Hideo Kojima explains why he chose PlayStation | GameBlog

Hideo Kojima is back! After unveiling the trailer for Death Stranding at the PlayStation conference, Gameblog have come to learn more. Meeting with a changing creator.

[Majin-vegeta]

Basically Sony was their best option.Thats the commitment of PS.

[Dabigkahuna76]

You sure $$$ didn't help

[StormLegend]

Sony is broke remember? MS & Nintendo has way more, so why didn't they?

[asadachi]

I think it being the better system and Japanese. Even if only slightly better, better is better.

[UltraNova]

$$ always 'helps', see tomb raider, dead rising, sfv etc.

In Kojima's case i beleive it was more about creative freedom. Sony is known for approving weird, uncommon concepts in gaming so it was only natural for him to side with them.

What that means for us? Well we are in for mind f*** of a ride for sure!

Sign me up damn it!!

[naruga]

one factor is that they r both japanese (and that s the best combination) ..the other is the creative aspect where Sony could provide him advisory on graphics engine and software development ..in other companies probably would let him make his game on a generic engine (aka U4) without continuous support and also as he says would have to pitch and mod his game in order to be accepted.. ....at the end, PS1 was the console he made his first uber-success (MGS1), is a proven PS fan and this is 1 of the many reasons we like him

[nX]

It's not about cash, Sony and Kojima have a long history. They were able to give him the environment he needs to make good games.

[hay]

He had nothing, no demo, no pitch, no documents, absolutely fucking NOTHING and only Sony accepted those terms of cooperation. Seriously, read those articles or shut the fuck up.

[WiiU-Dude]

@asadachi - likely hit the nail on the head, however, I would add that, if memory serves, the last couple or more Metal Gears have sold nearly inexplicably worse on Xbox - be it 360 or One. It wasn't hard for him to choose Sony, having said that, hopefully he doesn't rule out Xbox or Nintendo machines in the future.

[Naughty_Cloud]

IF $$$ was the major reason, then he should've gone with MS easily.

[Dir_en_grey]

@Dabigkahuna76
Of course money matters. Sony didn't have to pay Kojima, why would anybody with a sane mind ride on a sinking ship that is Microsoft?

[Realms]

Do you think other companies didn't offer him money or wouldn't have? So he's just going to work for free right, my is guess Sony just offered him complete creative control and given his history with them he felt comfortable with them.

[YAO-BLING]

he knows sony always showed him loyalty.. unlike the previous company he worked with.

[Chug]

Loyalty and freedom.

[Death]

According to the article it was because he didn't have to pitch the game for funding. It doesn't sound like he went anywhere else.

[Sunny_D]

@death

Yeah, but he had many offers already. Not like he had to hope to find someone. Legendary developers like Kojima have people come to HIM.

[DragonDDark]

@death

You do know that you only took one reason from the interview, right? lol

[vivid83]

yeah and thats why sega only makes yakuza for sony systems loyalty and trust

[donthate]

Load of BS Kojima. One word "nationalism". That is how it has always been.

[andresegr]

So you belong to the group that supports the Xbox One because, Murica!

SPOILER ALERT

Made in China

[nX]

This comment makes me think that Xbox fanboys are Trump voters. Would explain quite a few things I've read lately.

[Trez1234]

And aftet comments like these, they still say playstation fanboys are the worst. Go figure.

[zeuanimals]

Right, remember when MS wouldn't even let a black woman be on the cover of a game? How about how Ubisoft forces their devs into making the same games over and over? Or EA just being EA? But it has nothing to do with creative freedom, right?

Meanwhile, Sony greenlit The Tomorrow Children, Dreams, and plenty other strange games. They pretty much let their studios do what they want.

[KilKarazy]

Nailed it. The Japanese have a strong sense of nationalism. There's no denying that. If you grew up knowing a foreign country killed hundreds of thousands of your people you would too.

[Lng101010]

What does that make Nintendo?

[Realms]

Nah it's called trust and loyalty. Sony is trusting Kojima to deliver a great game and Kojima is showing loyalty to Sony for giving him creative control it's really that simple. By the way it seems kinda racist to make sound like it's about nationalities, you do realize that Sony moved their gaming head quarters to the US right.

It's comments like these that make MS fanboys sound ignorant ass a mofo.

[Zorkaz]

Unfortunately so. But eventually they'll end up forcing Microsoft to play the same game of exclusives, with potentially catastrophic effects for us.

