News
Nikkei: Konami Blacklists Former Employees in Japanese Game Industry
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei reported on Wednesday that game developer and publisher Konami is blacklisting its former employees in the Japanese video game industry. The Nikkei report cited a staffing agency employee as a source, saying that the employee alerts gaming companies if a potential hire is a former Konami employee, due to Konami allegedly filing complaints against companies that hire former Konami employees.
The report cited other incidents regarding former Konami employees, including Konami allegedly advising a television company to avoid former Konami employees, a former Konami executive purportedly closing his business due to pressure from the company, and supposedly sending notices by lawyer to former employees who are interviewed by media, indicating that the company might file a case against them.
The report described an incident regarding Kojima Productions, which former Konami developer Hideo Kojima founded after leaving Konami. The report stated that Kojima Productions applied to join ITS Kenpo, a health insurance society for the game industry, but was rejected due to being screened by the board chairman – Konami director Kimihiko Higashio – before the company's board reviewed the application.
In 2015, a number of developers and other employees left Konami for unspecified reasons. These include Metal Gear Solid developer Hideo Kojima; LovePlus producer Akari Uchida, and designer Tarō Minoboshi (who has since collaborated on Kadokawa Games' Root Letter game); Dance Dance Revolution and Bemani game series composer Naoki Maeda; and former executive Shinichi Hashimoto.
Source: Nikkei (Yuji Nitta, Shotaro Tani, Nikkei staff writers) via Slashdot, Ars Technica
