Will Kojima Sacrifice Quality For Multiplatform?

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

So we all know that Hideo Kojima will reveal his new project at E3 in June, and we're anxiously anticipating the unveiling. However, it seems to be a commonly accepted theory that this new title will be made for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Historically, Kojima has always sided with Sony's brand but he has admitted that he'd like to see his studio appeal more to the Western masses, and considering that, it would make sense to include the 360 in their future plans. But as we've said before that if a developer wishes to focus entirely on the PS3, they can make better strides (just look at the current and future PS3 exclusives), we have a question: if Kojima does a multiplatform game, will it fall short of the quality we saw in MGS4? Would he even allow that to happen?

We're banking on the fact that Kojima is both a master and a perfectionist, so we seriously doubt that he'd give us a lackluster production simply for the sake of appealing to more gamers on the 360. But at the same time, he has also said he never wanted to put any MGS installment on a Microsoft console, and some sources have claimed that MGS4 wouldn't even be possible on the 360 (perhaps due to the difficult Blu-Ray to DVD conversion). Now, we're not concluding anything one way or the other; we're merely asking the question. Even Kojima may have to make exceptions if he wants to include the 360 in his new vision, and those "exceptions" may translate to cutbacks of some kind. Because if there's one thing he doesn't want to do, it's produce a multiplatform game that's significantly better on the PS3; that'll just annoy the new audience you're attempting to reach. Therefore, if we assume both versions would have to be identical, could it be as good if he stuck with the PS3?

For my part, I just refuse to believe that Kojima would "gimp" anything. But he may be willing to adjust his efforts in order to accommodate the 360; that's the possibility that concerns me. I don't mind catering to a larger group and I don't mind that 360 owners would get to partake of Kojima's genius, but there's one thing I do know: the best PS3 exclusives typically outstrip the best third-party multiplatform titles, and there's a reason for that. But regardless and for the record, I have complete faith in this guy and even if it is multiplatform, I have no doubt that it'll rock. Just tossing this out there.

3/27/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (63 posts)

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Scarecrow
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:02:32 PM
Reply

I hope not
This is one exclusive if I were SCEJ I'd pay money to keep it as is.

0 up, 0 down

Snaaaake
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:06:17 PM
Reply

Kojima is a perfectionist?
Never knew bout that, but wait, if he is one, then......he'll bring the best out of the PS3 possible and port it to the 360 which is gonna RRoD the 360......
No Hideo, don't do it!!

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:14:33 PM
Reply

Not to nitpick Ben, but to clarify you might wanna change "I have doubt that it'll rock"

Back to the point: If he does want to bring Metal Gear to 360, he could just render all the cut scenes with the in-game engine. That saves a lot on the disc. Still I'd prefer a PS3-centric game only because exclusives are always better.

2 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:55:31 PM

Ech...trying to do like a hundred things at once. :(

1 up, 0 down

King James
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:24:28 PM

but world, All of the MGS cut-scenes ARE rendering with the in-game engine.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:27:39 PM

Nice "patch" Ben, lol.

Wasn't there cg in there? I don't even remember the graphics were so good...

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/27/2009 11:28:29 PM

0 up, 1 down

King James
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:38:50 PM

all the MGS cutscenes in all 4 MGS's were made with the in-game engine. ALL of them.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 1:43:02 AM

Sorry then King, I failed a moment. ITS RARE, so take note.

0 up, 1 down

King James
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 10:21:22 AM

failure is the secret to success.

2 up, 0 down

ImTheMan
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 1:21:08 PM

world=Fail

1 up, 4 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, March 29, 2009 @ 3:26:05 PM

I'm the Man= Josh dude what is your beef with me?

1 up, 0 down

LyleCapua
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:16:50 PM
Reply

So Kojima wants to make a multiplatform game and suddenly that's a bad thing? Is there any doubt that Kojima will put in all the effort to produce a tailor-made experience for each console, or are you just maligning his good name for no reason?

0 up, 4 down

King James
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:26:31 PM

Ben said that he was just asking the question. And that he knows Kojima won't half-ass anything on ANY platform.

