Why Hideo Kojima burned his voice actors

[@MagashiSaizen]

I wasn't aware that Kojima did someone from the original cast this dirty, it explains alot though, he has this weird fetish of collecting selfies with actors.

[@cosmicsage911]

He's a wannabe Steven Spielberg

[@jstro-hobbytech]

Kojima is supposedly this auteur genius but won't even learn the language of the uneducated pleb celebrities he worships. It kills me. Spy thrillers are the lowest form of fiction because it's all anyone born since ww2 has been inundated with. There are exceptions i guess but Kojima isn't one of them. How the fuck does he even talk to the people he worships. He probably has a bunch of English suck-up lines memorized. He's a non-entity to me. There are a million better story tellers. I swear gamers do not read books. I read like 3 books a week since I was in grade 2 forty years ago. Not a boast but there are so many great fiction and non-fiction authors of all races creeds and in every genre. To worship Kojima to the point of obsession is pathetic really. Read Blood Meridian and tell me it's not better than any story in any game ever. Just the Geoff Keiley association makes anyone a non-entity. Kojima is so shallow that people mistake his stories as deep and having more meaning. He's no Dostoyevsky ffs.

[@chechetalks6119]

What's ironic is that David Hayter is an actual filmmaker. I wonder if perhaps that was somethin' Kojima was threatened by if he actually was. With respect to Hideo, though he may have revolutionized video games, David Hayter and the rest of the cast and team members brought the whole series to life. David Hayter very much is Snake and as pointed out in this video, he's done a lot. Especially for the fans. Glad this information is being brought to light. Cuz it should be addressed. Great video! 🤙🏼

[@bannedmann4469]

I’ve thought about that too..

[@Americansikkunt]

Pretty sure he as just hired talent. Like, if you made game, would you necessarily befriend the voice actor of the main character?

[@fearedjames]

A failed filmmaker you mean. David Hayter is primarily famous for voicing Snake for a reason.

[@punishedsnake9041]

@@fearedjames he's famous for the x-men movies too

[@fearedjames]

@punishedsnake9041 Similar to Mark Hamill being famous for Star Wars despite for decades the best he was able to follow this up with was "Niche space sim voice actor" because how little that did to making him successful. Hayter is pretty much Mark Hamil if Mark Hamil wasn't willing to go backwards in his career

[@RandomBlackGamer]

Sadly Hideo Kojima has been going through what I can only describe as the "Snyder Effect". Where similar to Zack Snyder, he's become all style and no substance. He tries to deliver something compelling but it ends up falling flat on its face. He's been shown time and time to be a Hollywood groupie. And will quickly sacrifice what made his games work in exchange for an A-List actor. Even if that said actor is used for aesthetics and nothing else. I'm honestly glad more longtime fans are catching onto this. For the longest time they would call you a hater or say you're too dumb to understand Kojima's vision. I still remember them placing all the blame on Silicon Knights for the ridiculous action scenes in MGS The Twin Snakes. When it was actually Kojima who encouraged the devs to make those drastic changes. I'm now starting to think that MGS5's subpar storytelling falls more on him as opposed to Konami at large. He takes too long to get to the point which most likely proved to be too costly for MGS5. Hence why a lot of the content didn't make it into the final product.

[@thebadwolf3088]

Spot-on! He's the Zack Snyder of the games industry

[@beezusHrist]

@@thebadwolf3088 eh, I would say Death Stranding was pretty full of substance, especially considering it came out in 2020

[@summ.3433]

The last part is so true it's unreal. I just recently finished MGS 5 and the amount of filler and fluff that could've been cut out from the story would've been at least 20 hours worth, it's ridiculous how unfinished that game was. Gameplay wise it's awesome but the story was easily the worst of the series.

[@arycorvette884]

Mgs5 was base on Moby dick hence why some characters were named and nod in that book it explains it was intentional that mgs5 was incomplete

[@arycorvette884]

​@@thebadwolf3088 far from Zack Snyder his a mix of David Lynch , Martin Scorsese and Quinton Tarantino Kojima is a really Good Cinematographer it's just that he needs a co writer to back him up yeah some time his ego he over does it I bet most of the triple A budget from death stranding went to the high budget actors

[@Elyseon]

The way he treated David Hayter can't be forgotten.

[@HupCapNinja]

I’m so glad Konami is actually treating him with more respect by calling him the REAL Snake.

[@thekoronevirus2973]

I just think Keith had his role kojima wanted to switch big bosses voice actor for a while because him and solid are 2 different characters, it seems like he just didn't have the chance in 3 or peace walker, it's funny how no one mentions how in 4 big boss was played by someone else and people are surprised how he was switched in v, I'm not like defending him but I can understand why he wanted a different actor for big boss.

[@GuiltlessGear]

i'll never forget the fans who made so many excuses for him, and how often they resorted to badmouthing hayter.

[@Wozat-is8it]

womp womp It's not that deep. Unprofessional as it is, Kojima owed nothing to Hayter and vice versa. If Kojima made Metal Gear today you wouldn't see people like Hayter (who isn't even a professional voice actor, he's a script writer amongst other things).

[@2Good2BeTrue45]

​@thekoronevirus2973 that's because Big Boss being played like a different voice actor didn't matter cause Hayter was still voicing the main character in Solid Snake. Also the fact that Big Boss was 80 years old lends credence that you can have an "older voice". Big Boss was still young in the Phantom Pain, it was only a few months after Peace Walker so why would Big Boss's voice change in Ground Zeroes/Phantom Pain? It makes no sense no matter how you look at it or try to justify it. Kojima was jealous of Hayter, simple as that. There was no creative or altruistic reason to remove Hayter and clearly Konami themselves have admitted that in their actions to not only bring Hayter back but have him be the face of the marketing campaign for Metal gear solid delta

[@anthonyt1t5]

Kojima wants to break into Hollywood but honestly His writing is very niche, not everyone will get it. His direction might impress alot of folks but what kind of Hollywood producer wants to take a chance on a game creator who can barely speak English and is hellbent on creative control. Hollywood expects their directors to play ball with dumb executive ideas. Kojima is not the type to be patient for that.

[@fleetwoodmerda]

I admire Kojima, and want him to succeed, but I think it's a good thing that he sticks to games, and continues to make them interactive movies. I don't think his writing is too niche, I find it really great actually, because it's the type of thing we just wouldn't get if he were in Hollywood playing ball with a bunch of executives. I respect someone with vision for a project because today, which one generates more failures: the ones driven by creative vision and passion or those who get mangled each step of the way by those higher in the chain of command of the studio until what's left is a sad squashed thing?

[@chunkymilk]

lol no

[@frostedlambs]

Thats not true. The games he makes have thousands of staff writes artists. If he wasnt able to give creative control to others his games wouldn't tet made

[@ContrastCopy]

If only he could write dialogue.

[@frostedlambs]

It's not just him who creates his games he has executive's too

[@ashtonwyss9757]

Fans need to understand that Kojima is NOT always right, and much of his success is from other people limiting him, and telling him he's wrong... Trying hard to get rid of Hayter is utterly stupid, and now having full control, Kojimas work is suffering, Death Stranding doesn't hold a flame to the MGS games (minus 5) his obsession with Hollywood will be his downfall. Not having these big actors in his productions made them what they are, having actor likeness in his games is BORING, its not unique, its crap, solid snake is unique because of a small voice actor and not having anyone in particulars likeness, that made a ICON, no character in Death Stranding is iconic, because they're just actors... The ability to make a character look however you want and have the viewer control them is what makes video games utterly unique, and Kojima doesn't seem to care for this anymore, the early games took advantage of this, Death Stranding doesn't. I hope Kojima changes his path

[@louthegiantcookie]

Very eloquently put. A LOT of people, most in fact, work better with restrictions and oversight. Giving someone a blank check to do what they want isn't the coup many see it as. And true enough, once Kojima had no fetters, his work became far more peculiar and his eccentricities more obnoxious and grating.

