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56-592: The competition was co-sponsored by NPB Association and Konami from 2005 to 2007 and known as the Konami Cup . Participation was limited to the East Asian countries ( Japan , South Korea , Taiwan , and China ). The tournament was stopped between 2009 and 2010 due to financing issues. It was reintroduced in 2011 and has been hosted by Taiwan and South Korea, whereas the previous had been held in Japan. Following

112-472: A "scorched earth" approach to removing the trailer. Due to the experience, del Toro stated that he would never work on another video game. In 2015 Konami Digital Entertainment CEO Hideki Hayakawa announced that, with few exceptions, Konami would stop making console games and instead focus on the mobile gaming platform. The decision was heavily criticized by the video gaming community. Konami UK community manager Graham Day soon after pushed back against

168-486: A business divisional organization with the formation of various Konami Computer Entertainment (KCE) subsidiaries, starting with KCE Tokyo and KCE Osaka (later known as KCE Studios) in April 1995, followed by KCE Japan (later known as Kojima Productions ) in April 1996. Each KCE subsidiary created different intellectual properties such as KCE Tokyo's Silent Hill series and KCE Japan's Metal Gear Solid series (a revival of

224-459: A city assembly of 30 elected members. The current mayor is Yoshihide Yada , an independent backed Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito . At Tokyo Station , six Shinkansen , seven ordinary railway, and one subway line serve Chūō. In addition, three Toei subway lines stop at various stations throughout the ward. Shuto Expressway Public elementary and junior high schools in Chūō are operated by

280-582: A conflict with the 2010 Asian Games and replaced by another sets of Club Championship. The KBO League champion SK Wyverns first split the two-game championship with CPBL champion Brother Elephants at the Taichung Stadium , before being defeated in a single-game championship by the NPB champion Chiba Lotte Marines at the Tokyo Dome with 3–0. The subject of re-introducing the event for 2011

336-453: A consolidated subsidiary after Konami accepted new third-party shares issued by them. In January 2003, Avranches Automatique began handling sales of Konami's arcade games in Europe outside the U.K. and Ireland. On February 7, 2003, Betson Enterprises took over distribution and service for Konami's arcade games in the U.S. Some time later, PMT Sales started handling Konami arcade game sales in

392-829: A facility in Ginza and a facility in Uchisaiwaichō , Chiyoda . The headquarters of Asatsu moved to Ginza in July 1995. Asatsu and Dai-ichi Kikaku merged into Asatsu-DK on January 1, 1999. In the late 1990s GeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in Nihonbashi . Tokyopop maintained its Japanese headquarters in Mid-Tower of the Tokyo Towers. Chuo is run by

448-519: A jukebox rental and repair business in Toyonaka , Osaka, before transforming the business into a manufacturer of amusement machines for video arcades. The name Konami is a portmanteau of the names of three founding members: Kagemasa Kōzuki, Yoshinobu Nakama, and Tatsuo Miyasako. Their first coin-operated video game was released in 1978, and they began exporting products to the United States

504-568: A new studio in Osaka , Japan. The new offices, located in the Umeda Sky Building south building, will support the developer in its efforts both grow and endure over the coming decades. Konami suggested that the new building would be a core entity in the studio's current and future projects, noting that it hopes Konami Osaka will encourage "sustainable growth" over the next 50 years. In February 2024, Konami Digital Entertainment announced

560-615: A personal care and cosmetics company; Nisshinbo Holdings , a diversified manufacturing company; and Akebono Brake Industry , an automobile component manufacturer have their headquarters in the Nihonbashi area of the ward. Sumitomo Chemical is also headquartered in the ward, in the Kyōbashi area. MODEC , a global supplier and operator of offshore floating platforms , T. Hasegawa , a flavors and fragrances company, and Nissan Chemical Corporation , have their corporate headquarters in

616-741: Is Winning Eleven , the spiritual sequel to International Superstar Soccer . In Japan, it is known for the popular Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū series baseball series and the Zone of the Enders games. The company had obtained the rights to Saw from Brash Entertainment when the game's production had been suspended due to financial issues. Konami is known for its password, the Konami Code , which traditionally gives many power-ups in its games. FIFA recently announced Konami as its new official esports partner. This collaboration allows FIFA to host

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672-489: Is 10.21 km . However, because of the concentration of businesses, offices and retail space, the daytime population swells to an estimated 650,000. They have the oldest McDonald’s in Japan. Chūō is in the central area of Tokyo, surrounded by the five special wards of Chiyoda , Minato , Taitō , Sumida , and Kōtō . Administratively, Chūō is divided into the three zones of Nihonbashi, Kyobashi and Tsukishima. Nihonbashi and Kyobashi are predominantly commercial areas on