Read a lil' b4 you flame.

3 up, 1 down

tlpn99
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:18:17 PM
Reply

As many others have said as much as Kojima is a perfectionist his stuff will not fit on 360 unless they use multi disc ah la Blue Odyesy or whatever that game was called. Unless he downs his Use Of PS3 technology but I can't see this happening. Ok a game comes out on PS3 and 360 PS3 is one maybe 2 blue ray discs and 360 is 4-8 discs at the end of the day you get what you pay for. It is as simple as that. If you cant afford it save up!

4 up, 0 down

ImTheMan
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:01:13 PM

blue odyssey? LOL wow where have you seen a game titled that at? LOL Oh I see, thats just the fanboy in you talking.

Last edited by ImTheMan on 3/27/2009 11:03:22 PM

0 up, 6 down

King James
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:27:32 PM

It was still funny though.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:29:53 PM

Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey mixup?

1 up, 0 down

tlpn99
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 11:01:31 AM

Yeah I couldnt remember the name but it was the one that came on 4 disks Lost Odysey lol ok so I got the name wrong :)

But you know what im saying if a game has to go on more discs I dont see the problem with it. the only problem being that when its annoyign when it comes to changing the disc when you reach further levels into the game.

1 up, 0 down

Morals
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:24:38 PM
Reply

making it multi-platform is setting up to not nearly get close to reaching MGS4 quality.

Last edited by Morals on 3/27/2009 10:25:20 PM

1 up, 0 down

Daedusian
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 10:25:43 PM
Reply

I say go for it if he wants to, but please, if you need 50GB of space.. USE IT! Just give the 360 5+ discs, that's all. If no one interrupts or limits Hideo's ability to create amazing stories/ideas/etc., no one will die!

Last edited by Daedusian on 3/27/2009 10:27:09 PM

0 up, 0 down

JasperLoons
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 12:19:44 AM

That's what I was thinking. I see no reason why MGS4 would not have been possible on the 360. It just would have taken several discs.
Hopefully, if they do they do release MGS5 on the 360 with multiple discs, they will throw in another joke about the PS3 players not having to switch discs though.

1 up, 0 down

Victor321
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:08:20 PM
Reply

My opinion is that if he goes the multi-platform route, I KNOW that Mr. Kojima will make both versions identical. I can see it coming if he decides to go for this route.

However, if Mr. Kojima decides to keep it exclusive, well that is fine by me, as he will see good sales and another fantastic game released, and we will see another quality title that once again, like games before it, will demonstrate the power of the PS3, rivaling, or surpassing MGS4.

Either way, it benefits Mr. Kojima and the consumers, like us here.

2 up, 0 down

karneli lll
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:22:17 PM
Reply

Square's idea of
"appeal more to the Western masses" might not be the same as Kojima's, besides, se's business plan is'nt bringing in much

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:32:15 PM

Let's hope not, Last Remanant failed by being more "western"

2 up, 0 down

King James
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:31:43 PM
Reply

I don't see what's wrong with making a game multi-plat if its runs better on one console compared to the other; given that the game on the lesser console is maxed out.

If I was a 360 fanboy and my Kojima game was inferior to the PS3 version but my 360 version maxed out my console, I wouldn't feel annoyed because I know that this is the best that my machine can do.

Its the same way I felt about games that are made to run on the PC but are also released on console (i.e. Bioshock, Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc.), but are inferior to their PC counterpart.

I say.."eh, so what? I don't wanna buy another video card for my PC anyway?" I play the inferior console version and everything is fine.

Last edited by King James on 3/27/2009 11:37:19 PM

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, March 27, 2009 @ 11:33:41 PM

This didn't used to be an issue for devs, I remember playing Mortal Kombat on my SNES and then playing it on my friend's Genesis, sure his had blood (and I'm ashamed of this) but I laughed when I saw that piece of crap. Maybe they want to avoid this kind of humiliation, but I'm just saying multiplats used to be unabashedly different.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 3/27/2009 11:33:48 PM

2 up, 0 down

ImTheMan
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 12:07:02 AM
Reply

As long as you have fun playing the game on your system of choosing, this shouldn't matter.