[@ReppLoyd]

I agree completely, Death Stranding was a decent game but it simply doesn't have the same unique and iconic charm of MGS which was achieved through the effort and talent of many other individuals who people just seem to forget about. If his early games were him fanboying over hollywood, then Death Stranding is that to an extreme.

[@FrederickGuese]

You can argue as early as MGS2 with swapping localizers was the start. I can see that fans and him want an 'accurate' translation, but I thought besides MGRR (Which was a platinum game). MGS1 just felt right it had enough of Kojima's narm and the American action movie machismo that felt balanced.

[@tomaszsotysik9438]

What a load of opinions passed of as truths. In other words, bullshit.

[@FrederickGuese]

I also think him taking advise from A Hollywood producer than a screenwriter is kinda messed up. (talking about the replacement with Hayter.)

[@DeepFriedAlchemy-on4qo]

"Why Hideo Kojima light his voice actors on fire?"

[@CasualGamr]

Find me that footage and I’ll do a follow up video, promise 🫣

[@imtheman84]

"Why Hideo Kojumbo immolated his voice actors"

[@HalFromTartary]

“Why Hideo Kojima Googled ‘homemade napalm molotov?’ and ‘how to barricade a door?’ before booking a recording studio.”

[@tekgeekster]

they were cold.

[@nunyabidness3429]

Why Hideo Kojima wishes he was Shinji Mikami

[@thevirtuouscollector]

Such a well made video and as a long time obsessive MGS fan who already knows all of this, I can assure viewers that this isn't a hot-take hit piece but rather a pastiche of lesser known-facts that no one has yet to compile into a video before. Bravo for keeping the difficult subject matter classy and respectful. Long rant incoming-- First of all, I love Kojima, or at least I used to. I grew up adoring the man, reading interviews and watching vids of him since 1998 and when he actually wrote blogs in 2005 I was beyond happy! Here was my hero and I can finally get a first hand account of the contents of his mind! However, something changed, especially after the release of MGS4. He no longer writes about his day where he would watch strangers at malls going up escalators while he descended, feeling sad that the passing stranger and him could no longer be friends as their paths were the opposite. Instead, he started posting things he likes on Twitter, things most people can't afford. He started sharing his taste in expensive tech and food and later, his fondness to rub shoulders with Hollywood celebs. While the man has every right to act as such and fully deserves his success, I started to notice that his social media posts doesn't teach me anything, there's nothing to ponder like his thoughtful blogs, it's just food, riches and all the Hollywood clout that he's chasing. Even worse, I see young men chasing such status. Suddenly dorks wanted the expensive toys just like Kojima does, the best branded eyewear, the most exquisite food. When I told my 20 year old female cousin that she shouldn't compare herself with Instagram models but instead focus on her strengths and building her character, I totally forgot that Kojima was doing the same for nerdy men like myself. It became less about the art and more about the man. Kojima consistently gets photo ops with celebs that clearly have never played Metal Gear before, and are probably only told by their agents that this Japanese weirdo was some sort of Nerd God without even explaining why. While I have absolutely have great admiration for the man's work especially in the earlier MGS games, I've long come to terms that he's probably not a man I'd like to be nor would I tell people to aspire to, as it only breeds a cycle of consumerism and clout chasing that does not in any way make the world a better place, a message that his games strive to convey. I had to unfollow the man as I needed to separate the art from the artist. As for Hayter, the man is nothing less than an angel, he was at a local con a few months ago in Asia and I asked him before he landed here if he would accept a custom made Snake bust/figurine that I made for him and he said he can't bring back much stuff but he'd gladly take it. I met him over the course of two days and we chatted about the artwork, fandom and such and even signed some extra stuff for me. He borrowed my phone and asked to take a picture after he was happy to see my gift and even called me by name the next day. I bumped into his wife and she was ridiculously lovely and friendly as well, assuring me that I don't have to be nervous near her husband. About a month later Hayter sent me a private message showing my Snake bust on display in his office, I can't believe some no-name artist like myself got to have his work in Snake's office!

[@CasualGamr]

Thank you so much, I really appreicate the support. I am such a massive fan I almost feel bad making the video haha, but it is the truth and I think context is key. I absolutely agree about the changes we as players have seen in him if we choose to look or indeed listen to his blogs, but we should hold our heroes accountable as success will invariably surround them by Yes Men, and that isn't good for anybody's creativity. Far more important than any of that, Hayter has your freakin' artwork in his office?? That would make me glow haha. I have never met him but would enjoy the chance, I have burning questions that internet research simply cannot resolve. I always fancied reaching out to ask him for an interview but never had the galls, nor thought of topics good enough to warrant a new interview. Still, your comment has inspired me, maybe I will... 🤔

[@magnolia549]

Thank you for succinctly putting into words what I've been feeling for over a decade. Kojima is free to indulge in whatever he wants but any time I try to reconcile the growing sense of displeasure I have with the modern-day Kojima and the negative influence he has on his fanatical -worshippers- followers, I'm unable to find anything good to say about the person. He led many of my favourite games that I still love to this day, but that's where my respect for Kojima ends.

[@therentpursuer9869]

So cool that the goat himself loved your art & proudly displays it. And yes Kojima's brilliant, but he's always had a nasty habit of clout chasing. The funniest instance was that picture of him pretending to smoke with Norman Reedus & Mads Mickelson. Who were actually smoking. Bro really thought he was part of the squad lmao

[@БогданКрименюк]

As much as I would like it to be true this feels like something straight out of R/Thathappened

[@jimtroeltsch5998]

It seems as his wealth and fame grew, he became really comfortable with joining the upper class and became completely unrelatable to us working class people who haven't been tricked into chasing money, as if we actually could attain wealth. A lot of artists start to suck once they become rich and free of the everyday trials and struggles working people face.

[@6morto6dentro6]

Truth Chapter in MGSV should have had David show up to revoice Ishmael when Venom plays the tape and gets the explanation of everything before walking off to battle Solid Snake. That one little thing could have been the best way to wrap it up with respect

[@SandyCheeks1896]

That’s what I fully expected. It would’ve allowed Kojima to go with the new voice he wanted, and perfectly tie in with the plot elements and pay respect to the OG

[@PhonePhone-sf8te]

that would have been pretty good.

[@thomasderosso5625]

A lot of people hold the stance that Konami are the assholes, therefore Kojima can't be an asshole. Unfortunately, there can be more than one asshole in a situation.

[@CasualGamr]

For sure, there definately seems to be a culture amongst some of the fanbase that says you need to pick a side when it comes to the Konami and Kojima debate!

[@hylianro]

Its idiotic how people are refusing to play mgs delta only because "no kojima? Dont buy this shit"

[@CasualGamr]

It’s kinda nuts isn’t it. To be honest though, I actually think that that is a relatively small segment of the fan base, but they make a lot of noise on forums. For sure everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the extreme stuff demanding that players outright boycott the game is just mean-spirited, and also pretty naive - Konami own the rights to a major money-making franchise, of course they are going to use it!

[@bigbone_99]

​@@hylianroDidn't you know? Kojima wrote, directed, programmed, 3D modelled, voice acted, marketed amd sold evey MGS until V all by himself

[@alwaysoutoftheloop]

Yeah those fans are probably jaded after metal gear survive

[@wwld9823]

imagine a guy voices your series main character for like 20 years and you never even wanted to meet him lol kojima is a big baby

[@zerocool.666]

without david hayter the series would be shit

[@RougeDeBlah]

You are the one whining, therefore, making you the baby.

[@vulcanraven87]

If you don't like it why play the games?

[@zerocool.666]

@@vulcanraven87 what gives you that idea bro

[@sulphurous2656]

@@RougeDeBlah >no u

[@mattd5240]

I'll never not find it hilarious that David Hayter is actually more of a filmmaker than kojima is. I bet that really had to stick in his craw. If im saying that right.

