Or at least, that’s what his recent Tweets seem to suggest. In response to the awesome new Grand Theft Auto V gameplay trailer that was just released, Kojima had this to say in 140-character form.
“GTA V” new trailer was awesome! This free control is future of the game, way higher than anywhere, makes me depress as matter fact.(cont..)
Followed by this.
I don’t think our “V” can reach that level. Rockstar’s team are the best. W/o question they will pull up the possibility of game.
Now, before this gets blown out of proportion, I suspect that it’s more of a cultural misunderstanding than anything else. The American interpretation is probably that Kojima actually lost faith in his own game upon viewing the GTA V trailer, and that the resulting Tweets would serve as massive moral-breakers for his own teams when they finally saw them. And, to be fair, his admission of being “depressed” is a tad bit odd for a developer of his stature and prestige.
One can almost imagine a scenario where Rockstar devs come to visit Kojima Productions and check out the new Metal Gear, only to be visibly disappointed when Snake is unable to scuba dive through detailed underwater landscapes, get tattoos placed anywhere on his body, or hunt wild caribou while golfing and customizing chrome horseshoes for his noble steed. At which point Kojima wakes up in his bed in a cold sweat.
No, I think his Tweets were more humble than anything else. That would certainly align better with his personality and Japanese cultural etiquette in general, not to mention the fact that it’s difficult to imagine Kojima downplaying the quality of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain before it’s even released. In all likelihood his thoughts didn’t make it to English 100% intact, and “depressed” just wasn’t the perfect word choice.
Anyways, that’s enough idle speculation – I feel like a blogger for TMZ or something. Grand Theft Auto V hits this September, so we’ll all get to enjoy its possibility-upping tendencies in due time. And who knows, with a yet-to-be-announced release date, Kojima and company may even have time to ape and improve upon some of MGS V‘s finer points. Only time will tell.