-1 up, 4 down

godsman
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 1:31:50 AM
Reply

if you have seen Kojima's speech at GDC 09, seem like "appealing to Western gamers" means the development process. But his speech was too deep. Anyone make anything out of it?

0 up, 0 down

JackieBoy
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:43:38 AM
Reply

I don't care if it's on Xbox360 as long as it will be high quality product on both consoles.

1 up, 0 down

raidtimedope
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 6:10:29 AM
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i dont think hes a perfectionist but anyway

if this goes to 360, obviously its gonna be a watered down version

cuz Kojima's goal would be to make something better and MGS4 rite?

and you just cant do that if you put this on the 360 now can you?

i think not

3 up, 0 down

Snaaaake
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 7:05:07 AM

Well.....Hideo-san can lower the quality of the 360 version until it fits.
Not problem for Hideo to make a 360 version, unless he's being a devil and want to crash the 360 cell.

1 up, 0 down

InfiniteRetro
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 6:33:45 AM
Reply

well at the moment devs are starting to see why sony did what they have with the ps3. blu-ray and the cell. who the hell wants to play mgs4 over 6 dvds. honestly whats the point. if kojima is the perfectionist we've all read i think he'd want to make an incredibly stellar title on the platform he thinks is best suited. and that would be ps3. blu-ray isnt just size its quality, and even carmack is taking note that the processor in the ps3 can do things a lot better.i hope kojima stays with sony.

3 up, 0 down

Naga
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 7:12:51 AM
Reply

It would fail I wouldn't like to see MG5 or ZOE 3 not to use the Playstation 3s full potential because of 6th gen hardware

Last edited by Naga on 3/28/2009 7:13:10 AM

2 up, 0 down

Snaaaake
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 7:45:55 AM

6th gen?

0 up, 0 down

isaya85
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 7:24:08 AM
Reply

Just as long as MGS stays exclusive to PS3 I'm good he can make everything else multiplatform I'm not greedy

PSN ID Biggest_GMoney

1 up, 0 down

slugga_status
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 9:16:34 AM
Reply

I wouldn't be mad if it came out on the 360. At the same time though, and I think somebody else said this, I would think his goal is to create something better than MGS4. That can't be done on the 360.

I wouldn't want a game that spans 6 discs that would be too annoying. Only games I can remember that I had that were multi disc were RE2 and MGS.

1 up, 0 down

Godslim
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 12:38:47 PM
Reply

as long as its not the next mgs on 360 i dont really mind

0 up, 0 down

sammyt
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 1:16:14 PM
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I have no doubt that whatever Kojima's doing will be anything short of phenominal. However I believe that when focusing efforts on a single console the results tend to be more in your favor. So, I hope that Kojima's next MGS game is a PS3 exclusive (I NEED this to happen) , if it's not a MGS game , then I won't mind it's going multi-plat. I have to agree mostly with what you said though. Nice article.

1 up, 0 down

HOODGE
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 1:17:28 PM
Reply

Knowing Microsoft as the weasels they are about throwing money at developers to steal exclusives wouldn't suprise me. Only thing is if you even consider the bluray medium over DVD, when it comes to SPU's and processing power, the 360 just can't measure up to the power of the cell processor. It's not just being able to throw mass amount of data on multiple discs to be able to put the game on 360, it's the processing power to being able to compute the data, and Microsofts machine simply won't be able to be able to run a game like MGS4 or for that matter Killzone 2. Sure they have the ram and stuff, but their triple core processor is outdated compared to Sony's Cell technology. Cell is what drives the PS3 and also delivers the gorgous graphics we see with the help of the RSX processor. So to put a game of the likes of MGS4 is still not gonna look or run the same as how it would run on PS3.

That's my problem with these multiplatform games such as Call of Duty fps's and EA Sports titles, even the Resident Evil series. They have to keep the game at bay so it can run equally on both machines, and cannot turn up the horsepower for Sony's machine as it would cause a lot of angry Microsoft customers. That's why it's important for Kojima to stick with the better platform to express is genius on. He has always been on Sony's platform and if he is smart he will stay on it. I just can't see him drop the quality in his next game to go on Microcraps platform. He's not about going the opposite direction.

