Kojima: 2009 Will Be A Year Of Change, "We Start From Zero"
See Full ImageEarlier, we brought you the story regarding Kojima Productions' plans for 2009, which apparently includes two brand new projects. Then, we hear about the possibility of one of those projects being more "Western-oriented" in design, and now, Hideo Kojima clarifies that position by saying his studio is going to "start from zero" in 2009.
According to what he told Famitsu, Kojima wants to compete on a global scale from here on out, and they're "currently reviewing everything - from the team structure to tools and our staff - in order to make Kojima Productions a team that can challenge foreign creators and software houses." Although Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots sold very well and was a legitimate phenomenon in the video game industry, it still wasn't quite as successful as something like Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. We'll never doubt Kojima's ability and drive, so we don't think of this as "selling out;" we merely see the team moving in a slightly different direction in order to appeal to a wider audience. Said Kojima:
"I've come to understand that the way we've made games up until now won't translate globally, and I've come to think that I need to make Kojima Productions a team that can compete alongside the rest of the world. I've thought a lot about how Western games have been winning, looking it from a global perspective, and there are things that I've noticed. So 2009 will be a year of change, a year where we start from zero again."
This is a common refrain from Japanese developers these days, as it becomes clearer that Western studios are beginning to dominate the industry in terms of popularity and, in some cases, quality. We figure that if Kojima wants to lead the charge into more mainstream appeal, we're okay with that. He can do no wrong, as far as we're concerned.
1/5/2009 Ben Dutka
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Comments (Beta)
wasim
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:16:16 PM
In US it sells because it is cheap
In 2009 X360 is completely finished. KZ2 /GOW3/UNCHARTED 2 will make x360 look so backdated
Plus why would Kojima downgrade games for x360 ?
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bearbobby
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:45:01 PM
No doubt about it there are some people in the US, UK, AU, or anywhere outside of Japan that just don't GET the Japanese style of storytelling. The pacing, dialogue, content, characters and their choices are sometimes so left of the norm (read: familiar to viewer) that folks might not understand the story or worse, be totally turned off by the experience.
I'm all for Kojima and friends to strive for a more mainstream product, but at the same time it would be quite a shame if, by trying to appease what they consider to be the mainstream, they dumb down the game too much.
Fingers crossed that won't be the case. We don't need video games going the way of mainstream tv.
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KING313
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:14:13 PM
Reply
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SHADOW [Moderator]
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:14:14 PM
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jerocarson
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:21:04 PM
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CHANGE is coming, and it's coming to the gaming industry!
cheers.
1 up, 3 down
Troy Powers
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:37:08 PM
I don't mind you being racist. Just do it somewhere else.
1 up, 2 down
bearbobby
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:47:55 PM
3 up, 0 down
coverton341
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:56:33 PM
4 up, 1 down
ffrulez
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 3:03:43 PM
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 3:06:18 PM
5 up, 4 down
FLYING_APE
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 7:26:15 PM
bush is a retarted cowboy and sarah palin is a cun*. Shows you how dumb america is that bush and palin made/nearly made it to the white house. GOD F**K AMERICA the world hates you! freedom of speech ben
Last edited by FLYING_APE on 1/5/2009 7:32:41 PM
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Scarecrow
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 8:34:09 PM
3 up, 0 down
somethingrandom
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 10:39:03 PM
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noshownogo
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:21:32 PM
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1 up, 0 down
jerocarson
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:29:56 PM
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CHANGE is coming, and it's coming to the gaming industry!
cheers.
1 up, 2 down
Aftab
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:41:27 PM
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MetalHead09
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:54:39 PM
Last edited by MetalHead09 on 1/5/2009 2:55:00 PM
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jerocarson
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:44:18 PM
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................................................
Hideo kojima is really a perfectionist, there is no room for error.
what if he decides to create a game that will diminish GTA, i mean a GTA killer.
hmmmm, what else can i say, all eyes on.
everyone's watching closely, expectations are really high.
i know he can't afford to disappoint.
but we'd hope one of them stays exclusive to the PS3!
cheers!