[darthv72]

It would be awesome if his new team would create a next gen re-imagining of snatcher.

[_-EDMIX-_]

annnnnnnnnnnnd pants got tight!

Or ZOE!!!!!

[iceman06]

ZOE!!! Yes!!! 😊

[ginsunuva]

They already made ZOE HD collection

[Hoffmann]

But Konami sure has the Snatcher copyrights anyway..and hoards them like so many other great video game IP's =/

[LordMaim]

My secret wish is that the Snatcher IP was part of his severance package. It's a vain hope, but I choose to believe nonetheless.

[zeuanimals]

All he has to do is create a new IP that's pretty much a new Snatcher.

[_-EDMIX-_]

They could just buy it. Consider Konami isn't even doing AAA console games anyway, pretty sure they would be fine with letting go of it.

Also it doesn't really need to be "Snatcher" , it could be the concept of Snatcher.

[FallenAngel1984]

It was the PlayStation brand that brought him into mainstream popularity after all, as he himself described last Dec.

[freshslicepizza]

he chose the safest route. the ps4 is dominating, it has the power, and it will offer the best chance to sell the most copies. he could have gone with ea, ubisoft or activision but he's japanese and his loyal fanbase would be very upset.

he could have went independant but he doesn't have the capital to fund his project that is likely to cost a lot of money.

[ThatGuyDart]

It's natural to want to go where you are appreciated and loved. Where else would Kojima fit more perfectly than with Sony and us PlayStation fans who have been supporting him for decades?

[Kiwi66]

But other console gamers appreciate him also , right so according to you lot no one else can appreciate him for the work he does or is that not allowed to any other gamers

[Sunny_D]

@kiwi66

Not with the years of support Ps gamers have given him.
Any people on PlayStation probably also played his other titles other than MGS as well.

[ShaunCameron]

@ Kiwi66

Not according to the sales. Nintendo fans don't care about 3rd parties and Microsoft fans don't care about anything that isn't an FPS, a sports or an open-world game.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Its because Konami often outsourced some of the MGS development to Sony Of Japan considering their studios were next to each other.

When you finish a MGS game, wait to see the credits and you'll see often Sony Of Japan is credited as assisting his team, because of this relationship as well as his popularity in the east, its not really that shocking he sided with PS.

They have the numbers in the east AND world wide, they have supported his team many, many times over the years, they have worked with independent studios often and have been well known for GENERATIONS to to take risk.

Look back at the strange games on PS1....

Sony literally is the only company that is this consistent with trying out such strange titles

parappa the rapper was a thing

Intelligent qube was a thing

Singstar was a thing

Lifeline was a thing.

Little Big Planet was a thing

The Last Guy was a thing

Dreams is a thing

and so on. They have been known to take chances, risk for the sake of changing the industry and clearly hoping to strike fire! lol What Kojima wants is what Sony wants. He wants to produce something different, Sony is known to take many chances on the different, more so then Nintendo or MS that historically stay very conservative with their existing IPs.

New IP from Sony Bend
New IP from Guerrilla Games
New IP from the former Evolution Studios
New IP from Media Molecule
and so on. They don't just make deals with new IPs, they fully support and fund them from their very top teams. Something Nintendo and MS rarely actually do often, Sony does every gen like clock work.

I think we all can assume next gen we will see new IPs from many of their top teams. As Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, Dreams, Driveclub, Detroit etc were not known titles a generation ago. That sounds like great reason to side with Sony. When haven't they supported new concepts by their main teams?

[tanukisuit]

Your post... simply amazing!
You're getting me all nostalgic, too.

[Death]

It's like you've never seen Nintendo's library or even Sega's when they were relevant. Even Microsoft has a stable of "things" under their belt, most of which done by Rare. This isn't exclusive to Sony.

[TwoForce]

@Death Microsoft and Nintendo were doing great back in the day. But now, i'm not so sure. Sony keep doing what they doing for 18 years.

[Hoffmann]

Let's not forget Twisted Metal and even brutal fighting games like Cardinal Syn

[Bathyj]

Is that what you read?

I read that he trusts Sony and knows they wont try to interfere with his creative process and just stay on the business side of things unless asked.
That that trust saved a lot of time hammering out understandings in the beginning by not having to discuss what each other wanted and just knowing through a great history.
That Sony want him because he is who he is and understands that talent like this doesnt need to be herded and micromanaged.

