Following his departure from Konami, Hideo Kojima has been having quite a roller-coaster ride on his own. He put up Kojima Productions and has hooked up with Sony for “Death Stranding”.
While the venture seems only normal for someone who made his mark with Konami, there are other things worth noting. A lot of that has to do with trademark-related issues which eventually boil down to the famed “Metal Gear” game titles.
Kojima Productions has been long tied up to the “Metal Gear” series but the landscape has obviously changed. The best question to ask here is who holds the proper rights to the game?
Trademark Wars
Seeing how Hideo Kojima has been with Konami for over three decades has brought up some issues up for debate. But where does Kojima Productions really fall under?
A look at a Japanese site monitoring Japanese trademarks show that Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. still owns the rights to Kojima Productions. It expires in 2026 meaning it will stay that way for the next 10 years.
So where does Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions stand? For Konami, the need to use the old logo will be a need which all the more spurs the problems with Hideo’s itineraries. For one, how will they be able to release their games with Konami holding the rights to the name?
While Hideo Kojima is no longer regularly employed, there could be some form of internal agreement between him and Konami. Something like a consultancy role as pointed out on Gaming Bolt.
This is supported by a previous report on Game Spark, claiming that Hideo Kojima will remain as the director for the “Metal Gear” series. The catch is the coverage of the ”Metal Gear” games, meaning does it include one, multiple and/or future game title associated to the game.
Right now, it seems like a messy and sensitive issue to undertake. But as pointed out, the best Hideo Kojima can do for now is troll and tweet, in a separate report from Gaming Bolt.
Chapter 3 Confirmed
Venom Snake is Gray Fox !!@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN @Kojima_Hideo pic.twitter.com/83tFADHMmM— Venom Fox (@bayuarafat) August 1, 2016
