Kojima's next project: become bigger, global
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ May 20th 2009 at 4:15PM }
Having recently completed a tour of various US game studios -- and taking copious notes, no doubt -- Kojima has returned to his seat atop Kojima Productions pondering a competitive, global expansion of his once modest development company, while attempting to keep his hand in everything. "At its peak, there were 200 people working for me on MGS4," Kojima explained. "The way I look at it is being 200 people versus me." What happens if that number was to balloon to, say, 2,000?
While the pains of growing and the pressure to deliver in a "hit industry" might have Kojima daydreaming his escape out from under Konami's arm and into a life not bound to Metal Gear sequels, let's face it, his greatest fear is losing control: "I think that what you might expect from a Metal Gear might only be possible from Kojima Productions." Cue the countdown.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
HopkinsGamer @ May 20th 2009 4:17PM
NOW who's not taking the mystery image seriously? Tsk tsk James....
el serpiente @ May 20th 2009 4:28PM
"Fine. This my last post. Bye Everyone."
Gibbeynater @ May 20th 2009 4:18PM
only 28 more hours until they announce a new Snatcher game.
Snowblind @ May 20th 2009 4:21PM
It was already revealed in Gamefly what the new game is. I don't recall the exact name, but it's something about hurricane chasers. (with 5 refering to the highest category of hurricane)
sonicspike41 @ May 20th 2009 4:26PM
I read the post. It seemed to mostly be rumors about a game from Konami, not Kojima.
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 4:41PM
@Snowblind
You say it like it has already been confirmed to be the Tornado Chasers game. It's possible and the concept of that game and the splash teaser certainly go together. But, remember what happened last time everyone assumed something about MGS Touch because it had a green power button?
Well if Kojima is making a tornado (not hurricanes) game then I would give it a shot. I've never been disappointed in anything he has done thus far and while the concept isn't all that appealing I would try it out.
Comet @ May 20th 2009 4:44PM
The sites properties say MGS and Metal Gear Next on it so I'm guessing the 2 are unrelated.
Snowblind @ May 20th 2009 4:47PM
I'm aware of the MGS hints, but I think they're there to throw us off. Especially the 5, it's far too soon for an MGS5, even though it's almost definitely in development they won't be ready to show it.. At most it'll be an updated MGS4.
Vidikron @ May 20th 2009 5:50PM
The game Gamefly has listed is "Tornado Outbreak".
BryanVP @ May 20th 2009 4:21PM
"I am Lightning the rain transformed." ~ Raiden in MGS 4
Raiden in the NEXT MGS picture and in the link it shows the word NEXT and in the source code the words, MGS Metal gear etc.
My guess is it's MGS 5 about Snake and Raiden saving Sunny from the Patriots but feauturing mostly raiden.
B3astofthe3ast @ May 20th 2009 4:29PM
I would much rather kojima go back to the mgs3 era, and do a game with the Boss as the main character, and help tie up some loose ends about her relationship with Big boss. Not that i didn't like raiden or anything, i loved mgs2, but the boss seems so much more intriguing.
DangerMouse @ May 20th 2009 4:34PM
Watch it be a god of war clone with a combo-counter.
Ezio Auditore the Assassin (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ May 20th 2009 4:36PM
dangermouse, i would actually be fine with that.
B3astofthe3ast @ May 20th 2009 4:21PM
whatever it is, i'll be buying it. MGS4 was probably the best game I've played this gen.
yenrab @ May 20th 2009 4:28PM
Kojima, who gives a crap!
NaeemTHM @ May 20th 2009 4:32PM
I'm going to get out on a limb here and say...EVERYONE.
When legends like Kojima talk, we should all listen. Guys like him truly push the industry forward in new and exciting ways. I wasn't the biggest fan of MGS4's story, however it's gameplay and graphics were head and shoulders above 90% of the shit that came out in the last few years.
Ezio Auditore the Assassin (PSN slycooper_rocker) @ May 20th 2009 4:37PM
psh, the story was excellent too. and that level where you tail the resistance member was genius, probably my favorite video game level EVER.
Killiam XXIII @ May 20th 2009 4:37PM
I like his games but I don't really care about what he has to say. I rather listen to the guys that made Fallout 3 than him.
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 4:44PM
Kojima had a lot to say in MGS 4 but the thing is that it wasn't spoon fed to you and actually required thought to understand his message. I thought MGS 4 was right near the top in terms of storytelling and relevant social commentary from any game this generation. I would say that Bioshock and MGS 4 were two of the rare games that changed the way I look at the world. It was pretty profound, for me at least.
Garvey @ May 20th 2009 4:47PM
I loved the level where he remade Shadow Moses. Especially the part where snake walks into the base from the mountains and the theme song from MGS started playing...i just got chills from it!
NaeemTHM @ May 20th 2009 4:48PM
"psh, the story was excellent too"
Dude I absolutely loved the story in the first and third Metal Gear Solid games. Even most of the second was great, but 4 was straight up dialog diarrhea.
I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but if you take off the rose colored MGS glasses you'll see a story that was perhaps thrown together after a all night party. It's like most of the game engine and gameplay was completed and Kojima woke up one morning and said "Oh shit I need to write a story for this shit". Then realized he had already dug a giant whole of nonsense and added nanomachines to every plot device totry to make this mess some what coherent.
Snowblind @ May 20th 2009 5:02PM
Sorry, I have to agree with NaeemTHM.
