Konami accidentally just made P.T. the coolest game of all time

Polygon:
Konami is trying really, really hard to make you forget that P.T. ever existed. That plan is backfiring.

In the wake of Silent Hills' cancellation, Konami has done virtually everything in its power to scrub P.T.'s existence from the face of the planet. First, it quietly revealed plans to remove the game for download. After that, the company made good on its threat, but those who had grabbed it previously could still re-download it. Then, in a nearly unprecedented step, Konami had the game wiped entirely from Sony's servers, even for players who had downloaded it previously.

[ArchangelMike]

Konami simply do not have a clue right now. They should have left P.T. on the store, and after the end credits roll, put up trailers for MGSV or other Konami games etc. Use it as a marketing tool or something. It seems they are simply hell bent on terminating their gaming assesst right now. MGSV will in all probability be the very last Konami game that I ever purchase... what else do they have?!? smfh.

[joab777]

They are just pissed off.

Bit until MGS5 releases, I still won't be convinced that it's all just a troll.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Exactly. They don't have squat. Metal Gear as we know it is done. No more Silent Hill revival, which is what it needed. They had something great in Lords of Shadow, but went way left with the sequel. No idea what's going on over there.

[LOL_WUT]

I was under the impression that you can download it again and since I had previously played it before upgrading my HDD I was in no hurry to re-download it.

Two days ago I received a notification from Sony that they'll be removing the game which was odd so I quickly went into my library to re-download the title but was quickly greeted with an error. I have learned my lesson ;)

[Heyxyz]

I did the same thing as you...sadly I had the same results...WHY KONAMI!?!?!

[medman]

I was in no hurry to re-download either...then I took another sniff and realized there was an extremely peculiar odor emanating from Konami's general direction....I re-downloaded shortly after, thank goodness. Screw you Konami, I barely escaped your devious, dastardly dealings. They sure are showing they know how to anger gamers.

[DevilOgreFish]

The experience can always be duplicated in UE4.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

That's probably where the underground supporters will take it to.

[Shadowstar]

Nothing to see here.

[CaptainObvious878]

Konami just went full retard.

You never go full retard.

[DigitalRaptor]

Was a PS4 exclusive just referred to as the coolest game of all time, by... Polygon? What is going on?

On-topic: Something strange is happening at Konami HQ. Feels like a shake up to me. They don't have much of relevance anymore, and whatever they have they have either already ruined or will likely ruin in the future. I can't see what else they have to be excited about. They can't really afford to piss gamers off like this.

[pwnsause_returns]

#F**KKONAMI

No, Seriously....

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[PaleMoonDeath]

One of the rare cases where stupidity will not be rewarded.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Think of all the free advertising if MS bought the rights to this full game and hired Kojima/Del Toro/Reedus to do it for X1....true they probably couldn't call it Silent Hills(whatever the final would be). However, if they make the exact same game under a different title.....boards would light up everywhere.

[cr33ping_death]

Same thing could be said if Sony bought the rights. Goes both ways

[PistolsAtDawn]

Not really...cause the PT demo was only on PS4...which is what is making a lot of gamers ASSUME that the full game would be exclusive...which was pretty much all but shut down...they clearly said it would come to PS4 first...not "only". If MS bought the rights it would create a bigger wave because the title would have "switched hands" in some peoples eyes...which would create more drama....then more press.

@DarXyde the demo was exclusive, but the game never was..you're assuming way too much. Sony might have a surprise or two, but it's clear that they don't have much in the pipeline...around this time there would normally be a ton of rumors floating around...and the only rumors out there concerning Sony are that they are trying to buy favortisim for Black Ops 3 and Battlefront...neither which look like they will pan out, and the MediEvil thing turned out just to be a fan made piece....so nothing really.

[DarXyde]

I have considerable doubt Kojima would agree to something like that. He's got a great relationship with Sony. Also consider that P.t. was made exclusively for PlayStation 4. I'm thinking that, if Kojima goes through with this game, PlayStation will be the first priority platform and perhaps the only. We will probably learn more at E3, but don't be surprised if Kojima drops in during Sony's presser. They've been very tight lipped. All we've heard about is MediEvil.