728-513: Is Konami's Japanese video game development and publishing division founded on 31 March 2006. Before Konami Corporation had formally changed to a holding company in 2006, various forms of Konami Digital Entertainment companies had been established either as holding company or publisher. The last of the company, the Japan-based Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., was split from Konami Corporation during

784-547: Is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and publisher headquartered in Chūō , Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading cards , anime , tokusatsu , pachinko machines, slot machines , and arcade cabinets . It has casinos around the world, and operates health and physical fitness clubs across Japan. The company originated in 1969 as a jukebox rental and repair business in Toyonaka , Osaka, Japan, by Kagemasa Kōzuki , who remains

840-594: Is interviewed by the media, the company will send that person a letter through a legal representative, in some cases indicating that Konami is willing to take them to court"; they also pressured an ex-employee into closing their new business. Ch%C5%AB%C5%8D, Tokyo Chūō ( 中央区 , Chūō-ku ) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan . The ward refers to itself in English as Chūō City . It

896-495: Is the nineteenth-largest game company in the world by revenue. Konami also publishes the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game , one of the best-selling TCG in history. The company was founded on 21 March 1969 and was officially incorporated under the name Konami Industry Co., Ltd. ( コナミ工業株式会社 , Konami Kōgyō kabushiki gaisha ) on 19 March 1973. The company's founder and chairman, Kagemasa Kōzuki (also known as Kaz Kozuki), ran

952-550: The Animaniacs series, but other American productions like The Simpsons , Bucky O'Hare , G.I. Joe , X-Men , and The Goonies , and French comic Asterix all have seen release at some point in the past by Konami either on arcades and/or video game consoles. Some cinematically styled franchises from Konami are Silent Hill survival horror franchise, and the Metal Gear series. Another successful franchise

1008-619: The Silent Hill film (released in 2006) and announced that they will produce a Metal Gear Solid film . On 4 December 2020 Deadline reported that Oscar Isaac will star as Solid Snake in the adaptation, which is currently in development at Sony Pictures with Jordan Vogt-Roberts on board to direct. In 2020, Konami launched a PC gaming brand in Japan known as Arespear , which includes desktop computers, keyboards, and headsets (the last of which designed in collaboration with Konami's Bemani musicians). Silent Hills , set to be

1064-475: The 2013 edition , the Asia Series was discontinued due to scheduling issues. The Asia Series began in 2005 as a tournament among the champions of NPB , KBO League and CPBL and an All-Star team from China Baseball League (CBL), which was called China Stars . Konami co-sponsored the competition until 2007, when the 2008 season became the first Asia Series . Additionally, it was the first time that

1120-505: The FIFAe World Cup using Konami's eFootball instead of EA Sports FC . Players can now participate in qualifying matches for two tournaments scheduled for 2024: one for mobile and one for consoles. This partnership aims to enhance eFootball's visibility and attract new players, particularly those who were deterred by previous issues with the game. In 2006, Konami started producing films based on their franchises. Konami produced

1176-674: The Metal Gear series on MSX ). In 1997, Konami started producing rhythm games for arcades under the Bemani brand and branched off into the collectible card game business with the launch of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game . Konami was not only known for its card games, it also imported into the Pachinko business. Pachinko played a huge role in Konami's success as it started to popularize new never before seen characters. In July 2000,

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1232-584: The Middle East, and Africa. The absorption of Hudson Soft in 2012 resulted in the addition of several other franchises including: Adventure Island , Bonk , Bloody Roar , Bomberman , Far East of Eden , and Star Soldier . In April 2015, Konami delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange following the dissolution of their Kojima Productions subsidiary. In a translated interview with Nikkei Trendy Net published in

1288-654: The Nihonbashi district. IBM has its Japan headquarters in Chūō. Dai-ichi Kikaku Senden Co., Ltd. opened in Chūō in Ginza , Chūō in December 1951. In January 1958 the company relocated to a new headquarters in Ginza. The company moved to another headquarters in Ginza in September 1961 and its name changed to Dai-ichi Kikaku Co. Ltd. In November 1974, after growth, the company moved to another headquarters in Ginza. In November 1981 Dai-ichi Kikaku moved its head office to

1344-568: The Ricoh Building in Chūō. The company moved its headquarters to the 25-story building in the Ginza area in Chūō from Minato, Tokyo in 2006. In the building the headquarters occupies the same space as its sales offices. Sumitomo Corporation is headquartered in the Harumi Island Triton Square Office Tower Y in Chūō. Daiichi Sankyo , a global pharmaceutical company is also headquartered in

