Game Award News 5: And finally, #FucKonami

The host of this year’s Game Awards, Geoff Keighley, wasn’t a guy just chosen off the street to look pretty and hand out awards (although he did both wonderfully)--he’s actually a Canadian-based games journalist. And you can tell he’s dedicated to his job, because even while he was hosting, he was still breaking news--namely, that Hideo Kojima’s strange absence for the Sony Awards, and his absence from the Game Awards, was no mistake, or product of his eccentricity. It was Konami, 100%.

First of all, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain won Best Action game at the event, and the award was accepted by Kiefer Sutherland, the man behind Snake’s famous voice. And, just like at the Sony awards earlier, at first we just thought that was that--another stand-in for the oddly absent Kojima. And I imagine, if Geoff had stuck to script, that’s all we’d be left to ponder. But then he spoke out.
 

"Mr. Kojima had every intention of being with us tonight, but unfortunately he was informed by a lawyer representing Konami just recently that he would not be allowed to travel to tonight's awards ceremony to accept any awards. He’s still under an employment contract and it’s disappointing, and it’s inconceivable to me that an artist like Hideo would not be allowed to come here and celebrate with his peers and his fellow teammates.”

 
It’s not surprising, in retrospect, that he would choose to do this: he and Kojima are actually rather close friends, apparently, and he might be willing to stick his neck out to rile Konami’s feathers. Which they deserve. Because they’re poops on sticks. But more importantly, we know now what we’ve long suspected: Konami is just trying to screw with Kojima at this point.

Hopefully they won’t get the chance to do that for much longer, considering the contract should be expiring soon.