'Silent Hills' Petition Crosses 80,000 Mark, Urges Hideo Kojima And Guillermo Del Toro To Continue Development

ps4 — A staff at the PlayStation 4 launch event poses with the PlayStation 4's game controller before its domestic launch event at the Sony Showroom in Tokyo February 21, 2014. Sony Corp said it has sold 5.3 million Playstation 4 game consoles as of Feb. 8, surpassing its full-year target ahead of its release in Japan on February 22, the last country currently scheduled to handle the device. REUTERS/Yuya Shino Reuters

As it was expected, "Silent Hill" fans didn't take the "Silent Hills" cancellation news very well. Now that the initial wave of bewilderment, anger and outrage has worn off, fans have resorted to internet activism in the hope of salvaging what remains of the dream sequel teased by the short "P.T." demo on the PS4.

Disillusioned fans of the iconic survival horror game have started a petition on Change.org urging the primary creative forces behind the project to continue with game development, according to VG247. The campaign has received more than 80,000 signatures in a week, which is past the halfway mark from the 150,000 goal.

"Since the first sight of the P.T Demo it was instant love, and it burned into the minds of everyone that this had to release at some point," reads the petition directed at Kojima and Del Toro. "Although the reasons are not yet announced I am begging you along with countless others: Please continue the Development on Silent Hills, if the issue is money related, we would love to see a Crowdfunding campaign like Kickstarter to ensure you are getting all the financial help there is!"

Not surprisingly, the petition doesn't mention the "Silent Hill" publisher Konami, but "Metal Gear" creator Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, who's known for creating Hollywood blockbusters such as "Pacific Rim," "Hellboy" and "Pan's Labyrinth." Neither Kojima nor Del Toro was associated with the original Team Silent. The team was responsible for developing the first four "Silent Hill" games, which most fans consider the true "Silent Hill" games.

However, the sequels released by Konami after the departure of the original Team Silent have been outsourced to third party developers. These sequels haven't been nearly as successful and generally reviled by fans for sullying the legacy of the franchise. Kojima and Del Toro's collaboration for P.T., which was eventually revealed to be the teaser for a new "Silent Hill" game featuring "The Walking Dead's" Norman Reedus, had met with overwhelming approval from fans.

That should explain why fans have banked on Kojima and Del Toro, and not the original "Silent Hill" IP owner Konami for continuing the series' legacy with "Silent Hills." The petition even pleads the duo to take the crowd-funding route to realise the project independently. But as Cinema Blend points out, the petition may be barking up the wrong tree.

Without Konami's blessing, the duo cannot make "Silent Hills" or anything that utilises the "Silent Hill" IP. But on the bright side, the show of fan support could be enough of an incentive for the project to be carried out as a separate IP. However, that would mean starting from scratch, as Konami would be unwilling to share assets already showcased in the "P.T." teaser.

In case you have any feedback or wish tip us off, the author can be contacted at nachiketpg13@hotmail.com