1400-481: The Stars , the dating simulation Tokimeki Memorial series, and football simulation Pro Evolution Soccer . Konami produced its shoot 'em up arcade games such as Gradius , Life Force , Time Pilot , Gyruss , Parodius , Axelay , and TwinBee . Konami's also licenses games based on cartoons, especially Batman: The Animated Series , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Tiny Toon Adventures , and

1456-411: The U.K. and Ireland. In March 2006, Konami merged all their video game development divisions into a new subsidiary known as Konami Digital Entertainment Co. (KDE), as the parent company became a pure holding company. Their headquarters were relocated to Minato, Tokyo, in 2007. On January 20, 2009, Electrocoin became the exclusive distributor and after-sale agent of Konami's arcade games in Europe, Russia,

1512-465: The arcades, such as Gradius , Castlevania , TwinBee , Ganbare Goemon , Contra , and Metal Gear , in addition to success with hit licensed games such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ( TMNT ). Due to the success of their arcade and NES games, Konami's earnings grew from $ 10 million in 1987 to $ 300 million in 1991. The first TMNT arcade game (1989) was Konami's highest-grossing arcade game. In June 1991, Konami's legal name

1568-479: The award in Kojima's stead, a choir sang "Quiet's Theme" from The Phantom Pain as a tribute to the absent Kojima. Kojima left Konami several days afterwards, re-opening Kojima Productions as an independent company. In August 2015, The Nikkei criticized Konami for its unethical treatment of employees. In June 2017, The Nikkei further reported on Konami's continued clashes with Kojima Productions, preventing

1624-534: The champion of CBL was appointed for the tournament, instead of an All-Star line-up. The withdrawal of Konami raised in the following years financing issues. The 2009 season was reduced to a single-game championship between the champions of NPB and KBO League and held at the Nagasaki Stadium . The Yomiuri Giants won against the Kia Tigers by 9–4. A potential 2010 season was then cancelled due to

1680-492: The company's chairman. Konami's video game franchises include Metal Gear , Silent Hill , Castlevania , Contra , Frogger , Tokimeki Memorial , Parodius , Gradius , Yu-Gi-Oh! , Suikoden , and eFootball . Additionally, Konami owns Bemani , known for Dance Dance Revolution and Beatmania , as well as the assets of former game developer Hudson Soft , known for Bomberman , Adventure Island , Bonk , Bloody Roar , and Star Soldier . Konami

1736-510: The company's legal English name was changed to Konami Corporation, but the Japanese legal name remained the same. As the company transitioned into developing video games for the sixth-generation consoles, they branched out into the health and fitness business acquiring People Co., Ltd and Daiei Olympic Sports Club, Inc. which became Konami subsidiaries. In August 2001, the company invested in another video game publisher, Hudson Soft , which became

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1792-424: The company's other well-known video game titles following the success of their Nintendo Switch launch title Super Bomberman R . In early 2020, Konami moved their headquarters to the Ginza district of Tokyo, which includes a facility for holding esports events as well as a school for esports players. Konami announced a major restructuring of Konami Digital Entertainment on 25 January 2021, which including

1848-414: The dissolution of its Product Divisions 1, 2, and 3 to be reconsolidated into a new structure to be announced at a later time. Konami affirmed this would not affect their commitment to video games and was only an internal restructuring. On 1 July 2022 Konami changed their corporate name again from Konami Holdings Corporation to Konami Group Corporation. In April 2023, Konami announced that it has opened

1904-505: The east side of Tokyo Station , and incorporate the famous districts of Ginza and Tsukiji . Tsukishima is a separate island in Tokyo Bay dominated by condominium towers. Until World War II , the area was crisscrossed by small rivers and canals, used by small boats which were the primary vehicles of commerce at the time. After the war, many of these waterways were filled in to make way for new roads, buildings and expressways. However,

1960-421: The end of World War II . The most famous district in Chūō is Ginza , built on the site of a former silver mint from which it takes its name. The gold mint, or Kinza ( 金座 ) , formerly occupied the site of the present-day Bank of Japan headquarters building, also in Chūō. As of October 1, 2020, the ward has a resident population of 169,179, and a population density of 16,569 persons per km . The total area

