The Silent Hill sequence is coming again, and we’re not simply getting one new sport … we’re getting 4. And a brand new film! And extra merch!
It’s definitely greater than what lots of people would have anticipated when Konami introduced we have been getting a presentation on the sequence’ future final week (I’m an enormous sequence fan, and my expectations have been very low). Most individuals have been anticipating a brand new sport and a Silent Hill 2 remake primarily based on leaks and rumors, however the sequence had been all however dormant since Silent Hill: Downpour in 2012, so there was no motive to anticipate something extra. In the previous decade, Konami has used the IP on pachinko machines, skateboards, and little else.
However, the writer managed to shock virtually all people. Regardless of what you considered the bulletins themselves, it reveals that Konami has a vested curiosity in maintaining the franchise alive and bringing it into the 2020s. Not solely is it modernizing the sequence with remakes and new titles, however it’s additionally modernizing the way it leverages the IP into a brand new form of franchise.
Franchising isn’t something new with video video games. Big sequence like Pokémon, Assassin’s Creed, and Call of Duty have been doing it for over a decade. However, this was typically carried out by way of inner groups or acquainted collaborations. Konami is now one of some large online game firms chasing a brand new technique. Why churn out one sport a yr when you should use third-party studios to create aggressive multimedia juggernauts?
Why is Konami doing this?
Konami’s technique is solely following traits. The online game economic system has modified considerably over the previous decade. There are plenty of issues you’ll be able to level to — the rise of the indie, the autumn of the used sport market, tacking multiplayer modes onto every thing — however arguably the most important is the rise of the live-service sport. AAA titles are taking longer to make and get costlier yearly, so studios have been on the lookout for methods to proceed making income in between massive releases. Many have tried ways like loot containers, microtransactions, and people aforementioned multiplayer modes. Unfortunately, they have been low-quality at greatest and exploitative at worst.
Companies need to get in on live-service video games as a result of they’ll doubtlessly earn money constantly. Of course, they should be price enjoying, and builders should proceed updates, however they are often worthwhile for studios. It’s why Sony is investing closely in dwell service with its acquisition of Destiny 2 studio Bungie.
However, not each franchise will be become a service, so studios are attempting the following smartest thing: releasing a number of video games and different media primarily based on a singular IP in shut succession. This permits a studio to make more cash off of 1 sequence.
You can see this taking place throughout the trade. Assassin’s Creed developer Ubisoft, which had adopted the everyday franchise mannequin prior to now, plans to make use of a number of groups throughout the corporate to create various kinds of experiences for gamers, from two conventional RPGs to the Infinity hub and a cellular sport. Similarly, Konami helps to provide two flagship Silent Hill video games — Silent Hill: F and Silent Hill: Townfall — together with a dwell interactive expertise referred to as Silent Hill: Ascension and the Silent Hill 2 remake for PlayStation 5.
Ubisoft has given perception into why it will work. Series govt producer Marc-Alexis Côté stated in its announcement press launch that the studio can use groups to pursue “different creative tracks within the franchise” so that they don’t cannibalize one another.
“I think there are very valuable benefits to building games that are very different from one another in our two studios, because it helps us collaborate, as we’re not both building RPGs on top of one another,” he stated. It’s framed as a profit from studio and client standpoints, which is probably going true because it permits for longer improvement cycles to offer Ubisoft the room to dig into the Assassin’s Creed franchise for content material.
Sony can also be attempting this with The Last of Us. It simply launched a remake of the primary sport and is at the moment engaged on a standalone multiplayer title, which was initially purported to be a side-component in The Last of Us Part II and has since been spun off into its personal title.
Studios will not be solely saying a number of titles utilizing one IP, however are additionally exhibiting them off a lot earlier. CD Projekt Red introduced in October that it’s engaged on a brand new The Witcher trilogy, together with a sequel to Cyberpunk 2077. These 4 Silent Hill titles are definitely not all popping out subsequent yr, but Konami is utilizing their existence to construct up pleasure in an identical means.
