Hideo Kojima is acutely aware of the passing of time, even more so now that he’s in his sixties and has suffered from medical issues in the last few years. He has witnessed death close to him and has developed a harrowing concern about growing older and developing dementia, forgetting all he knows.
However, despite all that, Kojima is reluctant to ‘pass the baton’ at Kojima Productions after he passes on, suggesting that if his company tried to make games like he does, it will ‘go out of business’.
‘People Won’t Understand It’
In a sense, Hideo Kojima suggested that nobody understands his games quite like he does. In an interview with GQ, Kojima, a forty-year veteran of the industry and a legendary creator, suggested that stepping back from actively developing games might mean that his creations will be misunderstood, as he’s not the one leading them.
I had all these flops when I did that at Konami. I won’t name titles. If it’s a sequel, that’s quite easy. But a game that no one has ever seen before? Even if I write something, people won’t understand it.
In the interview with GQ, Kojima was asked about passing the baton when he’s too old to make games at Kojima Productions. He was transparent, saying outright that it won’t happen:
I am not going to pass the baton to anyone. I will rather crush the baton… [Laughs.] I don’t need to give “Hideo Kojima” to anyone. If I pass the baton to my staff and tell them to make things the same way I do, the company will not succeed and will go out of business.
Instead of tasking Kojima Productions to work exactly as he does, Hideo is more interested in inspiring the people around him to forge their own paths. He referred to it as them receiving his ‘small fire’ and nurturing the flame.
Last month, Kojima revealed that he has a USB stick packed full of ideas for games that he’ll share when he passes on, ensuring that his ideas flow for years afterwards. We now know that the goal isn’t for Kojima Productions to rote copy those ideas, but to use them a a base of inspiration for future titles.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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