Possible news:

On Masahiro Ito's Twitter dated May 5, he said that he was working on some games that were never released. He is also helping on working on 2 games and he said he hopes they will be released.

I follow Ito's tweets every now and then, especially if something Silent Hill or horror game related pops up or is alluded to.

Like I said, I lost interest in Silent Hill starting with Homecoming; I think the last one I truly enjoyed was Origins. It's probably all because of Resident Evil 4 changing the genre, as to why it went downhill. All the companies making horror games changed the style to be like RE4 after that game was a success, which is why Alone in the Dark is also dead now. Seriously, check out the travesty that is Inferno, and especially Illumination. The New Nightmare from 2001 was actually a really cool Resident Evil alternative, and I was pretty excited about a potential sequel (which we never got, because the 2008 reboot ignores it completely). However, it's somewhat odd that Infogrames ripped off a series which originally was an homage to itself.

Now, RE4 ain't a bad game (but you can see where the marketing tactic lay with the title being used). It's just not a scary horror game. It has scary things in it, but that doesn't qualify it as survival horror, as it all but destroyed the tension with being alone, and with having very little items. That was not a big issue in 4 at all.

I think the castle area in 4 was somewhat creepy with those druids, but the endless battles with their clones, and shooting all the time was repetitive. The rest of it in terms of the plot, was so-so. 5 was just shitty, and 6 was so bad, that I'm amazed Capcom released that one at all.

The story in Homecoming was decent; I just found the mechanics were awful. Downpour is the only sequel I never completed. It's also just mediocre to me. So that's 11 years without a truly good game in the franchise. The best one was 2 then 1 and 3 being a close runner-up. 4: The Room has its highs and lows. It's generally very well made, but it was also very hard which is why I take away some points.

At least I liked the newer Resident Evil games to some extent. It's only after you completed the last 3 to 4 numbered sequels, that you realize the best days are behind us.

It seems clear that Konami has absolutely zero interest in pursuing big budget console game development.

The only things that are guaranteed for now are Pro Evolution Soccer and the multiplayer Metal Gear SURVIVE, and nobody's heard anything about these in a long time.

Konami's profits as a whole company however are doing very very well, without the need for traditional console games.

Many of Konami's developers have jumped ship to the New Kojima Productions so it looks like Kojima's old team members are all slowly making their way to his new studio, so obviously talent is leaving Konami.

Sad as it is to say, I don't see Konami having any intention of seriously reviving Silent Hill. At least not in any way other than outsourcing it and the risks to any contractual developer like the previous titles, or another lower-budget Hollywood movie attempt. Or little things you see now like with Bomberman and a slot machine or cheap mobile effort.

More than likely you'll get a games-as-service Book of Memories effort for mobile. Which is making a lot of money, especially in Japan, which is where Square Enix and Nintendo are also more heavily investing into, except unlike Konami, Square and Nintendo know that the popularity of their mobile efforts is tied to their console efforts and the characters they create.

As for the market for horror. It is true that the action shooter genre has the potential for having far more sales than a traditional Silent Hill game. But that market is oversaturated and consumers are picky and thus only those with established multiplayer and top end graphics (aka very expensive to make games) do well.

Konami is NOT going to spend that kind of money on that when mobile offers higher return with lower risk.

MGSV has done very well sales wise and obviously that didn't stop Konami from shuttering Kojima Productions.

Capcom has also been concerned with declining interest in Resident Evil.

But Capcom is taking a smart route - reducing the budget of Resident Evil and setting expectations accordingly.

REVII is a critical hit, but was also not as expensive to make, though sales have not been as high as Capcom was hoping for, but it is satisfied with its performance.

The real test is to see how something like the Resident Evil 2 Remake will perform. The re-releases of RE1 Remake and RE0 have done VERY WELL for Capcom, at least high return for low costs. So Capcom sees a profitable section of gamers willing to pay for that more classic style of RE horror. Hence why RE2 being remade was greelit on the resales of RE1 and 0.

Silent Hill could also survive by taking this route. More throwback to the styles of SH2-3.
Basically, smaller levels, slower gameplay with emphasis on puzzles and not combat. Ability to pull off beautiful visuals by taking advantage of not stretching your team's efforts on more larger open levels or open world, by having a small team of artists focusing on smaller intimate environments. Not need to outsource for assets to fill larger levels or more intricate cutscenes etc.

Basically, Silent Hill needs to either be throwback, or indie, if you want to look at it that way.

But will Konami bother? It's doubtful. They couldn't even be bothered to decently fund HD ports of SH2 & 3.