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

who knows

[@БогданКрименюк]

Yes, the jealousy was showing

[@Wozat-is8it]

He could probably give less of a shit because he doesn't even seem to know who Hayter is lmfao

[@zeroskaterz92]

@@Wozat-is8it Kojima doesn't know David Hayter? lmao You can't be this unintelligent.

[@Wozat-is8it]

@@zeroskaterz92 Hayter in the video (and in other interviews) has said he doesn't know Kojima personally. The're are no picture's with the two of them together either. They probably met twice before, what makes you think Kojima would remember him?

[@ankd956]

I didn't know any of this; that explains that awful 'Princess Peach' line in Death Stranding.

[@internethistorytrash7464]

that shit was terrible.

[@kappy448]

“I’m fragile but not that fragile” has to be even worse because she says that multiple times

[@RougeDeBlah]

Omg waaa it's cringe so cringe waaaaaa .... Big baby

[@WhayYay]

​@RougeDeBlah omg someone didn't like what I did wahhh wahhh

[@thebadwolf3088]

​@@RougeDeBlah its more than cringe, it's deplorable and unbearable. Worst writing of all time

[@cuteButKindaDeadlyBreloom]

I have always been awaiting the day we learn more of Kojima's fuckery. He gives Kubrick-grade auteur vibes that MUST have resulted in shit like this at least once in his long career

[@RowbuttBatmin]

Theres a reason Kubrick is GOAT and so is Kojima. Sorry ac-tors lol.

[@blarghblargh]

In big budget cinema and games, the auteur thing is always a myth. It's always a team. Some people might be deemed more "replaceable" than others, but no one is truly a commodity. And that "attention to detail" is never a single person's eyes or hands. The myth makes great marketing and strongly stokes the fan hype. True fans would likely do themselves a favor by learning how to pry the myth open and look who else was in the kitchen, whenever that's possible. Kojima is awesome. Konami has made many of my favorite series of all time. David Hayter is the man, and I admire both how candid he's been, and still diplomatic. Kojima ought to learn that, while iconic stars are a huge part of the cinema he loves, he also is in a unique position to forge his own stars in his own type of cinema.

[@SpurdoMaltese]

You're extremely wrong if you think the personal vision bears so little mention in this industry, or in films, that those works are simply democratised. We already know what games look like made by committee. We know what movies by brand corporations look like. Art is nothing without a major voice directing it. Kubrick's vision was born through a film crew, but it was his vision nonetheless.

[@Abcdefg-tf7cu]

Of course auteur theory is a myth if you think it means "one guy doing every last thing by himself." It's not a myth. You just don't know what auteur theory is. It is when one person has complete, or almost complete, control over a project. Someone else may have designed the space ships for Star Wars, but George Lucas is the auteur because he had final say over which designs matched his creative vision for the movies.

[@malum9478]

even guys like tarantino have their editor(sally menke(rip)) or lucas' wife. there's always someone there honing the genius, keeping it focused, keeping it contained. if there isn't, it starts to spiral and lose itself.

[@Abcdefg-tf7cu]

@malum9478 You clearly don't know what an editor is. Also, comparing Tarantino to Lucas is an insult to George. Tarantino has never made an original movie in his life. As fun as (some) of his movies can be, they are just shallow re-hashes of stuff much more insightful and talented artists came up with.

[@Corvo0451]

thats why Sam Lake is the better GOAT he never abondened the poets of the fall band and max payne's voice actor he is the real legend

[@ContrastCopy]

👍

[@igamesthehero]

He even dressed up for the 20th anniversary while James McAffrey (RIP) was citing the quote once again. Absolute legends.

[@sgtfrozty]

Sam Lake can dance. Has anyone seen Kojima dance? I didn't think so, case closed.

[@THEBUGSAREBACCCCKKKKKKKKKK]

Still looks practically the same as all them years ago too Although the studio has fallen off hard, Alan Wake 2 was hot dogdroppins and was so unoptimised it was insulting Has me worried about the Max Payne remake

[@apathtrampledbydeer8446]

There is only one Snake, and that is David Hayter, the rest of the cast is also fantastic. It wouldn't be the same without him. Immense respect for Blaustein too.

[@donkeykongisytpooping3002]

Aren’t there five Snakes?

[@michaelbaker8284]

I never really had a problem with it at least for 3 and 5. Big Boss is a different character and having Hayter do both in retrospect would have been weird.

[@RowbuttBatmin]

>Guy who thinks only English exists.

[@Tester-sh1mn]

What about Akio Otsuka?

[@FunZ-]

The accent change between Mei Ling and Naomi happened in the twin snakes years before mgs4

[@michiganjack1337]

Oh man I remember popping that disc in my GameCube and hearing those re-recordings and it was a constant bugbear.

[@terminat4028]

@@michiganjack1337 MGS 1 : "Colonel !... You double crossed me ! 😡" Twin Snakes : "Colonel, you double crossed me. 🤔This rather seems like a incovenient !"

[@BundoBytes]

What a unique and insightful take on Kojima. I immensely enjoyed MGS1-4, but was turned off from his later works the more I see how flamboyant he conducted himself. The opening to Death Stranding had his name plastered like 8 times, and it takes a high level of ego to wear a designer statement-outfit for the Game Awards. All this fame has been getting to his head. Sad to see how poorly he treated his old staff.

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

you're saying the game and it's cutscenes are bad?

[@hazzer_j]

@@MGrey-qb5xzI think it’s a mix - the quality, originality and depth of the game is breathtaking, but the dialogue is excessive, often poorly edited, and at times pretty boring. That’s my point - he’s an amazing creator, but he needs to let the professionals around him do their jobs so he can go ahead and excel at his.

[@FF18Cloud]

Oh boy, so he's become George Lucas

[@MGrey-qb5xz]

@FF18Cloud I'm assuming you hated star wars prequels as a kid

[@pete5516]

@@MGrey-qb5xz As a huge prequels fan, you gotta accept that some of the dialogue is god awful and among other issues people disliking the prequels is kinda reasonable.

[@Breadfan1280]

David is an absolute GOAT! Not just as the voice for one particular character but for the good man that he is in this world.

[@iCantPickaNamej]

Damn...I love Kojima, but the comments are dropping some heavy stuff. Good stuff. Mad respect to Hayter for giving up some good money for the rest of the cast to return for additional iterations.

[@RowbuttBatmin]

Comments are mostly just butthurt Hayter fans still upset he didnt show up in MGSV with his cartoon ass voice.

[@McBeans69]

Kojima watching movies all day while his team creates the games to slap his name onto

[@samuelantoniocastillomeza5034]

Kojima seems to be like that friend that has cool ideas but needs someone to hold him and tell him when some of those are too much to work or just plain bad.

[@paragonrobbie9270]

I feel like people easily ignored Kojima's flaws because when all this stuff about him replacing David Hayter was happening, he was already butting heads with Konami, one of the most unlikable game companies around, so of course people would take his side. It wasn't until Death Stranding that people put together that maybe he wasnt as great of a director without a lot of Konami's restrictions like a budget and people who don't always say "That sounds great!" to all of his ideas. I just hope more people realize that he, like many great artists, is still a flawed human being despite his history of amazing games.

[@ikkaku699]

realest take ever

[@JZStudiosonline]

I still like how people shit on Death Stranding for not being Metal Gear. Death Stranding is great, and it's completely different from anything else out there. You can't just say "Death Stranding" as evidence that he's a hack or whatever just because he made a game you don't like.

[@michaelbaker8284]

@@JZStudiosonline I feel both about DS. The themes and ideas he conveyed well were amazing and incredibly prescient considering it was released late 2019. But it was also filled with confusing convoluted writing that is typical of bad Japanese story telling. Particularly the supernatural stuff. Westerners have less tolerance for that, we need a little more to suspend disbelief.

[@spyder5876]

Kojima is very much like Kubrick to me. Brilliant at what he does, an absolute revolutionary in the field. But terrible in terms of HOW he does so.

