A recent report released by the Japanese Newspaper Nikkei (Nihon Keizai Shimbun aka Japan economic newspaper) has pointed the spotlight once again on Konami, this time for its tightly monitored work conditions.
Employees at Konami are constantly monitored by internal cameras to ensure they are working at all times and are unable to gain access to WiFi, with their only means of communication coming through intranet e-mail to contact other team members within the company.
Any worker who just can’t perform well enough is given a demotion and has to be reduced to working as a cleaner or in other rudimentary roles such as a security officer. These measures are also not limited to inexperienced employees but also to veteran game developers.
The troubled publisher who parted ways with iconic video game developer Hideo Kojima earlier this year appears to be reducing the amount of money and time dedicated to big triple AAA titles with the notable exception of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain even after Kojima’s departure. Social and mobile gaming and hey even good ol’ Japanese Pachinko machines seem to be taking on the lion share of Konami’s future business ventures.