[P_Bomb]

Removing it from the store is one thing. But to suddenly and without warning revoke the license to redownload from *every single person* who ever downloaded it before, is petty...beyond.

I hate the precedent this sets. What next, a mandatory PS4 firmware patch to brick/remove PT for anyone who still has it installed? Hey, it happened with other O/S last gen.

[PsylentKiller]

I wonder if they're going to complain to YouTube about P.T. Playthroughs. It seems as though they bitched to eBay about PS4 postings with P.T. Installed. Maybe Twitch streams will be denied next.

Konami seems to be making every effort to destroy their legacy. It's sad, really.

[Khajiit86]

I literally redownloaded the game like a day before they removed it to show a friend that has never played it and now I am really happy I did because it is a gem that will be great to have in my collection.

[PhoenixUp]

Shame Xbox One owners didn't even get to experience the teaser

[DarXyde]

That's assumming Xbox One owners don't have PlayStation 4s. You can have both, I would know. ;0)

Fortunately, my old PS4 HDD still has P.t. if one of my Xbox only friends ever sees the need to buy a PlayStation 4, I'd gladly share that drive with them.

[caffman]

I'm an xbox one owner. And I enjoyed it

[DarkZane]

If anything, all this bad press Konami are getting at the moment might eventually make them reconsider Silent Hills as it was before they cancelled it.

[SilentNegotiator]

They scrubbed it from the servers?! Someone must be punished!

[PsylentKiller]

I wonder if Sony could be in trouble for Konami's actions. For example, say I bought my PS4 for the sole reason of playing P.T. I had the hope of the full game coming out but my initial PS4 purchase was because of P.T. I would have never bought a PS4 if it wasn't for P.T.
Would Sony be liable?

I realize that P.T. and silent Hils might not be the greatest example but what if it's a different game in the future. Let's say it's MGS: GZ and MGS: PP? What's stopping Konami from erasing MGS 5 from history a year from now? I guess you could say the up front cost of $60 but I'd take you back to my previous statement. Video games don't have an upfront cost of $60. Even free to play games are not free. The upfront cost will always include the cost of the system used to play them on. In this case, it is $400 plus P.T. Or MGS.
Hopefully Konami is the only bad apple of the bunch and they've been tossed far away from the rest of the publishers and devs in the bushel.

[_-EDMIX-_]

"Would Sony be liable?"

Nope. Your reason for buy a system is your own. Sony isn't Konami, things happen, game get canned, companies get bought etc. Even if Sony owned the IP, they would not be liable as your buying a system based on an assumption.

Consider The Last Guardian never came to PS3 or never came out at all as of right now, I'm sure many might have gotten PS3's JUST to play that game, but that is very much a choice upon the consumer.

No one is responsible for your actions but you. Their is no promise or 100% guarantee with a system that your getting a certain game, that is just something that feasibly can't be promised.

and I don't know many that buy a system solely for just 1 game and nothing else, its very much a long term investment.

[SilentNegotiator]

No. No judge in their right mind would make anyone "liable" over a friggin' demo. No one bought Ps4 for "Playable Trailer" and only PT.

[PsylentKiller]

Just to be clear, I don't really believe this. I'm just playing devil's advocate. But I feel that my question was misunderstood. What I'm questioning is the control Sony has over their marketplace.
I know Sony can make changes to their system without repercussion. The other OS on the PS3 debacle is an example. What I'm getting at is the marketplace ToS. A $60 or a free to play game was downloaded, I paid for some micro transactions or not, the publisher wipes the game from history. What did I buy with nuy money?
I was under the impression that I bought a licsence to play the game? Even if the servers are down for an online game, I could still start up the game. Can't play it but I could at least load it up. It's understandable though for a mp only game. For example, I have Super Monday Night Combat on Steam. No one plays it cause they shut down the servers, but I could still load it up and round around the maps by myself.
Maybe my real question's are: what does the ToS of a digital purchase entail? Is their an expiration date on our games? And does Sony, or any console be it the Wii U, XB1, Steam, or Origin, etc., have influence or responsibility over what occurs within their digital marketplace?

[Veneno]

I'm sure nobody will be liable. Liability was probably eliminated in the terms and agreement that you never read before agreeing to.

