In yesterday’s post, I was talking about how the almost universal opinion in the gaming industry was that it was a bad decision for Sony to dump Kojima. There were many reasons listed as to why this was a terrible decision, but they boiled down to he’s a respected figure in the gaming industry. So much so, that it’s almost verboten to even whisper a breath of dissent. It’s been a brutal year for layoffs, but most people were sure that Kojima was safe. Or if they talked about him being fired, they made it sound like it would never happen.
I, on the other hand, could very well see it happening. I’ll get to that in a minute.
It’s interesting to me that Hidetaka Miyazaki (head of FromSoft), is highly respected, but he doesn’t seem to get the same regard as does Kojima. As least in terms of being called an auteur. Don’t get me wrong. Miyazaki gets plenty of accolades and adoration. He’s considered one of the greatest living developers, and he created a whole new genre of games. But, auteur? No. Most people do not call him that, and I have to wonder why.
I have a few theories. One, even though he’s been the head of FromSoft for over a decade, there’s still a feel of the hired gun to him. From has been published by several different publishers, which seems unusual for someone of his stature. Two, he’s a very shy and retiring man. He rarely does interviews, and when he does, he doesn’t really say anything shocking or surprising. He sticks to blandishments for the most part, but also he’s a master of misdirection. I still remember that he (well, a public relations man in the company, but I’m sure it was at the behest of Miyazaki) said with his whole chest that you could finish Elden Ring in 30 hours. Or the main story, anyway.
Then when the DLC was being announced, Miyazaki himself said it was about the size of Limgrave, the starting area in the base game. Sure, if you don’t take into account how many layers there are to the game. And I mean it literally this time. I have not heard the word verticality used so often before this game or since, and it’s spot on. The base game took me 215+ hours to complete my first playthrough. The DLC took 75+ hours. That’s a third of the base game. Limgrave is maybe a tenth of the base game? Probably not that small, but there are several areas in addition to Limgrave.
Back to Kojima. He is not shy nor retiring. He is not diffident or cagey when he’s speaking. In fact, I would say that he says exactly what’s on his mind. Very un-Asian, in fact. I can’t speak for Japanese culture specifically, but I know that East Asian culture tends to be very much guess and not ask.
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I am not a big fan of Kojima. I watched a Let’s Play of his first game, and it was gross and sexist. Then, his whole bullshit about Quiet needing to wear almost no clothes because she breathes through her skin (uhhhhhh) and that everyone would be ashamed of their reaction when they found this out.
I mean, no? First of all, his pseudo-scientific bullshit was still just that–bullshit. Secondly, he was the one who created the character. She didn’t HAVE to have whatever it was that made her have to be naked. She’s fictional! He was the one who wrote her that way! It was infuriating then, and it’s still infuriating now.
I keep thinking that there’s something wrong with me because I don’t see the genuis in his games. I have said I’m glad hee creates them because if anything,g they are wildly different than anything else out there. That doesn’t mean I actually want to play them, though. Or that I think they’re perfect. I don’t, and I don’t.
Do I think he’s overrated? Yes. Do I thin the should be a sacred lamb who is beyond and above criticism? No. Hell, I don’t think that about any creator. No one should be above criticism. And, yes, that includes Miyazaki.
It hit a tipping point when Sony cut Kojima loose. People exploded in indignation and anger. They could not believe that Sony would do this, and several called it a big mistake. But in more colorful language. While I’m sitting here going, “This isn’t a surprise, guys.” Which makes me think that there’s something seriously wrong with my brain. Because there is so much unity in what a mistake thsi is, I find me doubting myself.
That’s why I have refereced Skill Up several times as he has a much more measured take on the situation. I have included his latest video because, quite frankly, he’s a breath of fresh air. Even when I don’t agree with him, I can see his point of view and appreciate his chill vibes. In this case, he’s the voice of reason. While he doesn’t necessarily think it’s a good thing that Sony cut ties with Kojima, Skill Up at least can list the reasons why they made that choice.
Look. I’m not saying it’s a great decision by Sony; I’m just saying I don’t necessarily think it’s horrible the way other people do. I get that hes a luminary and has cache, but his actual sales haven’t been great (of his own games. Not the MGS games). Also, Skill Up pointed out that being on Xbox means the game(s) can be on PC, too. Sony has said that they are no longer bringing their games to PC, so that’s a plus for Xbox (I’m assuming).
I don’t know. I’m not confident that it won’t be a net loss for Sony, but I’m also not sure its’ going to be an unmitigated disaster the way most people seem to think it’ll be. I guess we will just have to wait and see.