Konami Leaps Onto the Retro Merchandise Bandwagon

The massive success of Nintendo’s Famicom-mini series has prompted several long-standing publishers to ponder the possibilities for milking the last dregs of profit from their own back catalogues. Indeed, Jaleco recently announced its own 8-bit NES sports compilation for GBA, Square Enix has quizzed its fans over potential RPG re-releases, and Sega is still pumping out morsels of crusty hits from yesteryear in its Sega Ages series.

So it comes as no great surprise to learn that Konami is embarking on a spot of research to discover which brands in its capacious library deserve to be put back onto the shelves. A section of its Japanese website - www.konamistyle.com - is welcoming suggestions from fans as to what these products could be. Not limited to straightforward re-releases, Konami is entertaining the idea of manufacturing various piles of collectables and, well, tat.

Although new versions of classic Konami games would be more than welcome - especially after the sheer unadulterated pleasures of Gradius V - it would be right to expect a whole stack of keyrings, bobble-headed figures, mobile-phone straps, cheese-graters and other pap to form the bulk of these products. That said, we’d certainly shell out a few quid for a fluffy stuffed version of Goemon, the legendary Mystical Ninja, complete with spiky yo-yo and a length of drainpipe.

Metal Gear Solid products are sure to feature heavily in any new ‘Konamistyle’ range, and the Castlevania and Frogger series would probably warrant some related paraphernalia. As and when there are any confirmations or official announcements we will, of course, report them.