After months of speculation, finally Hideo Kojima has revealed that he is no longer trapped in Konami’s sweaty grasp, and that he’s branching out on his own two feet in a new partnership deal with PlayStation.
Heading up an overhauled version of his Kojima Productions development studio, the legendary game designer’s latest venture brings to an end one of the most lucrative partnerships in gaming history (even if that partnership did eventually turn sour), and sees him now collaborating with Sony Computer Entertainment in order to bring a brand new IP to the PS4. But what does this new deal mean for the wider gaming industry?
Xbox loses out
The only real losers in this situation are Microsoft and Xbox One owners. Kojima working arm-in-arm with Sony means that his next game will be a PS4 console exclusive, ensuring that it won’t be making the jump to the Xbox One. While it’s a timed exclusive, it will only be making it to the PC in the future, though neither party have disclosed just how long PC owners will have to wait following the launch of the PS4 version of the game.
While we frequently berate timed exclusivity deals such as these, sometimes they’re justifiable and this seems like one of those occasions. Considering Sony and Kojima Productions are working together on this project, it’s therefore understandable that Sony would want exclusivity on a game they’re going to publish and therefore fund. We all know the tremendous budget that goes into a Kojima game, so Sony will have likely put a lot of money on the line in order to bring his next release to their console. While this is unfortunate for Xbox One owners, it does make sense, and if their PC rig is up to spec then at least they’ll be able to enjoy the game at a later date.
We probably aren’t getting a full P.T. game
We already know that Kojima won’t be able to create the canned Silent Hills game given that Konami hold the rights to the franchise, but following this announcement many expect Kojima to release a full horror game based upon the P.T. demo he created. However, it doesn’t seem likely that this will be the case.
On the job listings Kojima Productions has posted, the studio specifically requests a ‘Weapons/Mechanical Artist,’ with a “rich knowledge in mechanical and military field” being listed as one of their desired traits. Considering P.T. was a survival-horror game, we highly doubt that this would be seen as a requirement for that game, unless Kojima Productions is busily working on two games simultaneously which, again, is unlikely.
Maybe we’ll see P.T. stretched into a full game in the future, but as of right now it seems that this will be a completely new series with a focus upon shooting, just the way Kojima likes it.
It is likely the first game in a new Kojima series
We know that Kojima won’t be able to return to any of his previous Konami-published projects such as the Metal Gear series, given that the company continues to own the license to them. In the video announcing his collaboration with SCE, Kojima says: “I’m thrilled to embark on creating a new franchise with PlayStation.” This therefore means that it’s unlikely Kojima is working on a new one-off title, and is instead focusing on creating a brand new series, that will perhaps continue to be a console exclusive for PlayStation.
It could be a PlayStation VR game
In what would be huge news if true, the subject of Kojima developing a PlayStation VR game has already been broached by PlayStation’s EU Community Manager in a now-deleted post on Medium, though no confirmation has been given. It would certainly make sense for Sony to hire Kojima to create a virtual reality game, given that it would likely provide a tremendous boost in sales for the upcoming hardware, and Kojima has previously posted images of him trying out both the PlayStation VR and the Oculus Rift.
This would also explain why he’s entered into a timed exclusivity deal with Sony, and why the game would only be coming to the PC after this deal ends and not the Xbox One. Considering Microsoft isn’t working on its own virtual reality headset for its console, a Kojima VR game would therefore only be playable using the PS4’s PlayStation VR and the Oculus Rift. Kojima has a long history of experimenting with new ideas, and therefore this could be an interesting new venture for him.
If this is to be the case, a Kojima VR game would be a big shot in the arm for the fledgling technology, and could convince many who were otherwise disinterested in it to take the plunge when the PlayStation VR and Oculus are finally released.
