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360. Those in attendance at gamescom 2015 will even get to try it out almost a month early, too. Let’s try to move on beyond the bad and focus on the good while there is still time to appreciate it.

More from GameSided

Looking to write about video games? Join us at GameSided! Contact me to apply or if you have any inquiries/tips: daniel.george@fansided.com.

Home/News