Cancelled video game
This article is about the cancelled game in the series. For the series, see
Silent Hill
.
Video game
Silent Hills
[a]
is a cancelled
horror game
developed by
Kojima Productions
that was to be published by
Konami
for the
PlayStation 4
. It was in development since 2012 until its cancellation in 2015. It was to be the ninth main installment in the
Silent Hill
series and was to be directed by
Hideo Kojima
and
Guillermo del Toro
.
Series publisher
Konami
brought Kojima onto the project in September 2012. The game was announced via
P.T.
(short for
Playable Teaser
), a critically acclaimed
game demo
released as a free download from the
PlayStation Store
in August 2014.
P.T.
revealed the involvement of Del Toro, along with
Norman Reedus
as the voice and appearance of its protagonist.
The game's development was questioned due to rumors surrounding Kojima's work with the completion of
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
, and his eventual exit from Konami. In April 2015, Konami announced that the game had been cancelled, a move that was criticized by journalists and fans of the franchise. Kojima, del Toro, and Reedus reunited for the 2019 game
Death Stranding
.
Development
[
edit
]
In September 2012, Konami's president asked Hideo Kojima to direct the next
Silent Hill
installment.
[1]
He accepted the offer with enthusiasm, and development began shortly thereafter, using
Kojima Productions
'
Fox Engine
.
[2]
When asked about the project, Kojima stated:
In the past I've mentioned
Silent Hill
in interviews, and as a result of that the president of Konami rung me up and said he'd like me to make the next
Silent Hill
. Honestly, I'm kind of a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror movies, so I'm not confident I can do it. At the same time, there's a certain type of horror that only people who are scared of can create, so maybe it's something I can do. That said, I think
Silent Hill
has a certain atmosphere. I think it has to continue, and I'd love to help it continue, and if I can help by supervising or lending the technology of the Fox Engine, then I'd love to participate in that respect.
[3]
P.T.
[
edit
]
An interactive teaser for
Silent Hills
was released on August 12, 2014, as
P.T.
(
Playable Teaser
), marketed as a demo for a horror game by the non-existent 7780s Studio.
[4]
[5]
Published on the
PlayStation Network
for the
PlayStation 4
as a free download,
[6]
[7]
P.T.
uses a
first-person perspective
, in contrast to the usual
third-person perspective
often found in the
Silent Hill
series, and centers on an unknown protagonist who awakens in a haunted house and experiences supernatural occurrences;
[5]
the only actions available are walking and zooming as the player character explores the continuously looping corridor.
[8]
After the player solves the final puzzle, a trailer reveals that it is a "playable teaser" for a new
Silent Hill
title being directed by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, with the protagonist portrayed by Norman Reedus.
[9]
On 1 September 2014, Sony revealed during its pre-
Tokyo Game Show
press conference that
P.T.
has been downloaded over a million times.
[6]
P.T.
received praise from
video game journalists
.
GamesRadar
'
s David Houghton praised it as immersive horror and wrote: "By spreading out into the real world, by forcing solutions by way of hearsay, internet whispers, and desperate, rumoured logic, it has become its own urban myth."
[10]
IGN
'
s Marty Sliva ranked it as an honorable mention on his list of the best video game trailers for 2014,
[11]
and another reviewer for IGN, Lucy O'Brien, described the game as "the most genuinely frightening interactive experience in recent years."
[8]
Giant Bomb
gave the Best Horror Game award to
P.T.
in 2014.
[12]
P.T.
won "Scariest Game" at
Bloody Disgusting
'
s FEAR Awards.
[13]
Cancellation
[
edit
]
In March 2015, sources reported that due to conflicts with Konami, Kojima and his senior staff planned to leave Konami following the completion of
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
. Concurrently, Konami announced a restructuring of its video game business, and removed references to Kojima and Kojima Productions from the promotional materials for its games.
