Forum - View topicINTEREST: Kojima Productions' Mascot Ludens Gets Nendoroid, Figure, Video
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Nyren
Posts: 702 |
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That was fast.
EDIT: Just noticed, you guys mispronounced the name of the game. It's "Death Stranding" not "Death Rising." Last edited by Nyren on Mon Jul 25, 2016 1:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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KH91
Posts: 6176 |
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OMG! Kojima showing plenty of his Lude side.
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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Aren't they putting in a lot of time, effort and marketing into stuff that aren't there first video game? I mean, look at most other studio/group centered around some big name developer and how a lot flounder because they spend tons of time on side project and end up delivering underwhelming first project *cough* MN9 *cough*.
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KH91
Posts: 6176 |
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^
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3rdImpakt
Posts: 118 |
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"Dead Rising"....are you [expletive] serious?
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Mr. Oshawott
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The Nendoroid of Ludens looks awesome!
 The color-assorted miniatures of him add to the mysterious feel.
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jdnation
Posts: 1998 |
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I see this sentiment being thrown around a lot, and I feel a lot of people SEVERELY don't understand business. This reply isn't aimed specifically at you, but I feel the need to vent about this because I'm seeing this commonly going around... Firstly, Kojima Productions isn't just a video-game company. Kojima himself said his studio, while their primary business is always going to be games they are also interested in anime, toys, film etc. Kojima Productions is therefore a multimedia company. Let's compare with Square Enix who not only make video games, but also toys, publish books etc. Even Konami was not just a video game company. Even Nintendo has side businesses. Let us consider what it takes to make AAA games these days. A LOT of money for one. For a company to survive making big games it naturally would be a good idea to subsidize this by having other sources of revenue. Or they could just desperately microtransaction the crap out of the games. Or raise the standard cost of video games. Instead companies seek other sources of revenue. I know which method I'd prefer. Kojima's game will undoubtedly take awhile to make. During that period of development, no revenue will be made until the game is on store shelves. Is this smart? Particularly if you're looking to expand and hire up to 100 people as he plans to? If anything while the game is being made, why not make money on the side? You know how people get kickstarted by asking fans for money usually in exchange for nothing or some minor gift? Think of it like that, except Kojima is actually selling you a product and something tangible for your money other than the promise of something potential. When creating a company you need: - A Name - (naturally) - A Logo - companies naturally spend a good deal of time and effort with marketing and research to choose something, it's shape, it's colors, trademarks etc. So no surprise Kojima and Shinkawa are putting thought into it. It's nice that Kojima is sharing such internal processes with his fans. I like seeing the process of him building his new company as do others. Some of you might just want the game, so in that case feel free to wait until actual news arrives. - A Mascot - okay, this is not always necessary, but given Kojima Productions is a Japanese company, and mascots are extremely common things to have in Japan for just about anything, it's not surprising Kojima would make one, particularly given it has both a badass and a cuter chibi version. I don't think I need to go into any more details about this to Anime/Japanese culture fans. - An intro movie - practically every media company has some kind of logo movie/transition etc. If you're a multimedia company it's something you need to have. It creates attention for you. It also allows you to briefly show off a little. Given Kojima Productions is also aiming to create media in the form of films and animation, naturally it makes sense to have something that shows off what Kojima Productions does. Here is what the brand stand for. Here is a lasting image to leave you with. Aka - Advertising. For examples look at the Disney castle opening, the MGM Lion, the Pixar lamp, the WB logo. Sometimes film production houses even change them up to suit the film (for example the Matrix films had the studio logos as matrix code, or 20th Century Fox had Ralph Wiggum singing their theme for the SImpsons Movie). Hell Marvel Studios just put out an all new intro for their brand at Comic Con. Very spiffy, look: https://amp.twimg.com/v/bbf96aeb-5db4-4056-918d-3a38d198c9cd The point is Kojima Productions as a multimedia company needs something like this. Showing this off may also get them opportunities to be hired to do other companies shorts or commercials etc. And side business opportunities help fund Kojima productions and help them to continue to make video games. Kojima creating shirts and toys of his logo also helps bring in money. These items aside from being sold to fans are also worn by employees etc/ given away as gifts at trade shows or to pull interest in at your booth or expo. Showing that you can design and create toys also brings in clients who may also want their own toys created. Why not demonstrate that with your very own mascot? See for example McFarlene Toys, or Square Enix Play Arts kai line etc. You know how Tetsuya Nomura designs Marvel DC figures? Well who wouldn't want ones made by Yoji Shinkawa? Kojima Productions isn't aiming at being a small indie house. Kojima wants to become a sizeable studio, though not necessarily as large as crazy-large behemoths like EA or Ubisoft or Square Enix. So in summary, comparing Kojima to Inafune is just plain silly. As are seeing comments here are there wondering why Kojima is 'wasting time' on... things his company needs... and doing what his company was intended to do - creating a logo and mascot, an intro movie and toys, which remarkably enough he is displaying at San Diego Comic Con, a trade show that also focuses on worldwide Collectible Toy Products. Kojima is putting his own money where his mouth is, along with actual investors like Sony who he will be accountable to. He didn't ask for Kickstarter money, He doesn't owe anyone anything. He's making income on actual tangible merchandise with no strings attached. You like the shirt? You pay for and buy the shirt. You like the toy? You buy the toy. You want the video game? Well keep your money in your pocket until the game is on the shelf and reviews are available. No bullshit. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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How much money is he going to get from selling shirt with his logo on and toys? I doubt it'll be above 20K (even that feel generous). No matter that number its vastly vastly vastly inferior to what it takes to make a game, especially if he's really aiming to be making AAA game, all of it will be rounding error.
