Next Metal Gear Solid May Be Too Controversial to Release

[Little Gray]

This can go two ways:
1) It's a deep, affecting, mature story that deals with heavy themes and is better than most other medium's take on the subjects due to using the inherent interactivity of games to it's advantage, like Spec Ops.
2) It's a twisted, convoluted, pretentious mess of poor story and odd gameplay that makes WH40K look like Kirby and features too many over-the-top or intetionlly silly moments to be taken seriously.
Either way, idiot fans are gonna ***** about the lack of Snake, unless this is a prequel that involves Snake, which I highly doubt. Personally, though I've never actually play a Metal Gear game (flame me all you like) I really hope Hideo pulls it off. I'm a sucker for a good story.

You play as Big Boss who is the original snake so the fans shouldnt complain about the lack of Solid Snake. It takes place almost directly after peace walker which was the psp game and was in the mgs collection for 360 and ps3.

Although I appreciate the fact that someone is willing to take the "creativity over profitability" stance, it's got to be a hell of a lot easier to make when you've got the kind of brand recognition that Metal Gear does. I can't believe that this is apparently coming out later this year being that this is the first I've heard of it.

Its not really surprising that you have not heard about it. They released a single 15 minute gameplay/trailer several months back and that is it. I think it was at the mgs 25th anniversary or something like that.

 

[BrotherRool]

Ground Zeroes = 9/11 reference?

No, Ground Zero is a term for a point of origin of something devastating. For example, the Ground Zeroes for the atomic bomb are Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

Cheers! That makes a lot more sense with the time frame its set in to

 

[CaptainMarvelous]

Oh yeah, the old Crawford-Kojima-Cage-Yohalem waltz of video game depth.

Self-centered Developer: VIDEO GAMES ARE TOO SCARED OF MATURE THEMES. BEHOLD MY VIDEOGAME ABOUT SEXISM/RACISM/RAPE/CHILD SOLDIERS/POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER/SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM COLLAPSE IN WHICH I PUSH ALL OF THE BOUNDARIES
Serious Gamers: Wow, I've been waiting for a game that deals with these serious themes in a sensible manner for ages! Maybe this will finally be a big game that's also smart:
Game: *sounds of farting*
Serious Gamers: This is horrible. For a theme that they claimed was the driving force behind the game's entire concept, their research on it seems to have consisted on asking an intoxicated college hippie what they thought of it. There's not a single conclusion the game leads to that hasn't been made, rebutted and recreated by everyone who is familiar with this subject to any degree higher than 'read a book about it once'.
Self-centered Developer: OBVIOUSLY YOU ARE TOO AFRAID OF MY SERIOUS THEMES, ONCE AGAIN MY GENIUS REMAINS UNAPPRECIATED BY THE UNWASHED MASSES

Because what we as gamers need is intellectual elitism. That'll really advance the medium when we scoff at any attempt to address complicated topics as being poorly done because the writers of videogames cant trump academic study. Seriously though, in a medium where "that ones red, I must shoot it because I'm blue" do we really need to lay into the folks that try?

OT: I doubt it'll be too controversial to release, like everyones pointed, having MGS on the box guarantees sales
Hopefully gameplay'll be good too. Kojima. You're remembering its a GAME this time right, Kojima?

 

[Xarathox]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

Somebody has not seen the phantom pain trailer ;p

Well, I just did. Didn't even know about it(I don't follow the industry much anymore). Looks interesting, but I fail to see what it has to do with my previous comment?

 

[aba1]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

Somebody has not seen the phantom pain trailer ;p

Well, I just did. Didn't even know about it(I don't follow the industry much anymore). Looks interesting, but I fail to see what it has to do with my previous comment?

You were saying Hideo only advertises one way and this whole trailer is giant easter egg to the point literally nothing in it says it is even a metal gear solid game at all even the company just sprung up out of the ground. I would say the trailer is a very unique way of sturing up interest especially since it hides any relation to mgs at all.