[14]
A Konami spokesperson initially denied that Kojima was leaving the company, and stated that he would still be involved with Konami and the
Metal Gear
franchise.
[15]
At a
San Francisco Film Society
event on April 26, 2015, assistant director Guillermo del Toro reportedly told attendees that
Silent Hills
had been cancelled. The next day, Norman Reedus also made statements on
Twitter
stating that the game had been cancelled. The same day, Konami announced that
P.T.
would be pulled from the PlayStation Store on April 29, 2015, and
Polygon
reported that an anonymous tip by a person familiar with the game's development had also confirmed the game's cancellation.
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
On April 27, 2015, Konami issued a statement to
Kotaku
confirming that
Silent Hills
"would not be continued", but that they planned to continue the
Silent Hill
franchise.
[20]
[21]
Fans upset by the cancellation later started a petition on
Change.org
asking for Konami to continue the project; as of 4 March 2016
[update]
, the petition has received 194,279 signatures.
[22]
In a tweet from Guillermo del Toro, he revealed that horror
manga
artist
Junji Ito
would also have been involved with the project.
[23]
Cliff Bleszinski
was also asked to work on the project, but declined, later explaining on Twitter: "I don't like
LA
, I love new
IP
, and I woulda fucked up SH".
[24]
During
Sony Interactive Entertainment
's
E3 2016
press conference, the reformed Kojima Productions unveiled a new game,
Death Stranding
, which also features Reedus and del Toro.
[25]
In the years since, rumours of the series being revived by a third party or by Kojima himself have been a source of both frustration and interest throughout the horror community. In 2021, a game called
Abandoned
was heavily speculated to be a part of the franchise; however, the developers denied any connection.
[26]
Bloober Team
also denied online rumours about a possible revival of the project under their oversight.
[27]
In 2017, series composer and producer
Akira Yamaoka
gave his own thoughts about the game's cancellation, "since everyone was saying: it's a shame, it's too bad
? maybe it is a shame and it is too bad."
[28]
Successor
[
edit
]
In October 2022, Konami announced the ninth official installment in the series, effectively replacing
Silent Hills
, titled
Silent Hill f
.
[29]
It will be developed by Neobards Entertainment and directed by Al Yang, and written by creator of the
When They Cry
visual novel series
Ryukishi07
.
[30]
It is currently unknown when the game will officially release.
[31]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
McWhertor, Michael (September 27, 2012).
"Konami wants Hideo Kojima to make a Silent Hill game"
.
Polygon
. Retrieved
January 30,
2015
.
- ^
Kelly, Andy (August 21, 2014).
"Konami are making a new Silent Hill. Will it come to PC?"
.
PC Gamer
. Retrieved
January 30,
2015
.
- ^
Robinson, Martin (September 27, 2012).
"Policenauts, Silent Hill and a Metal Gear JRPG - an audience with Kojima"
.
Eurogamer
. Eurogamer Network
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
Dyer, Mitch (August 12, 2014).
"Gamescom 2014: P.T. Announced for Playstation 4"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Matulef, Jeffrey (August 13, 2014).
"Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro are making Silent Hills"
.
Eurogamer
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
Moriarty, Colin (September 1, 2014).
"PlayStation 4's PT Silent Hills Demo Downloaded 1+ Million Times"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
September 2,
2014
.
- ^
Abbott, Chris; et al. (IGN's Jaw-Dropped Editors) (December 24, 2014).
"The Biggest Surprises of 2014"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
O'Brien, Lucy (December 17, 2014).
"My Game of the Year Wasn't a Game At All"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
O'Brien, Lucy (August 13, 2014).
"Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro Are Teaming Up for a New Silent Hill"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
Houghton, David (August 27, 2014).
"P.T. is the first REAL horror game in years, and the smartest game on PS4"
.
GamesRadar
. Retrieved
October 6,
2014
.
- ^
Sliva, Marty (December 11, 2014).