2 up, 1 down

ImTheMan
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 1:27:59 PM

You didnt sound like a fanboy until that second to last sentence. Now you have lost all credibility.

2 up, 3 down

rell
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 9:28:31 PM

@HOODGE I agree with u, some gamers still don't understand that the ps3 is the true next gen. The ps3 has a balance in technical wise but the 360 don't, the 360 has power but no speed like the cell processor it can make quick calculations and it has power. Sony know wat they are doing when they chose the cell processor and blu-ray disk. I guess kojima will give pioneer a call for the 400gigs blu-ray disk. Ps3 is the best console on the market it play games on a lvl 360 can't. I owned a 360 but I gave it to my sister. Nothing appeal to me on that console except SO4.

Last edited by rell on 3/28/2009 9:35:14 PM

0 up, 0 down

Thinker
Monday, March 30, 2009 @ 10:15:52 PM

@ImTheMan

"HOODGE - You didnt sound like a fanboy until that second to last sentence. Now you have lost all credibility."

Unlike you who seemed like a 360 fanboy from day one :)

Last edited by Thinker on 3/30/2009 10:16:40 PM

0 up, 0 down

smileys_007
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 3:02:30 PM
Reply

nice article ben, very well said. In my personal opinion, mgs should stay as a ps3 exclusive. i'm not against the xbox 360. it's just that i feel that mgs belongs to the playstation just like halo is for the xbox 360.

1 up, 0 down

Deadman
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:14:47 PM
Reply

First off I do not own a 360 and Im not defending it but is there any real proof that a multiplat of any game is cut back for the 360? GTA4 was pretty big and it looked good on both from what Id seen, and I just completed Dead Space, if it looks as good on the 360 as it did on the PS3 (and it was beautiful) then I can see any game being multiplat.

0 up, 0 down

Deadman
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:14:55 PM
Reply

0 up, 0 down

King James
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:23:32 PM

run resistance or killzone on the box and see what happens.

1 up, 0 down

Deadman
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:46:48 PM

Wheres the proof port them to the 360 show a video show proof, all Im sayin King I wanna see it I wanna see a 360 explode cause it cant handle the pure awesomeness of these games.

0 up, 0 down

Godslim
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 8:08:58 PM

i think though if they set out to make r2 on 360 they could it graphics arent even that good

0 up, 0 down

elass0wyp0
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:21:05 PM
Reply

Multiplatform games have to run on all M$ SKUs, that means the arcade 360 with out a HDD. This may or may not be why most multiplat games are made on 360 first then ported to PS3. The lowest common denominator in the console war is the arcade 360. They'd have to get it to run on that. I doubt that will be easy.

Money or loyalty? Money will win and gamers will suffer. If this does happen, make sure you express your opinion with your wallets.

2 up, 0 down

HOODGE
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 4:47:21 PM
Reply

Im The Man, sorry for sounding like a fanboy. I really don't care if you feel I lost credibility. It so happens I own all three next generation machines (including 2 purchased 360's due to the crap reliability - hence the crapbox 3fixme name I use for it now). Sorry if that offends you, but I'm sick of Microsoft garbage and love that fact that in all my experience owning Sony products they have all been Rock Solid. So maybe I've lost my credibility with you, but I'm sure others will agree with the name Crapbox 3FIXME.

By the way you're avatar and stuff looks like you are a Crapbox fanboy so there. And yes I do love my PS3 10times better than my crapbox so if that makes me a fanboy so be it. Sure you're not that idiot Josh Adams 360 who was on here causing a nusance of himself before?

4 up, 1 down

ImTheMan
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 11:12:15 PM

"hoodge" You are nothing but an idiot fanboy. Shut up talking to me, and continue your puberty stupid.

