Konami (コナミ, KONAMI), formally Konami Holdings Corporation, is a Japanese entertainment and gambling conglomerate. It operates as a product distributor, video game developer and publisher company. It is the rights holder for the Suikoden series.
History
The company originated in 1969 as a jukebox rental and repair business in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan, by Kōzuki Kagemasa, who remains the company's chairman. The name Konami is a portmanteau of the names Kōzuki Kagemasa, Nakama Yoshinobu, and Miyasako Tatsuo.
Over time, Konami transfored into a manufacturer of amusement machines for video arcades. Their first coin-operated video game was released in 1978, and they began exporting products to the United States the following year. They would grow as a video game producer and publisher in the 1980s, with games such as Frogger and Super Cobra.
The mid 80s would see numerous Konami franchises established during this period on console platforms as well as arcades. Titles such as Gradius, Castlevania, Twin Bee, Ganbare Goemon, Contra and Metal Gear would become extremely popular. The company started supporting 16-bit video game consoles during the early 90s, starting with the Super NES in 1990, followed by the PC Engine in 1991 and the Sega Mega Drive in 1992.
After the launch of the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1994, Konami would form various Konami Computer Entertainment (KCE) subsidiaries, starting with KCE Tokyo and KCE Osaka (which would be later known as KCE Studios) in April 1995, followed by KCE Japan (later known as Kojima Productions) in April 1996. KCE Tokyo would end up being the developers of the Suikoden series in 1995.
In 1997, Konami started producing rhythm games for arcades under the Bemani brand and branched off into the collectible card game business with the launch of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. By the 2000s, as the company transitioned into the developing video games for the sixth-generation consoles, they branched out into the health and fitness business.
In August 2001, Konami invested in another video game developer, Hudson Soft, which eventually became a consolidated subsidiary. Hudson Soft would be completely absorbed in 2012. In March 2006, Konami merged all their video game development divisions into a new subsidiary known as Konami Digital Entertainment Co. (KDE).
In April 2015, Konami delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange following the dissolution of their Kojima Productions subsidiary. In 2017, Konami announced that they would be reviving some of the company's other well-known video game titles following the success of their Nintendo Switch launch title Super Bomberman R.