Hideo Kojima's Name Means Something Important

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
14,499
0
0
Hideo Kojima's Name Means Something Important



If you see Hideo Kojima's name on a box, he says it means you're getting a game straight from his brain.

Hideo Kojima, known primarily for creating the Metal Gear Solid [http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Patriots-Playstation-3/dp/B000FQ2D5E] series, feels his name is important. Unlike what he calls "imitators," if you see "A Hideo Kojima Game" on a videogame's box art, it means that game truly comes from Kojima in almost every way possible.

In Twitter remarks, where it seems Japanese characters allow for more to be said within the 140 character limit, Kojima talked about what it means exactly to see his name on a game. It doesn't just mean that Kojima brought donuts to a videogame's staff meeting one day, tap danced on the table, and back-flipped out of the window into a jet fighter.

Kojima said: "'A Hideo Kojima Game' is something that I started. That kind of saying doesn't exist. Lately there have been imitators, but being the one person responsible for planning, game design, writing, producing and directing all alone, that phrase reflects everything that I do. [It] doesn't belong on something merely produced."

While he definitely wasn't the first to put his name on a product, what he appears to be saying is that he believes he started the labeling of a product with a name that truly has a major part in every aspect of a its production. He also thinks that this is tough to keep going through a lengthy series.

"As far as writers are concerned, when they have a single, lengthy story told across a series, keeping things going is particularly difficult," Kojima wrote. While he says Metal Gear Solid is something he "gave birth to," he also says it's "not his property." Kojima added: "I might leave this business or even leave this world, but it's like any other popular series. When you authorize Hollywood to turn something into a movie, 'sequel rights' are a must. Those are the rights to make a sequel with or without the original author."

But those sequels are unlikely to have his name on them if he's no longer alive, unless he's possessing the arm of a producer. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow [http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Rising-Xbox-360/dp/B002BRZ8FW/ref=sr_1_2?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285512648&sr=8-2] will both have "Kojima-less" covers even though Kojima had a partial hand in their lives. Kojima is a big name in the videogame industry, but he won't let that name be abused for sales.

Source: 1up [http://www.1up.com/news/hideo-kojima-reflects-hideo--kojima-game]

Permalink
 

Cherry Cola

Your daddy, your Rock'n'Rolla
Jun 26, 2009
11,940
0
0
It almost sounds to me like he's trying to give himself the image of an auteur.

Well, I won't argue with that. His works do all have a very "Kojima-esque" feeling to them.

By that I mean that they all feel like they've been touched by the hands of a brilliant madman!
 

BobisOnlyBob

is Only Bob
Nov 29, 2007
657
0
0
He is an auteur, that's for sure. It's good to know his name truly means what it says when printed on the box.

It was weird when we were getting Sid Meier games that were more Brian Reynold's work.
 

Sevre

Old Hands
Apr 6, 2009
4,886
0
0
Our very own Zombie_Fish was disappointed when his MGS4 box had a serious lack of Hideo Kojima's brains inside it. Mainly cinematics. Zombies can't eat movies.
 

tmujir955

New member
Oct 12, 2009
761
0
0
I like his games. He somehow manages to turn gritty, stealth-action games into really eccentric stuff.
 

Zenode

New member
Jan 21, 2009
1,103
0
0
I have to thank the escapist staff for not using that creepy Hideo Kojima photo when he was on a duck.....

OT: Well if its from Hideo Kojimo studio's wouldnt this mean that he has a decent involvement? but i guess if he does all those things it makes sense to put your name all over it.
 

Outlaw Torn

New member
Dec 24, 2008
715
0
0
Zenode said:
I have to thank the escapist staff for not using that creepy Hideo Kojima photo when he was on a duck.....

OT: Well if its from Hideo Kojimo studio's wouldnt this mean that he has a decent involvement? but i guess if he does all those things it makes sense to put your name all over it.
I'm suprised that someone managed to take another photo of him, he must spend his life under a box when he isn't sitting on ducks.

It's nice to see someone not having their name used just for the sake of selling games. I'm looking at you Clancy.
 

Amnestic

High Priest of Haruhi
Aug 22, 2008
8,946
0
0
Dear Mr. Kojima,

Please make Zone of the Enders 3 and add your name and specific brand of awesome to it. In return, anything you need taken care of? Guys getting up in your grill? Fanboy stalkers? Dinner? Yeah. I can take care of it.

Ta muchly,
Amnestic.

It's nice to see that his name indicates direct involvement, unlike some other franchises which I have some doubts about (Pretty much everything from Tom Clancy)
 

Jumplion

New member
Mar 10, 2008
7,873
0
0
Tom Goldman said:
In Twitter remarks, where it seems Japanese characters allow for more to be said within the 140 character limit, Kojima talked about what it means exactly to see his name on a game. It doesn't just mean that Kojima brought donuts to a videogame's staff meeting one day, tap danced on the table, and back-flipped out of the window into a jet fighter.
I smell an easter egg in a future game!

OT: Whether you like his games or not, Kojima gives a certain flair in his works. His games can be eccentric, weird, long and drawn out, etc... but they're all part of the "feel" in Kojima's work.

The recent "Metal Gear Solid: Rising" doesn't really feel like a Kojima game to me. Kojima has little part in MGS:Rising, and it shows to me. I'll still wait for some more definitive gameplay, but for now I'm a bit nervous for it.
 

Brotherofwill

New member
Jan 25, 2009
2,566
0
0
I think noone can argue with that. One of the few guys that puts his name on a product and creates it in the way he sees fit. Makes his games much more appealing I think, they don't have the design-class feel to them. Sad to see this authorship going down in the business over the last few years. Even someone like Sid Meyer seems to be less able to put his name on a box. Also think it's good that he doesn't put the Kojima label on the 2 newly produced games. They might turn out awesome, but if he isn't as closely involved, then he shouldn't use the label.

And the games are not just coming straight from his brain, they're coming straight from his troubled subconcious. Troubled indeed.
 

teh_Canape

New member
May 18, 2010
2,665
0
0
well, as yahtzee said, it's good that now adays a developer has the balls to step up to his games and say "yes, I did it"
 

The Random One

New member
May 29, 2008
3,310
0
0
Usually, if I see 'A [Whoever] Game' on a box, it means that it's either a Hideo Kojima, David Cage, American McGee or Will Wright game. In all but the last, it means it's a presumptious game that's inches away from actually being something new and different yet interesting.
 

Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
10,312
0
0
The only thing I've enjoyed from Kojima is the Boktai series. It seems the less technology he has at his disposal, the better he is.
Don't let him ruin Castlevania.
 

burningdragoon

Warrior without Weapons
Jul 27, 2009
1,935
0
0
Tom Goldman said:
It doesn't just mean that Kojima brought donuts to a videogame's staff meeting one day, tap danced on the table, and back-flipped out of the window into a jet fighter.
Which of course doesn't mean that he doesn't do all those things.

Whether you like the games or not, it's good to know that putting a name on a game actually means something.
 

Snotnarok

New member
Nov 17, 2008
6,310
0
0
It came off as egotistical for a moment till I realized he's saying "Hey mister Tom Clancy clean up your games they're a mess *cough* HAWX"