Metal Gear Solid 4 delay causes Konami stock price to fall

by Dan Dormer { Nov 1st 2007 at 12:08PM }

We know the news of Metal Gear Solid 4's delay has you down. Hell, you should see the bar tab we rung up after the announcement. Although we'd like to believe we're the most important people to be affected by it, that simply isn't the case. Konami's investors definitely take the cake this time, as they witnessed the company's shares fall 6.8% today, their biggest drop in four years.

You'd have to go back to a year when people still remotely cared about The Matrix Trilogy (2003) to find as large a drop for Konami. According to an analyst Bloomberg spoke with, investors "were active sellers today because of disappointment over the delay." On the bright side, at least spurned gamers aren't liquidating their pre-order portfolio.

Tags: investing, Konami, Metal Gear Solid 4, MetalGearSolid4

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jason @ Nov 1st 2007 12:13PM

Holiday 2008. You heard it here first.

jsn @ Nov 1st 2007 12:30PM

I agree. What I want to know is if the delay is to allow to ps3 to get enough (or attempt to) units in the wild to make money or if it's really a development delay.

Bloo @ Nov 1st 2007 2:59PM

I bought my PS3 in January in anticipation of playing MGS4 by now. If it wasn't for BluRay movies and Ratchet & Clank (FINALLY a solid exclusive title and nice surprise) I'd have one helluva $600 doorstop.

Micheal82 @ Nov 1st 2007 12:19PM

All Konami has to say is that the are also working on a 360 version and those stocks will go back up.

Jerk Face @ Nov 1st 2007 12:19PM

WTF is that picture about!?

T3H WICKERMAN (FDF) @ Nov 1st 2007 12:23PM

You must watch his show jerk face. That guy is nuts.

Jerk Face @ Nov 1st 2007 12:24PM

Who IS he?

NATO_Duke @ Nov 1st 2007 12:25PM

Mad Money with Jim Cramer.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838459/site/14081545/

That guy is awesome. He dresses in costumes and screams and yells. Its a riot to watch - plus, hes pretty on the ball with stocks.

Jerk Face @ Nov 1st 2007 12:26PM

Huh. I'm going to have to check that out. Thanks, gents.

Negativecool @ Nov 1st 2007 12:28PM

Jim Cramer f***ing pwns.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 1st 2007 12:58PM

Oh god that show is crazy. I'm sure they have segments of it on Youtube.

Fox318 @ Nov 1st 2007 2:46PM

Mad Money is an awesome show.

BOOYAH

CaptainAmericaX @ Nov 1st 2007 12:25PM

Lol the stocks falling down may the straw that breaks the camel's back...

Economically Konami does have a lot riding on this one title in regards to the ps3...

MGS4 isn't my cup of tea but it won't surprise me if it goes multiplat for financial reasons...

However this wouldn't fly for sony fanboys who would throw a fit and accuse them of "betrayl" and being "greed".

Trev @ Nov 1st 2007 2:31PM

MGS4 multiplatform? No.

MGS4:"Sub"title? Maybe.

MGS2:Substance set the precedent for that, but it sold very poorly for various reasons and the release would be some time after the Q1 '08 release of SC:Conviction. That and they didn't bother with a MGS3:S port. I think if it's going to happen, it will be at least a year later with the expansion-packed release.

Marty @ Nov 1st 2007 12:26PM

So I guess I should buy some Konami now, in lieu of the 2008 release of MGS4? Or 2009 or 2010? Who knows, with all these delays.

samfish @ Nov 1st 2007 12:27PM

Oh, I'm sure it'll recover when they announce the 360 version.
...Hell, the all but said it was coming in that press release yesterday.

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 1st 2007 12:33PM

Yes, sooner or later, this game is going to be on the 360.

The videogames bussines isn't about loyalty, is about money. And Konami is not going to get what they invest if they only release this game on the PS3.

Its inevitable.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 1st 2007 1:03PM

@F

Exactly. People need to stop fooling themselves. This is a business. Konami could give two shits what sony fanboys think because:

1. they are they're still going to buy the game.
2. Konami will make more money if this thing goes multi-platform.

Slaziman @ Nov 1st 2007 2:30PM

With the money Sony has been throwing on the PS3, why would you think they won't drop a fat check to keep exclusivity of one of their key titles? MGS4 will NOT go to 360, you must be kidding yourselves if you believe Sony would let this one escape.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 1st 2007 4:13PM

@slazi

Really? I thought Sony said they didn't have to pay off publishers to keep exclusives.

But seriously, yeah I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. They paid for their arrogance by losing GTA4, they're not about to let it happen again.

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 1st 2007 12:30PM

But the new commercials are ging to help, right?

License to ill @ Nov 1st 2007 1:22PM

Hows them zak and wiki sales going?

Razorlution @ Nov 1st 2007 1:02PM

Like all companies, they announce a delay, and their stock drops, but when MGS4 comes out, or when they announce its gold anyways, the stock will soar again, this is hardly news and happens all the time.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 1st 2007 1:06PM

Yeah but I think the difference is:

1. It's MGS4 one of the biggest games of 08
2.It's Konami's biggest drop in 4 years.

So yeah I would call that news.

You know it's funny really. While it's not gaining the same Media attention as halo3, on the interweb MGS4 is kinda becoming the new Halo 3. And of course since expectations are so high, people are going to be disappointed.

Yuccadude @ Nov 1st 2007 1:25PM

But stockholders, this is just an increase in the potential! Don't forget the potential!

Potential to be playing the game next year-ish? Probably, but potential is potential, right PS3 Fanboys?

arman @ Nov 1st 2007 3:08PM

So how much of a loss in market capital was that?

The numbers appear to correspond to about a 300 to 400 million dollar loss in market capital that Konami just took overnight...ouch!

If I was an investor, I think I would be demanding an Xbox 360 port!!