Konami

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Type	Public
Founded	March 21, 1969
Headquarters	Tokyo Midtown, Minato, Tokyo
Key people	Kagemasa Kōzuki (Chairman) Takuya Kozuki (President) Kimihiko Higashio (Vice President)
Industry	Video Games
Products	Video games Arcade Machines Cards Toys
Revenue	¥ 262.8 billion (2020)
Net income	¥ 19.9 billion (2020)
Employees	1,874 (2022)
Website	Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Japanese) Corporate information (English)
Article on Wikipedia	Konami

Konami (コナミデジタルエンタテインメント, Konami Digital Entertainment) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games. Konami was formed in March 21st, 1969 but not incorporated until March 19th, 1973. The name originates from the names of three of the founding members: Kagemasa Kozuki, Yoshinobu Nakama, and Tatsuo Miyasako. Initially a jukebox rental and repair business, the company transitioned into the arcade industry with their first release being Block Yard in 1977. Konami would release several more arcade games for the next few years, most of which being clones of games from other companies. The company would also start releasing their games in North America around 1979, being one of the earliest Japanese game companies to do so. Konami's big break came in 1981 with a string of successes like Frogger, Scramble and Super Cobra. The company would also start porting their arcade games to home consoles, starting with the Atari 2600, and later the Nintendo Entertainment System and MSX, with particular success coming from the NES ports of Contra and Gradius. Konami would also develop original titles for these systems, most notably Metal Gear, Castlevania, and Goemon. Their success would continue throughout the 1990's and 2000's, with titles like Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the Pro Evolution Soccer series of soccer games, Bemani's series of rhythm games such as Beatmania and Dance Dance Revolution, Power Pros series of baseball games, as well as licensed games for franchises like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Asterix and the TV shows produced by Warner Bros. Animation; and the introduction of the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand of collectible trading cards. In 2006, Konami would invest in the struggling Hudson Soft, and would end up buying them outright in 2012, acquiring their franchises like Bomberman, Adventure Island, and Star Soldier.

Aside from video games, Konami has investments in many other industries under Konami Group Corporation. The company has produced several feature films, including a series based on their Silent Hill franchise, starting with the eponymous name in 2006, and an upcoming Metal Gear Solid film. This branch also includes several TV shows and anime based on their properties, as well as the Chouseishin series of tokusatsu shows in association with TOHO. They have also helped for the production of the animated series Castlevania on Netflix's streaming television. Konami also owns Arespear, a brand dedicated to PC gaming computers and accessories, has a sizable investment in the casino industry, owning and operating several around the world, as well as developing several slot and pachinko machines based on their existing properties, and owns and operates several health and physical fitness clubs across Japan.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Solid Snake from Konami's flagship Metal Gear series appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In addition, many other elements from Konami's Metal Gear series, such as Gray Fox, Shadow Moses Island, and Metal Gear REX, appear in Brawl as well. Otacon, Colonel Roy Campbell and Mei Ling also appear in Snake's Smash Taunt, in which they talk with Snake about the character he's battling.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, a Mario spin-off developed by Konami, also receives representation via a sticker of Bowser from said game.

Akihiro Honda, a Konami in-house composer before his resignation did an arrangement, MGS4 ~Theme of Love~ Smash Bros. Brawl Version.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

After being absent in Super Smash Bros. 4, Snake and associated Metal Gear content return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Konami's long-running Castlevania series sees representation with the inclusion of Simon and his Echo Fighter Richter, as well as a Dracula's Castle stage which features several classic bosses. Death's Scythe was added as an item, being both the first item from a third-party company besides Bandai Namco, as well as the first item from a third-party playable character's series. Alucard appears as an Assist Trophy. Dracula appears as a boss in Classic Mode and Adventure Mode: World of Light. In addition, Konami-owned franchise Bomberman is represented by its titular character, Bomberman, appearing as a new Assist Trophy and DLC Mii Brawler costume. Gray Fox returns as an Assist Trophy as well. The titular Goemon of the Goemon franchise appears as a DLC Mii Swordfighter costume. Power Pro-Kun, Aoi Hayakawa, & Mamoru Ikari from the Power Pros series appear together as a spirit.

Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix was represented once more with Mario's down smash using his breakdancing move from the game's cover art, as opposed to just his leg sweep from Super Mario 64 as it was prior. Much later in January 2024, a combined spirit from the Power Pros series was made available via the Spirit Board event Sentinels, Gods, and Baseball.

Trivia

• Konami is the only third-party company to:
  • Skip an installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, in that case Super Smash Bros. 4.
  • Not have had a starter or DLC character since Brawl.