It is never a good day when you have to start with the somber news that Silent Hills has been canned. Not only has Konami confirmed that the game is no longer in production but it is also pulling P.T. from the PlayStation Store on April 29th to kind of further the nail into the coffin for such an amazing looking concept. If you have PS4 I recommend downloading it before it is gone so you can have some level of Silent Hills left in your life as the publisher and franchise move into an even more shaky spot. None of this is really making sense.
Up until now the end of Silent Hills' production was kind of a tossup as Hideo Kojima and his studios have been in the middle of a struggle with the publisher. Not only has the Metal Gear franchise been questioned but Silent Hills has been in question; at least until Konami gave the following statement yesterday on the future of Silent Hills and the Silent Hill franchise in general.
Konami's official statement
Konami is committed to new Silent Hill titles, however the embryonic ‘Silent Hills’ project developed with Guillermo del Toro and featuring the likeness of Norman Reedus will not be continued.
In terms of Kojima and Del Toro being involved, discussions on future Silent Hill projects are currently underway, and please stay tuned for further announcements.
So that statement is a little confusing there. It still kind of reads that Silent Hills could still be made in some degree. At least in the terms that Kojima and Del Toro are still in talks with the publisher to further the Silent Hill franchise. Although it is noted that Norman Reedus' partnership has "expired" with Konami so it's possible that we could just be getting a different version of the game without one of the stars from The Walking Dead. Doubtful, but one could read it that way if they are really hopeful that the spirit of Silent Hills will live on. Pun intended…
Just to place a bit of extra hope for those like me, there are rumors and speculation flowing through the internet that this could be one of the worst PR stunts ever to further promote Silent Hills. There was a weird and huge risk done with P.T. and it paid off to an extreme for the publisher and developer. That is also not to mention the fact that Kojima is known for some outlandish things to tease and "troll" fans. I'd like to think that no one would go as far as letting down so many fans only to bring them back up and say "Oh, we are working on Silent Hills after all. Fooled you!" It would generate buzz but I think it would really kill Konami and Kojima in the end if those rumors turn out to be true.
How sad are you that Silent Hills will most likely be no more? Do you buy into the theories that this is a stunt? Have you enjoyed P.T. or plan on it in the next few days? Give us all of your thoughts and let's try to keep Silent Hills alive a bit longer down in the comments. Or maybe force Konami to rethink what they are doing over there.
