Up up, down down. Left right left right. Press B, Press A and then Start. It may sound like the most outlandish method ever for rebooting for a computer with finger aerobics, but for anyone who played a Konami game in the last 30 years they know exactly what the end result of that code is. A cheat code for anyone having a hard time in ye olde video games of yesteryear, the Konami code is the legacy of video game developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto and was first introduced inside of Gradius in the 1980s.

It’s been an awfully long time since we’ve had a great Contra game. Judging by what we’ve seen from E3 and Konami’s impending Contra: Rogue Corps (yes, the ones with the armed panda in it), we’ll be waiting a while for a great Contra game yet.

Coming in September of this year, the classic franchise is being revived for the Switch. Contra seems to be one of those games that everyone has played at least once in their lives. Incredibly fun, ridiculously stupid and frustrating difficult, Contra has etched it’s name into gamer’s hearts since the days of the original NES. Now, after quite a few …

The Contra Anniversary Collection is on the way, and now we know exactly which games will be included in the package. There are several unique games, as well as a handful of regional variations, which change the games somewhat.

So a couple of days back now, there was a bit of a hole in a dam concerning a potential Castlevania Anniversary Collection via a rating from the Australian Government’s Department of Communications and the Arts. The rating suggested that Konami were bundling some of the older Castlevania games together and re-releasing them for newer consoles. Well, as it turns …

In Blazing Chrome, machines rule the world and the few humans left are on the edge of total extermination, lacking power, prestige or status among their metal and circuits overlords. Bring your best pal and kick some metal butts to free the humankind while enjoying a classic run’n’gun, fully loaded with action and exciting fights!

30 years ago, the first Gradius game was released today. And with it, came a legendary way to cheat the system that became known as the Konami Code.

I adored Contra back in the day, but this announcement won't delight any fans of the franchise. Why Konami, Why?