Kojima promises Zone of the Enders 3

By Oli Welsh Published 20 October, 2009

Why developers shouldn't be allowed blogs.

Metal Gear maestro Hideo Kojima has promised there will be a third Zone of the Enders game on the Kojmia Productions blog.

Andriasang translated the post. "I cannot make a promise about time. However, I can promise a sequel," he said.

Zone of the Enders is Kojima's "other" series, a very anime-style game of flying space mechs. Although it has a cult following, its two PS2 entries never achieved the profile and sales of Metal Gear Solid.

Kojima says the failure of the second game, Zone of the Enders: the 2nd Runner (known as Anubis: Zone of Enders in Japan) was all his fault.

"Due to errors in setting the release time frame, while [the 2nd Runner] was a medium hit, it did not achieve the expected numbers," said Kojima. "Everything was due to an error by me, the producer. At that time, if I hadn't made a mistake with the release date, Anubis might have ended up a major Kojima Productions title to follow MGS, still seeing development as a series."

He wants to make it right by bringing the series back. "We feel that if we do it, we'd like to make Anubis succeed this time. I already have a game plan and method for sales in my head. However, we don't know if it will be green lighted. The production lines within Kojima Productions are currently full."

So, it's not happening, but it's definitely happening. We'll hold you to it, Kojima-san.

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 (26) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • MeBrains #1 2 years ago

    ok. with all the babble about ZOE3, I should really pick up 1 & 2 to see what all the fuzz is about...

    * off to ebay *

  • Ninja_Tino #2 2 years ago

    ZotE 1 is fairly average but 2 is fab!

  • HermitUK #3 2 years ago

    Loved both games - wouldn't be against a GoW 1/2 style HD port of the pair of them.

    Roll on ZoE 3

  • Xerx3s #4 2 years ago

    I wish that they would make a new anime, I really liked that one. :/

  • Zanuah #5 2 years ago

    Failure in sales maybe... but the second one was great!

    I'm looking forward to a new one. :)

  • solidSnake04 #6 2 years ago

    ZOE is good...but ZOE 2 is absolutely brilliant. Sometimes I even think if kojima productions made a Dragon Ball Z game, it would be awesome. To me, ZOE and ZOE2 capture well the fighting freedom and game mechanics suitable for a DBZ game. Replace the robots with the Z warriors , add the kamehamehas and we're good :p

  • Widge #7 2 years ago

    ZOE2 was outstanding, a visual treat for one but also managed to deliver everything that the original promised but failed to give.

    I hope they continue with including a VS mode on there. Multiplayer Orbital Frame action would be great!

  • Toothball #8 2 years ago

    @Xerx3s:

    I was wondering if anyone else watched that. The OVA was quite good, but the TV series was a bit of a struggle.

  • thewool #9 2 years ago

    can we play this as the EG Expo - do I need to go and buy my ticket quick?

  • davisorle #10 2 years ago

    "I already have a game plan and method for sales in my head"

    erm... just make it great and people will buy it instead of dedicating time on marketing... :/ All it takes is a couple of reat ingame videos on the net ( maybe a demo too if possible ) and there is no way a great game wont have great sales. At least I think it would be enough.Guess he is talking about the hype bit that makes ppl more aware about the titles?

  • Les #11 2 years ago

    Liked what I played of ZoE2 but never came around to finishing it. The anime scenes were well done and fitted perfectly with the gameplay setting IMO.

  • dudefella #12 2 years ago

    oh what a tease! Let's hope he delivers, though. God I love that series.

  • Shotaro #13 2 years ago

    ZOE 1 & 2 are 2 of my favourite PS2 games, I didn't even buy ZOE for the MGS2 demo like most people did

  • Razorus #14 2 years ago

    YEEEEEES!!!! Finally!
    VERY VERY GOOD TIMES. I loved the second one, particularly the updated moves and weapons and graphics but it was too damn short. The multiplayer was so fun. It was the closest thing to playing an anime anyone has ever done. Can you IMAGINE what this beast will look like on the PS3?
    Bring it on Kojima-san!

  • SeesThroughAll #15 2 years ago

    Release HD remakes of the two first games on HD consoles, and people will be happy with you , Kojima.

  • Zebula77 #16 2 years ago

    I really liked the visuals and the story in ZOE2, but the gameplay never managed to thrill me that much. Played it for a while, then something else came along.

    Still, a number 3 sounds interesting.

  • Mooglepies #17 2 years ago

    WANT.

    HAVE WANTED FOR SOME TIME NOW.

  • Gazza_UK #18 2 years ago

    SHIT Just remembered that I am still stuck on ZOE 2.

  • Razorus #19 2 years ago

    @davisorle

    Don't underestimate the power of marketing. Okami is an incredible game and it sold poorly. If it had been advertised and marketed properly, it would have been more successful. This report also says that ZOE2 didn't sell well so obviously you didn't understand the article! Many great games don't sell well while many shit games do.

  • mika1h #20 2 years ago

    Both ZOE games have excellent gameplay but the first one has god awful dub, which ruined the game for me. The second one has considerably better dub but it's still cringe worthy. Hopefully the third one has option for Japanese audio.

  • retr0gamer #21 2 years ago

    You made no mistakes with ZoE 2 Kojima, it was awesome. It's not your fault the game buying public are idiots. What you need to apologise for is MGS 4! ZoE 3 would be a good enough apology thank you.

    If anything ZoE 2 had an even worse localisation. It has some of the best engrish ever. 'Even for Bahram thats too rough!'
    Edited by 1 at 20/10/09 @ 14:47

  • penhalion #22 2 years ago

    Loved both Z.O.E games.

    I'll definietly welcome a Z.O.E 3 and I want Kojima to answer the following questions

    1. Why the heck are pilots called runners?
    2. Who built the frames?
    3. Can you force the armoured core guys to play Z.O.E so that they understand how a giant mech game should actually play!

  • HermitArcader #23 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Quixz #24 2 years ago

    "I already have a game plan and method for sales in my head"

    Yep it's coming to the 360.

    I played the first one but missed out on the second.

  • solidSnake04 #25 2 years ago

    ^you missed on the best..
    i still found the story to be somewhat unconnected. kojima did the same in mgs2. main protagonist out of the window. new protagonis enters.
    maybe i missed out bits of the connecting link from ZOE to ZOE2. The gameplay was absolutely brilliant though. The evolution of the Mech was fantastic and to me ADA single handedly stole the show. Together with that recurring girl mech that kept on coming like some sort of AI spirit.
    I just wish we could have Anubis teleport in vs mode too
    Edited by 2 at 21/10/09 @ 09:19

  • Felwyn #26 2 years ago

    zoe 1 and 2 gave a brand new meaning to COCKpits.