Konami's future Metal Gear Solid plans look pachinko-shaped

It seems that not even legendary soldiers can hide from the pachinko-ization of Konami's franchises - the company's pachinko division has reportedly registered 'Big Boss' as a trademark that covers a wide variety of uses, including card games, mahjong equipment, exercise equipment, and yes, pachinko machines.

Konami's relationship with the Metal Gear Solid series has been … shall we say "tenuous" lately. Series creator Hideo Kojima's name was scrubbed from the box art, and reports abound that Kojima Productions has been dissolved, while Kojima himself has supposedly left the company (neither Kojima nor Konami have made official, public statements about this).

Konami has also been somewhat confusing about their future intentions in game development - although president Hideki Hayakawa stated that Konami will continue to develop console games, all we've seen or heard regarding franchises like Castlevania and Silent Hill are pachinko machines. In light of these developments, a Big Boss pachinko trademark registration seems about as surprising as learning about a group of terrorists who want to control the world using a nuclear battle tank.

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