Nomura and Kojima Talk PS3
New analogies from the Final Fantasy and Metal Gear guys? Plus, a ZOE3 team-up?
by Anoop Gantayat
June 29, 2006 - We've seen the PlayStation 3 likened to a number of things in comparison to its competition (from expensive cars to fancy restaurants or dinners), but when speaking to Japan's Ge-Maga, Metal Gear Solid 4 producer/ director Hideo Kojima added a new comparison as he likened the PS3 to a movie theater experience as opposed to the DVD-like experience of the Xbox 360 and the television-like experience of the Wii.
"I had an interview at E3, and I responded like this," said Kojima. "The PS3 is a movie theater. You pay 1,800 yen and view a movie with great sound and a huge image. These aren't movies that are remade directly from television, but video that's been made for the movies and everyone comes in wanting that. Xbox 360 is watching a DVD at home. It's for people who want to watch a movie, but anything is okay. The Wii is a television program. You turn on the television, and you can watch soccer or watch a variety show -- enjoy a program lightly."
Hideo Kojima, Kojima Productions
Kojima's comments were made as part of a group interview that also featured MGS4 art director Yoji Shinkawa and Square Enix superstar Tetsuya Nomura. The three were asked to share their opinion on the PS3 following E3.
Based on his comments with Ge-Maga, Kojima seems to be highly favorable of Sony's strategy. "If you think about the future of the industry and game creators, I get the feeling that the winner had better be the movie theater -- or, the PS3. No one will say that the price is cheap. However, the PS3 is 'the future.' The Wii is interesting, but in terms of functions, it's a machine with past concepts."
Kojima has also been one of the strongest supporters of the Wii's new control system. In this latest interview, he added, "The best thing would be a PS3 with controls like the Wii."
Kojima expressed some disappointment with the PS3's controller, stating, "It's unfortunate that the controller's rumble functionality has been lost." Responding to this, Nomura suggested that perhaps the rumble will be added in the future, with Kojima suggesting that if the rumble was, as Sony claims, removed due to interference from the built-in motion sensor, it would be best to include a button to switch between rumble and motion sensing.
Nomura had something to say about the PS3's price as well. "Right now, as a game machine, it's too expensive. If the hard disk and Blu-ray spread, in line with that, the situation for the PS3 will change in one to two years. At the present, it's definitely too expensive, but I believe that when the games are there, it will change naturally." He also expressed belief that, at the time of Final Fantasy's release, the price will be cheaper.
Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix
"Thinking two to three years from now, the PS3 will be the most appropriate," said Nomura. "We feel that when the games that we're making are released, the PS3 will be strong in the market."
Kojima seems to feel that the PS3 is needed for the industry to progress. "If the evolutionary roads like the PS3 are closed off, the industry will no longer grow," he said. He used the film Poseidon's Adventure as an example of the film industry's growth from low-budget to high-budget films. "Making games for the PS3 will of course cost money, but if you put a stop to that, what will happen to the game industry? Is it okay if everyone just makes variety-style games? It will become like television is now. Comedians make an appearance in a quiz-style show -- that's not culture."
The conversation became a bit more lighthearted when the subject of ZOE came up (as it did when IGN talked to Kojima last month). When asked if we'd see a sequel to the anime-themed mech game, Kojima said, "We'd like to make a sequel, but there aren't any people [to make it]. Ah, I've decided now. Nomura will do the characters and Shinkawa will do the mechs."
This lead to talk about collaborations, which of course, lead to talk of Solid Snake's appearance in the Wii version of Smash Brothers: "That was very surprising," said Nomura. "Cloud won't make an appearance?" asked Kojima. "We didn't get an offer," responded Nomura with a laugh.