Konami used to be a staple when it came to gaming in the 80's and throughout the mid 90's, and that much goes without saying. You also don't have to look very far to find massive amounts of criticism and a sense of betrayal from a generation of gamers who grew up with the brand and don't even recognize the company as producer of video games anymore. Often the butt of many jokes and with the release of the widely lambasted Metal Gear Survive (a seemingly disingenuous slap in the face), naturally, gamers all want Konami's head on a platter. But I seldom hear talks about things Konami could do to possibly (just possibly) win favor back and salvage some integrity.

Now this isn't really a charity case, as according to a reports, Konami is doing well financially. That's due to Pro Evolution Soccer (their only relevant game) bringing in $1.75 billion dollars. And Konami has also done some good will recently. Adding Solid Snake back into Super Smash Bros with David Hayter reprising his role (whom Kojima parted with for The Phantom Pain in favor of Keifer Sutherland), including charming content to Super Bomberman R, like the inclusion of WWE wrestler Xavier Woods of The New Day as a selectable guest bomber, and the Netflix Castlevania series is amazing. Footnotes that don't in any way make up for the loss of P.T., the much anticipated, yet cancelled entry into the Silent Hill series, but since I'm a person who is willing to look at two sides of the same coin, I can impartially call the good with the bad. And the road to recovery has to start somewhere. So with that, here's a few things I personally feel can put Konami back on the road to good will.

 1. A Definitive Arcade Collection/Anthology

Since retro games are still fairly chic, I feel a collection of Konami's cabinet hits would be really well received. Some games like Super Contra have seen a facelift of sorts on the Xbox 360 via the Gameroom, but many of those games redistributed in physical format with a steelbook and some promotional artwork, very akin to the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection released on the Nintendo Switch in 2018, could show that there's still appreciation for the classics.

2. Wait a While Before Trying Again With Silent Hill or Metal Gear Solid

The firing of Hideo Kojima is something that can't be undone. And while I'm personally not the biggest fan of his works, there's no denying that his work with Metal Gear is widely revered. But it's possible for the franchise to exist without his input. Circumstances are different, but Resident Evil has fared well and found its footing again long after the departure of series director Shinji Mikami. I've played Metal Gear Survive, and while it's a fairly trite game that's more or less a glorified recycling of assets from The Phantom Pain, from a narrative and lore standpoint, I thought it was still the same insane, drug-riddled fever dream Kojima style writing and dabbling in science fiction, just without him. 

Rising Revengeance tapped into story alternatives that could be interesting to expand upon, providing Konami is willing to outsource development to a studio like Platinum Games or in-house and redefine Metal Gear. This is something that doesn't have to come immediately. Gamers can be a fickle lot, and coercing them into trying new ideas can lead to volatile results. Silent Hill can be a slightly easier fix, just announce that a full-fledged Silent Hill entry is in development in [late] response to how much P.T. was anticipated. Whether that be kept in the same first person perspective is another issue, Capcom took their blueprint and ran off with it. All in all, I think any news about a new Silent Hill would be taken with some cautious optimism. I still doubt many will jump with glee over Konami game announcements, so some apprehension is to be expected.

3. Throw Some TurboGrafx-16 Games on Marketplaces That isn't Just the Wii U

So...this was a bizarre move in early, 2018. Konami just put some random, untranslated games from HudsonSoft and the PC Engine onto the Wii U's Virtual Console, of all places. What!? I mean, I'm in favor of reliving the past and all, but the Wii U was a relic by late 2016. And with the future of Virtual Console games still an uncertainty, it's not clear how long those will be available. The PC Engine was a curious piece of history, it was sandwiched into obscurity due to the wide popularity of the SNES and Sega Genesis in the 90's (maybe just in the United States), but it had some good games on it. Perhaps translate some of these titles and place them on the Xbox and Playstation marketplaces so any other platform that isn't a dead Nintendo console would be nice. 

These are just a few examples of how I think Konami can be taken semi-seriously as a game producing company. If anything, throughout 2018, Konami owes both Bethesda and Electronic Arts a thank you for grabbing the most controversial headlines for all of the wrong reasons while they kept their heads down and remained relatively quiet. While they've nestled into a nice place of making money through eSports, I missed them as the company that gave me so many great games throughout the 16-bit era. Konami doesn't have to take over the gaming world, but as long as they can exit rehab and hold down a steady job, that'll be enough for me. And everyone else, I'd like to assume.