Konami President Company Will Focus On Mobile Videogame Platforms

TOKYO -- Konami president Hideki Hayakawa told Nikkei Trendy Net that the company now views mobile as its primary game platform and focus. A "machine translation" of the interview and several game fan websites quote Hayakawa as saying the company will "pursue mobile games aggressively" and that "mobile is where the future of gaming lies."

The interview, which has triggered a flurry of criticism and comment in the video gaming community, follows news of Konami's voluntary delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and a name change from Konami Corp. to Konami Holdings Corp. | SEE STORY

In the NTN interview, Hayakawa hinted at what he saw as the future of the videogame industry, as well as his company. "With multiplatform games, there's really no point in dividing the market into categories anymore," he said. "Mobiles will take on the new role of linking the general public to the gaming world."

The Konami president did not elaborate on whether that means mobile platforms will displace console and coin-op completely, or function in a symbiotic manner with traditional game platforms.