It didnt sound like it had anything to do with the most sales or surely he would just be going multiplat. Funny how our preconceived notions of the players involved can colour our perceptions.

[TwoForce]

Now you're just full on Microsoft fanboy ! Seriously, what is wrong with you ?

[King_Lothric]

Read the article and you will understand.

[DafunkyRebel]

EA, Ubicrooks and Activisions are the LAST place he would ever go since they stiffle creativity and interfere with EVERY game developers they helm which produces inferior games and slowly destroy the franchises that made them money to appease their investors. Only Sony execs have the balls to stand up to their invetors and speak their minds and argue to allow their developers freedom. That's why Naughty Dog is the best in the industry because their talents are allowed to do what the want to do without interference from Sony

[Playable_Gamez]

I feel like this was the right choice for several reasons.
Kojima has had a strong relationship with Sony since the beginning and he is passionate for the PS brand.
And this being his first game outside of Konami, it makes sense for him to partner with sony to not only get his team on their feet and ensure creative freedom but to strengthen the relation between him and Sony.

I don't think its anything personal against Xbox and PC, he just has a strong relationship with Sony/Playstation. And this is a smart move on his part.

[S-Word]

It's only a timed playstation console exclusive. It will be out on PC. He already talked about the deal for his next game last year.

[Playable_Gamez]

Must of missed that. hmm

[King_Lothric]

That deal changed and you must have missed that the games is being published and funded by Sony. I guarantee you is going to be a full exclusive for Playstation now.

[oONinjavitiSOo]

@S-Word true it is coming to pc.

Allegedly.

[Sunny_D]

That information you mention is 6 months old. Things have changed. This game will be PS4 exclusive and any game makes after this one is up to him if he wants to make it multi platform.

[Chevalier]

Maybe watch the trailer again where it specificly says Sony Interactive Media. Also Mark Cerny is listed as a producer for the game at the end of the trailer.

[ShottyatLaw]

Well said. No one should fault him, and it sounds like it's working out well for him and the new team. Even though anyone is likely better than Konami, I do think Sony will treat him better than a lot of other publishers.

I'll be interested to learn what engine they ultimately choose.

[s45gr32]

Kojima san said his first game would come to PC:

http://www.polygon.com/2015...

So does it mean Death Stranding is coming to PC after 1 year of being PS4 exclusive.

[Nyxus]

I thought so too, but the strange thing is that the Q&A that info is coming from has been deleted a long time ago. So maybe things have changed. Here's the original source (or rather 'was'): https://medium.com/@PadPoet...

[Jayszen]

@Payable_Gamez

Exactly. Kojima states " I explained to them my approach, but they immediately said "go ahead, do what you gotta do." They offer me their trust. All the energy you need to put in the preparation of a project, I was able to focus on creating. This makes a real difference."

Time and again, Sony has given its developers the creative freedom to realize their vision and while on some occasions, the end result has not been as good as it should have been (The Order:1886) on balance most of Sony's exclusives have benefitted from this creative freedom.

[just-joe]

They gave him loads of money.

[Playable_Gamez]

Ignorance. Kojima and Sony has a strong relationship. I mean strong.

[Majin-vegeta]

its not like he owes he popularity to PS or anything like that*Rolls eyes*.Plus Kojima knows his biggest fanbase is on PS consoles

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

Knock it off!

[King_Lothric]

You are mistaking Sony with Microsoft.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

Good. That is whst he needs to make the game he wants to make. Microsoft wouldn't have given him what he wanted

[Trez1234]

Kojima been working with Sony way b4 xbox was a thing. It probably would come as a surprise to you but maybe just maybe money isn't everything in this world.

[galmi]

According to pple here, its safe to assume they didn't give him a single dime, lol

[opinion] A multiplat would definitely make more money for him but I guess in his deal with sony, both money and creative freedom was what he asked for to make it an exclusive. [opinion]

[Majister-Ludi]

I get it but it still seems foolish not to port it to pc after mgs 5 was released on pc to good reception. Just seems like he is leaving money on the table and for a new studio revenue is very important.

[_-EDMIX-_]

"I get it but it still seems foolish not to port it to pc"

I see...were did you read that?

http://en.yibada.com/articl...

Even if he didn't make a PC version, do you not get his team started out with 4 people? How can he make a game on multiple platforms with no funding?

If Sony is funding it and the deal is only on PS4 for a limited time, I fully understand that, SONY is funding, thus if he doesn't have the funds, multiple versions by default is out of the question.

but.......a PC version IS BEING MADE TOO!
Relax. At least look up this information before jumping to conclusions.

