How Game designer and director Hideo Kojima will benefit Sony.
12/17/2015

Written By: Jason Heidel

Hideo Kojima a widely known game designer and director, has recently announced a partnership with Sony to re-establish Kojima productions as an independent game studio and with that bringing a lot to the table.  [See the article about this press release here.] With over 30 years of experience his perseverance for quality in both game design and story can easily be seen in past works, such as the Metal Gear series, Zone of the Enders and more.

His love of films is prevalent in his work, creating stories the player can really immerse themselves in, feeling the impact violence can cause.

All of this and still finding time for the occasional comic relief when things get too tense, take for instance “Psycho Mantis” arguably one of the most unique bosses in Metal gear solid. He attempts to prove to the player he has psychokinetic powers by reading the players mind (their memory card) listing a few games they’ve played and even moving their controller (vibrating it).

Kojima’s talents stretch far and wide.  After mentioning Silent Hill in past interviews, he was contacted by the president of Konami and was paired with horror icon Guillermo del Toro to create a P.T.  demo for what could have been a phenomenal Silent Hill game.

The atmosphere was something only these two titans could create.  With a slow eerie start and at a moment’s notice the game quickly turns into one of the most “nope filled” experiences.  Creating not simply a game but an interactive cinematic horror.   All of this is in the span of a short moment, and if this is any kind of foreshadowing of what we’re to expect from Kojima in the future, we’re in for some impressive work.

Kojima has stated “When it comes to things we want to do, of course it will be on creating new franchises and new IP. That will be the initial focus.” He wants to pull all of his focus into a single project for a time to preserve the quality they have so far, or even go beyond it, stating “The focus is on digital content, so we could consider movies, animations, anything.”  So, it’s very possible we can expect to see a myriad of new things develop out of this solid partnership between Sony Entertainment and Kojima Productions.  I anticipate more edgy, high quality, inspired gifts to the digital world.

Sony and Kojima have a good history together. He’s said “The people at Sony we gel well. People at Sony have been friendly with me. I work well with them”
“I feel like this is an environment where I will be able to make something and feel comfortable. And I believe that’s the environment I need right now.”

With him Kojima brings art director Yoji Shinkawa, who’s worked on many games with Kojima and is excited for the new projects they’re about to take on. Both have said they can’t wait to push themselves into challenges and things they haven’t done before. With that said this partnership can only benefit Sony and Kojima Productions, they certainly have the support of the fans behind them.