[@diegovargasdiego]

This is an apt comparison, like Kubrick, he has friends in the business, but he also doesn’t really know how to interact with most other people.

[@Tony-ol9ru]

Kojima had a good team. He just directed it and it hasn't been the same since MGS3. He's completely carried by the trilogy and everything since has been garbage.

[@albrot123]

@@Tony-ol9rugarbage is an insane statement, MGS4 was an insanely ambitious and fun game especially in 2008, MGS Peace Walker (considered by many the best game on the PSP) and MGS V are the peak of the franchise gameplay wise and still hold up very well to this day. Now he has 1 hit or miss title in Death Stranding and you say everything’s been garbage since. I’m not defending Kojima for anything discussed in this video but you gotta give these games the credit that they deserve.

[@spyder5876]

@@Tony-ol9ru Wild over exaggeration

[@summ.3433]

That's an insult to Kubrick, at least Kubrick knew how to tell a story with his writing, Kojima can't even do that part right, he has to expo dump for 20 minutes on something that would take a minute to explain.

[@moshymosh]

It wasn't Konami's fault that millions of dollars were wasted by one man. Kojima was to blame for a lot of crap, let alone his behavior in general. Even his team has to tell him no a lot of times. As explained by Kojima, no one on his team at the then-new Kojima Productions understood what he was trying to make with Death Stranding. In fact Mads Mikkelsen also expressed confusion about the game in the past. At the Saudi Comic Con, Mikkelsen said that he "got lost" when listening to Kojima elaborate on the game's story. Kojima said: "For Death Stranding , I started explaining a year ago to the team what I wanted to make. No one got it! Because I was trying to make something new and something different. So for me, I personally think that if people are opposed to you, then you're on the right track. That's game making for me." Which is hilarious because he then refuted his statement long after the release of the game. Hideo Kojima himself admitted he didn't even understand the story of Death Stranding after a while. He was just trying things. Making shit up. His team really disliked his vision and most of the development. They were practically building something in the dark. I feel that, as a community, we shouldn't keep yammering on about new Metal Gear installments not being able to exist without Kojima. If anything, the community's attachment to him is what is keeping it from moving on entirely. MGS does NOT rely on Kojima. He did NOT write the stories. He did NOT invent the gameplay. He is NOT the only soul that worked on these games. He just likes to paste his names on things and take selfies with celebs in his empty office. He does EVERYTHING but work on his walking sim...

[@axelstone3131]

He didn’t write the story for metal gear games? lol wat

[@moshymosh]

@@axelstone3131 Go Google who actually helped make sense of most of Kojima's nonsensical ramblings. Tomokazu Fukushima. He was the co-writer for the original Metal Gear Solid, as well as Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater, helping Hideo Kojima write the scenarios for each title. He helped craft and refine the ideas, even telling him what would work and what wouldn't. By the time MGS2 was in production, Kojima had a whole talented writing team to shape his thoughts. Hell, if it wasn't for the team, MGS2 probably wouldn't come out after the September 11 attacks with the ending being too similar... Kojima wanted to throw away the entire project. Go pay your respects to the true unsung heroes that made this franchise. Hideo Kojima is more like Stan Lee. Just a face and a spokesperson now. Nothing more these days.

[@FireteamYogurt]

@@axelstone3131 Fukushima was Kojima's tard wrangler, now he has none and is unhinged in his pursuits.

[@JZStudiosonline]

Huh, really weird then that his entire team left with him from Konami and they talk about how involved he is in the process. If they all made the game he wanted and he had to explain everything about to everyone, kind of seems like he was involved in story and gameplay.

[@quantizedanson]

The general writing quality starts to drop after MGS3 because they lost the main writer

[@MagiofAsura]

Kojima's inability to show not tell will lead to his downfall. He makes good games. His games would make shitty movies. The fact when he had the chance to showcase Death Strandings narrative, and what we got was the 7minute debreifing trailer which was literally just exposition. He could have made an epic trailer coherently teasing the narrative and what the game is about but he literally just did an expo dump. But that is SOOO Kojima

[@watersports1381]

i like the concept of death stranding, its just sad that the characters and their designs didnt do it for me..... hollywood actors acting on anime style writing is cringe, his writing style doesnt work with hollywood actors

[@michaelbaker8284]

@@watersports1381 Anime writing style is cancerous and the Japanese really need to learn a thing or two about working their world building into their story telling better. So many times I see with them they briefly set up a really cool backdrop world and then diverge into pointless character vignettes. And at worst never coming back to the plot once at all. Death Stranding was very very bad this way as each chapter was a character vignette. It was anime writing at its worst.

[@pappymagee6556]

MGS is my favorite game series ever and I thank Kojima and his team for that but I will never like the way he treated David Hayter. Hayter is Solid Snake the Conroy was Batman.

[@CasualGamr]

Ah man, name drop, Conroy was the best, must have smashed Justice League and Unlimited like half a dozen times over the years. The fact that he was there all the way into Arkham games too... ah, it was a different age.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

No, Akio Otsuka is the real Solid Snake voice.He is the original one .

[@MariaYuri-qo8jy]

He is also Lord Shimura, which I find kinda funny. Not the original Shimura, though.

[@RowbuttBatmin]

@@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526 This is what the Hayter fanboys are neglecting in this whole thread lmao. "How could Kojima ignore the man who voiced his main character for two decades!" Well how about David was the voice of the secondary language, brother.

[@louthegiantcookie]

I have a lot of respect for Kojima, but it's sad seeing how his work has devolved into him name-dropping his celebrity buddies.

[@vmfvictor]

the only reason the writing in previous mgs games was lauded as good was because kojima stole the credit for the supporting writers throughout the franchise. notice how the one game in which he had complete creative control turned out to be the pretentious pile of crap that is death stranding. here's another bit of trivia: kojima helped shut down Sony Japan Studio (responsible for series like siren and gravity rush) by asking for enormous amounts of money in order to fund and secure temporary exclusivity for death stranding on the ps4. sony had to shift tons of budget around internally and Japan Studio was the most affected. kojima is the herald of ruin. every game he touches turns to crap unless he has corpo suits reining him in throughout the process. he will overinflate budgets and make the company lose money. I wouldn't be surprised if it ever comes to light in the near future that he's the reason why konami had to do all those weird pachinko ventures after they funded the development of the fox engine.

[@yoshomiamoto]

Kojima originally wanted to do films instead of videogames, so it makes sense why he has been getting so close to Hollywood actors in recent years. Although I respect him as a game developer, I do think that he handled the recasting of David Hater poorly. With the advancements in motion capture technology, they could have easily kept David on board seeing how he has experience as an actor as well. I think that David and the community understands the nature of the business now and knows that one day our favorite voice actors could be replaced (however painful), as video game developers keep pushing to make their games more realistic.

[@watersports1381]

that is where you are wrong, he wants to be hollywood not a filmmaker, japan has a good filmmaking scene, if he really wants to make film or incorporate film to his ganes ...

[@METAL-ADDICT]

I tried Death Stranding. Around five hours in I couldn't get hyped enough to continue. Kojima needs people around him who challenge his ideas. For real.

[@OlleMoquist]

Whether a game or any piece of media should do so or not, I believe the first hours of Death stranding are intentionally abrasive. You stumble and fall over so that the pay off later in the game feels far greater. That said, there's no reason for why the narrative needed to be as slow as the gameplay. It's not a masterpiece but it is a really interesting game if you are willing to spend some time with it. I dropped it at first too but came back to it a year later and now it's a game which ideas I think about from time to time.

[@michaelbaker8284]

As someone who was an infantryman. It actually worked for me. I felt every pound you were carrying as I heard the backstraps creek(amazing sound design). He wanted me to feel the suck. And that was part of the mood he was setting. I can see why most people could not relate.

[@RowbuttBatmin]

NAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH lmao. It was an amazing masterpiece.

