Kojima ashamed of Japanese MGS delay

By Oli Welsh Published 1 February, 2010

"There is no greater crime."

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has made a heartfelt apology for the delay to the Japanese release of the latest entry in the series, the PSP's Peace Walker.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was due to be released on 18th March in the country, but on Friday Konami announced an eleventh-hour delay, pushing it back to 29th April. The North American and European release dates - 25th and 28th May respectively - are not affected.

"I always preach to the staff, 'You must not have a delay after a release date has been announced. There is no greater crime as a game developer,'" Kojima confessed in a blog post translated by Andriasang.

"Official announcement of a release date is nothing less than a promise to fans and business partners. In other words, a release date change is like betraying the expectations of everyone... It probably takes a long time to earn back trust that has been lost. However we will work hard, with the hope that we will one day earn the support of everyone again."

It didn't seem to take that much time. According to Andriasang, Kojima's post was met with messages of sympathy, forgiveness and support from fans in the comments thread.

Yes, that's gamers responding to disappointing news by rushing en masse to write something nice on the internet. It's a different world.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (16) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Apostle #1 2 years ago

    What a great attitude Kojoma has.

  • NewbieZilla #2 2 years ago

    A good game later is better than a borked one sooner. Apology unnecessary.

  • Vice.Destroyer #3 2 years ago

    Yes, that's gamers responding to disappointing news by rushing en masse to write something nice on the internet. It's a different world.

    Something clearly got lost in translation.

  • TILT #4 2 years ago

    Not just a different world, a different country... Japan.

  • Murton #5 2 years ago

    Tilt has it right, the delay only affects Japan where Kojima is almost a god-like figure so they're gonna support him and his sentiment that to break a release date is a akin to breaking a promise to loved one. Also European and American fans aren't affected and just going to support the sentiment such as Apostle has above.

    I haven't really played any of Kojima's games, I'm not a huge MGS fan or a fan of stealth games in general but I too support his views. Games have certain expectations of developers which can be met, broken or surpassed and to hear that a developer understands this gives me hope that the industry might still be about pleasing fans and making money from doing so rather than the other way round.
    Edited by 1 at 01/02/10 @ 09:34

  • Bigglesworth #6 2 years ago

    I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Kojima and Yamauchi get together for a chat on development practices.

  • Cherub007 #7 2 years ago

    It was a very impressive apology, though. I bet he gets away with all kindsa shit at home and he just flings some of that his wife's way and she's all tearful and "oh, I know you didn't mean any real harm..."

    I need some of those skills, I really do. He could teach us a lot.

  • TeaFiend #8 2 years ago

    I am pretty sure releasing bad games is a worse crime than missing a street date.

  • Ryze #9 2 years ago

    Hideo - it's OK - we're NOT ARSED about the game!

    :D

  • chrisola #10 2 years ago

    Now he must commit seppuku to atone for his failure.

  • Nazo #11 2 years ago

    A lot of the language he uses is fairly standard Japanese humble speech, it sounds kinda dramatic when directly translated but I guess it's nice he made the effort.

    Someone's posted a list of big releases in March, with the caption "I'm scared and ran away". I guess it's not all sympathy then...

  • Mnia786 #12 2 years ago

    Meh, EU date is same so I'm not bothered :D
    Konami has let him down, not his devs so the Japs oughta give them the finger, not Kojima.

  • Boomerang #13 2 years ago

    Take your time and do it properly.

    I doubt i'm alone in saying "don't release a half-arsed, bug-ridden game for the sake of hitting a deadline, we won't love you for it. In fact, we'll probably hate you for it."

  • LazyNinjaUk #14 2 years ago

    Kojima obviously doesn't want to be compared to other devs like 3d realms, I really hope it does come out on the new release date, or we might be reading Kojima committed sepuku and disembowelled himself because the game was put back by another week.

  • firefly #15 2 years ago

    Am I alone in wondering why, if Kojima is so concerned with keeping his promises, he keeps on being lured back to the series.
    Anyway yes it's a commendable attitude to have, but as others have pointed out delays can be for the better of the game.

  • RandomTerrain #16 2 years ago

    I loved Kojima, but this... this is too much, how DARE he ask for forgiveness!
    How can I ever trust him after this? HOW!?

    Although it is nice to see such a big game for the PSP. :D
    OK, you're forgiven, but NEXT time... just make sure there isn't a next time.