[TeamLeaptrade]

I wished they would have kept P.T. up. I never played it either, so I really wish I could have played it one day. Maybe we'll see Silent Hills, but I doubt it.

[Veneno]

Yeah that's too bad. It really is as good as everyone is saying.

[Pillsbury1]

It's sad to think a game you downloaded can be taken away and never be able to play it again.

This is the future we are in.

[RJ92009]

Or maybe it's the biggest troll every and when it comes back super hype passed almost anything for a silent hill game.

[Tonykid]

Guys and Gals this is a birth of an urban legend of a demo that may or may not hold secret to something greater than some game. I like it.

[rainslacker]

I finally got it after the reports it would be taken down. Luckily I rehooked up my PS4 since moving stuff around a couple weeks ago and got it downloaded so I will have to play it this weekend in case they decide to remote the license from my account/system. I've only heard good things, but never considered that I couldn't get to it eventually.

This was a completely unnecessary move on Konami's part. Given all the bad press they've gotten lately, they should have just left it alone. I'm starting to think that Konami just let all their PR staff go because they are doing everything wrong. They aren't even trying to repair any bad perceptions. It's really like they want gamers to hate them and forget about them.

[Nodoze]

This is why I will NOT embrace digital distribution. No matter what you think, you never truly own what you have purchased. Had PT been released on physical disk they could NOT revoke it. The disk would simply be worth a lot.

[RSKnight]

I've always sold my previous consoles when getting the newest one, except for my Atari 2600, that was my first console (yes I'm old). Sold my NES when I bought my SNES, then sold it when I bought the N64, then sold that one when I got the Gamecube, and again with the Wii. Same thing with PS and Xbox consoles (never had any Sega consoles though). I've always sold them at about half the price of retail at that time. But now, my PS4 with a P.T. copy, has already increased it's value above the current US$400 of a new one, and I assume it's value will continue to increase over time thanks to this. I guess in a way Konami just made us a big favor to all of us lucky enough to have downloaded a copy of P.T. to our consoles. I wonder how much will I be able to ask for my PS4 when I decide to sell it. *Hears cash register sound in the distant future*. **cha ching!**

[Der_Kommandant]

I'm upgrading my PS4 HDD so i'm screwed.

[rainslacker]

If you kept the old drive with it on there you could throw it back in. Might want to sell your system while people are paying for it. Might make enough to buy a new console and a few games.

[_-EDMIX-_]

"If you kept the old drive with it on there you could throw it back in" you can't...

The system reformats the new drive. Trying to put an old drive back in the PS4, it won't recognize it, it will ask to format it.

and I believe many have stated you can still download PT from the actual store online.

[PersonMan]

Actually, as long as both hard drives are running the same system software, they can be swapped back and forth. I've actually done this with an SSD and an HDD to test the performance gain.

[rainslacker]

I know I switched out the drives like I suggested before, and all my content was still in tact. I did it to get a save file off the drive which wasn't uploaded to the cloud before I swapped.

Since the file is on the old drive, where the PT demo is, it should work if he wants to play it. I don't know if he could throw it in a new system or not, but I'd imagine not since I don't think that worked with the PS3 either.

[greenmiker]

I am ok with Polygon. With making us forgetting the game, Konami managed to do it even worse.

[RosweeSon]

If only I could now forget Konami.

[PersonMan]

What if they announce that they're including the playable trailer on the MGSV disc as a special treat for those of us buying MGSV?

[level 360]

Really hoping somebody would pick up the pieces and hire Mr. Kojima and Mr. del Torro to do both the game and a live action film.

[ilikepizza]

First off the general public has no idea about this game. It had no release date or anything. Outside of n4g and sony world no one really cared. Now everyone is saying metal gear 5 is done lol. No one is that butthurt to pass up on metal gear 5 because they took p.t down. The people here are borderline extremist.

[mogwaii]

They have cemented its place in gaming history, the tease of a life time, the greatest comeback that never was.

[Tross]

I think if Konami's smart, they're teasing and are actually planning on going through with Silent Hills afterall, with more hype generated than ever. Now whether I believe they're being smart is another thing entirely. I wish I could have more faith in the company that had a falling out with Kojima.