hideo-kojima posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Kojima and Desilets trade praise over Assassin's Creed 2 and Peace Walker
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Oct 22nd 2009 at 7:55PM } 
"If I had to give my impression of Peace Walker, I'd have to say that I want to play more," Désilets responded. "It was great fun; I can't wait for the retail version." Kojima expanded a bit on his appreciation for Désilets' "focus on game design" over style, and said that he's currently considering the possibility of them "maybe, kinda" going steady. Okay, we made up that last part.
Japanese game devs give their verdicts on TGS
by Xav de Matos { Oct 22nd 2009 at 5:00PM }
But not every developer looked favorably on the late-September show. Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya pointed out that only three titles out of the 12 awarded 'Future' prizes at the Japan Game Awards were non-sequels. "That seems to go crossways with the term 'future' in my mind and it's frankly kind of sad," he said.
Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi revealed he was "a little disappointed" that there were very few Japanese-made titles positioned for the worldwide market. However, he does note the titles meant for Japanese consumption puts the industry (in the East) on a stable base. While Fumito Ueda -- currently working on The Last Guardian -- noted that he is extremely excited about offerings from the West, specifically Modern Warfare 2. "I feel a serious sublime beauty in all of Infinity Ward's FPSes," he told Famitsu, despite qualms that Western companies came to Japan to push their wares rather than discussing innovation.
According to Akihiro Hino, head of Level-5 -- one of the busier booths at TGS 2009 -- the show felt "kind of plain." However, he does agree that the show offered a lot of games he personally wanted to play. "So in that respect," he noted, "TGS was great." If you consider waiting in line for 180 minutes to play one title great, we agree.
[Via 1UP]
Kojima has plan for ZOE sequel, but lacks production line
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 19th 2009 at 6:00PM }
"I already have a game plan and method for sales in my head," Kojima says before concluding, "I cannot make a promise about time. However, I can promise a sequel." While far from seeing the green light, a new Zone of the Enders would seek to obtain a level of success the previous game missed out on, just as it missed a more profitable release window. "At that time, if I hadn't made a mistake with the release date, Anubis [as ZOE 2 is known in Japan] might have ended up a major Kojima Productions title to follow MGS, still seeing development as a series." How frustrating -- if only that considerable retconning power could be put to use outside of the Metal Gear mythology.
Hideo Kojima wants a new Zone of the Enders
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 15th 2009 at 4:30PM }
You guys aren't going to believe who our very own Jem Alexander got to interview recently: Hideo Kojima! That's right, we've got some Joystiq Original Reporting™ in the video above, in which Joystiq's European emissary interviews the Metal Gear Solid creator about his upcoming plans. It's a huge boon for our humble news site, and we thank Jem for his -- wait, what? He doesn't work here anymore? That limey bastard!
We're going to be busy stewing in our anger for a while, so go ahead and watch that interview --make sure you don't miss the 3:45 mark, when Kojima speaks about how a current-gen Zone of the Enders title is "on the top of the list" of his studio's priorities. That news is almost delightful enough to make us forget our brutal betrayal.
We're going to be busy stewing in our anger for a while, so go ahead and watch that interview --make sure you don't miss the 3:45 mark, when Kojima speaks about how a current-gen Zone of the Enders title is "on the top of the list" of his studio's priorities. That news is almost delightful enough to make us forget our brutal betrayal.
MGS: Peace Walker to feature Vocaloid, interactive cutscenes ... and a surprise that'll make you buy a PSP?
by James Ransom-Wiley { Oct 13th 2009 at 8:30PM }
Also plucked from the pages of Famitsu, is the revelation that Peace Walker will feature Yamaha's Vocaloid software. (Yeah, we'd never heard of it either -- just wikipedia it.) If we understand it correctly, Vocaloid will allow certain weapons in the game to sing and scream. Mm-hmm, sounds incredibly annoying.