Maybe he has ambition outside video game, but the only reason people care about him is because of video game, the only reason investor are banking him is video game. His company will flourish or floundered because of video game. If the first game he put out is a flop his company will almost certainly disappear, no matter how many mug he sold. A bunch of singer and actor tried to branch out of their field, it only ever work when there still active in it. You listed a bunch of other company, none of them still use the logo that they had when they started out and none of them were know because of there logo (maybe just Pixar and that was because they were show casing 3D at a time when it was rare and unique, something which it certainly isn't the case now). A logo is irrelevant, it's value is only as high as the property it's associated with. Square enix logo is kinda crapy (and never got toy and introduction movie) but it's worth a shiton of money because it's associated with a bunch of games. |
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jdnation
Posts: 1998 |
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His game is obviously not being funded solely from shirt purchases. but any amount he makes, even 20K is not insignificant. Money like that can go towards office supplies, food and other essential things. Making shirts and toys is something he obviously needs to do. The shirts are necessary for staff at the very least. The toys demonstrate that his company is capable of making toys from conception to completion. This invites future clients in. They've been doing this all along at KojiPro back when they were still with Konami for the longest time. That's why Metal Gear has stuff like action figures, Puma boots, watches and motorcycle sponsors etc. All this collectively brings in revenue.
Good thing makings shirts, toys, even anime has been a thing Kojima Productions has long been doing at Konami and has long been experienced at doing. So there's nothing here 'outside of their field.' In fact everything we've seen so far with concern to the logo and intro movie are the bare minimum things one ought to have. Nothing here detracts from the game's development. There's absolutely no reason to complain about Kojima's game and toy company making a logo, splash intro, toys and company apparel. One might as well complain about Kojima wasting time looking for office supplies, hiring and looking for an office building to put his staff into. Shirts, mugs, pens etc. with your company branding are also things companies give away as gifts to potential clients or people they want to work with. Much like you'd give a business card, but sometimes if you want to stand out you might give an item. Often something that person might use (shirt, mugs, pens, coasters etc.) These things act as reminders of your company and brand anytime people use them. It's not done for absolutely no reason, it's done for retention. And heck, why not sell some of these to fans if they want some of the merch you're making anyway? That 'insignificant' 20K just might cover the costs of you making them in the first place. Everybody wins.
What has that got to do with anything? Every one of those companies still needed an identity and therefore a logo. It's business 101. You create something that sticks in the mind of other people. Sure logos can evolve and change overtime, why not? It's basic business 101. Kojima has to go out there and meet clients, hire people etc. The first most basic step is... - Who are you? - What do people see you as? - Can they identify you? - Will they remember you? Even Pixar had a name and logo before they put out their first work and before anybody else in the world knew about them. Here's their earliest one: 
You bet a lot of thought was put into it at the time. As far back as the 80s before they were even in the public eye, they had a name and logo. As they grew, they changed and things changed. Maybe the general public never knew about them, but people in the industry sure did. When they entered the broader public, their branding changed to accommodate. In this case Kojima is already in the public eye as far as enthusiasts go. A logo for his own company is not irrelevant. If anything it shows that he cares about what he's doing right out the gate and as demonstrated in his talk at Comic Con, he's a guy who puts a lot of thought into what he does and doesn't skimp on quality. That, and the final product say something about who he is and what his company does. You're speaking as if Kojima is some unknown no-name developer just starting out on his own. Ummm, his brand has been there since his time at Konami. He's been working in video games and producing gaming hits for as long as Pixar has been in existence. He has a good reputation for a reason. If anything, the current KojiPro branding is a rebranding of the old KojiPro when it was back at Konami with the Foxhound logo. This is why as soon as he was free to work again, Sony cut a big deal with him and are helping to invest in what he's doing. The logo matters because it represents the man and the other KojiPro talent who are behind him. It takes absolutely nothing away from the game's development. In fact the logo, intro and all will be on the game and every game after that until Kojima feels like changing it himself in the future. It's the least someone expects to see from a multimedia company. |
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Omegaplib
Posts: 26 |
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Man, you can't be that ignorant about business and Kojima if you wanna talk about the game development industry, Kojima is definitely the most well known and renowed third party game developer in the world, his games have a huge following and quality goes along with them. And you forgot that Sony will back and publish his game. |
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