[@steelyfran]

Thanks for giving Blaustein some shine here. I interviewed him years ago when I was 16 and it remains one of my favorite memories. His work inspired me greatly.

[@CasualGamr]

What?? No way!! That's so cool, and that's lovely to hear he left you with such a positive memory. Man I can only imagine what it must have felt like to complete such a substantial and exhausting piece of creative work and to not only not get credit, but also to get the rug pulled out from under you. Between that and failing to get his project Blackmore off the ground, he doesn't seem to have the best luck.

[@shepardren8006]

It’s not just Kojima. It’s that generation of head development leads as a whole. Even in Hollywood. Even in US born gaming developers. They were taught that voice actors are replaceable. And even more expendable than someone that has an established presence on film. Or even less than an established presence. It is very narrow minded to look at in modern times. But that’s the name of the game for voice actors/actresses. This video would have been better framed towards the gaming industry as a whole. But yeah. Kojima has (and continues to) play a huge role in this industry. So it’s understandable to put together a video essay with a focus on him.

[@RowbuttBatmin]

That generation of head developers are legends and we miss them. Enjoy your Neil Druckmans.

[@KismetWolf]

If you look up the word "Narcissist" in the dictionary it will bring up a picture of Kojima.

[@jackplisken4738]

as a fan of kojimas work ( not the person ) i have to agree . but tbh thats like 80% of all directors

[@Steven-uz2tt]

No offence but if your dictionary has pictures you're a bit of a dunce

[@sagarzazumikel]

There is a small itty bitty detail on Kojima's obsession with Hollywood: He liked those movies and characters and their actors so much, the Japanese voice casting of his games was just any bunch of nobodies: Kojima liked Mel Gibson so much, he chose Akio Otsuka as Solid Snake because of that. Osamu Saka was Roy Campbell, and the reason he chose him was due to his starring in many of his favorite political thrillers, as well as being the voice actor of Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future (Hence why you hear Paul Eiding whenever you cause a Time Paradox in MGS 3 in the English versions). Banjo Ginga also starred as many suave villains in Hollywood movies, perfect for the voice of Liquid Snake. And he ALWAYS always slip Kikuko Inoue in all his games, no matter what: Rosemary, Chico, THE BOSS, even Karen Hojo from Policenauts. And she is the besties with Atsuko Tanaka, another legendary voice actress. That's how he controls you. Through the voices.

[@GhostwalkerSparrow]

I love David as Snake. He is Snake and I love his performance. It's so dumb that he got replaced for such a stupid reason...

[@nukewaste]

Kojima is so weird that when I initially read the title, I thought he was forcing the VAs to get ritual branding for working on one of his projects.

[@kochoshi3208]

Pretty Good Gaming channel had covered much about Blaustein's translation and to this day, I still find it mind-blowing how this man named the iconic earpiece, Codec. Pretty much all the dialogues in mgs 1 are realistic and stayed true to how people should talk irl. Here's an example of how his dialogue of Snake like "I'm just a man who's good at what he does, killing" sounds way better and it tells us who Snake really is compared to the "improved" one in Twin Snakes, "I'm just a man who can only find meaning on the battlefield". It sounds purely written and not what someone would definitely say irl. I'm sure the dialogue "love can bloom on the battlefield" was purely from Kojima, lol. I can tell that 15:48 line was solely from Blaustein's and it's truly badass. You don't get to hear that kind of line anymore after mgs 1. Plus, I'm 100% sure that the overused line "you're pretty good" from Ocelot was never meant to be a catchphrase.

[@milkmanleeroy]

Jeremy was treated poorly. By far one of the greatest localizers in our time, decades ahead of the industry, only to be snubbed by an egotist that is Kojima.

[@burningphoneix]

No, he's an idiot who turned MGS into a generic action movie

[@milkmanleeroy]

@@burningphoneix The hell are you smoking? Generic action movie? Kojima wrote the game, and Jeremy translated it for English audiences. Hardly generic.

[@nazeres1]

being a HUGE fan of MGS, I never knew how deep it went with how Kojima really was. I had no clue he was limited by other co-workers because if he went too far, we get stuff like MGS4 and 5 with their writing and decision-making. I wouldn't be surprised that internally there were probably talks for remakes of the first 3 MGS games, but to reboot them with hollywood actors, because again, that's what Kojima fanboys about.

[@splintergectornathan9045]

18:38 that actually sucks, as Kiefer is awesome actor, but his acting was underutilized in MGS V, as his most speaking moments were in short Ground Zeroes, he barely says something in Phantom Pain, his awesome voice was just used to be used, it would be MUCH more fitting to give him Snake Eater/Peace Walker type of game where his character speaks a lot and show plenty of emotions, which would utilize his finest skills, honestly, Kiefer is my canon Naked Snake/Big Boss voice in my mind, as other Snakes have different voices (hell, Naked Himself in MGS 4 got different voice as he is mega older), and so it just fits perfectly that Naked would had different voice himself compared to Solid So i'm kinda sad that Kiefer apparently won't never return to MGS Series, though i'm glad that David stayed, even if he is only Solid Snake for me

[@summ.3433]

I've read testimonies from people in Hollywood that Kiefer is horrible to deal with on set, he's usually a drunken mess and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same during MGS5 production. I mean with the lines he does say, they sound so half assed and slurred. "Kept you waiting huh?" being a primary offender.

[@anthonyf616]

​@@summ.3433ah come on. It doesn't sound that bad. It just sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about because he couldn't care less about Metal Gear lore

[@meyelejuega3602]

For someone so obsessed with the western world, Kojima seems to ignore completely the effect his own work had on this side of the world, its kinda ironic. I mean i love the guy but seriously, Imagine if Twin Snakes didn't have the original cast? it was already hated, it would have been a gigantic flop, and that was all David's doing, he always supported the franchise not because he was in it but because he actually loves the series and its characters, i wonder what he thinks of MGS3 Delta.

[@clappinmonkey0944]

Kojima had a vision, it wasnt him alone who made it happen...however he made a mistake not using David Hayter as snake from beginning to end

[@leviword9573]

I still respect Kojima, I don’t have to agree with everything he did.

[@CasualGamr]

Hell yeah I respect him, he's one of the greatest game makers to have lived to date. And to be honest I think that is a fair point when considering the larger business approach as his financial obligations to Konami would have been substantial and stressful, so understandably he would have made some difficult choices. I just think it's a shame that as an individual he has become less grounded. This manifests outside of gaming by filling his social media with shots of expensive clothes and famous people which is absolutely his right if that's what makes him happy, but also because his indulgences can be seen spilling into his games through his treatment of staff or writing insanely long and boring expositions, all of which would be avoidable if he took on board a bit of critical feedback. Like Hayter himself said, I respect him as the brilliant game maker that he is, and in that regard I struggle to see how anybody wouldn't.

[@quarreneverett4767]

​@@CasualGamryeah he managed to put a tram together or teams. But many forget to remmeber. They are the ones that made the games what we enjoyed. The original.mgs for example had several editors and writers. Its arguably the best in the solid series. Not to mention mgs 1 was meant to be its own story contained finale.. Any follow up after was supposed to be about anyone else. For example ocelot.

[@quarreneverett4767]

​@@CasualGamrthe things you mention about long writing etc. Sounds fairly normal to me from him as he always had the capacity. I mean look at 4 and desperately ttying to quit the series for years and appease the fans and their threats.. its hard for me to recomend most of the series to new comers. It must always rewuire disclaimser. Oh meep in mind this us a side thing so dont take it seriousky. Oh 2 has a great message but never actuslly hapoens cause its just in someones vr dream

[@quarreneverett4767]

​@@CasualGamri used to read gaming magazines and constantly.kojima was quoted as wanting to quit the series. For example.he said 2 wouod be his last.metal gear solid. Mgs 1 is a nice wrapped package. To end a trilogy and start a new metal gear. Snakes story ended there. Riding off into the sunset. Diplomatically.immunite

[@KENSHIROez3260]

Based

[@igodreamer7096]

Jeremy Blaustein is my hero. Kojima hit gold because all the help he had with the Western voice actors and localization team. Good video, Casual man! ⭐⭐⭐

[@marquiniopinio]

Listening to Kijima's story telling must be like "Yeah! .... YEAH! ...HELL YEAH!!!" but then there is allways that story element that makes you go ... "....wait, WHAT??? WTF??"

