Konami blocked creator Hideo Kojima from picking up the Game Award prize for Metal Gear Solid 5.
Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, was threatened with legal action if he attended the Game Awards, which were held last night.
Instead, Metal Gear Solid 5 voice acting star Kiefer Sutherland took it upon himself to accept the prize for Best Action/Adventure Game in his stead.
“Hideo Kojima is not here with us tonight and I wanted to tell you a little bit about that,” said host Geoff Keighly at the awards. “Mr Kojima had every intention of being with us tonight but unfortunately he was informed by a lawyer representing Konami just recently that he would not be allowed to travel to tonight’s awards ceremony to accept any awards.”
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Of course, as you’d expect, this news was met with intense booing from the attending crowd.
“He’s under an employment contract and it’s disappointing and it’s inconceivable to me that an artist like Hideo would not be allowed to come here and celebrate with his peers,” continued Keighly.
“But that’s the situation we’re in. Hideo is in Tokyo right now watching the show, and we wanted to know, Hideo, that we’re thinking of you and we miss you. We hope to see you at The Game Awards 2016.”
Rumour has it that Kojima has left Konami, but the publisher still claims he’s on a post-launch holiday…
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
