Konami, Hudson Team Up, Smash Bros-Style

Thanks to Nintendojo for the news that Konami and Hudson are creating a mascot-infested fighting game in the vein of Nintendo's classic multiplayer fighter Super Smash Bros. The title, called Dream Mix World Fighters, is being released for PS2 and GameCube in Japan this December, and the game will ship "...featuring such enigmatic characters as Bomberman, Peach Taro, Master Higgins, Bonk, Takao, Yugo, Rika, Simon Belmont, Dracula, and many more." But, as Video-Fenky points out, where are the Kojima-game characters?

Comments

An IP blender

[wrexsoul]

I'm not saying this sounds like a bad idea per se, but I can't see it as taking off either. It's just that Konami and Hudson don't have quite the stable of immediately recognizable mascots that Nintendo or Capcom have. I mean, it's not like they're going to bust out the Gradius pilot all Captain Falcon-style.

Let's think of the Konami games of fame I can think of (I'm not even counting Hudson because most of their stuff is so old it'd only end up evoking nostalgia):

Castlevania
Metal Gear Solid
Silent Hill
Zone of Enders
Gradius series
Contra
and the laughable were-beast fighter Bloody Roar

Now perhaps either I can't imagine what a game with that kind of cast would be like or I can and it's not what I'd consider a very cohesive kind of game. Add to that the fact that the list of characters mentioned above is nothing short of esoteric, and it means that they'd be selling a game full of random odds-and-ends intellectual property rather than what Nintendo and Capcom do in their super cross-over brawlers do which is grab people's attention with easily-recognized and still-famous characters.

Of all the companies out there that have the kind of pull to do this, I think Sega is probably the only one left I can think of. Square too, perhaps, but we all remember Ergheiz and Chocobo Racing were bad ideas. Or a great ideas, I can't decide. Let me just say that if I ever see a game where Solid Snake and Alucard are driving around go-karts is the day I stop purchasing video games.

I think this post took a harsh turn. Let's start over: I wouldn't pay money for it.

Re:An IP blender

[Wildfire Darkstar]

Of all the companies out there that have the kind of pull to do this, I think Sega is probably the only one left I can think of. Square too, perhaps, but we all remember Ergheiz and Chocobo Racing were bad ideas. Or a great ideas, I can't decide. Let me just say that if I ever see a game where Solid Snake and Alucard are driving around go-karts is the day I stop purchasing video games.

Whereas I would sell my family into slavery to see Solid Snake and Alucard in go-karts. Go figure. :-)

Although I think the basic problem here is that Konami lacks the "mascot" characters that companies like Nintendo have. Most of Konami's games are more serious and oriented towards an older audience: Solid Snake, Alucard, and the heroes from the Silent Hill series are less given to the sort of caricature that is in some respects essential for games of this ilk.

Hudson, on the other hand, has a few franchises this would work well with, particularly the Adventure Island series. But they lack a sufficient quantity to really carry this one on their own, I would think. It'll be interesting to see how they pull this one off.

Re:An IP blender

[DarkZero]

Although I think the basic problem here is that Konami lacks the "mascot" characters that companies like Nintendo have. Most of Konami's games are more serious and oriented towards an older audience: Solid Snake, Alucard, and the heroes from the Silent Hill series are less given to the sort of caricature that is in some respects essential for games of this ilk.

Your prayers were answered before you even knew you had them. The game features Dracula from Castlevania, Grey Fox from Metal Gear Solid, Goemon from Mystical Ninja, Vic Viper from Gradius, and, of course, the ever-present Moai.