Konami Gaming, Inc. Reviews

Cons

Yet to find out any cons.

Cons

Bonuses tend to be cyclical by design, paying out target every other year. Management designs the structure like this deliberately, setting revenue goals so high that target is difficult to hit.

They run a very lean organization, headcount is never added until well past the point of need and into the pain stage.

Not as customer focused as they should be. Management is resistant to the notion that the customer drives the business.

Cons

I worked at Konami Gaming for 9+ years, and in all the time that I was there...I found that certain individuals received a fast track over others based on personal preference or nepotism rather than raw added value/performance.

Cons

Micromanaged culture - not an environment for free thinkers.

Cons

From an engineers perspective this company suffers from a few serious issues.

1. Communication disconnect between lower level management and the C level executives.
     Engineers have been warning direct managers and directors of the need to refactor/re-write software that is vital to the systems group for over 10 years. This software has become *completely* unstable, non-maintainable to the point that engineers are afraid to change the code because it's impossible to know what bugs might be introduced. Somehow it's taken more than 10 years to get the company to agree to allow us to rewrite the code. However, not enough resources are being provided to finish the rewrite. The engineers working on the code have been put in a no-win situation. The company won't spend the resources to get us out of the mess but continue to expect us to add features to the old code-base. I don't know why Konami isn't doing something decisive and effective to remedy the situation. This is a problem for Konami for at least two reasons:
    a - This software is going to cause Konami to lose customers.
    b- Most engineers don't want to work in an environment in which they can't succeed. The only way to fix this is for Konami to DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO REPLACE the old code-base.

2. The company appears to have very little vision beyond the current quarterly results. The bare minimum is done to keep the system software limping along. As a result, Konami is in an endless loop of putting out fires and fixing bugs in an attempt keep customers. The code is becoming worse and worse as patches are hastily made to get fixes out to customers. Konami needs to break out of this loop if they want to grow.

3- Executive level double-speak. Twice a year the company has an all hands meeting in which the CEO says he wants to break down barriers to communication and he wants people to feel comfortable speaking directly with him. He also says that we must remain humble and not accept the status quo. However, this is clearly just lip service for the following reasons.

    a - Engineers are FORCED to accept the status quo because the company won't allow the time or resources that it takes to produce products that are better than the status quo.
    b - The CEO says he wants to break down barriers to communication. However, before I left I asked for an opportunity to speak with him to let him know of the problems that this review is laying out. Bare in mind that before doing so, many times I tried to get the company to make changes by speaking to my immediate chain of command. Nothing ever changed. So before leaving I wanted to speak directly to the CEO in hopes that the message would be heard and acted upon. I wasn't granted any time to speak my concerns to the CEO. Instead I was told to use the exit interview to express my concerns. Yeah, in theory that's great if you believe the C level executives don't get a watered down, filtered and cleansed version of what is really going on.
    c - Humility? How humble is the CEO or other members of the management team when it is clear that they aren't really listening and taking the advice of the engineers seriously?

My hope is that Konami's management will take a good long introspective look at what they are doing and step up to the plate and do WHAT IS BEST FOR THE COMPANY. Consider the long-term goals and not just cheap out worrying about quarterly numbers.

Cons

No atmosphere culture strictly business.

Cons

Honestly can't say there are any "cons" to working here. I mean everyone has a not great day here and there but I have never once been motivated to look elsewhere because of a less than "stellar" day here or there.

Cons

Below industry standard pay.
Toxic work environment and culture.
Low employee morale.
Subpar employee benefits.
Micro-management policy.
High employee turn-over.
Incompetent managers.
High risk, no reward culture.
Over-worked, underpaid employees.
Embraces a negative culture of intimidation.

Cons

work-life balance isn't easy here. They work lean so everyone is putting in extra energy. This is causing burnout

Cons

Strong tolerance for poor management and poor management decisions.
The halls stink. When they redid the building, they did not consider appropriate ventilation for any of the restrooms.