9 Gaming Moments In 2015 That Made You Uncomfortable

1. Buying MGS V After Hearing About Konami's Abuses

Just a year ago, Konami was the darling of the games industry, with the P.T. Silent Hills demo and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes priming us for the extremely promising games the company had in store. But by the time Metal Gear Solid V was released, Konami's reputation had crumbled. The publisher had a rift with Hideo Kojima, seemingly sacking him and dissolving his legendary in-house development studio, Kojima Productions. Despite the game having been almost entirely made by the studio, all mention of Kojima's involvement in the game was eliminated - including from the game case. Not long after that, it came out that Konami was treating its employees terribly. Among other things, Konami cut off the internet for the remaining members of Kojima Productions, was spying on its staff using non-security cameras, and was forcing developers to work as cleaners or factory workers. With all that in mind, buying Metal Gear Solid V suddenly felt like a moral grey area. If you buy the game, you're giving money to a company that seems to have completely turned its back on gamers, and was treating its staff terribly. On the other hand, you could argue that buying the game shows your support for Hideo Kojima and his beleaguered development studio, and therefore is a good thing to do. The full details of what exactly is going on at Konami aren't completely clear, but it's created an uncomfortable atmosphere around a game that should've been an outright celebration of how advanced games have become. What were your most squirm-inducing moments of 2015? Did you feel a tad guilty buying Metal Gear Solid V? Let us know with a comment, or have a crack at writing for WhatCulture yourself.