Metal Gear Solid Jamie Keenan March 2015 Metal Gear Solid Lost Hideo Connection There has been a worrying amount of speculation regarding the role that Hideo Kojima now holds within Konami and over the Metal Gear franchise itself. Evidence suggests that he is no longer on the list of executives and his name has been removed from all promotional material on the Konami website. Couple this with a cryptic tweet from Hideo himself and it's easy to conclude that The Phantom Pain will be his last game as director of the series. The question is whether this is an agreed move between the company's hierarchy and Kojima himself or whether it signals a dispute of sorts between the two parties. In my opinion it is likely a conflict. For the past week I have considered the possibility that these moves were agreed on by everyone involved in Metal Gear. The reality of a series as long as this one is that change is inevitable. Kojima has such an unusual relationship with this series that the approach to him finishing his tenure isn't set in stone. There isn't a method set out by other franchises for Konami to follow. Hideo Kojima is synonymous with Metal Gear. It is likely that he is the most well known director in the industry. For example if Randy Pitchford stepped away from Borderlands 3 would anyone notice the difference? !1 Metal Gear Solid Jamie Keenan March 2015 Kojimas name is on every box, poster and interview for every numbered Metal Gear game. The studio is named Kojima Productions! If the series is to have a future without him and his team there has to be a separation. Perhaps Konami have decided to begin to phase out the influence of Kojima as a person on the marketing side of development. Realistically it makes sense to start that process now, in the midst of arguably the biggest marketing push the series has ever seen. For example, Konami have moved the Twitter account from a Kojima Live name to @MetalGear_EN. Now it's a difficult process to ensure you hold onto your fan base through a transition as many don't even see your posts asking fans to check out your new hub. However leading up to E3 the games different websites and social media accounts will garner a far higher level of traffic. If Metal Gear is to have a future without Kojima it makes sense to start to move away from him now rather than during down time when nobody would even listen. This is, in my opinion, the absolute best case scenario. Personally I think that this is unlikely. The way in which it has been approached is almost insulting to Hideo Kojima as a creator. To strike his name from the cover art of even past entries in the series seems like a corporate jab after a disagreement. He has always appeared to have his own vision for the series and doesn't let anything get in the way of that. I really wouldn't be surprised if Konami are unhappy with him. However the question arises as to whether Konami can afford to be unhappy with him. Capcom have seen what happens when you lose your visionaries. Shinji Mikima helped push Resident Evil to a renaissance. Without him they've failed to !2 Metal Gear Solid Jamie Keenan March 2015 recapture the critical acclaim of past games. I simply don't understand how Konami can remain relevant without Hideo Kojami leading their biggest franchises. Look at their portfolio and you see a worrying trend. Castlevania has fallen. Silent Hill has fallen. Pro Evolution Soccer has lagged behind its competitors for years. Metal Gear has garnered incredible acclaim throughout all those failures. Konami seem to have their own plan for the franchise without Kojima. The plan probably involves more frequent releases and online expansions. That's the simple truth of it. Konami as a publisher has not filled me with confidence in a long time and losing Kojima might be a crippling final blow. I don't think we should worry about Kojima himself. He is an incredibly talented man who could literally go anywhere in the industry. What we should worry about is the future of a Konami who fail to recognise that Hideo Kojima is Metal Gear and no amount of name alterations will ever change that. I feel almost silly to point out that there is also a chance this is all a trick. Kojima has a very odd sense of humour and it wouldn't be beyond him to set up a stunt such as this. He created a fake studio for the Phantom Pain and outright lied about his involvement in it. He wore bandages all over his head and interview under a different name, an anagram for Kojima at that. MGS2s marketing campaign showed Snake and only Snake in gameplay but when we received the game we were met with a game starring Raiden. He does some really silly things that are only really funny to him. Why not pretend you were getting fired? It certainly influenced a massive amount of free advertising. Everyone is talking about it. Not only that but everyone is championing Kojima and his games. They're pledging to support The Phantom Pain to thank him for the years of enjoyment. I also find it odd that he would fight with a board that has given him the reigns on Silent Hill. For years he has wanted that series so I thought his relationship and power in Konami was only strengthening. If this is all a marketing stunt, it's working. !3 Metal Gear Solid Jamie Keenan March 2015 At the end of the day the only thing we should consider right now is the state of the Phantom Pain. Ground Zeroes had some very controversial moments in it and the biggest fear right now would be that that caused backlash from Konami. When Phantom Pain hits in September I imagine it'll have an 18 rating. Maybe Kojima has really been pushing some scenes that the board are worried about people not liking. I really hope that whatever happens they do not interfere with this last game. Hideo himself announced that he is 100% involved in this game until the end so I don't think we have to worry. There is, however, always a chance others will alter his vision. We don't know where Metal Gear goes after 2015. There is no doubt we see it again. Konami are hiring after all. It could follow the trend of other Japanese series and fall by the wayside. There is also the possibility that the people who apply to work here are as hugely attached to Metal Gear as we are as fans. This might not be a bad thing for the series. Fresh eyes and fresh passions. We don't know where it's going but let's not worry. Phantom Pain hasn't hit yet. We still have to close out the story of Big Boss. In conclusion the Solid Legacy had to end someday. Be happy that you get be there for the final ride and don't worry about what comes after until it comes. As Liquid would say, it's not over yet! !4.