Entrevista a Hideo Kojima (posible MGS5)

1UP: After finishing MGS4, I started reading more about private military companies -- especially stuff about Blackwater from Jeremy Scahill. It's some of the scariest s*** you can read. You touch on some of these issues really well in the game.

HK: I don't necessarily feel afraid, but it's a trend of the times we live in that we probably cannot stop. Militaries belonged to nations before, but now it's become companies because it's more efficient. And let's face it -- the economy grows with that kind of business structure. It's the era that we live in, and we can't stop it. I wanted to make people aware of this reality, and in playing the game you get a glimpse of it.

1UP: I find it scary that companies like Blackwater don't operate under the same laws as the regular military; they could literally get away with murder -- with no repercussions -- but the military deals with real laws, investigations, and possible courts martial.

HK: Think about the police. It's government controlled and always has been. But in the future, maybe the police will be run by a company. They can interpret the law in their own way and make people respect the law as they see fit. That could be economically more efficient.

1UP: And who governs the police?

HK: For example, in the past, if your life was in danger, you went to the police. Now it could be that they tell you to get lost, that they have no time for you. So what do you do? Now sometimes what you do is call a security company and hire them because your life is in danger. I didn't want people to just think that this is all just made-up stories. It's real. So I'm very happy that you got this out of the game.

1UP: Are you happy with the amount of players playing Metal Gear Online?
Kojima: [Laughing] Not at all!

1UP: I think you know where this is heading -- the Konami ID and Game ID registration processes are a pain in the ass and just too complicated.

HK: [Laughs more and shakes head] No comment! That's, er, a difficult matter.

1UP: Understandably, the whole Konami ID and Game ID infrastructure is a Konami-wide initiative that you had to use, and we'll see it in future Konami games like Pro Evolution Soccer 2009.
"A lot of people buy a lot of stuff online in MGO, but we know what the problems are, and as a company we have to turn things around."

HK: Honestly, officially, I can't say anything on Konami ID and Game ID. It's a company policy. But frankly speaking, the idea wasn't a very good one. The fact is that Konami's direction was that we create a Game ID and Konami ID for the online components, and now we're seeing that it's not working so well, and we have to think about how to turn it around. It was a concept of an online Konami group thinking, so there's not much I could do at the time.

1UP: I looked at that whole registration process as the only thing you had to compromise on in the game. It's hard for even hardcore gamers to get online.

HK: I assure you that we understand the problems. We can look at the figures, and we can see what's going wrong. A lot of people buy a lot of stuff online in MGO, but we know what the problems are, and as a company we have to turn things around.

We aren't blind. At company meetings we know this is a problem, and we are working on it. Obviously, we have a lot of hardcore online gamers working for us, and we know what makes a good online game. So rest assured [that] we are working on this.

1UP: Will Trophies get added to the game?

HK: I can't speak about that.

1UP: So the next game...is the Kojima Productions slate really clean? MGS4 is done, so is there nothing else in development? Because that's what it sounds like. What happens next?

HK: I would like to just make a new game, and the younger staff can work on the new MGS projects. For MGS5, it's very difficult to explain right now because we haven't announced anything. I have really high expectations of my young staff, though. I hope they have learned from their mistakes and that they won't repeat them this time around. But believe me, I also made mistakes on the decision side of things, and I don't want to make those mistakes again, either. I will step in with more courage if I see the staff going down the wrong path again.

I have three concepts for MGS5 already. What would be ideal for me with MGS5, though, is that we don't do those. If the team picks one of those concepts, I have to get involved again, which I don't want to do.

There are already so many good ideas from the staff, so if we select one of those, that would be really good. At that point I could really rely on them and take the step back to be the producer, which is the ideal situation, I think.

1UP: But what do you really want to make next?

HK: Well, I want to create something new, and it's difficult to explain since no one's seen it before. I don't know if it would sell very well. I've been warming this up for a long time, and I keep thinking that I'll try this idea. But ideas always change, so I really don't know what the final outcome will be.