[quent]

Better dental

[LordMaim]

Hahaha!

[ShowanW]

Here is the short and sweet version:

Sony gave me a ton of $$$ and will allow me 5yrs to complete my game. But I might delay it, because the PS5 will be around the corner and I want my game to work on the PS4, Neo, & PS5...

Saved everyone a read..

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

Such a immature comment.

[Zeldafan64]

Anyone who thinks money didn't play a part in it is kidding themselves.

[Aloy-Boyfriend]

@Zelda and @Showan

Money is what he needs to make money. Of course that may be a reason fool. You are just adding your salt to it.

Moneg is motivation for any developer to make games. That's something MS could have given ti him, but why he didn't go with them?

That's because he knows Sony best: All the funds he needs + no development constraints.

[ShowanW]

mite be...

but hey... kojima takes quite a bit of time to release his games...

i never once said they sucked... he makes amazing games..

this is about money, freedom to do as he pleases, both companies having a pretty deep history...
Sony is allowing Kojima-San complete freedom and giving him a blank check.

[King_Lothric]

You should read the article. Them you will get the real version.

[trooper_]

You keep thinking it's about money. Just shows how salty you are.

[Saito]

A company that embraces variety, creativity, and promote risks? Why not!

[Germany7]

Sony and Kojima always had a great partnership, Metal Gear Solid games are huge on PS platforms.

[bluebenjamin]

Because he wants to suppourt Japanese products instead of American???

[King_Lothric]

Because he is loyal to the people who trust him and helped him? Sadly, you don't see that in the West. That's why some people can't just understand his actions.

[tanukisuit]

Can't believe bluebenjamin is trying to make this into a political thing. I guess David Cage going with Sony makes them "racist" towards Americans, too (sarcasm of course).

[Antifan]

That doesn't sound like Kojima at all. The dude wants to be American so bad.

[OpenGL]

Kojima going with anyone else wouldn't have made sense. He has a history with Sony and the PS4 is the most popular current-gen console.

[galmi]

Truth is if he did go with someone else that gave him money and freedom, nothing would have changed

[Moe-Gunz]

Kojima and David Cage (Kinda Funny Games interview) basically said the same thing. Sony lets them be creative.

[tanukisuit]

Also, Andy and Jason from Naughty Dog - that was why they felt comfortable selling their company to Sony; they knew Sony would give them the space they need. And before people say "Well Sony probably gave them a ton of money" Andy and Jason have worked with EA/Atari before.

[Chevalier]

There have been a number of games to show the creative process flow to produce games like Heavy Rain, Ico, LBP, SotC, Journey etc.

For the people that think of Xbox as the choice to go with. Please explain the poor sales of SSO? Quantum Break not even moving 200,000 in NPD? Who here seriously thinks Japanese developer games like Scalebound and Recore will actually sell well? Heck even Sea of Thieves doesn't look like it will. The audience have shown time and time again any deviations will not do well, they only want more Halo, Dead Rising, Gears, and Forza. Every now and then something like Ori does well. Not often however.

[PizzaSteve]

Kojima games sold the most on PS consoles. If he went any where else his game would probably flop. I think PS gamers appreciate his work more than other platform gamers.

[TheColbertinator]

I'm just glad Kojima is back wherever he makes games. Always liked his games from MGS,Snatcher,ZOE and Boktai

[King_Lothric]

Kojima feels very comfortable working with Sony and Sony give him the freedom and trust he wants. I really doubt Kojima would want to change that in the future by experimenting with other publishers. My bet is that he will stay with Sony. Look at Quantum dreams, they are not owned by Sony but they love working with them and they make their games exclusive to Sony.

Th is tells a lot about how good and better than the competition Sony is in working with their partners. You don't get to be number one by luck.

[candystop]

Sony definitely has some Loyal developers.

[Fist4achin]

He could have gone with Nintendo, the console that started metal gear, however Sony has a larger fan base and seems to be more open to experimental and new titles. Best of luck to him and I look forward to his future releases.

[GTgamer]

That's where he belongs he's technically family at playstation

[nevin1]

"but they immediately said "go ahead, do what you gotta do."

I guess that's the reason.

[ZombieGamerMan]

Well obviously considering the close nit relationship they have, PlayStation made Kojima and Kojima made PlayStation, plus PlayStation allowed The Order to happen so I think if you were to work with anyone it would be them because they literally let you do anything.