2016-802: The establishment of its own anime studio called Konami Animation. The studio will invest the CG technology and know-how it fostered from game development into animation, and it plans not only to work on Konami's own intellectual properties but in other properties as well. Its first work was a PV for Yu-Gi-Oh! 25th anniversary. Konami is headquartered in Tokyo . In the United States, Konami manages its digital/arcade/trading card game business from Hawthorne, California , and its casino gaming business from Paradise, Nevada . Its Australian gaming operations are in Sydney . As of March 2019, it owns 22 consolidated subsidiaries around

2072-665: The final, with the team finishing higher considered the "home team", meaning that they had the advantage of batting last. If teams were tied a series of tiebreakers were used to decide which teams qualified for the final and in what order, firstly using the head-to-head win–loss records amongst tied teams, and if necessary the ranking based on the lowest team run average . All games have the designated hitter rule in effect, though not all participating teams would have it in their regular league. Konami Konami Group Corporation ( Japanese : コナミグループ株式会社 , Hepburn : Konami Gurūpu kabushiki-gaisha ) , commonly known as Konami ,

2128-473: The first representative of Europe to participate in the tournament, qualifying as the 2013 CEB European Cup champion. Due to the CBL's hiatus that year, the tournament remained at six teams. The 2014 and 2015 seasons were cancelled due to scheduling issues. Each of the teams participated in a round-robin series, playing each other team once. The two teams with the best win-loss percentage faced each other in

2184-678: The following month, the newly appointed president of Konami's gaming division, Konami Digital Entertainment, Hideki Hayakawa, announced that Konami would shift their focus towards mobile gaming for a while, claiming that "mobile is where the future of gaming lies." The trade name of the company was changed from Konami Corporation to Konami Holdings Corporation during the same month. Konami consolidated its productions teams established in 2004 into their headquarters, including Pawapuro Production, BEMANI Production, Virtual Kiss Production, Loveplus Production, Kojima Productions and others, that year. In 2017, Konami announced that they would be reviving some of

2240-1029: The following year. Konami began to achieve success with arcade games in the early 1980s, starting with Scramble (1981), followed by hits such as Frogger (1981), Super Cobra (1981), Time Pilot (1982), Roc'n Rope (1983), Track & Field (1983), and Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1985). Many of their early games were licensed to other companies for US release, including Centuri , Stern Electronics , Sega , and Gremlin Industries . They established their U.S. subsidiary, Konami Inc. (later Konami of America Inc., and Konami Digital Entertainment Inc.), in November 1982; initially based in Torrance, California , they would later move to Buffalo Grove, Illinois , in 1984 following their acquisition of arcade distributor Interlogic, Inc., with Interlogic founder and president Ben Harel serving as president of Konami Inc. It

2296-458: The former waterways are the basis for many of the neighborhood divisions in the ward. The Sumida River forms the eastern boundary of the ward. Chūō is physically the second-smallest ward in Tokyo, with a total area of just 10.15 km ; only Taitō is smaller. Per Japanese census data, the population has doubled since 2000 after decades of continuous rapid decline. Ricoh is headquartered in

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2352-828: The holding company restructuring process. Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya, Inc. (KCEN), founded on 1 October 1996, was dissolved along with Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe, Inc. (KCEK) in December 2002. On 16 December 2004, Konami Corporation announced Konami Online, Inc., Konami Computer Entertainment Studios, Inc., Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Inc. and Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Inc. would merge into Konami Corporation, effective on 1 March 2005. On 22 February 2005, Konami Corporation announced Konami Music Entertainment, Inc. would merge into Konami Corporation, effective on 1 March 2005. On 11 March 2005, Konami Corporation announced Konami Traumer, Inc would be merged back into Konami Corporation, effective on 1 June 2005. On 5 January 2006, Konami Corporation announced

2408-645: The merger of Konami Sports Corporation merged with its parent company, Konami Sports Life Corporation. The parent would be dissolved under the merger, and Konami Sports would become the wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation after share exchange between KC and KS. After the share exchange, KS would be renamed Konami Sports & Life Co., Ltd. On 28 February 2006, Konami Sports Corporation merged with its parent company, Konami Sports Life Corporation, and became Konami Sports Corporation. On 21 September 2010, Konami Corporation announced it has signed an agreement to acquire with Abilit Corporation via share exchange. After

2464-488: The ninth installment of the Silent Hill video game series, was abruptly cancelled in April 2015 without explanation despite the critical acclaim and success of P.T. , a playable teaser. Hours after the announcement, Konami delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange. Game co-director and writer Guillermo del Toro publicly criticized the cancellation as not making any sense and questioned what he described as

