Hideo Kojima says the gaming public may as a whole may not be mature enough to play his next game, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.
Kojima told Videogamer.com that the current version of Ground Zeroes meditates on "mature" and "taboo" themes, and he's not confident he'll be able to get the games into stores without making some changes. Ever the aspiring filmmaker, the creative director laments a video game audience cannot handle mature subject matter the way filmgoers can:
"Over the past 25 year [sic] I have tried to work with the Metal Gear series to introduce more mature themes, but really it hasn't gotten there yet," said Kojima. "Compared to movies and books it still has a long way to go."
"I'm going to be targeting a lot of taboos, a lot of mature themes that really are quite risky. I'm not even sure if I'm going to be able to release the game, and even if I did release the game then maybe it wouldn't sell because it's too much. As a creator I want to take that risk."
Kojima doesn't elaborate on what kind of "mature themes" he wants to address in Ground Zeroes. Knowing the Metal Gear series, they could pertain to any number of philosophical issues. Despite his concerns, Kojima said that he intends to continue "approaching the project as a creator and prioritising creativity over sales."
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is expected to launch on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, though the game has no set release date.
