You've read about a couple of games Hideo Kojima isn't involved in. You've read about a game Hideo Kojima is involved in. Now read about... a game Hideo Kojima may or may not be involved in.
Closing off a lengthy feature in this week's Famitsu, Kojima and Enterbrain (Famitsu's publisher) CEO Hirokazu Hamamura had a quick exchange about Metal Gear Solid 3DS. Unlike Metal Gear Solid Rising, but like his new console project, Hideo Kojima has a direct role in this game -- or at least he did have a direct role in the demo that was shown at E3. This may or may not hold true for the final version.
Hamamura (a game industry VIP here) recalled being surprised after having seen the game at Nintendo's E3 press briefing. Kojima joked that he was under NDA with Nintendo, and so couldn't even tell Hamamura about it.
But Hamamura wasn't the only person left out of the loop. Said Kojima, "It was a secret project, so even at Kojima Productions, aside from the people developing the demo, no one knew about it. Although, we did make it with the Peace Walker staff."
Development on the demo began after Peace Walker's completion. Kojima secretly called some of his staff over and told them that they'd be making the demo for E3. They were placed on a separate floor, apparently making everyone else believe that they were on vacation following Peace Walker's development.
Konami had two versions of the MGS 3DS demo on display at the show. The demo's "Long Version," explained Kojima, was made first, but Nintendo asked that they make it shorter in order to allow more people to play. Kojima noted that although they had both the long and short versions on the show floor, most people ended up playing the short version.
The demo was based around PlayStation 2's Metal Gear Solid 3. However, revealed Kojima, they actually redid all the characters and backgrounds into high polygon models. Said Kojima, "The high level models are about the same quality as the stuff we made on the PlayStation 3, although it's tough to see this. If we'd had a bit more time, we could have made something better."
There's been some talk about Kojima directing the new game, but this may not be the case. Said Kojima, "I was the director of the demo. What will happen from here on out is not set."
Hamamura noted that the game appears to be just starting off in development. To this, Kojima responded that the point of the demo was just to show the kind of things that can be done. "What we wanted to do this time is show that we're making an entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise that can be enjoyed in goggle-free 3D on the 3DS."
He provided a few hints about what may end up in the final product. When played over long periods, Kojima feels that players' eyes may get tired if the game has stuff popping out of the screen. So, he expects there to be an importance placed on into-the-screen depth.
He also said that they're considering including some elements from Peace Walker, including the game's co-ops cooperative play system.
There's actually a bigger connection between MGS 3DS and Peace Walker than some possible shared gameplay elements, though. "The reason we made it based off MGS3 is because there are many who played MGS for the first time through Peace Walker, so we though the timing would be just right. Everyone wants to know the story of The Boss."
It looks like the final version of MGS 3DS will really be an updated version of Metal Gear Solid 3. Said Kojima, "MGS3's story can't change, so we're thinking of Co-ops, 3D and portable-like elements."
Asked when the game would ship, Kojima said that nothing has been set. Releasing it at launch might be difficult, he feels, but he also believes that it must arrive not too long after launch. Hamamura asked if this means within a year of the 3DS release, and Kojima responded that he believes it must be released within that time frame.
