Insecurity is underrated. Even for the masters of their very own playgrounds. Why, you may ask? Hideo Kojima, the ‘Stanley Kubrick’ of Game Design, hailed by plenty as the greatest ever born, feels insecure about his own to-be-released carefully crafted work of art i.e Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Two days back, the first Grand Theft Auto V gameplay trailer was released. “I saw the new trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. It was amazing, so awesome,” said Kojima in a recent Twitter post. “The degree of freedom-it’s the future of games! It’s on a different level than other games. But honestly, I’m upset. I can’t see our ‘V’ gaining victory over their ‘V.’ But Rockstar’s production team is the best. Make no mistake, they increase what’s possible with games”
Well obviously, the GTA V gameplay reveal video was awesome. And Kojima’s claim can be justified. You see, Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto have some history together. Going back to 2008, both Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid IV were released side by side. And, for the first time in gaming history, these were two games that scored perfect 10s on many many gaming magazines and review websites. So these two franchises were competing in the cream-iest layer at the highest levels, for the attention of the most reachable gaming crowd.
GTA IV ended up ahead of the race though, selling sixty lakh copies in the first week. MGS IV took a couple of years to move past the five million mark.
The same scenario being repeated seems very likely, since the fifth installment for both the franchises are being released in the same time period. Who will take the lead now, it will be interesting to watch.
Much is being said about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain implementing open world mechanics for the first time. But then again, GTA lives and breathes open world. GTA taught the world what a true open world means. and with GTA V, the freedom being offered to the player is next level, unimaginable stuff. So IMHO, Hideo Kojima does have a right to worry. Although, him going public with his insecurities might be a fascade altogether, maybe Kojima’s using this to motivate his own development team. On the other hand, who can really tell whats going on?
