New cabinet technology
Konami Gaming, Inc. is unveiling a new slot machine this week at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, based on the popular Silent Hill video game series. The game is accompanied by an original cabinet design that features a 4K Ultra HD, 49-inch “J” curve display.
It will debut with two different game variations: Silent Hill Return and Silent Hill Escape.
The Silent Hill cabinet is multi-sided and comes with player convenience features such as handbag hooks as well as both wired and wireless chargers for cell phones. It will debut with two different game variations: Silent Hill Return and Silent Hill Escape.
“Dual series launch themes leverage thrilling scenes, sounds, and characters from Konami’s recognized entertainment legacy,” Konami Gaming said.
Silent Hill fans disappointed
Although slot machine enthusiasts will likely welcome the new release, video game fans are not thrilled by the news.
The last entry in the Silent Hill series was released in 2012. In 2014, Konami put out Silent Hill: P.T., a short “playable teaser” on the PlayStation 4. It was a preview of an upcoming game called Silent Hills, directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus. In April 2015, the project was abruptly canceled.
This August, fans were excited to hear that Konami Entertainment had filed to renew its Silent Hill trademark with the Canadian government. But when the news hit last week that the next release was to be a slot machine, gamers were upset.
Dustin Bailey of PCGamesN said “there’s no parody that could possibly measure up to reality.” Kotaku’s headline read, “The New Silent Hill Will Break Your Heart”.
Original Silent Hill video game was groundbreaking
The first Silent Hill game debuted on the original Sony PlayStation console in 1999. It was a “survival horror” game, lauded as one of the most important games of the genre.
The main Silent Hill series spanned eight games from 1999 through 2012. The original is still one of the most popular titles for retro game collectors today, according to rankings at Pricecharting.com.
Konami central in video game history
Konami was one of the most successful video game developers for three decades, beginning in the early 1980s. In addition to the Silent Hill series, Konami’s franchises include Castlevania, Metal Gear, Contra, Dance Dance Revolution, Winning Eleven, as well as a slew of shoot-’em-up games on both console and arcade.
The company also left its stamp on video game history with the famous “Konami code”
The company also left its stamp on video game history with the famous “Konami code”. This is a sequence of button presses a player can enter at the start of many games to grant them benefits, like dozens of extra lives.
A few years ago, Konami shifted its focus away from traditional video games to mobile games and gambling machines. Several of its machines integrate its video game brands, like Frogger, Metal Gear, Castlevania, and Contra.