Guillermo Del Toro finally speaks out about Konmai and the company's abrupt cancellation of the Silent Hills collaboration the Director had been working on with Hideo Kojima.
Last month, Silent Hills fans were devastated by news that Konami had officially cancelled the much-anticipated new game entry to the franchise. The details surrounding this abrupt and unexpected blow remain largely unknown,however, while
talking with IGN about his next movie, Crimson Peak, Del Toro appears to have confirmed the cancellation was a consequence of the undisclosed issues surrounding Kojima and Konami.
It is clear that Del Toro is just as upset about the incident as fans are, saying, "The collaboration between Kojima and myself, the meetings, and the friendship that was developing was beautiful. We had an agreement on where to go. We had an agreement on how we were going to push the new platforms. We were having a blast.”
During previous reports on this situation, Konami expressed it's "committed to new Silent Hill titles”, but whether this will stand true or not is yet to be seen, especially with Konami taking a stronger focus into the gaming/gambling part of their business. Even if the company does go ahead with new Silent Hills titles, fan support seems to be up in the air.
Del Toro explained to IGN:
“What we wanted to do with the game – and we were very much in agreement on this – was to take the technology and make it as cutting-edge as we could in creating terror in the house. The idea was very, very atmosphere-drenched.
“But what made Silent Hill so great was that you had the atmosphere but then you a pay-off with a very active, very intense series of moments. We wanted to do some stuff that I’m pretty sure – just in case it ever comes back, which honestly I would love for somebody to change their mind and we can do it – but in case it comes back there was some stuff that was very new, and I wouldn’t want to spoil it.
“Norman [Reedus, the Walking Dead actor who was attached to play the lead role] was super happy, Hideo was super happy, and so was I. I know there’s a petition going on the internet and it’s gathering signatures. I would add my signature to it, and hope that someone pays attention.
“P.T. was downloaded enormously, which shows that people have a passion [for the series].” And it's one in which Del Toro shares. “[Silent Hill] hit me at the right time when I played the first one and the second. It’s a truly great mythology and too great a storytelling arena to let die. It’s too good.
"It’s a truly great mythology and too great a storytelling arena to let die."
When asked if he would ever consider trying to make a game again, Del Toro replied, “Well, you know, I’ve tried twice and I don’t know if I’ll ever come back to the form. In one instance, the company went down, and in the second, the completely unexpected happened, which was Kojima and Konami separating. It’s kind of left me reeling.”
What the director considers to be the worst part of Konami's actions is the abrupt and unexpected nature of the cancellation. Shortly after the collaboration was cancelled and Kojima left the company, Konami quickly removed P.T. from the Playstation store and put measures in place to stop people who already had the game in their library from re-downloading it.
“Honestly that’s what surprised me. It was a sort of scorched earth approach. It was not a gentle and ambiguous cancellation."
Despite everything that has happened Del Toro still seems keen to go ahead should the opportunity to make the collaboration work come up again, saying, “Hideo and I have been in touch [and] he knows he would be the only guy I would follow to the ends of the earth on anything. I think if anything can be rescued, I will be more than happy.”
The direction of Konami as a company is ambiguous at the moment, and we will just have to wait and see what their next moves are and how it will impact any future Silent Hills titles.
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