"The 14 Best Game Trailers of 2014"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
December 29,
2014
.
- ^
"Giant Bomb's 2014 Game of the Year Awards: Day Five Text Recap"
.
Giant Bomb
. December 30, 2014
. Retrieved
December 31,
2014
.
- ^
Dodd, Adam (January 19, 2015).
"Your Picks for the Best & Worst Horror Games of 2014!"
.
Bloody Disgusting
. Retrieved
January 16,
2015
.
- ^
Brown, Peter; Crossley, Rob (March 20, 2015).
"Kojima Expected to Leave Konami After MGS5, Inside Source Confirms"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
March 19,
2015
.
- ^
Farokhmanesh, Megan (March 19, 2015).
"Metal Gear Solid creator's involvement in series questioned, Konami removes branding"
.
Polygon
. Retrieved
March 19,
2015
.
- ^
Orland, Kyle (April 26, 2015).
"Signs points to cancellation for Kojima's Silent Hills"
.
Ars Technica
. Retrieved
April 27,
2015
.
- ^
Good, Owen S. (April 26, 2015).
"Major figures mourn Silent Hills as cancellation appears likely"
.
Polygon
. Retrieved
April 27,
2015
.
- ^
Matulef, Jeffrey (April 26, 2015).
"P.T. is being pulled from PSN on Wednesday"
.
Eurogamer
. Retrieved
April 27,
2015
.
- ^
Matulef, Jeffrey (April 27, 2015).
"Silent Hills is dead, actor Norman Reedus confirms"
.
Eurogamer
. Retrieved
April 27,
2015
.
- ^
Schreier, Jason (April 27, 2015).
"It's Official: Silent Hills Is Cancelled"
.
Kotaku
. Retrieved
April 27,
2015
.
- ^
Crossley, Rob (April 27, 2015).
"Konami Responds to Silent Hills Cancellation Claims"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
April 27,
2015
.
- ^
Duell, Ron (May 4, 2015).
"Silent Hills petition lands 88,000 signatures asking Konami to continue development"
.
TechnoBuffalo
. Retrieved
May 9,
2015
.
- ^
McWhertor, Michael (September 27, 2015).
"Silent Hills had another awesome creative talent: horror manga master Junji Ito"
.
Polygon
.
Archived
from the original on September 28, 2015
. Retrieved
September 27,
2015
.
- ^
Davey, Jamie (February 11, 2016).
"Cliff Bleszinski declined Kojima request to help on Silent Hills, 'I woulda ****** up SH'
"
.
GameWatcher
. Retrieved
February 14,
2016
.
- ^
Crossley, Rob (June 13, 2016).
"Kojima Reveals New PS4 Project, Death Stranding"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
June 14,
2016
.
- ^
Oloman, Jordan (June 18, 2021).
"Is Abandoned a Kojima or Silent Hill Game? The Internet's New Favourite Mystery Explained"
.
IGN
.
- ^
Wood, Rhys (July 12, 2021).
"Silent Hill reboot leaks aren't to be trusted, says the Medium dev"
.
TechRadar
.
- ^
Donnelly, Joe (August 29, 2017).
"Akira Yamaoka would 'love' to see Silent Hill revived, is open to Team Silent reunion"
.
PC Gamer
. Retrieved
March 29,
2022
.
- ^
Kim, Matt (October 19, 2022).
"Silent Hill f Revealed as a New Game Set in 1960s Japan"
.
IGN
. Retrieved
October 21,
2022
.
- ^
Ali Jones (October 20, 2022).
"Who is Silent Hill f writer Ryukishi07, and why are fans so excited?"
.
GamesRadar+
. Retrieved
October 21,
2022
.
- ^
Kerr-Jung, Sorrel (October 19, 2022).
"Silent Hill F Premieres Incredibly Cryptic, Unsettling Trailer"
.
Comic Book Resources
. Retrieved
October 21,
2022
.
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