Hideo Kojima: ‘MGS will always be around’

With only two days left to go before the worldwide release of Konami‘s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, creator and director Hideo Kojima answers some questions regarding the highly anticipated sequel to the popular franchise. He talks about the positive pressure the game has generated for him, as well as the future direction in which the series will take after MGS4. You can read more details about the interview in our full article.

With less than two weeks left to go before the worldwide debut of Konami‘s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Hideo Kojima kicked back and answered a number of questions fired off by Reuters regarding the popular stealth-action franchise.

The pressure is definitely on the director and creator of the highly popular series. Aside from wrapping up the decade-long adventures of grizzled protagonist Solid Snake, the latest iteration is expected to boost Sony‘s sales of the PlayStation 3 against its other rivals.

Kojima recognized the amount of pressure placed on his shoulders with the upcoming release of MGS4. However, this only served to push himself ever harder and raise the bar for what he wanted to make out of the series. He called this a sort of “positive pressure”.

Those of you who are feeling a little sad about Snake’s final mission, don’t despair. Kojima mentioned that “MGS will always be around”. As long as the fans asked for it, he felt that it was his responsibility to continue the series. However, his subsequent roles may require him to take a more backseat role as he preferred the new staff to take control of any new sequels.

Kojima expressed positive opinions regarding the shift that video games have been taking as the latest form of digital entertainment. With games slowly gaining popularity and gaining more coherent with other mediums like movies and novels, it may not take too long before a new kind of convergence may occur (MGS movie, anyone?).