2520-554: The reporting that Konami would cease AAA game production, stating that he believed the root of the problem to be either a mistranslation or a misinterpretation of Hayakawa's remarks. On 3 March 2015, Konami announced they would be shifting focus away from individual studios, notably Kojima Productions. Internal sources claimed the restructure was due to a clash between Hideo Kojima and Konami. References to Kojima were soon stripped from marketing material, and Kojima's position as an executive vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment

2576-470: The studio's application for health insurance, as well as Konami's actions in making it difficult for former employees to get future jobs; they are notably forbidden from mentioning their work with Konami on their résumés . Konami also started filing complaints against other game companies that hired ex-Konami employees, leading to an unspecified major game company warning its staff against doing so. A former employee of Konami stated: "If an ex-[Konami employee]

2632-563: The surviving company, effective on 1 April 2007. Major titles by Konami include the action Castlevania series, the survival horror Silent Hill series, the action shooter Contra series, the platform adventure Ganbare Goemon series, the stealth action Metal Gear series, the role-playing Suikoden series, the Bemani rhythm game series (which includes Dance Dance Revolution , Beatmania IIDX , GuitarFreaks , DrumMania , and Pop'n Music , among others), Dancing with

2688-630: The transaction, Abilit Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation, effective 1 January 2011. On 1 January 2011, Abilit Corporation was renamed to Takasago Electric Industry Co., Ltd. As part of the acquisition, Biz Share Corporation also became a subsidiary of Konami Corporation. On 2 October 2006, Konami Corporation announced it had completed the acquisition of mobile phone content developer Megacyber Corporation. On 6 February 2007, Konami Corporation announced Megacyber Corporation to be merged into Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., with Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. being

2744-647: The ward, in the Daiichi Sankyo Building. Oji Paper Holdings and Hokuetsu Corporation , two pulp and paper manufacturing companies have their headquarters in Ginza and Nihonbashihongoku, respectively. J. Front Retailing has its headquarters in Yaesu . Asahi Shimbun , Mitsui E＆S , and Nihon Ad Systems have their headquarters in Tsukiji . Ajinomoto , Mitsui Fudosan , Shinsei Bank , Nomura Group and Meidi-Ya are also headquartered in

2800-538: The ward. Shimizu Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction , two construction companies are headquartered in the ward, the former in Kyōbashi and the latter in Tsukuda district. Orion Breweries and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company have their Tokyo-area offices in Chūō. Toray Industries , Denka and Kureha Corporation , three global chemical companies; Astellas Pharma , a global pharmaceutical company; KOSÉ ,

2856-500: The world. On 7 November 2005, Konami Corporation announced restructuring Konami Corporation into a holding company, by moving its Japanese Digital Entertainment Business segment under Konami Corporation. The Digital Entertainment Business became Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. The newly established Konami Corporation was expected to begin operation on 31 March 2006. Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. ( 株式会社コナミデジタルエンタテインメント , Kabushiki-gaisha Konami Dejitaru Entateinmento )

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2912-652: Was changed to Konami Co., Ltd. ( コナミ株式会社 , Konami kabushiki gaisha ) and their headquarters were relocated to Minato, Tokyo , in April 1993. The company started supporting the 16-bit video game consoles during this period, starting with the Super NES in 1990, followed by the PC Engine in 1991, and the Sega Genesis in 1992. After the launch of the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1994, Konami became

2968-475: Was discussed in a November 2010 meeting between the heads of the NPB, KBO, CPBL, and ABL . The CPBL offered to host the event in November 2011. The ABL, whose season runs from November through February, added a bye week in its schedule to allow the champion of the season before to participate in the Asia Series. In 2013, Fortitudo Baseball Bologna of the Italian Baseball League competed as

3024-620: Was during this period that Konami began expanding their video game business into the home consumer market following a brief stint releasing video games for the Atari 2600 in 1982 for the U.S. market. The company released numerous games for the MSX home computer standard in 1983, followed by the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. Numerous Konami franchises were established during this period on both platforms, as well as

3080-403: Was formed in 1947 as a merger of Kyobashi and Nihonbashi wards following Tokyo City 's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis . Chūō-ku, as a combination of Kyobashi and Nihonbashi, is the core of Shitamachi , the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo. Literally meaning "Central Ward", it is historically the main commercial center of Tokyo, although Shinjuku has risen to challenge it since

3136-460: Was removed from the company's official listing of executives. Later that year, Konami's legal department barred Kojima from accepting the award for Best Action-Adventure for his work on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain at The Game Awards 2015 . When announced during the event, the audience booed in disapproval of Konami's actions. Host Geoff Keighley expressed his disappointment in Konami's actions. After actor Kiefer Sutherland accepted

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