I'm a huge fan of the first three games (and the original two) but the fourth game just didn't do it for me. I liked the end of the game, from about the part where you return to Shadow Moses, but everything before that seemed like filler.
Most epic last boss fight of all time, and the scene with him crawling through the microwaves was great.. but I certainly wouldn't have said there was anything profound about the game or even particularly thought provoking.
The third game is the pinnacle of the series still, in my opinion.
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 8:09PM
Maybe it didn't resonate with you guys or maybe you didn't give it enough introspection.
On the surface everything seemed black and white as in good vs evil. But, the end game and sacrifices that liquid (ocelot) made to rid the world of the Patriots grip was perhaps more heroic than Snakes selfless missions. In fact, Snake was nothing more than an unwitting pawn of the Patriots whether he knew it or not. For me, the implications of the main villain actually being societies savior completely blew my mind. Then, when you consider the message he is sending about the business of war and the effects PMC's can have on the world it paints a plausible yet startling reality for our own reality. I could go on all day about this game and debating some of the real world implications. As I said earlier you have to use your brain and put the pieces together yourself. It's one of the few games that doesn't spell everything out for you and force feed you the obvious black and white reality that (in reality) doesn't exist.
I think there are a lot of people who played the game that still don't truly understand what happened and what it all means. It's without a doubt my favorite MGS title of all time and of the best games ever made.
coffins outside the door @ May 20th 2009 4:29PM
I'm tellin' you guys - it's a goddamned Metal Gear on rails shooter for the Wii.
Mr Khan @ May 20th 2009 4:47PM
I do think its too early to be hyping the next metal gear, it just doesn't feel like the right time for it.
That Tornado Chasers idea sounds very unique. Certainly lend itself to his sort of cinematic styles
Gibbeynater @ May 20th 2009 4:56PM
to be fair, the announced Metal Gear Solid 4 AND Subsistence around the first E3 after Snake Eater came out. It's been a whole year since MGS4 came out.
NaeemTHM @ May 20th 2009 4:59PM
It's not too early at all actually. Remember he started hyping MGS4 in 2005, only a year after MGS3.
Josh @ May 20th 2009 4:50PM
Yeah, life's short.
NaeemTHM @ May 20th 2009 5:07PM
The only objective is to push forward on the control pad to trigger another cutscene.
ice~ @ May 20th 2009 5:25PM
And that will be the most unique gaming experience ever! think about it, it would be unique...
343 Guilty Fart @ May 20th 2009 5:42PM
OMG i cant beleive nones figuered it yet this is soooooooo obvouosly MGS4 for 360!!!!
LameDuck @ May 20th 2009 9:32PM
Be careful! Last time I made a joke like that I was devoted into the negatives and couldn't post a reply trash talking the humorless tards.
Anyway, you got it wrong. It's MGS5 for the Xbox 720 that will be out in 2010.
theboy @ May 20th 2009 5:45PM
Kojima is such an arrogant prick. His development team was 200 people versus him? Really? This was probably the case because those 200 people may have actually had GOOD ideas. MGS4's story was such contrived self-indulgent dogpoop.
Well, I guess this is when all the kojima fanboys internets beat me -_-.
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 8:13PM
You give yourself way to much credit.
theboy @ May 20th 2009 8:28PM
I guess me and Kojima have something in common.
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 21st 2009 3:53PM
Kojima gets credit from the industry. So, unlike you his peers actually respect his work and what he has to say. You certainly don't have that in common which is why I said you give yourself to much credit. No one here knows who you are and we certainly could care less about your bitter diatribe against a game designer. woo woo. Now, go sit in the corner with Leobebes.
ArchiGamer @ May 20th 2009 6:53PM
So, Kojima has finally decided to make a movie instead of games? Finally he gets it!
Kenny Powers Fastball (PSN johnnynumber5) @ May 20th 2009 8:12PM
Thats so cute ... an anti-MGS circle jerk
Charlie_Six @ May 21st 2009 4:22AM
Metal Gear MMO. Haha.
theboy @ May 21st 2009 7:56PM
Even if you DO enjoy his games, I don't see how you cannot see how much of a prick he is.
On the topic of respect, any idiot with ANY sense of respect for HIS peers wouldn't speak so damn contemptuously of their dev team as Kojima so often does. Do you even remeber the older MGS2 or 3 trailer? These are the people who actually do the bulk of the work, rather than rub their self-satisfaction all of the public, and yet every time he has something to say, he talks about them like a burden of useless individuals who's work can't compete with his grand vision. How would you feel if you put in hundreds, perhaps thousands of hours of hard work programming, modeling characters or designing sound, or even the dirty work of testing and your boss took no chance to thank you, but rather talk about how much better it wouldve been if he couldve done it all himself? I don't know about you, but I take pride in the work I do, and I would be pretty damn pissed off.
Then again, if you do ever happen to get into the game industry, or any creative industry whatsoever, I'm sure there is the possibility you'd enjoy having your hard work constantly publicly berated by your boss. Whatever floats your boat.
MERDINHA0 @ May 26th 2009 5:08PM
It will be Metal Gear Solid 5, and the main charecter will be Rayden, because Rayden is a japonese or is a chinese, it's the lenguage of the Hideo Kojima, and it means Thunder, and also there is a site that the thunders are flashing and appearing a 5 on the screen, so i think is Metal Gear Solid 5. Thank you.