Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions are hard at work on the next entry in the Metal Gear Solid series, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. Thus far, the game looks outstanding. However, Kojima himself believes that the subject matter of Ground Zeroes might turn people off from the title when it releases, whenever that eventually is.
Website Video Gamer recently sat down for a roundtable discussion with Kojima, who said Ground Zeroes will be tackling “a lot of taboos, a lot of mature themes that really are quite risky.”
“Video games as a medium haven’t matured very much at all in the last 25 years,” said Kojima. “It’s always about killing aliens and zombies. Not that I don’t like those kinds of games… they are fun, but I think games have a long way to go before they can mature.
“Over the past 25 year I have tried to work with the Metal Gear series to introduce more mature themes, but really it hasn’t gotten there yet. Compared to movies and books it still has a long way to go.
Kojima continued, “That’s precisely what I want to try to tackle with Ground Zeroes. Honestly I’m going to be targeting a lot of taboos, a lot of mature themes that really are quite risky. I’m not even sure if I’m going to be able to release the game, and even if I did release the game then maybe it wouldn’t sell because it’s too much. As a creator I want to take that risk.”
In conclusion, Kojima said he’s prioritizing creativity over sales with Ground Zeroes. Meaning, he’s going to tackle these so-called hot button topics head on in his game, even if it’s at the expense of those coveted dollar bills. Spoken like a true artist, Kojima.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes does not have a launch date yet. We do know it’s coming to Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, and probably next-gen consoles as well. The jury is still out on if “The Phantom Pain” is MGS: Ground Zeroes in hiding.
Erik Norris is the Gaming Editor for CraveOnline and co-host of Watch Us Play and the Next Gen News podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @Regular_Erik.
