Celebrated game designer Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear series, was recently honored with the New York Game Awards' Legend Award. During his acceptance speech, the 57-year-old founder of Kojima Productions, which released Death Stranding in 2019, called for world peace.
"The world was becoming divided. People were becoming isolated. So we made Death Stranding," Kojima said. "Then, after it was released, the coronavirus hit, Brexit became a reality, and there was another [US] presidential election. The world is still very divided. But I hope that people can come together, like they do in the game. I hope the world comes together and that we can all live in peace."
Kojima say he was inspired to create Death Stranding, which has been praised for its voice acting, soundtrack, and visuals, to bring people together. The game has resonated with fans who have noted similarities between elements in Death Stranding and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Death Stranding, which is set in an open world with a third-person and occasionally first-person perspective, stars The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus as Sam, a deliveryman on an expedition across a post-apocalyptic United States to deliver supplies to isolated colonies. The game also features Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Lindsay Wagner.
In an interview with Livedoor News in May 2020, Kojima stated that Death Stranding had generated enough revenue to recoup the development costs of the game and turn a profit, adding that the game’s success has guaranteed funding for Kojima Production's next project.
Kojima began working for Konami in 1986 as an assistant director on Penguin Adventure, the sequel to Antarctic Adventure. His second project, Metal Gear, was inspired by The Great Escape. Released on July 13, 1987, for the MSX2 home computer in Japan, the overhead military action-adventure stealth game was a major international success, with the NES version selling 1 million units in the United States.
At The Game Awards 2015, Metal Gear Solid V won the awards for Best Action Game and Best Score/Soundtrack, but Kojima was reportedly barred from attending the event by Konami. Soon after, he left the company and formed Kojami Productions.
Source: GameSpot