Last edited by ImTheMan on 3/28/2009 11:13:18 PM

0 up, 4 down

SerichA
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 5:58:22 PM
Reply

Xbox 360 is dominant in the Western market for games like Halo 3 and Gears of War 1 and 2. The PS3 rose in popularity mainly because of MGS4, in 2008. Now what if the next project is PS3 exclusive? The PS3's number of system sellers will go up, of course, and the popularity of the PS3 would increase even further. If the system sellers become popular enough, the PS3 will catch up to the 360 in no time. And to add to that, I don't think Kojima's loyalty would randomly terminate after making MGS4, though if I were him I would go multiplatform–if sales were that important. Are they to Kojima? MGS4 seems to suggest not..

Last edited by SerichA on 3/28/2009 5:59:13 PM

0 up, 0 down

Snaaaake
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 6:27:51 PM
Reply

They attempted to get MGS4 on the 360, have you ever seen Sony tried to get Halo(bungie and Microsoft are now separated so they can), or NG or GeOW?
Well NG is because of Tecmo themselves.
Thing is, Microsoft is now trying to prevent all great games from going to the PS3 exclusively and they succeeded and failed.
Wonder will Microsoft splash lots of money and try to get Mario?

0 up, 0 down

ImTheMan
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 11:15:37 PM

They never "tried" to get mgs4. It's comments like these that show me the level of ignorance of some of you kids.

0 up, 5 down

eLLeJuss
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 10:16:38 PM
Reply

Meh, i wouldnt say that xbox has bad quality. look at gears. its a high quality game with one of the best graphics ever. It wont affect the quality even if they wanted to make it multiplatform.IMO

0 up, 0 down

Reccaman18
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 11:16:33 PM
Reply

I seem to remember Kojima saying he dislikes the 360. I dont think he'd make a game for the 360, but I could be wrong.

0 up, 0 down

Matador_THOS
Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 11:33:21 PM
Reply

Kojima is really awesome with his Metal Gear I know he wouldn't let the fans down. As for the 360 its kinda undeserving of being a part of it lol.

0 up, 0 down

HOODGE
Sunday, March 29, 2009 @ 2:43:52 AM
Reply

I'm the Man, learn how to speak (puberty stupid). You started it by butting into my first comment, so take you're 3fixme avatar and go to a all Xbox fansite. I don't know if you can read, but this is PSXExtreme which is an all Playstation fansite. XBox fanboys are not welcome here. Go pick a fight with someone else. My comments have been perfectly true and I'm not interested in XBots at all. Be smart and buy yourself a Playstation and get with the program.

3 up, 0 down

rell
Sunday, March 29, 2009 @ 9:12:46 AM

@HOODGE don't waste your time with Im the Man, let this year for ps3 speak for itself. We got a big first party line this year, which is something that M$ is not good at. M$ wasted there money on third party titles instead of investing in firstparty. @Im the Man if u can't take the heat get your a$$ out of psxe.com. Why would a xbot fanboy wasted his time arguing with ps3 owners on this site. Has M$ payed u Im the Man to disrupt the playstation community. Yes I'am a ps fanboy but I find it a wasted of time disputing with xbots fanboys on xbox.com. I will stick with psxe.com and ps forums

2 up, 0 down

smileys_007
Sunday, March 29, 2009 @ 2:21:20 PM
Reply

@ImTheMan

hey pal just a question do you even have a ps3? cuz i think you don't have one.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, March 29, 2009 @ 3:38:35 PM

he cant afford it.

2 up, 0 down

Banky A
Monday, March 30, 2009 @ 1:24:18 AM

Haha, good one.

>=]

Wait.. >_<

0 up, 0 down

twenty8nine
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 @ 2:47:45 AM
Reply

If Kojima does go multi-platform and preserve the integrity of his products, he basically has two options:
1)Multiple discs for 360, leading to annoyingly frequent pauses to change discs.
2)Multiple discs to install most of them on the HDD, producing a very similar experience to that on PS3. Microsoft would love this idea, since many people wanting the game would have to buy their exclusive HDDs.

But then again, wouldn't running even a short segment of a high-quality game lead to multiple errors on 360?

0 up, 0 down

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