Konami Announces NYSE Delisting Name Change Silent Hills Cancelation

TOKYO -- Konami Corp., once a legendary arcade game company with hits like Frogger and Dance Dance Revolution, is causing a stir with a string of major corporate changes.

On May 8 the company said it is changing its name from Konami Corp. to Konami Holdings Corp. The change is intended to clarify the company's true structure to shareholders, according to an official statement.

"Ever since the company shifted to a pure holding company structure on March 31, 2006, the company has managed the operation of four primary businesses -- Digital Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Gaming and Systems, and Pachislot and Pachinko Machines -- at its group companies engaged in the aforementioned businesses," the Konami statement read.

"As the company enters the 10th year under the pure holding company structure in March next year," the statement continued, "the company aims to once again promote a clear understanding of its position among stakeholders by changing the trade name."

In related news, Konami revealed that it is delisting itself from the New York Stock Exchange in an effort to save money; it will still be listed on the Tokyo and London exchanges. The stock market news was quickly followed by an announcement that the game developer had canceled its highly anticipated 9th installment of the Silent Hill home video console series, Silent Hills.

According to industry sources, the corporate changes at Konami will not impact the company's arcade business. In North America, Betson Enterprises is the exclusive distributor of Konami arcade games, which includes Dance Dance Revolution.