But wait, there’s extra
There’s one other key element of this technique. Why simply create video games? After years of Hollywood battling online game diversifications, studios are, in a means, taking issues into their very own palms. Sony, Ubisoft, CD Projekt Red, Riot Games, and others are producing film and TV diversifications that tie into their most well-known franchises, together with The Last of Us, God of War, Assassin’s Creed, and so many others. This will not be solely one other means to make use of IP, however it’s additionally confirmed to funnel customers again to the video games, even after they’re a number of years, and even many years, outdated.
If individuals watch an anime on Netflix referred to as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, after which discover out that it’s primarily based on a online game, they’ll seemingly need to take a look at the online game. This undoubtedly contributed to the elevated success of Cyberpunk 2077, together with a string of updates. Similarly, following The Witcher’s debut on Netflix in 2019, NPD Group reported that gross sales of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which got here out in 2015, had exploded — bodily gross sales have been up 554% from the identical time the yr earlier than. Over on Steam, it set a brand new franchise file of over 103,000 concurrent gamers.
For a very long time, the primary Silent Hill was one of many few “good” online game film diversifications (the second … not a lot). Rui Naito, who’s in command of IP and cross-media improvement for the franchise at Konami, emphasised the primary movie’s success in the course of the presentation when he introduced that its director, Christophe Gans, was returning to adapt Silent Hill 2 right into a characteristic movie. Naito additionally talked about that the movie pitch was one of many the reason why the corporate rebooted the franchise. While it’ll more than likely come out after the Silent Hill 2 remake’s launch, there’s little question the film will funnel extra customers again to the video games if its a hit.
In my stressed desires, I see a number of studios
But how can one firm do all of this in simply a few years? Konami is working with studios crammed with builders who say they’re massive followers of the unique video games. Every studio consultant famous how essential the sequence was to their earlier video games. Bloober Team, for instance, has at all times worn its Silent Hill influences on its sleeve with video games like Layers of Fear and The Medium, particularly in regard to Silent Hill 2. The announcement that it was behind the remake wouldn’t have been a shock even when it wasn’t already closely rumored heading into the showcase.
“For many Bloober Team members, Silent Hill is the title which made them fall in love with horror games,” Piotr Babieno, CEO of Bloober Team, stated in the course of the presentation. “This is why we approach our work with a great respect to the original game.”
Not each studio will be like Ubisoft or Sony and have quite a few smaller studios beneath its umbrella to unfold out work, or like Nintendo, which works with a close-knit group of outdoor firms, so Konami outsourced it. This is widespread in sport manufacturing, even past making a number of titles beneath one IP. As video games get larger, extra assist studios are introduced in to assist. Konami took it a step additional by outsourcing the majority of the design to smaller third events, setting a precedent that we’re certain can be copied.
It’s unclear whether or not or not Konami simply doesn’t have the interior improvement sources for future Silent Hill video games or needed to offer unbiased studios with expertise in horror an opportunity. Regardless, it takes plenty of pressure off Konami whereas nonetheless permitting it to tout that it’s revitalizing a basic sequence.
Konami is forward of the sport
Konami is only one of many studios attempting out a unique method to franchising its video video games extra aggressively. Instead of stuffing titles with exploitative microtransactions or introducing live-service mechanics, it’s simply going to launch a ton of video games from one sequence. It’ll be certain that Silent Hill will at all times be prime of thoughts as a result of there’ll at all times be a sport or film on the best way.
Other studios are doing this as nicely, however they want the sources to develop a number of video games directly. Konami is bucking the pattern barely by counting on third-party studios for main improvement, versus others like Ubisoft which might be both maintaining it within the household and solely outsourcing some additional work to assist groups.
We’ll have to attend to see if this technique pays off in the long term. Konami nonetheless has to provide high quality titles for gamers. Plus, we don’t know but what ties all of those seemingly totally different video games collectively as a result of it doesn’t appear to be the city of Silent Hill in each case. However, it’s already been profitable in a method. At least we’re speaking about Silent Hill once more, which is already a step in the precise route for Konami.
Editors’ Recommendations