[@ITNoetic]

As a decades-long Kojima diehard fan that has always felt some type of way about how that man treats his biggest audience (western gamers) indirectly through the English voice actors, this video goes absolutely crazy. We loved those voice actors, but he kept trying to have them changed. Kiefer was a significantly worse Snake than Hayter in all respects. The least qualified guy got that job.

[@michiganjack1337]

11:31 This is why MGS1 still to stands alone. Jeremy's contributions cannot be overstated.

[@CentiZen]

I really hate to say this as someone who considers MGS one of the best game series ever made, but Kojima is a hack. All of his best work is from when he was just a name on a title card, having his ideas filtered through teams who could adjust and compensate for his disjointed concepts and fixations. When he is actually the one in the drivers seat, you end up with nonstop technical debt that eventually results in something that sort of resembles a game. Death Stranding is unique and interesting sure, but it's not fun.

[@LeastWx]

I found Death Stranding very fun and I'm looking forward to the sequel but I see what you're trying to say.

[@JZStudiosonline]

I can't ever wrap my head around this thing of "If anybody does anything different from what they did previous then they suck and should be banished." I don't understand the problem of doing something different and simply acknowledging that it isn't for you and you just don't enjoy it. He could go back to Zone of the Enders and I wouldn't play it because I just don't like that kind of game. It's a dumb argument. As far as "sort of resembles a game" the 8th most played game on steam right now is basically cookie clicker. Stardew Valley is 15. Football Manager is 32. Another cookie clicker at 39. Not mentioning the popularity of things like Farming Simulator and Euro Truck Sim.

[@yunehversomi1458]

It’s always disheartening to hear whenever some people that were a big part of making something you cherish aren’t fully appreciated, whether they be voice actors or animators.

[@Burgnut]

For me personally, I'm still a big fan of his work but like all people, he's not an angel and is prone to mistakes and flaws. My only personal issue with him is that he indirectly takes attention from other game directors, i think every game director with a unqiue vision deserves just as much fanfare, attention and recognition as Kojima has. But a lot of them are kind of just niche, even when they make blockbuster games. (Aside from the obvious Miyamoto, Sakurai, etc.) This isnt necessarily Kojima's fault, and I think he deserves a lot of credit, but its very apparent that no other game director gets this much prestige and clout. I guess it's more of an industry issue than a Kojima issue but it's noticeable.

[@CasualGamr]

Actually I think a lot of it is through self promotion as he is so addicted to cinema that he ensures he is labelled as one, and it has done a very good job of imprinting his name into the hearts and minds of his fan base. It's the same reason Hollywood ensure you see the names of the creatives on screen, along with holding lavish events like the Oscars. They are fun to watch for sure, but these are industry veterans using very public marketing tools to ensure you don't forget them. Kojima, whether intentional or not, adopted this approach because he is just such a massive Hollywood fanboy. It's like I said in the video, this is a good thing for us gamers, but even now so few other game directors have clocked onto the approach that presenting the game as a movie is one that when handled right works so so well.

[@yokgor4675]

Was kinda bummed that Stephanie Joosten wasn’t in Death Stranding. Would’ve much rather see her in the game than Lea Seydoux or Margaret Qualley. Don’t get me wrong I like those actress, but featuring these big name movie stars in the game kind of…how should I put this…”watered down” the “exotic” vibe of the game? And makes it less exciting, if that makes any sense…It’s just feels a lot more refreshing and interesting to see smaller name and relatively unknown models/actress featuring in projects like these.

[@michaelbaker8284]

I think he is disconnected too with his westabooism how disliked hollywood is these days. Most people who pay attention know that it is an evil pit of vipers and has far less prestige than it used to. He doesn't gain what he thinks he is by getting A and B list American cast.

[@CappnRob]

I haven’t watched the video yet (but I do mean to) but I’m seeing a lot of comments here about how Kojima disrespected David Hayter and while I don’t totally disagree I do have to wonder: did Kojima fully realize how influential Hayter was to the West for characterizing Snake? In Japan, Snake in all his incarnations (Solid, Solidus, Naked, Old and Venom) are voiced by the same guy: Akio Otsuka. This guy’s credentials are HUGE. He’s been active in the voice acting scene in Japan since the 80s and has voiced a ton of iconic characters in anime, live action film dubs, and video games. He was Captain Nemo in Nadia, he was Cyborg 005 in the 2000s Cyborg 009 series, he was Batou in Ghost in the Shell, he was Pluto in the 2000s Astro Boy, he was Manfred von Karma in the Ace Attorney anime adaptation, Skull Knight in Berserk 2016, he’s the new voice actor for Daisuke Jigen in Lupin III since his original actor died, he’s Anavel Gato in Gundam Stardust Memories, he was King Cornelius in the Fire Emblem OVA, he’s Ansem in Kingdom Hearts, King Garon in Fire Emblem Fates, and has done a ton of dub work for Steven Segal, Nicolas Cage, Antonio Banderas, Denzel Washington, Dolph Lundgren and Samuel L Jackson. Basically, this is all to say that in Japan, the voice of Snake is done by a guy with an immensely respected pedigree of roles, and I can’t help but feel if the recasting of Snake in English with MGSV was some misguided attempt at bringing that same pedigree to Snake’s role in English by casting a big name actor who would command that same amount of “respect” in western audiences eyes, without realizing that the hardcore fans of the series already had that respect for Hayter. I don’t say this to excuse or justify what Kojima did (I ultimately think it was a bad idea myself as Hayter very much had made Snake his own thing as any great actor should), but given Colonel Campbell was basically never written new lines for any spin off material because his voice actor died and the general culture Japan has in general for their voice acting, I can’t help but wonder what Kojima’s bigger picture here was. I feel it’s ignorant and arrogant to just assume he was having an egomaniac moment like a lot of people are assuming.

[@JZStudiosonline]

A lot of complaints are literally just different cultural things. SuperBunnyHop has a video about how some of the weird dumb jokes and lines in MGS4 are poorly translated puns and stuff. But honestly, get anyone to play through the Yakuza games and Kojima's games are significantly less weird and you just start to notice a lot of the stuff is just cultural differences. Or they're upset because they didn't like (or play) Death Stranding because every game has to be catered to them. Or just the fact that his games are more philosophical in nature than anything, which the Japanese audience understands, but the western audience just... doesn't. The west does not understand the themes and philosophy. For example, they'll complain about Norman Reedus being stiff and distant in Death Stranding, but he also breaks out in hives if anyone touches him and he does his best to distance himself. The entire game is about him learning to open up and make connections. It's a simple philosophical message that asks questions about life, death, meaning, the afterlife, etc.

[@edsainmuramasa4751]

kojima fell for the millionaire vs billionaire trap. you see a millionaire, he has a supermodel actress girlfriend/wife, you see a billionaire, he has a normal looking woman by his side, who is getting old, chubby, along with him. the millionaire, he got rich and found himself a model for a wife, but she doesn't care about him, so she will be gone in a year and he will replace her with another copy. the billionaire, however, he met her before he was rich, he got rich with her, she made his life better and they rose together. She will probably never leave him, as she was there when the going was rough. Kojima had the chance to make an actor into a star by his side, but he chose to replace him with a shiny plastic star that is not in any way loyal.

[@Gliese380]

Hideo Kojima is the single most overglorified game guru this side of the sun. MGS1 was great, though.

[@wildguardian]

If it wasn't for David Hayter, Geralt woudn't have his voice, probably.