 

[gigastar]

Ground Zeroes = 9/11 reference?

Nah you can get away with referencing 9/11 now, not like in MGS2 when they had to edit out the Arsenal Gear ramming into Manhattan for it.

Nazis, however...

 

[IronMit]

ok....MGS...even more 'mature' then usual ...and thinking of western politics and controversial subjects;

Child soldiers

Killing children

Rape/incest

False flag terrorisim plotline

PLaying as Big Boss who officially becomes a terrorist

Attacking the US

Weird moment in MGS2; Otacan left home because his dad killed himself because Otacon boned his step mum

weird moment in MGS3; Snake; she was like my mother and my master. Eva: your lover? . Me?!?!!?! wtf!!

 

[Xarathox]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

Somebody has not seen the phantom pain trailer ;p

Well, I just did. Didn't even know about it(I don't follow the industry much anymore). Looks interesting, but I fail to see what it has to do with my previous comment?

You were saying Hideo only advertises one way and this whole trailer is giant easter egg to the point literally nothing in it says it is even a metal gear solid game at all even the company just sprung up out of the ground. I would say the trailer is a very unique way of sturing up interest especially since it hides any relation to mgs at all.

True I suppose. It is an interesting trailer.

He's still a liar.

 

[aba1]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

Somebody has not seen the phantom pain trailer ;p

Well, I just did. Didn't even know about it(I don't follow the industry much anymore). Looks interesting, but I fail to see what it has to do with my previous comment?

You were saying Hideo only advertises one way and this whole trailer is giant easter egg to the point literally nothing in it says it is even a metal gear solid game at all even the company just sprung up out of the ground. I would say the trailer is a very unique way of sturing up interest especially since it hides any relation to mgs at all.

True I suppose. It is an interesting trailer.

He's still a liar.

lmao ohh you and your convictions XD

 

[mysecondlife]

So, Metal Gear 2 wasn't crossing the line?

Meh, I'll end up quietly buying this game anyways.

 

[scorptatious]

Even though I think he's snooker loopy, I admire him quite a bit. Someone needs to try and do this stuff, even if it's going to be in year-long cutscenes.

...I still loved MGS4 though. I do accept I'm a bit of a Metal Gear fanboy.

Same here. While I'll admit, MGS4 has some LOOOOOOONG cutscenes, that didn't ruin the overall experience for me.

OT: I have yet to play Rising. Perhaps I'll get around to it eventually, but for now, I'm looking forward to Ground Zeroes.

Torture done by protagonists 5:2

Considering that there's a torture sequence in nearly every Metal Gear Solid game, it would be pretty interesting to see the tables turn in Snake's favor. Not sure how one would handle something like that though.

 

[weirdee]

I'm pretty sure that he's doing this so that they stop forcing him to make more metal gear solid games.

 

[Yopaz]

All I want to know is if I actually get to play the game at some point rather than watch it.

 

[Sylveria]

Moral of the story, GO BUY METAL GEAR RISING, it's fucking amazing.

 

[teh_Canape]

Ground Zeroes = 9/11 reference?

No, Ground Zero is a term for a point of origin of something devastating. For example, the Ground Zeroes for the atomic bomb are Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

this makes me wonder
if the game will revolve around actual ground zeroes and such, or if it's some sort of play on words with "heroes" involving a bunch of antihero ground soldiers

also didn't he say the Solid sub-series was over? =P
may have gotten something wrong there though

 

[bananafishtoday]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

I gotta argue that the lying I assume you're referring to (playable Snake in Big Shell) had legitimate artistic merit. The entire game attacks the idea of wanting to be Snake and idealizing him as a hero. MGS2 is at its core an extended "fuck you" to the player.

 

[Xarathox]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

I gotta argue that the lying I assume you're referring to (playable Snake in Big Shell) had legitimate artistic merit. The entire game attacks the idea of wanting to be Snake and idealizing him as a hero. MGS2 is at its core an extended "fuck you" to the player.

