A PS2 exclusive game has just been removed from the PlayStation Store, and there are no currently no plans for it to return. The PS2 game in question hails from 2004, one of the great years in video game history. And it comes from one of the great publishers from video game history, Konami, who has delivered the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Castlevania, Bomberman, Yu-Gi-Oh, Contra, and more over the years. Konami is not as relevant in the games space as it used be though, and the same can be said for many of its series, though not all of them. For example, Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill remain very relevant, and while Konami won’t make a new Castlevania, it remains culturally relevant via the animated Netflix series. Some Konami IP are dormant though, such as Gradius.
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Not only is it clear Konami has minimal plans for Gradius, now games in the series are starting to be delisted. More specifically, PlayStation fans no longer have any option to purchase Gradius V digitally. Gradius V is a PS2 exclusive from 2004, however, it was released on the PlayStation Store via the PS3 in 2015. That said, ten years later this version has been removed from the PlayStation Store due to expiring licenses. This means the only way to get your hands on a copy of the game if you haven’t already purchased it is to find a PS2 copy and boot it up with a PS2 console.
According to Konami there are various roadblocks that prohibit it from re-releasing the game, and thus there are currently no plans to return Gradius V to the PlayStation Store. Now, Konami does have the upcoming Gradius Origins releasing on August 7, which is a compilation of games from the series’ past, plus a brand new entry. However, Gradius V is not included in this compilation.
For those unfamiliar with the Gradius V, it was released in 2004 via developer Treasure and publisher Konami as a PS2 exclusive. Upon release, the shoot ’em up garnered an 82 on Metacritic. How well it sold though, remains a mystery.
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Unfortunately, delistings like this are increasingly common. Even if a game doesn’t license content, it often has publishing agreements or licenses technology, all of which has an expiration date. It appears Gradius V’s licensing ended after 10 years.
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