[@custardgannet4836]

He was better when he had co writers to bounce ideas off and presumably rein him in. I could be wrong but wasn't he the sole writer from MGS 4 onward?

[@saladinnausicaa2759]

He was always the sole writer for the series with his "co-writers" helping him flesh out the side content like side codec calls and stuff. I guess it's easier for people to pretend Kojima wasn't the one who wrote MGS1 and MGS2 then to admit they didn't like his later works. Kojima is the creator of the series and was the sole creative behind it.

[@custardgannet4836]

@saladinnausicaa2759 lol he is far from the "sole creative" behind the series, you fanboys would swear he did everything from the programming to the concept art work for these games. Take it down a notch Geoff Keighley.

[@zeroskaterz92]

@@saladinnausicaa2759 One can easily look up the writers for MGS1-3 and MGS4 onwards, you'll notice a certain name was missing for MGS4 onwards and that's where the quality writing dropped tremendously.

[@Frogstomp333]

@@saladinnausicaa2759 Tomokazu Fukushima would respectfully disagree with you

[@FireteamYogurt]

@@saladinnausicaa2759 Kojima has never, ever done these projects alone. Not in writing, design, gameplay mechanic implementation, nothing. He's always had teams of talented people that never get credit because he seeks glory.

[@UporaFilms]

Death Stranding may not have its unique charm, but it definitely has Kojima's charm. May be its the awkwardness or just the very different type of gameplay that we wouldn't normally considering interesting, but either way that may just be enough for me.

[@chunkylover5367]

Damn. Kojima did some people really dirty. Shame.

[@JeanKP14]

I actually did not know that about the localization and Kojima's reaction to realizing how much the localizer "changed". That's laughable because that's actually just TRANSLATION, not even just localization. You can't just translate a language 1:1 without any adjustments according to culture and how people speak in the language. Anyone should know that! At least it sounds like it didn't harm the series that much until V, as the games BEFORE MGSV don't seem to have any of that level of weird... Japanese-isms and lack of care in localizing. But that's still such a shame, since the people who did localize the next games still definitely changed just as much? Absurd. I AM however glad that they were not allowed to "macho up" Otacon and Snake's relationship. It's perfect the way it is and I believe that would have been unfaithful to the clearly shown idea of the characters' relationship in MGS1. That ending is pretty legendary and if that had happened we might have saw a lot more un-gaying of their interactions in MGS2 and onward in the localizations, which would have been terrible. Sometimes localization choices ARE mistakes, I don't agree with changing the actual relationship between characters, and there's really nothing ever macho about Otacon ever even once his confidence grows after 1.

[@miked6947]

David is great with his fans it was a pleasure getting to meet him

[@TheSnoozeFox]

People always forget that Tomokazu Fukushima was the ACTUAL brains behind MGS lore and writing. He never got the credit he deserves.

[@nothingwrong2293]

Oh, yeah, that schizo theory. "The actual brains behind lore and writing" joined development team barely a year before MGS1 came out, when the story was already complete, but sure

[@Arkyubus]

​@nothingwrong2293 and? Most of the big lore developments happen in MGS2 and MGS3. It's not a schizo theory at all. Do you really think that the lore for the entire series was made with MGS1? You know that's not how that works right?

[@AltFromTheLimbo]

Damn that Fukushima dude must be GOAT and doing some crazy shit since MGS3. What are the best projects he was involved with? I need to check him out!

[@omegadomega]

No all he did was the codecs

[@nothingwrong2293]

@Arkyubus do you really think that someone who wrote MGS1 is incapable of writing MGS2?

[@thenaut2111]

This is such a great video man and I'm glad to see more videos and people being much more critical of Kojima recently (Lambhoot's video on Metal Gear Survive is another one I watched recently). He undeniably has a huge ego, and it feels like you can't say anything against him without backlash at times in bigger MGS circles because the fans idolize him so much. He's a huge perv and is undoubtedly doing a "writer's poorly disguised fetish" thing, but apparently, that's just a funny, quirky part of the MGS games and not telling of his character at all. "Directed by Hideo Kojima" is just a funny running gag and totally doesn't steal credit from writers who most likely added an insane amount to MGS that Kojima would never have been able to do on his own. Like, I had no clue about Jeremy Blaustein's story until seeing this. "Codec" and "OSP" are two words I'll always forever associate with MGS when I hear them, for him to be treated like that is just insane. Kojima's games are very close to my heart (Death Stranding was the first game I ever preordered, lol), and I'm excited for DS2 and MGS Delta, but this stuff you really just can't ignore. There was a joke in The Game Awards Statler and Waldorf told that was like, "Did you know Geoff Keighley is best friends with Kojima?" "Yes! But does Kojima know that?" It feels a little relevant, idk, lol.

[@БогданКрименюк]

A joke... Yeah... Is it really ?

[@thenaut2111]

​@@БогданКрименюк the more I think about it the more I realise the joke really wasn't worth including 😭my bad

[@MM.x.00]

Important and insightful video essay, thank you for cutting through the fog and bringing a clear view of the situation

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

Haters will say "fake, never happened". Men will say "real".

[@Blusterberry]

Pretty sure Hayter never said that.

[@itsausername]

After TPP I was absolutely convinced the previous games had a ghostwriter but I never actually looked into it. Seeing how it's actually true I wish I could say I'm surprised. The more creative control kojima was given the more unhinged his games got.

[@crispyjeb]

Hayter will always be my Snake & I love how Kurt Russell’s loyalty to John Carpenter is the reason he passed on the roll.

[@JudoEagle32]

I'm just glad David made it to MGS4. He started as Solid and ended as Solid. 4 was such a good conclusion for the character.

[@TheHazmate]

I'm so happy David is back for the MGS:3 remake, I'm happy they're all back in.

[@keylimecookies]

I get why he went more Hollywood and leveled up but David Hayter is such a gem and an important member of the the series community more than any professional ever could be

[@RasenReturns]

What’s really sad is that the team behind the MGS3 Delta remake clearly has much more respect for David Hayter than Kojima. They’ve continually looped him into videos to promote the game and engage with fans, while Kojima continually distances himself from Hayter and the majority of actors he’s worked with in the past. Anyone who rejects their past for their future will find themselves with neither.

[@anthonyf616]

It's also because Konami is on MAJOR DAMAGE CONTROL. Hayter is being used to calm the fans down lol

[@nekoill]

Oh look what a great opportunity to express my appreciation for the Kojima Productions members who made all those spectacular masterpieces possible. Fox Engine alone is a thing of legends.

[@Kitarraman]

I loved your video. Yeah, I started sharing your thoughts after completing MGSV in 2015. I understand people being mad at Konami for cutting the development short on V. Still, I can't help but point out that Konami probably cut short the development because Kojima must have mismanaged funds and missed deadlines. Thus, the botched game that came out as MGSV is as much his responsibility as Konami's. There's only one voice actor I believe Kojima treated worse than Hayter: Stefanie Joosten. From what I've gathered from some interviews she did, apparently, she was led to believe Kojima would cast her as Fragile in Death Stranding, a role that ultimately went to Lea Seydoux. Sure, David had history with the franchise, so the way he was "let go" hurts more, but the way he apparently handled things with Stefanie wasn't that classy either

[@CasualGamr]

OOoouch! No freakin' WAY, I did not know that! I totally missed that fact, thanks so much, more research and another video perhaps?? That is so brutal. She's not Hollywood though, is she. James Bond movies are amongst his favourite, and surprise surprise, he's got Casino Royale's main villain in one, and the mother of Bond's child in another. The pieces fit.

[@MegaMan-bs3oy]

When you have me in konami side you know you effed up

[@Bori.1776]

Idk why he’s so obsessed with Hollywood. Gaming is the better medium and honestly he’d never really make it in Hollywood.