There was also that interview with him stating that the jungle section of MGS3 was more sandbox than the previous titles. Which it certainly wasn't.

 

[bananafishtoday]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

I gotta argue that the lying I assume you're referring to (playable Snake in Big Shell) had legitimate artistic merit. The entire game attacks the idea of wanting to be Snake and idealizing him as a hero. MGS2 is at its core an extended "fuck you" to the player.

There was also that interview with him stating that the jungle section of MGS3 was more sandbox than the previous titles. Which it certainly wasn't.

Oh, I hadn't heard that, and yeah, not defending it. I just get twitchy whenever the MGS2 marketing is brought up because I feel like a lot of people don't appreciate what the game was trying to be.

 

[Xarathox]

Some of his concerns over these "taboos" are probably normal everyday subject matter for western audiences. Then again, he's probably just straight up lying to drum up interest, since that's the only tactic he's used since MGS2.

I gotta argue that the lying I assume you're referring to (playable Snake in Big Shell) had legitimate artistic merit. The entire game attacks the idea of wanting to be Snake and idealizing him as a hero. MGS2 is at its core an extended "fuck you" to the player.

There was also that interview with him stating that the jungle section of MGS3 was more sandbox than the previous titles. Which it certainly wasn't.

Oh, I hadn't heard that, and yeah, not defending it. I just get twitchy whenever the MGS2 marketing is brought up because I feel like a lot of people don't appreciate what the game was trying to be.

Oh, I do appreciate it. The MGS series is in my top 2 of all time favorites. And MGS2 in particular is my favorite from the series. The whole ending with GW talking smack to you, made me replay it about a bajillion times just to even wrap my mind around all the crazy.

 

[Therumancer]

Well, we have no idea what these themes could be...

Still, glad to see Kojima deciding to push the envelope. A lot of games are playing it way too safe nowadays.

Also, I'm starting to wonder if Rising really is selling well.

Well, with the name "Ground Zeroes" the image that comes to mind from a Japanese developer is a game that is basically involved in even more Western/US bashing than normal, with a focus on the horrors of the A-bombs dropped on Japan minus Japan's own attitude at the time and the whole situation that lead to that.

While it goes back a loooong time, I remember reading that Raiden was developed for racist reasons since the series was military and having a Gaijin hero didn't go over well with the Japanese market. They tried to replace Snake early on, but Western fans didn't go for it, and that's where the money was.

At the end of the day I've never found Metal Gear to be especially deep to be honest, it just tends to throw in a lot of science fiction tropes along with it's political commentary, but always pretty much comes down to a very simplistic series of events, just with a complicated backstory. At the end of the day your playing some sneaky soldier who needs to take out a bunch of dudes in trap filled complexs to prevent a group of psychopaths from doing bad things. It tends to mostly get complicated when you look at the backstory, who is supposed to be sympathetic for what reason, and how we got to this point, but in the end we're always back to an analogy to Reagan's old MX missle program (the idea of moving missles around the country constantly so they couldn't be targeted or stolen very easily), replacing trains and other forms of realistic transport with a nuclear armed mecha. The thought that the US could (and arguably still can) destroy the world 10x over and there wasn't even a chance of targeting the missles was terrifying, and this largely revolves around the idea of what happened if a third party with an agenda was able to basically do the same thing (which requires a mecha or something like that because a group of terrorists wouldn't have the nessicary control of a national infrastructure).

I of course could very well be wrong, but I half expect Kojima's idea of mature means that he plans to lay into the US more than ever before, and is mostly concerned that the western market won't want to listen to him rant and rave through a game once they catch on since he's taking it to an entirely new extreme. Of course with how well received a lot of other US bashing games have been (many made by the US) he might figure now is the time to take the plunge if he's ever going to do it.

That's my thoughts just by looking at the title, which of course at this point could be very wrong.