There are a few clarifications here so I thought I'd let this go as a new thread: http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/201...dismayed-as-Konami-cuts-off-developers?page=1
1.) The 10 billion yen is listed specifically as the development budget. Kojima's restrictions appear more extensive than his staff's, which are still quite restrictive.
2.) The reason Momotaro Electric Railway got killed was due to profit sharing disagreements. Sakuma and Nintendo directly talked and then Nintendo worked out an agreement with Konami.
The rest is pretty much exactly as translated previous. Staff leaving in droves amid a culture of fear and punishment.
1.) The 10 billion yen is listed specifically as the development budget. Kojima's restrictions appear more extensive than his staff's, which are still quite restrictive.
Nikkei said:For more than four months, personal computers used by the workers of the production department have been cut off from the Internet. The talented engineers have been cut off from the outside world and left in the lurch. Hideo Kojima, 51, who heads the department, has refrained from airing his personal views online.
The release of the newest version of the game, "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain," however, has been delayed numerous times and racked up more than 10 billion yen ($80.4 million) in development costs. Prior to its September release, Kojima has been "incarcerated" in his office.
2.) The reason Momotaro Electric Railway got killed was due to profit sharing disagreements. Sakuma and Nintendo directly talked and then Nintendo worked out an agreement with Konami.
Nikke said:"Momotaro Electric Railway" is a hugely popular board-game-style title. Ever since Hudson Soft, the developer of the game, was taken over by Konami in 2012, Konami and Sakuma have shared the license for the game. But negotiations between the two reached a deadlock over how to share profits from the newest version.
...
Now Sakuma and Nintendo have begun negotiating on development and marketing of a new game. The title is expected to be released next year or thereafter. Konami will license "Momotaro Electric Railway" to Nintendo.
The rest is pretty much exactly as translated previous. Staff leaving in droves amid a culture of fear and punishment.