Hideo Kojima - The Interview

***Now in sunny L.A. Hideo and I are chillaxing in a hot tub watching the MGS-Inspiring "Escape from L.A." by John Carpenter as I quiz him on MGS4's 1st anniversary as well as his next project.

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DBC: Hideo, we are very grateful you've agreed to give us time out of your busy schedule to come and chat with us.

HK: Nice to be here!

DBC: First up, now that MGS4 is nearing its 1 year anniversary, is there anything you wish you had done differently?

HK: You know you don't think that during a project, or even near the end of a project, it's only after the title is complete and out the door can retrospect really give you a chance to consider the things you'd do differently, there is much i'd like to change about the product.

DBC: Is online stability one of them?

HK: (laughs) The bare minimum.

DBC: What about the single player, surely it's hard to integrate new content within a game with such a strong focus on story?

HK: Yes, you have to be careful you don't change canon otherwise i'd risk offending many fans, I would never do that, however i am interested in expanding the story line either using previous events or after the final ending using DLC, nothing that interferes with the story as it is.

DBC: How did being PS3 exclusive help the title?

HK: We had a lot of disc space which was great, but it wasn't all good. The Cell Broadband engine set us back enough that we missed our original release period. That made me angry, because scaling back the visuals and scope of the game from our original vision was heart breaking.

DBC: The PS3 is notoriously difficult to program for, have you considered releasing the game on PC or Xbox 360 in order to bring the game more in line with your original vision.

HK: I am done with MGS4, however I am not done with MGS. I know management at Konami has been interested in putting the game on those platforms for a while now, but I would not be involved.

DBC: If you had to choose one aspect to change in a Substance style re-release, what would it be?

HK: (long pause) There are many things to consider changing (laughs) I don't really want to choose just one! My biggest regret...I'd have to say, the multiple installations between levels.

DBC: This wasn't a popular feature for MGS fans.

HK: The fans were right, we struggled with the title for weeks in trying to get the game up a playable standard just moving data from the disc, but blu-ray is troublesome at best. I just feel it's a too disruptive experience.

DBC: You will be unveiling a new title at E3, is this Metal Gear related?

HK: No comment

DBC: Is it going to be exclusively for one platform?

HK: In an ideal world, however in the world, with the economy being what it is these are trying times for many game makers. I will say that we want to reach as broad an audience as possible on as many systems as possible.

DBC: Does this include Wii and portable platforms.

HK: No.

DBC: Mr Kojima, thank you.

HK: Any time, it was a preasure.