MGS: Rising and Peace Walker Teams "Aren't Friends"

[John Funk]

MGS: Rising and Peace Walker Teams "Aren't Friends"

Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has admitted that there are tensions between the Kojima Production teams for the PS3/360 MGS: Rising and the PSP MGS: Peace Walker, saying that the two teams "aren't friends."

GamePro spoke with [http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/211903/kojima-peace-walker-rising-teams-not-good-friends/] auteur game designer Hideo Kojima at GamesCom last month, where the Metal Gear creator admitted that there were internal tensions between the two teams working on the next games in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. The conflict, he explained, stemmed from the fact that the team working on MGS: Rising for PS3 and 360 has access to higher-end equipment and a bigger budget than the Peace Walker developers.

So perhaps it was simply a matter of jealousy that was "why they are not good friends," said Kojima. "If you could imagine the PSP team looking at the Rising team, they have all the money and specs."

Even so, Kojima isn't worried about the competitive dynamics between the two teams. In fact, he seems to find it funny: "It's interesting for me to see the team members act in this way," he laughed, "This was never before because it was always just one small team. Now we are much bigger."

It's true that having envy or competition between developers isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it might lead to better games overall as both teams try to outdo the others. Still, there might be room for caution: Today it's just jealousy, but you never know when one of the programmers might snap and go all Cyborg Ninja on his coworkers. That's just the sort of risk you need to take when you work for Kojima Productions, I guess.

(Via CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=222522?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS])

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[Eagle Est1986]

Seems like an odd thing to be jealous about, Peace Walker will probably be the better game. I can't help but feel that maybe there's a bit more to it than what Kojima is letting on...

 

[Sparrow]

And? This is video games people, not a dam--

Sorry, I watching Jarhead the other day.

 

[NeedAUserName]

I imagine this will help the games, as a bit of competitiveness (golly, thats a long word) never hurt anyone, and it will spur Peace Walker's team on to try and triumph over Rising's better technology and bigger budget.

 

[HardRockSamurai]

Lately, competition's been doing great things for gaming (ex: look at how InFamous and Prototype came out), so I don't see how this could possibly be bad news.

I mean, unless Rising's team is comprised only of Kojima and his personal harem, then I don't see any reason to be jealous..............[small]oh[/small]..............

 

[AceDiamond]

Lately, competition's been doing great things for gaming (ex: look at how InFamous and Prototype came out), so I don't see how this could possibly be bad news.

I don't think you're supposed to be competing against your own company like they could possibly be doing in this case. At the very least it's not good for inter-office morale.

 

[Amnestic]

Lately, competition's been doing great things for gaming (ex: look at how InFamous and Prototype came out), so I don't see how this could possibly be bad news.

I don't think you're supposed to be competing against your own company like they could possibly be doing in this case. At the very least it's not good for inter-office morale.

As long as it's healthy competition rather than the pistols-at-dawn competition, I think it doesn't really matter whether it's in your company or outside your company. Either way at least one team is still having a competition of some variety.

 

[AceDiamond]

Lately, competition's been doing great things for gaming (ex: look at how InFamous and Prototype came out), so I don't see how this could possibly be bad news.

I don't think you're supposed to be competing against your own company like they could possibly be doing in this case. At the very least it's not good for inter-office morale.

As long as it's healthy competition rather than the pistols-at-dawn competition, I think it doesn't really matter whether it's in your company or outside your company. Either way at least one team is still having a competition of some variety.

Sorry let me clarify. Yes it can be healthy, but given that one side is jealous of the other's money and tech, I doubt it's really that healthy. The only thing offsetting that, from my perspective, is the fact that Kojima himself is spending more time on Peace Walker.

 

[Amnestic]

Lately, competition's been doing great things for gaming (ex: look at how InFamous and Prototype came out), so I don't see how this could possibly be bad news.

I don't think you're supposed to be competing against your own company like they could possibly be doing in this case. At the very least it's not good for inter-office morale.

As long as it's healthy competition rather than the pistols-at-dawn competition, I think it doesn't really matter whether it's in your company or outside your company. Either way at least one team is still having a competition of some variety.

Sorry let me clarify. Yes it can be healthy, but given that one side is jealous of the other's money and tech, I doubt it's really that healthy. The only thing offsetting that, from my perspective, is the fact that Kojima himself is spending more time on Peace Walker.

If that were me (and it's not. I don't know the first thing about making video games), being given a smaller budget/resources than the 'other game' would only spur me on to make a better game than the other team with fewer strings to tug. Just to show them how much better we are then them.

But that's just me.

 

[Generic_Dave]

Still, there might be room for caution: Today it's just jealousy, but you never know when one of the programmers might snap and go all Cyborg Ninja on his coworkers. That's just the sort of risk you need to take when you work for Kojima Productions, I guess.

Now that's a headline that would make me buy a newspaper.

 

[AceDiamond]

Im surprised no one has comented that there are TWO snakes about to ambush an unsuspecting guard, shouldn't the universe explode or something?



I see nothing but good things from their tensions, the smaller PsP team will try harder to have a better game than the "dicks with all the money" team, but to be fair, Rising is about possibly the worst choice of character in the MGS universe, admit it, playing as Johnny would of been better.

I'd rather play as a guy who got groped by the president out of nowhere than the guy who has explosive diarrhea as a plot point

Also I still think Peace Walker has a lot going against it being an MGS game on the PSP. Having played Portable Ops I have to say that the PSP is not an ideal platform for it.

Having said that though I don't even see the appeal of Rising, probably because I was under the distinct impression that the MGS saga was supposed to be over and done with at least 5 times by now. Then again Kojima, like all artists, tend to not want to leave their creations alone.

 

[T'Generalissimo]

Am I the only one that imagines Kojima as some sort of god figure, laughing jovially at the mortals and their ridculous machinations and tiny human emotions? 'Cause you guys should try it out; it's a pretty awesome imagine.

 

[Hazy]

And? This is video games people, not a dam--

Sorry, I watching Jarhead the other day.

I found the movie lacking slightly in comparison to the book.
Although Gyllenhal and Jamie Foxx both give great performances.

As for the games: I'm psyched for Peace Walker, yet I don't necessarily have anything to say about Rising.

 

[5stringedbandit]

All he has to do is give the Peace Walker team a new team. Of tigers.

 

[AceDiamond]

Im surprised no one has comented that there are TWO snakes about to ambush an unsuspecting guard, shouldn't the universe explode or something?



I see nothing but good things from their tensions, the smaller PsP team will try harder to have a better game than the "dicks with all the money" team, but to be fair, Rising is about possibly the worst choice of character in the MGS universe, admit it, playing as Johnny would of been better.

I'd rather play as a guy who got groped by the president out of nowhere than the guy who has explosive diarrhea as a plot point

but your missing some very funny situations that could occur, like instead of an adult magazine disabling a soldier for a minute it could be......well, you know.

but your forgot why the president groped him, Mr. President thought he was a she........so does that mean he was Clinton?

Seriously though, if Rising comes with a version of MGO, then I might look at it.

You're forgetting that while this

Spoiler: image

[http://hiimdaisy.livejournal.com/23570.html#cutid1]

happened only once in the game, Johnny the Pants Crapping Buttmonkey has happened several times over several generations of his family.

 

[elricik]

Could you image if they had some kind of office worker convention class at being friends at Kojima's office?

 

[Ericb]

Much better than competition would be mutual encouragement or even collaboration.

Competition tends to kill communication and clear-mindedness. That last one is so important in any kind of design practice.