8Bit/Digi

By Stan Rezaee

Konami recently unveiled at Gamescom  Metal Gear Survive, the first game in the series following the termination of Hideo Kojima. First reported by IGN.com, the game is set in an alternative universe following the destruction of Mother Base and will have four players battling zombies.

However with the Konami/Kojima dispute still fresh in gamers memories and the public disrespect the publisher showed to gaming icon, some backlash could have been expected. Yet most of the discussion has been negative following the unveiling of Metal Gear Survive.

Several hours after the unveiling, Metal Gear Survive has been meet with a massive backlash among fans of the series. Already the comment section of IGN is dominated disgruntled fans while the trailer on You Tube has received almost 30,000 dislikes and 8,000 likes. Other You Tube channels that have posted the trailer have a similar pattern as the dislikes out number the likes.

One IGN user, jazon-G, posted in the comment section, “And just like that. My childhood hero is gone. I can’t believe Konami went nuts and add a zombie into a stealth game. Duh. The Last of Us? Bye Snake. Snaaaaaake!! SNAAAAAAAAAKE! FU Konami!”

Metal Gear Survive also started trending on Facebook and most of it has been a backlash against the new game. Many have already voiced their disappointment at the new game while others don’t expect the series to survive for much long.

A similar trend could also be seen on Twitter as #MetalGearSurvive became a trending topic. Some of the disgruntled fans posted the following:

Saw the trailer for #MetalGearSurvive this morning. I think the franchise has pretty much jumped the shark by this stage.

— Ross (@truthfulnerd) August 17, 2016

If @Konami really thinks #MetalGearSurvive is the right way to win the hearts & minds of Metal Gear fans, they should stick to pachinko.

— William Ogle (@thetokenwogle) August 17, 2016

Wtf is #Konami trying to do with #MetalGearSurvive

— kanye twitty (@karl_mccracken) August 17, 2016

Konami this is a prime example of “jumping the shark” this sounds like a horrible direction for #MetalGear with #MetalGearSurvive

— Chris Padilla (@FilmAgeStudios) August 17, 2016

The unveiling comes only a few months after Konami unveiled Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, a Pachinko game featuring iconic moments from the original game recreated with the Fox Engine.  Like Metal Gear Survive, it too was a Public Relations disaster for Konami.

Several iconic gaming studios have been embroiled in a major PR disator as they attempt to navigate an every changing industry. While studios like Capcom and EA have been able to pull themselves by the boot straps and win over their fans again, its unclear how Konami will over come its negative reputation.