[Skankinruby]

It's great news, whatever the reason for it. I just hope he mainly focuses his brilliance on the horror genre. See the p.t. concept in fully developed form and on psvr would be so amazing.

[Kingoftherodeo]

we known for ages sony worships the ground kojima walks on, they been bffs for the longest. if kojima was a musician he would be kanye west, kanye makes good music the problem is he knows its good. so he wants things his way or nothing kojima is the same way he knows xbox isn't gonna give him the keys to the kingdom and roll the dice on whatever project he decides to work on. nintendo well its nintendo he knows he's not gonna shine there

[masterfox]

"With Sony, obviously I told them my approach, but they immediately said "go ahead, do what you gotta do." They offer me their trust."<--- This wouldn't happen with Nintendo or MS not even in a million years!!

This is why I support Sony 100% there aren't closed minded like Nintendo & MS.

[Sloth-Eater_]

He's one of the main reasons I still game. He has always been associated with Sony above anything else. Can't wait to see this game come together.

[mEATgrinder]

He could have been a studio that was for every console, considering how shackled in chains with Konami. Lost respect for this guy

[MasterCornholio]

Just play the game on your PS4 or PC/XB.

[Nyxus]

And who would've funded his project then?

[hahaha]

Because Nintendo Wii U rejected him. (sarcasm)

[SaveFerris]

I agree with many of the posters here. The creative freedom that Sony offered to him was the main reason to choose them over Microsoft.

[sho0ok]

The freedom he talks about is the same reason Heavy Rain wasn't released on Xbox. Microsoft is more strict in terms of what to put in a game such as nudity and kidnapping etc.. They have a the same mentality as NBC and Fox. While Sony is more like Netflix and Showtime.

[C-H-E-F]

Hmm so the game they showed could very well not even look like that? Seeing that they may change the graphics engine. Actually, the game shown was not even a game itself technically from reading this.

Hopefully Kojima is able to get all his ducks in a row because i'm excited to see more about this. Like what is this a pregnant man?

[greywolf39]

Sony is Kojima-san home. SONY made Kojima-san, MGS was PS exclusive and if you ask me it should have stayed with MGSV, but we know why he could not. Death Stranding will be an AMAZING GAME. He will give us something that will blow our minds once again, as he did with MGS

[KentBenMei]

He doesn't really need to. He'd definitely need to explain why he didn't if he chose the competition, however, lol.

[Yukonsbud]

Because he's a fanboy

[PressPlayBro]

I like turtles.

[medman]

Asking why Kojima would choose Sony is like asking why someone would choose life....the answer is obvious.

[Elda]

It was the best option of course.

[Ozmoses]

Because he knows they won't d**k him over and they will give him unquestionable support.

Sony/PlayStation and Kojima have had a great working relationship since the original PS...

A legend working with a legend is only fitting.

[subtenko]

Because its PlayStation....nuff said...

[NeoGamer232]

Because Hideo Kojima has always been a PS fan and they gave him both the money and time he wanted for a new game.

As for the graphic engine comment he made that they haven't yet finalized it... To me, that means this game is at least 4-6 years away assuming it will be a AAA endeavour. Hideo games took many years to create when he already had a team and knew their tech. We are talking about a forming team and they haven't yet finalized their tech.

[WellyUK]

If only he could actually make good games.

[S-Word]

I'm more interested on why he insists on putting Hollywood actors as main characters. That's the main reason I didn't care about Silent Hills and the main reason why I don't care about whatever this new game is. I'd rather have an original character over playing someone from Hollywood. Almost makes it looks like a game based off of a movie.

[Auron]

Hasnt Kojima always favored Sony?

[its_JEFF]

I imagined after Konami he was looking for a place that didn't impose. Basically he just wants you to trust him... an untethered Kojima, what have we gotten our selves into LOL we've opened pandora's box!

[GamePeace]

Why should I care? I think his games are a little bit overrated, maybe they're just not my thing ...

[ScorpiusX]

Cool & good luck to him and look forward to your next game after this .

[N0TaB0T]

...If you have a solid reputation with one company for decades why leave because your ex-employer shot themselves in the mouth? Konami isn't stopping him from sticking with SONY.

[yeahokwhatever]

Japanese are pretty racist and pretty much everyone knows it. Sony is Japanese. It would take some sort of retardation on Sony's part not to get this deal made.