I absolutely hate to be the bearer of bad news on this one but..

http://silenthillheaven.com/main/2009/1 … es-konami/
http://www.aeropause.com/2009/11/akira- … -16-years/
http://silenthillforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=19911

Here's hoping it's just a rumor and there's no truth to it.  However, if true, this is the saddest piece of VGM news I think I've ever gotten.  I can't imagine Silent Hill without Yamaoka, it just.. can't be done.  Silent Hill 2 is my absolute favorite game and that's mostly due to this man's brilliant music and overall sound design for the game.  Here's hoping that if he does leave, he'll just go freelance and still come back for Silent Hill projects kinda like Uematsu does with Final Fantasy.

Ugh either way though.  If Shattered Memories ends up being the final Silent Hill that he's involved in, I'm gonna cherish the hell out of it when I play, whether it's good or not.

Potentially the worst news ever for us true Silent Hill fans.

I'm not overly familiar with him, but while I don't normally take composers leaving companies so a bad news unless they're replaced, he, Ishiwatari or Tsuchiya (Gust) would be excepted as their involvements in games are deeper than average.

Or potentially the best news? This could be a new beginning. If its true, I'm hoping for good things to emerge in the future. Its depressing in the short run, but opens up intriguing prospects in the long run.

As for Konami? f--- 'em. They've done everything in their power to bastardize and prostitute the SH series (among others), it just serves them right. They outsource the development of what was once (briefly) one of their flagships, cancel Homecoming in Japan, turn a blind eye to quality control, and then they're surprised when the only member left of the team that made the SH series what it was in the first place decides to leave? Complete corporate dickery. Regardless of whether Shattered Memories turns out to be decent or not, the series has all but turned into something completely different from what it was, I'm not surprised to see this final surviving aspect disappear. Let them complete the illusion by replacing Yamaoka with Tommy Tallarico or somesuch type and keep on churning out SH-games...

Although, I think we might be jumping too quickly to conclusions. The links you provided basically all lead back to one single source who's authenticity as of yet is unconfirmed other than a "trust me, I know this guy at Konami, and he told me". So it might turn out to be a hoax or a misunderstanding or something.

But I hope its true.

I'm going to have to side with DK here.
Considering the fact that Konami doesn't give a flying shit about its own franchise anymore, I can totally see why Yamaoka would want to leave.

Besides as much as I love his music for the SH series, it was beginning to grow stale anyway, so better to quit while he's still (kind of) ahead.

It's not a rumor. Yamaoka has just told me that it is indeed true.

It's hard to know just how involved he has actually been since he got his producer title and the series has not fared all that well in recent years (though I should point out while saying that that I haven't played Homecoming so could be doing it a disservice).

With the last three games having been farmed out, will this make any difference at all except with the music? Probably not.

But, of course, Yamaoka defines the Silent Hill sound and if the series does continue (Homecoming not being released in Japan isn't a great sign but I guess a lot hinges on Shattered Memories) it will be very hard for someone to follow in his footsteps. We may well end up with someone doing a Yamaoka impression.

Or we may end up with something fresh.

In spite of being a retelling of SH1, this Shattered Memories game looks like it could be a new start. It remains to see how it plays but I admire the concepts, the shifts in both feel and gameplay. If it is a new start, and someone other than Yamaoka is brought in for future games, I'll definitely be curious to see what comes from it.

It will also be interesting to see what Yamaoka does next.

I hope it's Sota Fujimori. PYRAMID TRAIN!!!

So you heard it from him personally? Cool, I assume its final, then. I don't think he'd say something like that if it wasn't so. I used to be in touch with Yamaoka as well, but we haven't communicated in many years now. I used to talk with him a lot around the time I did that interview for spelmusik.net. Boy, that sure feels like ages ago, and reading the interview is kinda embarrassing now, I was such a kid.

Both suppositions are entirely reasonable. I reckon the first option is much more likely, but, even though I think Yamaoka's unique style pretty much embodies the Silent Hill atmosphere, that doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of talented composers out there that might figure out something worthwhile and fitting. What I do worry about, though, is who at Konami will decide his replacement. If that person goes about it with the same disregard and tired nonchalance that Konami have shown the series the last five years, I'm not getting my hopes up, at all.

But its an interesting situation in any case, and I'm hoping for the best possible outcome for all involved parties. Most of all, I'm hoping Yamaoka really ceases the chance this offers, that he stays in music, but does something entirely new and fresh.

Yeah, Don has been in contact with him on behalf of SEMO. Supporting article here. I wonder what will happen to his direction project?

Konami are becoming more tolerant to freelancers these days (e.g. Norihiko Hibino in Metal Gear Solid) so I wouldn't say this is necessarily the end of his Silent Hill work.

I'm normally not one to start whining about spelling mistakes on an Internet forum, but in this case it changes the meaning really quite significantly.

That should be "seizes", DK.

Yeah, I've taken a day to think about this some more and realized that it actually could be good news.  The series just doesn't resemble what it used to back in the days of 1-4 so if Yamaoka wants to finally jump ship and start something new, I'm all for it.  I just hope that wherever he does eventually land, his next project is something dark with an industrial sound.

I saw that afterward, but didn't really feel the need to sign in to correct it, as its perfectly clear from the context that its supposed to be "seizes" (you can't really "cease" a chance, so I don't see how anyone would interpret it as anything other than a typo).

By the way, Amazingu... Start proofreading your posts with extra care from now on.... Because you know I'll pounce the second you slip up with a mistake of your own! (just kidding)