According to Nikkei – Kojima has officially left Konami, expected to start new company with KojiPro members, in talk with SCE.
Via Zefah of NeoGaf
Why is Japanese so hard for the Internet sometimes? Here’s a quick translation that tries to stay as faithful to the original text as possible:
ゲームソフト「メタルギア」シリーズで知られる著名ゲームクリエーターの小島秀夫氏が、15日付でコナミデジタルエンタテインメントを退社した。新会社を設立し てゲーム制作を続け、ソニー・コンピュータエンタテインメント（ＳＣＥ）のゲーム機「プレイステーション（ＰＳ）」向けなどで販売するとみられる。
Kojima Hideo, a famous video game creator known for the Metal Gear series has left Konami Digital Entertainment as of December 15th. He will form a new company where he will continue developing video games, with plans to release on platforms such as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)’s PlayStation.
コナミ時代の部下と新会社を設立する。代表作「メタルギア」シリーズの版権はコナミ側に残るため、新作の開発に着手する。最新作についてはＳＣＥと最終交渉し ており、ＰＳ向けに優先販売するとみられる。
He is forming the new company with people who worked under him at Konami. The rights to the Metal Gear series, for which he is most known, remain at Konami, so he will begin working on an all new title. Final negotiations with SCE are underway for this new game to debut on PlayStation.
小島氏は「マリオ」で知られる任天堂の宮本茂氏と並ぶ世界的なゲーム開発者。緻密なストーリー作りや映画の手法も取り入れた映像表現で評価が高い。今年９月に 発売したゲームソフト「メタルギアソリッド５」は世界で500万本を超える大ヒットを記録した。
Kojima is a world famous video game developer on the same level as Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario. He is highly praised for his elaborate stories and use of movie techniques to create impressive visual imagery. Metal Gear Solid V was released this September and became a massive hit, selling over 5 million copies around the world.
SOURCE: Zefah of NeoGaf
Nikkei Reports: Kojima has left Konami as of today, starting new studio with KojiPRO members