Nikkei, a giant media corporation out of Japan, have reported new troubles that surround Konami with allegations involving their employees, and work environment.
Nikkei reported that console game developments have worsen since their mobile game Dragon Collection became a hit back in 2010. Due to low development costs and high profit returns, Konami has shifted its focus away from console games towards cheaper social titles.
Below is a breakdown of the Nikkei report…
- Kojima Productions is now simply known as “Number 8 Production Department,” and the computers of their section are allegedly not connected to the Internet and are only able to send internal messages.
- Employees that leave the company during their lunch break have their absences monitored with time cards. Those who stay out too long are having their names announced throughout the company.
- There are cameras in the office corridors that aren’t for security, but to monitor the employees throughout the company.
- Most of Konami’s employees don’t have their own company email addresses, except for the PR that deal with people outside the company. The other employees have email addresses that get routinely randomized and changed every few months.
- Konami game developers that aren’t seen as useful are reassigned to jobs as security guards, cleaning staff at the company’s fitness clubs, or roles at a pachi-slot machine factory. In 2013, Asahi News reported that a former Konami staff member who allegedly went from development to working in a Konami pachi-slot factory, which caused him to experience severe depression.
- The said employee announced on Facebook that they were leaving Konami and got a new job elsewhere. Konami then monitored the Facebook post, and the remaining staff who “liked” the post were all reshuffled within the company, says Nikkei.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
In this article:
