Hideo Kojima is widely regarded as one of the most imaginative minds in video games, and speaking during a Death Stranding panel at the San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, he admitted that he has no interest in following the Battle Royale boom. To the sound of thunderous applause, he said: “The easiest way to make money is to make a game where everyone is on an island trying to shoot each other. I don't want to make that.”
To be fair, not every Battle Royale game has found success, so we think Kojima is being a teensy bit reductive here. Of course, we’re thrilled that the auteur is charting his own path, and we think the industry needs more unique projects like Death Stranding in order to thrive. As our Mum used to say: variety is the spice of life.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 37
I would give most anything to sit in a room with him for an hour and listen to his ideas for games and stuff. He has a genius for the craft to be sure.
Try telling the Fortnite devs it’s easy, they’d probably give you a slap, if they have the energy to lift their hands, that is.
@Rsco6969 to be honest, TO BE HONEST, I love MGS, but the guys a bit of a plum.
Lol tell the devs dealing with "perpetual crunch" at Epic to keep new content that its the easiest way to make money lol. Sometimes i wish he could just shut his mouth and let the games talk. But MGS5 was easily his worst title- everyone blames Konami- we will find out in a few months if he can still push the medium like in the past
@Nyne11Tyme I'm of the same opinion to be honest, MGS5 was overall a disappointment when it had so much promise, and I don’t buy it being completely down to Konami. Death Stranding has a lot riding on it. But to be fair a lot of people who have seen it have said it’s “amazing”, whether they are unbiased or know what they are talking about is another story. Still, I’m optimistic
Too much gameplay and not enough cutscenes for his taste.
Fortnite Battle Royale is much more personally enjoyable for me than the Phantom Pain, soooooooo wet fart noise
Hideo Kojima you Sir are a Legend.
@RBMango Idk, gameplay definitely wasn't the downfall of MGSV, it was more the terrible delivery of crucial plot points. I mean, the game let you shoot a ROCKET HAND!
@kyleforrester87 Yeah, some of TPP's problems would be there regardless of the Konami stuff. The open worlds were deliberately made to be barren since the main focus was on having multiple ways to infiltrate each base, the side ops paled compared to Peace Walker on the PSP and the story, even taking into consideration the cut Chapter 3 stuff, was a bit of a non event aside from a handful of segments and the intro.
I think what everybody here or anywhere else is getting wrong out of what Kojima-san says is that he means it's 'relatively' easier.
And please before disagreeing, go check how much money Fortnite makes by simply copy-pasting skins and selling them over-priced to people who willingly spend hundreds of dollars on.
Yes, when you compare that way of profiting from games to developing a single-player game for 4-5 years, sweating and bleeding behind computers... it's way easier, isn't it?
I say this not because I've been a fan of Kojima and that he's my idol, I say it because I feel single-player games are being oppressed in this generation and the developers aren't getting enough credit for doing what they do.
If you don't already appreciate the hardship they go through to make a game that is actually valuable and is truly a work of art, watch the "Raising Kratos" Documentary on Playsation channel. I bet it'll change your views drastically.
3D modeling skins that are pretty much copied from other places is a much easier task to make money of, don't talk sh!t about Kojima shutting his mouth...
Cheers.
Why add another battle royale title to the pile when you can make a game that is an unforgettable and unique experience?
@nessisonett It's a good game, but it was unbelievably terrible from a storytelling perspective. And having the second consist of old level with higher difficulty was the pits.
@Homo-Ludens I get what your saying, but just look at the evidence from this gen. Live service games are hardly easy to get right and maintain.
Battle royal is an eyesore on the gaming community. Stiry drivem games are so much better and mgs 5 was amazing
If it was that easy then every BR game would be a success there are very few which reach a high player number and constantly maintain player counts. BR games are ever evolving. They promote social interaction and players can also make good money playing them.
I’m not a big fan of Battle Royale titles either, but each to their own.
@kyleforrester87 me too. All the hoopla from industry insiders has me cautiously optimistic. And his track record is pretty great overall
I dont want to play that myself, mind you, I wasnt that keen on MGSV either.
Peaked at MGS3, in my opinion. MGS4 was great, though.
Still playing MGSV to this today. Hoping Death Stranding will be the game that takes over.
Fortnite isn't much more complex than a mobile game, no thanks.
I'd rather play fortnite than most if his crap tbh. At least in battle royales you play something instead if watching 30 hours of confusing cutscenes.
Kojima is a gamer's developer. He puts maximum effort into everything he does and is very creative. He is one of a few devs left that gives players their money's worth and not trying to sell a service.
I still wanna see him make a full length movie
@GodGamer which devs in your opinion besides Kojima
Battle Royales are a fad, a trend. Kojima doesn't follow trends, he sets them. Good for him!
Good for him! (Me as well).
@Derpie1 Sony and Nintendo devs but that is to be expected from first party. People bashed Days Gone but they put a lot of effort and content into the game but the unteal engine was a mistake. Breath of the Wild had its issues too but the world they built and all the content they put into it was far above most third party games. As for third party. Atlus, CD Red, ID, Capcom (made a comeback besides SF5), Vanillaware and Platinum. Most third party just cares about selling games and micros now. Rocksteady has done great with the Batman series too.
@kyleforrester87 Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that making online games (generally battle royale in this case) is an easy task. But we can agree that it's relatively easier, right? because to be honest, it's easier to sell people a battle royale now than it is to sell them an entirely new IP that they hardly understand.
Games like PUBG, H1Z1 and the likes of them that were the pioneers of the genre had it hard. They were experimental games and hard to sell, probably, but Fortnite and Apex had it easy. Everything was set out for them to succeed. Now people even call out to Kojima because of his choice of the box art... it's crazy! lol
sorry I speak too much
@Homo-Ludens the development process must be so different I really don’t think it’s fair to compare them, but I would agree there are fewer developers out there who could make a game like Kojima does versus a game like Fortnite so in that sense it’s easier.
I think Kojima is doing what comes to him quite naturally though. Actually it would be fun to see him try a BR lol.
Jesus the guy said "HE" is not personally interested in make games like Fortnite, and people go on the offensive? Cant anyone have an opinion on the internet anymore?... pathetic.
@kyleforrester87 no, he has an opinion.
@kyleforrester87 I think some time ago Miyazaki did mention an interest in making a Battle Royale, maybe he tries it instead of Kojima and we'll see another genius mind in the game industry give it a go.
To be honest, I can't wait for Miyazaki to try a hardcore Battle Royale XD
There was actually a battle royale mode on Metal Gear Online on the PS3. I wonder if he knows that.
The twist was everyone was equipped with a camo invisibility suit, was great fun. A shame they turned the servers off.
I don't really think he's being overly reductive with that statement. I wish he was, but unfortunately we've seen some amazingly bad games thrive and profit by placing a bunch of people on an island and having them shoot at each other. Hideo is the best thing the industry has and all developers would do well to listen to him.
@kyleforrester87 I don't think he's so much saying it's easy as in the work behind actually making the game is easy, obviously they're working hard, likely around the clock to keep the game fresh, but more that it's the easy path from a creativity and imagination perspective to make something like Fortnite.
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