Hideo Kojima Defends Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Length

[StewShearerOld]

Hideo Kojima Defends Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Length

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/431229095712538624]

Metal Gear-creator Hideo Kojima says the re-playability and "freedom of approach" will make up Ground Zeroes short length.

Konami and franchise guru Hideo Kojima have made no secret of the fact that Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be on the shorter end of the spectrum. Kojima himself has, in the past, described it as essentially <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130968-Metal-Gear-Solid-V-Ground-Zeroes-Will-Be-a-Tutorial-For-The-Phantom-Pain>being "a tutorial" for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. That being the case, many gamers were stil a bit taken aback when it was revealed recently that Ground Zeroes can apparently be beaten <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132007-Metal-Gear-Solid-Ground-Zeroes-Reportedly-Just-Two-Hours-Long?utm_source=postit&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=all>in under two hours.

This news has, not surprisingly, led to some criticism from fans who feel that the game won't be worth the price of admission. The complaints, in turn, have led members of Ground Zeroes' development team to rise up and defend it. Designer Jordan Amaro, for instance, compared Ground Zeroes to Journey and Dear Esther, calling them "masterpieces" in spite of their brevity. "This [issue surrounding the game's length has been trumped-up," he said.

Perhaps more notably, Hideo Kojima himself recently took to Twitter to offer his own explanation for the game's length and why it's actually longer than it may seem. "[Ground Zeroes] includes the main mission alongside 5 Side Ops," he said. "All missions include elements such as 'Trial Records' where players can compete against each other online." He then added that "this is not a linear game like the past" and that it will "[offer] freedom of approach & play style which we hope players will enjoy over & over without boring." He closed by saying that he believes "people will be satisfied" with Ground Zeroes's length when they actually get to play it.

For what it's worth, I don't completely disagree with Kojima. Replay value, whether it's based in "freedom of approach" or even just varied difficulty settings can be significantly stretch a game's play time out. Even so, it's still kind of hard to believe the developers expect us to pay as much as $40 for a game that, when you get down to it, is still just two hours long.

Source: <a href=https://twitter.com/HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN/status/431229095712538624>Twitter


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[Rad Party God]

The internet just needed something to complain about and blow it out of proportion, like always.

To be fair, I still think the Xbone/PS4 version is ludicrously expensive, but I still agree with Kojima, this isn't your average indie game you finish in 2 hours and never play it again, this is Metal Gear, the replay value will be tenfold.

And why the heck do I even bother "defending" this if I don't even have a freaking console to play this in the first place!?.

EDIT: Lots of replies and I've yet to see what the f-ing fuss is all about.

Spoiler: Meh, screw it, I'm going home.

 

[Brian Tams]

Journey and Dear Esther didn't come with 30-40 dollar price tags attached. That's everyone's beef; the price.

 

[antigodoflife]

It's still $90 where I am if I want a physical copy on the PS4.

 

[ColeusRattus]

How is that news? My first playthrough of MGS 2 lasted 2 hours and 11 minutes, according to the stats it showed at the end (that is, without the cutscenes)

 

[Mike Hoffman]

I wouldn't hold it against anyone for being apprehensive about this, but until the game is released, I can accept a two hour play-time. The first Way of the Samurai is one of my favorite games and it has a play-time of two hours. It's designed to be replayed, though, and I've easily put 60 hours into it. I'm not saying Ground Zeroes can deliver that kind of experience, but I will reserve judgement on the length until after release.

 

[dragongit]

So, I must be missing the point somewhere, what is the rough retail price for the whole bundle? Because like everyone else is saying, the price they are asking for a very, very short experience that is more or less the lead up to the "main" game shouldn't be 30 dollars. Unless the second half is also 30 bucks. I know it's more if you buy physical, but rough ballpark here?

 

[havoc33]

I'm totally passing on this. No way I'm paying $30 for a glorified demo. It'll be included with the full release anyway, just like the tanker and VR missions in the past. There's more than enough games to keep me busy until the full retail release.

 

[james.sponge]

since when has the metal gear series ever been worth its price. . .

shhhhh! you are not supposed to say this!

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

The length is not the problem. Not on its own anyway. Combined with the price he's asking for it is the problem. That's too much money for a glorified demo.

 

[Irridium]

Eh, I'm not too bothered. Will probably wait a bit for a price drop but I know I'll spend plenty of time with it.

After all, Metal Gear Rising is only about 6-7 hours long if all you do is play through it once, but I've spent over 18 hours on the game because it's SO GOOD and re-playable. But I did only spend $20 on it.

