Konami's Hideo Kojima

That's a question I've been asked a lot of times. I can't name one, I have two. First it's Metal Gear on the MSX, because this was the first title that was sold, that made it out there, because some of the ideas I'd had before didn't make it out. So it was a benchmark to me because it was the first product I did that got released. And it was full of hard times, hard work that I'd put in, Metal Gear - it was a really tough job. If you were to ask me about the second, that would be Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation 1, because it was the first time I actually sat back as a producer. I also did the game parts as well, but being a producer was a different test for me because I had to look at the business side, at promotion and things like that. Also, MGS was sold worldwide, and if it wasn't for MGS on the PS1, I think I wouldn't be in Leipzig today or at this game convention. So these two are really, really precious titles for me.

I don't think that's true at all. Well, not so in Japan maybe, but in general I think that's not happening. Even if that is a fact, I still think that there are gamers who love these epic games or hardcore games because some people still really live with games, and really receive something from games, and I regard them as real gamers. Now, as long as these gamers exist I feel a responsibility that someone has to do it, to create these games, so I'm not really worried. Besides if I, or someone else, keep bringing out these epic games, it might change the flow of the industry; people might realise that these are really fun games. And time ever changes, and the flow or demand will change, but if you just look at the current trend, and you see it shrinking and you just stop, it will just become zero, so I don't think that is a wise decision to make.

There's a huge user difference. I could back this up with GTA IV, which is a smash hit, and Call of Duty 4 was a smash hit and this season, Gears of War 2 will also probably be a smash hit, so that is proof that there are still gamers out there waiting for these epic games, and I think that will continue. I'm not saying casual gaming is bad, I think that casual games will continue as well as a trend, which is also good. But I think these will coexist.

I think it really depends on the title. With MGS4, there was a lot of thinking behind it when we were announcing the exclusive, season-wise and time-wise and Sony technology and hardware wise and so on. But our intention was, since we were always with the PlayStation for the Metal Gear series, I felt that the users also followed the PlayStation as well - I mean all the Metal Gear fans follow the PlayStation. So it was an obvious match to release MGS4 on the PS3. And if we decide PS3, why not optimise it to make the best of that hardware? That was our decision. Of course, this trend might change within us, because as I said, it doesn't really matter on the hardware. Sometimes if we think a game should be exclusive to one platform, we'll go that way, if we think it should be multiplatform because of the game, we could do that, you never know. As I said, I think it really depends on the title.