Hideo Kojima says MGS: Ground Zeroes will be too controversial to sell well

The Metal Gear series has been one of the most influential franchises in gaming history, and the games have always pushed the boundaries when it comes to innovation. No one can say the franchise hasn’t sold well, but series creator Hideo Kojima recently told VideoGamer that the next game in the series might be too avant-garde to do well.

“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 (sic) 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.”

And that’s exactly what Kojima says he intends to do with the next Metal Gear game. He added, “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.”

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However, there’s still hope as Kojima doesn’t sound like he’s giving up. “As a creator I want to take that risk. I’m approaching the project as a creator and prioritising creativity over sales,” he said.

Ground Zeroes will tackle taboo themes, it seems

While the Metal Gear series is well known for taking a look at politics and war in a different light, the games have never taken themselves too seriously. This could be the first game to tackle subjects generally considered taboo by the public.

While it is true that the game may face some trouble because of its subject, Kojima seems to completely disregard the power of the Metal Gear brand. The name of the game alone is enough to sell more than a few million copies among fans, especially considering the protagonist is set to be the fan-favourite, Big Boss.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes would be the first game in the series to be set in an open world. Previous Metal Gear games, including the spin-offs Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and the Metal Gear AC!D games, have been very linear.

Earlier this month, a job posting by Konami on Gamasutra hinted towards a PC version of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The job listing says that it needs Project Engineers for the latest Metal Gear Solid, which will be targeted at high-end consoles and PCs.

This would be the first time since Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty that a Metal Gear game is coming out on the PC. Konami had concentrated on making MGS 3 and MGS 4 platform-exclusive games on the PlayStation 2 and 3 respectively. However, the PC ports of MGS 1 and 2 were nothing to write home about, especially with their awkward controls.

The last look we got at Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes was in a trailer back in September, which gave us a short glimpse of the gameplay. When information about the game originally surfaced, not much was known about the game, including who the protagonist would be. Thanks to the video, we can rest assured that the protagonist is Big Boss (a.k.a. Naked Snake), who was the protagonist of the PlayStation 2 game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and the PlayStation Portable game, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. While the character isn’t mentioned by name, the eyepatch he wears on his right eye, which he lost in the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, pretty much confirms who he is.

Though there isn’t any other information about the new Metal Gear Solid game, we’re heading closer towards the release of the spin-off title, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. While Metal Gear Solid is the story of Solid Snake (and in some cases, his “father” Naked Snake), Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance will be the story of Raiden, the child soldier-turned-cyborg ninja.