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From the consumer end, it’s easy to mistakenly assume that video game publishers’ only concerns are creating art and providing fun. The reality, though, is that like with any human endeavor, time and money are always limiting factors in game development, and while an abundance of one can sometimes help cover for a lack of the other, at the end of the day there are only so many resources to go around, and companies can’t greenlight every project pitched to them.

But that just makes it all the more heart-warming when a major publisher gives the go-ahead to a new installment of a fan-favorite. Remember how a few months ago Konami halted digital distribution of horror sensation P.T. and the associated Silent Hills, the daydream-come-to-life collaboration between game and film directors Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro? All water under the bridge, because there’s a brand new Silent Hill game coming in October, and it’ll cost less than a buck to play!

Konami is even being bold enough to take the franchise into an entirely new genre: pachinko.

To reiterate, Konami is a business, not a magical fun factory, and its goal, first and foremost, is making profits wherever it feels it can. While the company’s highest-profile division is its game development and publishing wing, Konami also runs a chain of fitness clubs, sells sports cards, and is involved in real estate deals. It’s also had its fingers in the gambling pie for a while, and has recently been on a push to license some of its most marketable video game series for adaptations as pachinko and pachinko slot (pachi slo) machines.

As part of its partnership with Konami, pachinko machine manufacturer Takasago recently released a pair of videos for its upcoming Silent Hill pachi slo game. The 30-second teaser actually does an admirable job of recreating the long-running horror series’ atmosphere of bizarre dread and panicked helplessness.

▼ That doesn’t look at all consensual.

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While the video features the text “Final 3.0,” this seems to be the first Silent Hill pachi slo game, with the number instead being a reference to the generous payout multiplier when the machine goes into its bonus mode. As has become the norm for pachi slo units, the essentially randomized action is accompanied by animation and voices that coincide with the reels getting closer to a jackpot. Several of the clips are previewed in the machine’s longer trailer.

▼ Even though there’s no longer a need to use mist to hide polygon popup, Silent Hill remains a foggy place to visit.

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▼ Foreboding family backstory? That’s a check.

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▼ Dude, what’s with you and legs, Silent Hill pachi slo?

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In general, the video clips used in pachinko and pachi slo machines are of things that are pleasant to look at, such as heroes punching out villains or swimsuit models smiling for the camera. Still, there have been horror pachinko games before, such as those based on Japanese horror classic Ring. As Silent Hill’s reels spin, you’ll encounter such series staples as well-muscled men with pyramids for heads and slender, rotting nurses.

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▼ Even the reels themselves are appropriately grotesque.

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While the knee-jerk reaction may be to shake your fist in anger at Konami choosing to make a Silent Hill pachi slo game instead of Silent Hills, the two decisions are almost certainly unrelated. Takasago is obviously doing the heavy lifting on the pachi slo project, while Konami picks up an easy paycheck with no real expenses by licensing the name and imagery. The cancellation of Silent Hills, meanwhile, looks to be the end result of the simmering disagreement between Konami and Kojima over budgets, schedules, and who really calls the shots at the company.

Still, this is unlikely to make the loss of Silent Hills any easier for those who were eagerly looking forward to it. If you’re one such despondent gamer, I recommend finding a fan of SNK’s fighting titles to help talk you through the stages of getting over seeing a once-proud game series suddenly reduced to a gambling shill.

Related: Silent Hill pachi slo official website
Sources: Pachinko Pachisulo.com. Rely on Horror, Jin
Top image: YouTube/KpeTakasago777ch
Insert images: YouTube/KpeTakasago777ch (1, 2)