Last edited by jerocarson on 1/5/2009 1:50:22 PM
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Zorigo
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 1:53:59 PM
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SarahPalinMILF
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:25:06 PM
1 up, 2 down
StrategicGnomer
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:33:20 PM
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chaosrunner
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:57:08 PM
There are certainly things about MGS4 that you can objectively state are better; for instance, I think you'd need to be blind to think that GTA4 was graphically superior. But graphics alone do not make for a better overall game.
The fact of the matter is that GTA4 sold better than MGS4. It appears to have appealed to a broader audience, although much of that could be because it's a better known franchise. But the question of which game is the best is a matter of personal taste. For me, Valkyria Chronicles is superior to both of them because I enjoy the style of game more. But that certainly doesn't give me the authority to state that it's a better game overall for everyone.
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ffrulez
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 3:04:17 PM
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somethingrandom
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 10:40:55 PM
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dr-GerOme NimZO
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 7:26:52 PM
What I'm saying is I don't think you had to jump on him just because of how he worded his statement. If you think GTA is better then you guys can argue you opinions in the end but will just end up being a matter of what kind of game you like.
Last edited by dr-GerOme NimZO on 1/6/2009 7:28:42 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:28:01 PM
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Deleted User
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:38:49 PM
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I cant wait to sample his work. Iv heard nothing but good things about his games.
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MetalHead09
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 2:57:40 PM
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Arvis
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 3:14:53 PM
-Arvis
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Cuetes
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 6:35:43 PM
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dr-GerOme NimZO
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 7:30:52 PM
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ffrulez
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 3:14:58 PM
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Hello westernised games... *sob*
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Sir Shak
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 3:28:36 PM
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Qubex
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 11:27:59 PM
Q!
"i aM HoMe"
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Ultimadream
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 5:02:59 PM
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karneli lll
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 5:26:19 PM
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1 up, 0 down
MetalHead09
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 7:47:50 PM
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ps92117
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 8:12:38 PM
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SHADOW [Moderator]
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 5:33:14 PM
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Buckeyestar
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 10:09:49 PM
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isaya85
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 10:34:39 PM
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PSN ID Biggest_GMoney
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BeezleDrop
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 11:56:26 PM
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Wage SLAVES
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 12:05:14 AM
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Wage SLAVES
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 7:35:33 AM
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raidtimedope
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 10:41:45 AM
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to be absolutely honest, MGS4 is a great game, solid game, qualitywise and everything
BUT
its like 90 percent cut scenes and 10 percent gameplay, thats something i dont like i dont wanna watch a movie i wanna play a game for crying out loud, i literally used to skip thru most of the cutscenes to get into gameplay when and after 5 minutes ended up with another lonnnnnng cutscene.
GTA IV has much more fun value, much much much much more solid gameplay, solid story etc etc, and u can spend countless hours on GTA IV.
and speaking of graphics a game on a scale of GTA IV, the graphics in my opinion are beautiful, the facial animations of the GTA IV characters are much better than MGS4's blank looking faces, the only face in MGS4 which had any emotions or animations was Snake him self.
to wrap it up, only if MGS4 had lesser cutscenes i wouldve kept my MGS4 CD with me instead of trading it for another game.
PS: just stating my honest opinion thats all.
:)
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Banky A
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:32:38 AM
I just can't count the hours I tried restarting missions in other games to see different voices or outcomes eh?
:P
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shaydey77
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 5:00:49 PM
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orangpelupa
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 9:40:25 PM
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maybe kojma will make game title "Zero" >_<
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TheBand1t
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 11:31:59 PM
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SHADOW [Moderator]
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:25:41 AM
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tanner1
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 5:34:10 PM
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0 up, 1 down
raidtimedope
Thursday, January 08, 2009 @ 9:32:03 AM
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if GTA IV was a PS3 Exclusive it would have sold almost just as much as it sold being multiplat, believe me it would have been the highest exclusive hardware selling game off all time
think about it
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Arvis
Reply
Monday, January 05, 2009 @ 12:51:53 PM
-Arvis