A trademark filing on the website for the United States Patent and Trademark Office has been found for Silent Hill. The trademark has been filed by Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd and unfortunately doesn’t appear to relate to a new video game.
The trademark application appears to be related to a gambling machine, rather than a traditional video game. The description of the trademark is disappointing in that regard as follows below.
Konami Trademarks Silent Hill
This trademark registration is for the following;
Electronic gaming machines, namely, devices which accept a wager; Gaming devices, namely, gaming machines, slot machines, bingo machines, with or without video output;
Gaming equipment, namely, slot machines with or without video output; Gaming machines; Gaming machines featuring a device that accepts wagers; Gaming machines for gambling;
Gaming machines including slot machines or video lottery terminals; Gaming machines that generate or display wager outcomes; Gaming machines, namely, slot machines and video lottery terminals;
Gaming machines, namely, devices which accept a wager; Gaming machines, namely, electronic slot and bingo machines;
Machines for playing games of chance; Reconfigurable casino and lottery gaming equipment, namely, gaming machines and operational computer game software therefor sold as a unit; Slot machines
Obviously, this suggests that this trademark application is for a gaming machine of some kind, most likely a poker or pachinko machine.
Konami’s original Silent Hill trademark is still valid in the US and was renewed in 2010. It was first lodged in 1998.
What about Silent Hills?
This trademark is incredibly unlikely to be related to Silent Hills or the future of the video game franchise. With the split of Kojima from Konami and the shutting down of Silent Hills‘ production, the project appears to be well and truly dead.
As for the future of the franchise, it remains unclear. This new trademark certainly doesn’t suggest that Konami has any interest in producing a new game in the franchise anytime soon, but it also shows that it understands the property has value.
Keep an eye out for a Silent Hill gambling machine when you’re out and about.
