While Hideo Kojima has seen quite a bit of success throughout his career thanks to his work on major titles like the Metal Gear franchise and, more recently, Death Stranding, he has also thought about what his life would be like if he made the “best-selling thing”. In an interview with Japanese publication Ananweb (translated by Genki_JPN), Kojima said that he doesn’t really see making the best-selling thing as his job.
“Sometimes I imagine a life where I make the best-selling thing, earn money and then show up at the company after a long time and say ‘How’s everyone doing?’” said Kojima in the interview. However, he did go on to note that his life would likely end up being quite boring if he didn’t have anything to do. He spoke about how he’d just sit around watching movies on Blu-ray at home. Ultimately, he said that he wants to keep working with his own hands.
“But making the best-selling thing isn’t my job, and I’d be at home with nothing to do and I wouldn’t know what to do,” he continued. “Just watching Blu-rays at home is boring. After all, it’s tough when you think ‘I wonder who this person is?’ and try to contact them, but there is no one to talk to about that kind of thing. I want to keep working with my own hands forever.”
In the same interview, Kojima also spoke about the projects that he has been working on at Kojima Productions – stealth espionage game Physint and horror title OD. When it comes to Physint, he spoke about how his history in development means that he can make a standard espionage-styled game in his sleep. To combat this, however, the development team behind the game has been coming up with brand new gimmicks that could help make Physint considerably different from other games in the market.
“But that’s also what we’re trying to fight against,” he explained. “This new game introduces new gimmicks, and we’re also taking on the challenge of crossing the line between film and games. I’m thinking of working not just with film actors but with film staff on the production side too, though I wonder how that will all turn out.”
“Right now the times are changing so quickly that the social structures and themes I’m trying to depict in the game might end up appearing in the real world before the game is finished.”
For OD, Kojima wasn’t too willing to divulge many details. He did mention, however, that the game involves some brand new things since the studio has been “trying to change the service model from the ground up.”
“I can’t say exactly what it is yet, nor do I know if it will work out,” said Kojima. “We’ve created stealth games and delivery games which were unlike anything before, but system-wise, they were similar to other games. This time, we’re trying to change the service model from the ground up, so it should be quite challenging. We’ve packed the trailer full of hints, so if you keep thinking about it, you might figure it out.”
In the meantime, check out our review of the last major title released by Kojima Productions – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach – which is available on PS5.
