Kojima still "experimenting" with Rising

By Robert Purchese Published 3 September, 2009

Says PSP Peace Walker team is jealous.

Hideo Kojima has said that Metal Gear Solid: Rising is still at an "experimental level", and the team is aiming to go "the next step beyond" with every aspect of the game.

"And how we go up a step is really a big job, actually," Kojima told GamePro. "What we're doing right now is making totally new - not just overhauled - engines and AI and things like that. Even the management and team formations at Kojima Productions we are changing around."

And so the multiplatform project dominates the developer's resources which, he said, hasn't gone down terribly well with the MGS Peace Walker PSP team.

"The reason why I say they are not good friends is because the PSP [team] is working day and night to make [Peace Walker] even better than MGS4, but of course they can't do it because of a lot of restrictions," explained Kojima.

"On the other hand, the Rising team is using loads of money and loads of capacity and hardware specs. If you can, imagine the PSP team looking at the Rising team saying, 'They have all the money and specs!' That's the one reason why they are not good friends.

"It's interesting for me to see the team members act in this way," he added. "This was never [the case] before because it was always just one small team. Now we are much bigger."

While MGS Rising may be the focus, Kojima assured us the Peace Walker team is not made up of "s****y staff". In fact, Kojima is leading the project himself, after opting for an overseer position on MGS Rising.

Head over to our Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid: Rising gamepages to find out more.

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About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (17) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • Golgo #1 2 years ago

    Mmmm...office politics...
    He loves to keep things complicated, does HK.

  • Freek #2 2 years ago

    Strange that there is such rivalry between the teams. Why set the completely unrealistic goal of making the PSP game "better" then it's next gen counter parts? That makes no sense at all.

  • SeesThroughAll #3 2 years ago

    A handheld game getting less investment than an HD console one... What a surprise!...

  • Slipstream #4 2 years ago

    Considering the prominence handhelds have and Japan, and Konami being a Japanese company, this is hardly a surprise.
    It is interesting that they both vocal about it however, both teams pulling out the stops can only be a positive thing in the long run.

  • OdinsEinherjer #5 2 years ago

    Regardless,both teams will end up developing great games.

  • raion #6 2 years ago

    well. I, for one, am more excited about peace walker. and when I say that I mean I can't wait to play it, whereas I have no interest at all in rising. and it's gonna be that way until we know more about how rising will play.
    so... go team psp!

  • mkreku #7 2 years ago

    Why can't you type out "shitty"? Have American hypocrisy reached Europe too?

  • Spydy #8 2 years ago

    MGS Rising is an FPS. You heard it here first.

  • photoboy #9 2 years ago

    I wonder how much Konami regret making MGS4 a PS3 exclusive now? Regardless of arguments about potential sales on the 360, they've left themselves without a next-gen cross platform engine they can re-use company wide, and I think it's fair to say we're beyond the half-way point for this generation now.

    Capcom were extremely wise investing the time in developing their MT Framework engine as they've been able to churn games out this generation at a fairly decent pace (although they could do with a catchier name for the engine).

  • firefly #10 2 years ago

    @mkreku

    I'm sure they could have typed "shitty" if they wanted to. It probably would have looked out of context though since they'd just be swearing in an article for no real reason, it's not like it's actually a quote from Kojima.
    Using "s****y" instead actually works as dramtic effect, rather than swearing for no apparent reason it shows effort to get around swearing and actually highlights the point more.

  • mr_goop #11 2 years ago

    actually it is a direct quote, and it says "shitty" on GamePro.

  • wanderingkid #12 2 years ago

    @Freek
    You missed the main point of what he's saying.
    The staff are trying to make Peace Walker better than MGS4, they're setting themselves a high bar, that's ambition !
    It can only be a positive in the long run for the game.
    Also there's no reason why a hand held game can't be better than a home console game unless you're the type that thinks graphics make a game.

  • Demiath #13 2 years ago

    I would have thought that both teams got a lot to be happy about. The PSP game looks like it will benefit from being a comfortingly familiar example of "more of the same" which fans of any game series typically get very excited about regardless of platform, and the nextgen team gets the opportunity to bring in new players with a radically different take on the MGS experience...

  • Freek #14 2 years ago

    But that's just the thing, they are getting frustrated because they seem to be under the impression that having high tech specs and a big budget is what makes a game better, hense my use of the " in my original comment.

    They seem to be setting unrealistic goals for a handheld production and getting annoyed by it, which is their own fault for not playing to the strengths of the platform they are working on and accepting it's limitations.

  • sneetch #15 2 years ago

    @designerheadache
    Kojima is ace, i suspect he lets the teams sort out their differences by setting each team secret objectives to sneak in and steal resources from the other teams office..

    I bet you no-one walks past a cardboard box in that office without giving it a kicking. ;)

  • TheBrotha #16 2 years ago

    Something tells me that the "testing" that's going on involves the motion tech from both Microsoft and Sony. The result could hopefully showcase to the gaming populace what Ubisoft have been trying to do for ages with Red Steel.

    Or could just be a typical Japanese action game a la Ninja Gaiden starring Raiden.

    Who knows? Kojima will do the usual and give us a 15 minute short movie to watch at every games convention for the next couple years. And we'll enjoy every single one of them.

  • metallicorphan #17 2 years ago

    i love the Metal Gear Solid games,but i am not really sure i am looking forward to Metal Gear Solid Rising,heard its gonna be like Devil May Cry,with its' Lightning Bolt Action'...not what i want from the series

    in fact i really think MGS4 rounded off things perfectly,and i was ready for the series to come to a close


    also not sure why Rising,Port Ops,Peace Walker or even Metal Gear Solid 3..even have''Solid' in the title..Solid Snake isn't in them,should of just been 'Metal Gear' titles :)