The future of Konami is 'mobile first', says company chief

- Konami Digital Entertainment chief Hideki Hayawaka outlines why his company is shifting focus from retail to digital/mobile game development.

The folks at Konami have weathered some significant public outcry after recently falling out with Metal Gear frontman Hideo Kojima and scrapping the Silent Hills project he was working on with film director Guillermo del Toro, delisting its remarkable P.T. demo from PSN in the process. Kojima was also taken off Konami's list of executive officers earlier this year.

In an interview with Japanese outlet Nikkei Trendy that was translated by Games Industry this week, Konami Digital Entertainment CEO Hideki Hayawaka (pictured) explains that he's planning to "clearly divide management and creative roles" as he transitions the company to focus on mobile.

"Up until now, creative roles have been very broad, covering even the management of the organisation," said Hayawaka. "I think that really focusing deeply on one project is a strong approach, but if an entirely different trend emerges then you're left unable to leverage those skills or cope with it."

The Konami exec also noted that the company is trying to move from selling physical products to "intangible things" like digital games, in-game content and mobile games.

"For our company, 'mobile first' doesn't mean just doing mobile," said Hayawaka. "Rather, it means that we will combine the use of mobile, the platform which is closest to our customers, with consoles, arcade games and card games, construct a portfolio, expand the styles of play and our customer base."

For more of his translated comments, check out the Games Industry report.