Also revealed: Those 2D-illustrated cut scenes? Yep, like this one. Well, they're interactive. "For example, if you zoom in on the scene where you first meet Paz, you can see the uniform she has on under her coat, and then what's under that," art director Yoji Shinkawa explained ... rather creepily. "It's an idea I came up with while thinking about what makes games different from movies or animation. I think it's pretty interactive." Hopefully, not too interactive.
Kojima cryptically gives opinion on Obama's Nobel Prize
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 10th 2009 at 8:30PM }
"President Obama, who declared 'A World Without Nuclear Weapons' in Prague, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Has the era at last started shifting? The start of the Peace Walker plan? I hope that comes to be. 'Peace will not walk to you.' 'You must both walk towards one another.' From the gym."
Not only does this entry reveal that Kojima writes like William Shatner speaks, but it also exposes a grim truth of the Metal Gear series -- it's all real. The GW construct. The Philosophers' Legacy. The Patriots. FoxDie. And, of course, somewhere there exists a real-life Metal Gear. Based on this post, we're guessing it's in a gym.
[Via Andriasang]
TGS 2009: Hands-on: Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (co-op)
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Sep 28th 2009 at 8:57AM } 
Thankfully, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker has an elegant solution for the former problem. Holding up on the PSP's d-pad will "sync" you with your sneaking partner(s) and, as long as the button remains held down, you'll stay in automatic lockstep with the leader. Remaining a cohesive group is an essential strategy for a silent approach, though splitting up offers its own advantages as well.
TGS 2009: Kojima toyed with shocking, 'transforming' controllers for MGS4
by Randy Nelson { Sep 25th 2009 at 5:32PM }
In one of a series of videos released by Microsoft of developers offering their thoughts on Project Natal, Kenichiro Imaizmu, producer of the Metal Gear Solid series at Kojima Productions, revealed that Hideo Kojima had been leading the design of a custom controller for use with Metal Gear Solid 4.
As Imaizumi described, the ideas were figuratively -- and literally -- shocking. "We tried running electric shock waves, install a pulse reader ... we also tried to build a controller that's receptive to the strength of the [player's] grip," he divulged. "We tried a lot, even a transforming controller." While it's too bad the truly shocking DualShock will never see the light of day, at least we may now know where Nintendo got the idea for its pulse reader: Kojima's dumpster ...
Back to the video, Imaizumi also extolled the virtues of Project Natal, mentioning its ability for gesture, voice and color-based interaction. But, as far as we know, Natal doesn't have the ability to zap players with electric shocks. That's just never gonna happen. (Uh-oh ... did we just say -- yep. Never say never again.)
As Imaizumi described, the ideas were figuratively -- and literally -- shocking. "We tried running electric shock waves, install a pulse reader ... we also tried to build a controller that's receptive to the strength of the [player's] grip," he divulged. "We tried a lot, even a transforming controller." While it's too bad the truly shocking DualShock will never see the light of day, at least we may now know where Nintendo got the idea for its pulse reader: Kojima's dumpster ...
Back to the video, Imaizumi also extolled the virtues of Project Natal, mentioning its ability for gesture, voice and color-based interaction. But, as far as we know, Natal doesn't have the ability to zap players with electric shocks. That's just never gonna happen. (Uh-oh ... did we just say -- yep. Never say never again.)
TGS 2009: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's epic 10-minute trailer
by Randy Nelson { Sep 24th 2009 at 10:40PM }
Of course, you don't just have to settle for the trailer. Once it's got you good and pumped up to choke out some fools as Big Boss himself, check our post from yesterday to down-la-li-lu-le-load the TGS demo for play on your very own PSP. How cool is that?
TGS 2009: Xbox 360 Creator Panel Discussion recap
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Sep 24th 2009 at 3:01PM }
It was immediately noted that no ideas or concepts -- erupting from Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid), Keiji Inafune (Mega Man, Dead Rising) and Toshihiro Nagoshi (Monkey Ball, Yakuza) -- should be considered actual, in-development concepts. Which is just as well, because it didn't take long for the trio to joke about a motion-enabled female feel-'em-up (see above gesture for context).
