Why Hideo Kojima became Metal Gear Solid’s producer

Metal Gear Solid was the first game Hideo Kojima produced himself. Before it, he had handled planning, writing, game design and direction, while his superiors controlled the budget, release date, staffing and promotion.

That changed in 1996, when he joined the management of a production subsidiary in Ebisu. Kojima could now manage the budget and development plans, hire staff and work with outside creators.

He recalled the experience in a September 3, 2023 post. His full account follows in English. It includes a Snatcher story spoiler.

Kojima’s account, in full

MGS1 was a major turning point for me.

Not only was it the first major PlayStation game to be released worldwide, but it was also a big change in terms of production.

Up until then, I had been handling the planning, script, game design, and direction, but production was still handled by my superiors. I had no authority over decisions regarding the platform, budget, release date, promotion, staff hiring, the participation of outside creators, and so on.

I wasn’t even told when it would be most effective to sell it, how many copies we needed to sell to turn a profit, or how we should sell it. When that kind of thing is a black box, you can’t move flexibly.

With Snatcher, there were even advertisements before release that spoiled the fact that Lisa was a snatcher. We weren’t allowed to choose our staff or platform, and we weren’t allowed to collaborate with outside creators.

So in 1996, when a production subsidiary was established in Ebisu, I also took part in the management of the company. From then on, I was able to manage and control the budget, development plans, personnel hiring, promotion, and so on myself.

MGS1 was the first work I produced on my own.

To reduce the monthly electricity bill, I had the team stop working at night. I also launched a drama series in parallel to turn a profit as quickly as possible, and ported Bemani titles to stabilize the company’s revenue for the fiscal year.

The original Japanese account

Running the studio

Kojima was now responsible for keeping the studio running as well as making the game. He cut overnight work to lower electricity costs, launched a drama series alongside development and produced Bemani ports to help steady the company’s income.

For Metal Gear Solid, he could finally choose his staff and outside collaborators while managing the budget, development plans and promotion himself. It was a turning point in his career: the director was now the producer, too.

Kojima’s original English post

Sources

Hideo Kojima’s original English account, September 3, 2023
Our post, translation and accompanying images