Maybe if another studio pitches an idea and wants to license the brand like Climax did. But that is much more unlikely these days in the age of Kickstarter, and when other studios and even the console manufacturers are more lenient of control for independent projects and publishing for IPs that you can control yourself. So there's less incentive for devs to approach Konami, and the longer it takes Konami to do something, the less the Silent Hill IP is valued. So I expect we'll occasionally see more efforts like Pyramid Head in Bomberman, or another Pachinko machine, or some mobile thing. According to Konami's predictions, they don't expect current VR to be worth much either, so there's little to no chance they'll follow Capcom's route.

Kojima's certainly not going to return to Konami to use the brand. He can work on his own new horror IP with Del Toro and Junji Ito in the future. Norman Reedus is only in this because of the two of them, which is why he's still doing Death Stranding with Kojima. Kojima will probably be reluctant to do anything like Silent Hills again least Konami try and claim he's copying Konami's property or some legal nonsense, so it's in Kojima's interests to differentiate himself away from his previous employer's brands.

There will still be spiritual successors from the indie scene. Like Yomawari and others to get that horror feel, so it's likely the next 'Silent Hill' will come from there.

The thing is, the remake of RE was made when Capcom still cared about tank controls. Etc. RE2 in this day and age would perhaps look ace, but I cannot see Capcom bothering with those sort of games now.

Strangely enough, Kojima is already using quite a few concepts from PT.

I'm still waiting for the next indie "Silent Hill" game to release. Or should I say, the first.

Right now, I'm waiting for Team Psychose to get their act together in making Forgotten Memories for PS4, XB and PC.

As long as it's not Book of Memories II or a dumb rail-shooter.

Wait, what? We've never had a remake of Silent Hill. We had a prequel in Origins and a total reboot with SM. Although I personally enjoyed both of those, a remake of Silent Hill would be something entirely different: SH1 renewed/refreshed and maybe changed/tweaked in some ways. It would hopefully be incredibly awesome, although even if they nailed everything else, I would miss the original voice actors and continue to play my original version too.

I realize that post was months ago, but oh well.

I never said we had a remake of Silent Hill bleh. Perhaps I'm wrong, but Origins and Shattered Memories both initially started with the intention to remake the original Silent Hill. But eventually (and I don't think long after), they obviously decided to do something different. Tis why I said 'attempted'.

Though it's been so long I don't honestly remember for sure. Shattered Memories is more obvious but pretty sure Origins was meant to be an SH1 remake for PSP before they decided it to be a prequel.

I could honestly be wrong though!

That being said, as much as I adored Shattered Memories, I have always and still want a proper remake of Silent Hill 1.

And you are correct to call me on my sins. I kind of fucked up with kind've.

Sorry, I guess I just misinterpreted your wording. I thought you were referring to the finished games. I do remember that Origins got shifted between development teams part way through but had never heard of it being intended to be something other than a prequel. Never heard anything about SM regarding that either, but could be true I suppose.

Now that loot boxes and micro transactions are a thing in full priced games, maybe Konami will get in on the action. It would be like virtual pachinko.

Silent Hill Survive-PS4, XB1 and Switch. Hit the (virtual) lever!
Castlevania Survive, same platforms, now with even more Erotic Violence!

Never realized Konami was such a pioneer. Exemplar!

Seriously, Fuck Konami!

I wish that they did go back to Silent Hill, I mean they would have so many new and old fans probably more than those pachinko games. A lot of people would be shocked yet happy...of course as long as the game isn't a slap to the face and the fandom doesn't get angry. I think a new and good Silent Hill game would bring them in more money, besides I would die for a new SH game lol

Well, if they had a new Silent Hill game for home consoles, even with microtransactions, I might give it a try.

Well, if they had a new Silent Hill game for home consoles, even with microtransactions, I might give it a try.

I can just see it now.

"The Otherworld too difficult for you? Pay $3.99 to access exclusive content and become Pyramid Head for a limited time to chase Alessa away!"

lol! I just hope Konami doesn’t fully catch on to the idea of loot boxes...oops, too late.

Lol. I guess it would be more like unlocking better weapons such as an unlimited machine gun for $3.99, that would normally be unlocked after receiving a high star ranking.

It would kill the whole atmosphere though.

If you've seen the pachinko machine then you'd know they don't give a flying fuck about atmosphere. Holy shit that thing is shiny aneurysm machine.

And if they can make an extra $4 off the players they'll turn Silent Hill into a Hello Kitty sponsored rainbow hellhouse of of horrors.

Ground Zeroes alone proves they don't have a goddamn fucking clue what made the games so incredible to begin with. They are going to be so puzzled when that game sells like 3 copies.

Hello Kitty! LMFAO! So true, and so hilarious, yet truly sad at the same time.

Hello Kitty! LMFAO! So true, and so hilarious, yet truly sad at the same time.

I don't know if Death Stranding is a horror game, but I do like the idea of a multiplayer mode.