Although the Chat Box in Silent Hill Ascension Features No Obscenity Filter, it Will Censor Hideo Kojima’s Name

Silent Hill Ascension has only been released for a matter of days and already it is courting controversy. The irony of it being released on Halloween did not go unnoticed but quirkiness aside, the latest Silent Hill game appears to be a bone of contention with many hardcore fans. Despite being the first new Silent Hill game in over a decade, the latest instalment appears to have done little but anger and disappoint fans.

Not least of all with the disrespect being directed towards Hideo Kojima, the man who dedicated many years to Konami and made the company millions with the Metal Gear Solid Series is being treated as some sort of pariah. Comments on social media appear to confirm that time has not been a healer since Kojima left the company in 2015.

What is the latest news on Silent Hill Ascension?

Posting on social media site X (formerly Twitter) @Succinct_Punchy advised that the chat function on Silent Hill Ascension had no offensive language filter but that it would not let you input ‘hideo kojima‘. Any other obscenity or slur was fair game but the name of a former Konami employee, that is where the line is drawn.

It beggars belief that Konami would be so childish and petty to implement something like this into their chat feature. What actual purpose does it serve? To be so dismissive of a man who served them well for so many years?

Understandably the comments from fans regarding this news were less than complimentary;

“I jumped on just to see the chat and it’s just people s***ting on the game and people messing around. I see this lasting maybe a month.” – @TheUnistallWiz

“Konami clearly has their priorities straight” – @WoodziTeeHee

Fans were genuinely shocked that the Silent Hill Ascension has a chat channel, much like a Twitch stream, and for the majority of people who are using it, it doesn’t seem to have added anything to the enjoyment of the game whatsoever.

Despite the disrespect being shown to Hideo Kojima in Silent Hill Ascension, the game itself appears to be failing to win over the hardcore fans of the much-loved survival horror franchise. Another issue with many of the fans is the appearance of microtransactions which has seen a furious backlash from fans.

Whilst the choose-your-own-adventure style game itself is free to play there are unexpected microtransactions, with the Founder’s Pack costing $19.99. The pack contains the season pass, in-game cosmetics such as emotes and access to all in-game puzzles and with this, many fans are now viewing the game as incorporating a pay-to-win system.

Genvid CEO Jacob Novak has stated that microtransactions do not automatically mean that players can outspend others and thus influence decision-making in the game. However, many players have advised that their experience of the game is completely different and curse the introduction of currency into the game.

What it looks like to most is that Konami simply does not care about those loyal fans who have stuck by the franchise for years. This sub-par entry which was meant to revolutionise the future of Silent Hill games must feel like a slap in the face to many.

It is also disappointing that Konami feels the need to disrespect Hideo Kojima in this way with Silent Hill Ascension. To say that it appears to be petty would be something of an understatement and for a man who has dedicated years of his life to the gaming industry to be treated like this, is nothing short of unprofessional.

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