[@tyke2829]

Because Hollywood movies were like biggest forms of entertainment across the world, especially in the 80s

[@aadipie]

He’s grown up being obsessed with Hollywood is why. It was his connection to his parents, they’d watch a movie every night together. He’s spoken about his love for films extensively, it helped him cope as a kid. It’s all just a kid pouring out his troubles into his work.

[@Bori.1776]

@@aadipie That’s obsession with movies, not Hollywood. I’m saying why is he obsessed with wanting to break into Hollywood when realistically it’s a medium he would never make it in. He’s not a great writer and he only gets away with it because he’s good at using games medium.

[@weaponsgradepotato]

@@Bori.1776 he likely doesnt see himself as so- he wants to be part of the movie making machine

[@iliketurtles667]

Wow, this came out of nowhere but I totally loved it!

[@solidv2]

I admire Kojima, but he is too much of a Diva. David and others ( like the translator, Jeremy, for example) are also responsible for the success of the series. They should have been better treated In the end we all had to pay for Kojima's hollywood ambition, and that wasn't good at all

[@bebopblue]

I actually like Sutherland in MGSV for the way Snake is visually portrayed in the FOX Engine compared to the previous games that had a more stylized look that worked well with Hayter's performance. I just find it hard imagining Hayter as Snake in MGSV, but also vice versa with Sutherland. Still, back when this game was in development, I had hope Hayter would have some role in the game.

[@CasualGamr]

Can you imagine if they’d at just got him to voice Ishmael in the hospital at the start, or at the very least, during the revelation at the very end? Man that would have been so damn sweet.

[@DoktahDoktah]

Actually I just had a thought. Maybe Kojima knew this was going to be his last Metal Gear and he needed a way out. There are 2 scenarios in this. 1 is he knew this was going to be the last game he would make or he knew the situation with Konami was so bad he had to make a tough decision of ruining a friendshipo so he could keep working somewhere.

[@505th_oldboy]

Dude seems more interested in his pokemon collection of foot scans now.

[@swevicus]

I guess Kojima and I are more alike than I thought. I'm going to have to a bit of soul-searching now, and try to figure out what it is that I really want out of my own works (mostly novels).

[@jackstrife3821]

Well despite his reputation, Kojima has a history of making poor decisions. Also, his new studio has only released a single, major title since it's inception...which didn't sell particularly well either.

[@Healthy_Toki]

Hayter wrote the best X-men film (X2) so the dude really knows what's up when it comes to genre storytelling. Would be cool to see what he'd do as a creative lead on an MGS spinoff title.

[@Stealthybat39]

I disagree with "Aging Phantom Pain." There are stuff in this game that is still being documented to this day. It still wowed me. A week ago, I just found out you can use a human bomb fulton, blow up a gunship, or use many decoys to confuse your enemies. That's just crazy creativity. Try and compare it to any other stealth games. No other games let you do stuff like that. That's the stuff keeping Phantom Pain alive forever. Anyway, Kiefer replacing Hayter is such a dik move, i agreed wit that.

[@БогданКрименюк]

Ok

[@karambiatos]

Okey, but. it's kind of pointless it's a very empty sanbox. Can you at least share the wacky things with friends? Nope

[@theShoop]

Thank you for this analysis, - I've been waiting so long for someone to acknowledge the fact, that this man holds the biggest ego in the gaming industry, and all the idolizing fans are only fueling it further. Such a shame, that only Yoji Shinkawa got some part of merit for his hard work, while other talents, who were around Kojima, such as Tomokazu Fukushima, got absolutely nothing and remain unknown to the public, despite putting the same (or even more) amount of effort into the games. Reminds me of a real story about Margaret Keane and her paintings (Tim Burton later directed a movie based on these events). And, talking about movies, - I think, due to his love of the film industry, Kojima, subconsciously or not, used the same method that is used in the movies field: make the viewer remember the director's name and create a feeling, that only the director matter. Even if there were dozens of people involved or sometimes even hundreds, we still believe that Ridley Scott is bound to make a great movie, because he made Alien in the past. The other example is the original Star Wars trilogy and George Lucas: a lot of fans don't even know that the most beloved part of the franchise was made by a whole different team, because, even though Irvin Kershner's name is quite known, the popularity doesn't come close to the one of George Lucas'. Producers are using this trick even today for the successful marketing campaign, since it's a lot easier for a viewer to remember one catchy name, that is always used on the cover, than every single artist involved. And I don't blame them for it, since we'll never know the percentage of work, that was put in by a single person on any given media.

[@micl.angleo]

As a self-desribed 25 year-MGS fanboy, I applaud the work on the vid. great research. One detail you maybe missed; the scriptwriter for MGS2 also had some pretty disparging things to say about Kojima. Something like "The fact Kojima's considered a good writer shows you how low writing standards are in the game industry." This "auteur" obsession within gaming is not just a Kojima problem. Many game studio heads are getting high off their own farts, leading to all kinds of production and quality problems. So it needs to be called out more.

[@nomorenames5568]

what a great presentation. Despite always being left with a sour taste in my mouth after seeing Kojima's obsession with fame and Hollywood I had no idea the number of victims he created with that obsession. What a piece of crap. This video will have me trashing Kojima till the ends of time, I always wanted a reason to and now I have countless reasons, so thank you. Thank you for helping to bring a little more justifiable hate into this world. Sometimes, hate is good and this is one of those times. If Kojima faces enough backlash for his behavior maybe he will change for the better. I especially like how you mention the morality and philosophy focus of his games because you're absolutely right in saying that they feel extremely hollow when you see how little he actually cares about being a decent person.

[@natevirtual]

David Hayter LOOOOVES the fans. Kojima on the other hand, doesn't care much.

[@OneColdtruth]

what a great video you were critical and equally respectful.

[@Highwynd]

very holistic and analytical video, nicely done

[@skmed83]

This is what we've been saying for years now. Everyone's got this "Kojima is god" complex. Which, like Huh? Real talk, how big is your ego to even put that in a game, joke or not. But anyway... MGS is hands down our favorite IP over here at SkM Gaming. And while we respect Kojima for bringing us his vision of the 80's - 90's action star hero to the gaming industry, you can tell the guy's ego is massively inflated. In a deeper analysis of his games and their development, you can read that he has a Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates complex. He has a vision, and he's hell bent on delivering it, which ok, props for that. But his talent is employing the people with the real capability to facilitate that vision. And of course getting to his departure with Konami, we typically skew to be in the artist's corner over the massive corporation. But we'd be willing to bet that if all the details of that split-up were ever disclosed publicly, Kojima would emerge somewhat more tainted than he did. Great video tho.

[@liofotia]

i genuinely thought u had so many more subs omg this is a great video

[@bloodletinthe]

Great video man, I love Kojima games but I don't really know much about him. He seems to have a huge ego which will probably burn him in the end.

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

idk why i read the title as "why did kojima burn these actors faces"

[@isurualahakoon4508]

13:44 Okay that's just a dick move...

[@dedstring]

This was a good video. Nice little reality check

[@autumnberend828]

"Selfie with a Hollywood star." *Shows Conan O'Brian* You're being way too generous.

[@CasualGamr]

🤣🤣🤣 that made me spit my water out laughing

[@superpael]

Watching Kojima cutscenes is like watching paint dry.

[@Raz0rm1nd3d]

This was interesting to watch. And i mostly agree. I love MGS as a series but nothing is without flaws and Kojima has a lot like most people. I will always say that not everyone is perfect and for me, Kojima is a person that despite his achievments, not only it wasn't done entirely by himself , but even some decisions weren't even made by him. For example, the first MGS had spanish voice acting and that was by Sony and i think Kojima wasn't really a fan of it if remember correctly like with the change of the script and was never done again for the rest of the series. We have to consider that he had way worse ideas that if it wasn't by either common sense or his co-workers telling him that it was wrong or bad, the metal gear series would be way worse. Kojima has demostrated being a control freak and prefers to follow his ideas more than anyone and i will never forget that he wanted to recast Snake every game.