‘Silent Hill 2’ is a success. This is good news for Konami in its return to the classics.

For years, fans have been waiting for a Silent Hill video game with the trademark psychological scares and complex storytelling that once made the franchise a hit.

It seems that the time has finally come.

The recently released Silent Hill 2 remake sold over a million copies in its first week, making it the fastest installment in the series. And while it’s a remake, in many ways it’s a completely new game, with additional content, modern graphics, and revised gameplay.

The success comes as a surprise to some, especially die-hard Silent Hill fans. Because even though video game publisher Konami has remained active in the gaming business, fans believe the company has long neglected many of its most beloved franchises, such as Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and Castlevania.

The success of Silent Hill 2 and the announcement of several other projects begs the question: How seriously is Konami taking the revitalization of its most beloved franchises?

The return of a classic

For the uninitiated, the plot of the game is as follows: Your character, James Sunderland, is searching for his wife, who has been sending letters from a town called Silent Hill.

The only problem is that he died three years ago.

Your character, James Sunderland, was not the typical hero of this style of game when it was first released.

When Silent Hill 2 was first released in 2001, it was different from most other horror video games. It didn’t star a tough hero cop fighting zombies, like in some Resident Evils, for example.

Instead, you played a normal guy looking for his wife in a town full of disturbing creatures that mirrored the psychological wounds of the characters in the story.

“These weren’t brave characters setting out on a quest,” said Mike Drucker, who wrote a book about the history and fanfare of the original Silent Hill 2.

“These weren’t one-dimensional villains who wanted to burn the world down. “They were people who suffered and made a lot of big mistakes, and it’s fascinating to have that in a game.”

Drucker said that horror was more abstract and psychological than other video games. He was influenced by David Lynch’s television series. twin peaksand the paintings of Francis Bacon.

“I think the game is supposed to make you uneasy,” Drucker said. “You don’t want to fight a mannequin made of two legs put on two legs. you don’t want to do that.”

The horror style is what attracted many fans to the game.

Critic Kelsey Raynor, who reviewed the new version, was skeptical.

““I think ultimately people didn’t trust Konami to make a new Silent Hill after being let down time and time again,” he said, referencing past attempts to revitalize the series that fans criticized as appropriations. effective with little effort.

But Raynor said that, against all odds, this new version had delivered on its promises.

“Silent Hill fans have always been a difficult group to please, but this has proven to be the case,” he said.

Konami’s changing priorities

The reception is good news for Konami, which has had little success with Silent Hill Games in the last 15 years.

Jason Enos was Konami’s product manager during the 2000s and said the company moved away from its “core” franchises that people loved (Silent Hill, Castlevania, Contra) in pursuit of what it hoped could be bigger profits.

“There really wasn’t much logic behind it,” he said. “Other than, ‘What about the side of that rainbow?’ It could be a big pot of gold if we follow that rainbow.’”

Konami still makes a lot of money from video games, releasing Yu-Gi-Oh! games, sports titles and more. And video game sales represent almost 70% of the company’s profits, which reached an all-time high in its last fiscal year.

But some fans still feel that Konami has shifted its focus away from historical franchises. In the 1980s, games like Contra, Metal Gear Solid, and Castlevania helped define what gaming looked like at home and in arcades. And in the 2000s, Konami released big-budget, inventive, and thematically challenging video games.

silent hill 2 redo marks a return to that type of video game.

And now, Konami has a series of console game projects planned, including a remake of another classic: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

In the video game industry, a well-executed remake can generate significant profits. Capcom has remade several entries in its Resident Evil horror game franchise, which competed with Silent Hill in the Playstation 2 era. The remake of Resident Evil 4, released last year, has sold more than 8 million copies.

Enos said Konami’s strategy — diving back into historical franchises by recreating beloved works — is good from a financial perspective.

“If they can take this formula – not that it’s a simple formula – and apply it to other things within Konami’s portfolio, then this could be a big new change for the company,” he said.