 

[saltyanon]

I think he's forgetting that a huge portion of his fans likely play the game for the story, and replayability has little to no value when all you care about is the story. Add to that a price of a full game and you'll be seeing heads turning away. Now if this were is a Metal Gear dating sim where we explore Snake's relationship with various characters such as Otacon or Ocelot, then yeah, sure, replayability.

 

[Fraught]

Yep, like everyone else said, the only problem is the price. I don't care to do random skill runs in different modes to, literally, pad out the length.

Admittedly, I don't know much about the business behind game developing and if the prices we shell out for games these days are enough to employ all the people who create games, but gosh darnit, what the fuck, Konami. I hope Ground Zeroes will be included with Phantom Pain, like a poster above said, and even if it isn't, I'll just get it then and play them back-to-back. Hopefully I can find it at a more reasonable price then.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I haven't seen this much hate for the price of a game that people probably were never going to buy in a while. I've seen 30 for a 2 hour story=/= a 2 hour game. Metal Gear has always had massive amounts of unlocks and replay challenges.

Once again the majority of complaints come from people unfamiliar with the series and need something to cry abour. I think someone told them that their tear ducts go out of whack if they don't use them every day....

 

[MrBaskerville]

Yep, like everyone else said, the only problem is the price. I don't care to do random skill runs in different modes to, literally, pad out the length.

Maybe it´s not a problem with the price or the lenght, but the fact that you don´t like the type of game he decided to make? (Atleast if his beginning goal was to make a highly score driven replayable and yet, short game) Personally i´m all for time attack modes and stuff like that, if it´s handled well and not just an afterthought. If the game is designed with replayability in mind, then sign me up.

We don´t really know how the game works yet, so it´s a bit early to complain about some arbitrary number that may or may not equal the lenght of the main campaign. I could also say that a shoot em up is about 45 minutes long, but if i did that, i might be missing the point. I´ll reserve my judgment until we actually know what we are dealing with .

 

[josemlopes]

Wasnt expecting to actually be only one mission and five side ops, I get it that its less linear but with the way the base is made looks like there isnt much to do other then just walk in straight line to the target as that shit is so poorly defended and has a shit load of openings.

That one base of the videos that have been circling around is the entirety of the game basicly, even by trying to unlock everything I guess its just repeating the same area over and over again.

 

[Fraught]

Yep, like everyone else said, the only problem is the price. I don't care to do random skill runs in different modes to, literally, pad out the length.

Maybe it´s not a problem with the price or the lenght, but the fact that you don´t like the type of game he decided to make? (Atleast if his beginning goal was to make a highly score driven replayable and yet, short game) Personally i´m all for time attack modes and stuff like that, if it´s handled well and not just an afterthought. If the game is designed with replayability in mind, then sign me up.

We don´t really know how the game works yet, so it´s a bit early to complain about some arbitrary number that may or may not equal the lenght of the main campaign. I could also say that a shoot em up is about 45 minutes long, but if i did that, i might be missing the point. I´ll reserve my judgment until we actually know what we are dealing with .

Well, of course, you can make that argument with everything. But, as it stands, I am a big fan of the MGS games, and I reckon this "type of game" he decided to make isn't what aligns well with what people usually look for in MGS, hence the backlash.

Also, whether you like this type of game or not, normal length would only be better on top, right? 'cause regardless of whether you enjoy it or not, for the type of game or for the quality it exhibits in the category, there's a sense of a cost-to-length ratio that even someone who enjoys the type of game that's promised should find questionable (considering Ground Zeroes on its own costs 48 euros here, barely 12 below an actual full retail release, and no matter how good a game is, it's absurd to accept a full retail release that's completed in 2 hours).

All in all, no. The problem is with the price and the length. If anything, it's exclusively just a combination of the two. I will bet all of my current and future possessions that I will enjoy Ground Zeroes a ton, even as just a prologue to Phantom Pain, but the price tag attached to it, combined with its length, still miffs me.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

The Metal Gear Solid games have always been kind of short though. I think the quickest I ever completed Metal Gear Solid 2 was just over 4 hours, and I bet if you skipped all the cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid 4 it would be about the same.

I don't really think the length is the issue here, as others have said, it's the price. After all, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is just a glorified demo, people should have expected to to be short.

 

[Geisterkarle]

Metal Gear Solid for PS1/PC (1:54:02)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for PlayStation 2 (1:37:37)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance for PS2/Xbox/PC (1:09:13)
Metal Gear Solid 3 HD for PS3/360 (1:14:27)
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PlayStation 2 (1:23:37)
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for GameCube (1:08:29)

So... every MGS can be beat under 2h ... so what exactly is the problem?