Keiji Inafune was the one to bring it up, noting that the evolution of controllers was "way behind the evolution of graphics." According to Inafune, "Body language is part of this important evolution. With Natal we can involve ourselves. I'm getting really excited and show it in my body or action. Instead of pressing the button, it can be truly immersive experience."
TGS 2009: Every major publisher 'actively working on games for Project Natal'
by Ben Gilbert { Sep 23rd 2009 at 9:00PM } 
Microsoft says publishers received development kits in early June and have been hard at work ever since. EA's Peter Moore thinks Natal "could fundamentally change the way people play sports games" while Capcom's Keiji Inafune says it "will expand the possibilities of gaming." In fact, Microsoft is so intent on proving that developers love it, the company is hosting a panel at TGS featuring the aforementioned Inafune, Sega's Toshihiro Nagoshi and Konami's Hideo Kojima.
Wait a minute, Kojima is working with Project Natal? But we can't do any of that crazy Raiden ninja stuff!
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker characters revealed in Famitsu
by Griffin McElroy { Sep 23rd 2009 at 11:58AM }
Famitsu also provides details about the co-op modes seen in the nine-minute trailer released last month. When two players get close to one another, "Co-op" mode activiates, merging the players' health gauges and allowing them to trade items. When they get really close, they go into "Snake-in" mode, in which one player controls both Snakes' movements so that the other can focus on murdering fools.
We wonder if all four players can merge in this manner, forming a growling, bearded train of death?
[Thanks, Ryan]
Kojima: Metal Gear Solid Rising at an 'experimental' stage
by Randy Nelson { Sep 3rd 2009 at 2:29PM }
If you've been wondering why Hideo Kojima has been spending nearly all his interview time as of late talking up Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and not the console-bound Metal Gear Solid Raiden Rising, it's probably because the latter's presently a bit of an experiment-in-progress. "We're at an experiment level right now. We're doing a lot of experiments for Rising," Kojima told GamePro during GamesCom. It is, after all, promised to deliver a "different kind of action" for the series.
From the sound of his subsequent statements, the experimentation goes beyond the all-new graphics engine planned for the title and into the realm of overall development philosophy for the legend's studio. "Even the management and team formations that we have at Kojima Productions, we are changing this around," he said, adding, "The core of it is, of course, the Rising team. They're doing a lot of high-level stuff with great staffs."
And no, that last line isn't Kojima's way of saying the game's "young" team is actually spending all its time playing World of Warcraft. (We hope.)
From the sound of his subsequent statements, the experimentation goes beyond the all-new graphics engine planned for the title and into the realm of overall development philosophy for the legend's studio. "Even the management and team formations that we have at Kojima Productions, we are changing this around," he said, adding, "The core of it is, of course, the Rising team. They're doing a lot of high-level stuff with great staffs."
And no, that last line isn't Kojima's way of saying the game's "young" team is actually spending all its time playing World of Warcraft. (We hope.)
Visits from Kojima as terrifying as you'd think
by Justin McElroy { Sep 3rd 2009 at 1:02PM }
It's hard to blame Cox for his metaphorical incontinence. We're sure it's the same thing for basketball players getting coached by Michael Jordan or pickle makers when they meet that giant stork.
Kojima's Policenauts now playable in English
by JC Fletcher { Aug 24th 2009 at 7:30PM }
Policenauts is an adventure game in a similar style to Kojima's Snatcher, consisting of mostly still images with fully-voiced dialogue and a text-based menu interface. The game follows Jonathan Ingram, a one-time policeman on an extraterrestrial Earth colony, who drifted into space and returned to Earth 25 years later, having been saved by a "cold sleep" system in his suit. Following his return, he works as a private investigator and attempts to solve a murder and a mysterious disappearance.
The patch requires a copy of the Japanese PlayStation version of the game and a PlayStation that can play CD-R discs -- that's because you have to rip the game files, apply the patch, and then burn it to another disc. Finally, a reason to dust off that PlayStation you modded to play Beatmania ten years ago!
[Thanks, Mike]
