Top 10 Facts about Hideo Kojima

Autograph session with Hideo Kojima at Japan Expo 2010 (Paris, France). photo by Georges Seguin (Okki) – Wikimedia commons

Top 10 Facts about Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima is a game creator, director, producer, and writer from Japan. He is regarded as an auteur of video games and undoubtedly one of the most recognizable names in gaming and in Japan. Hideo Kojima has been one of the most influential game designers of the last decade, with his work on powerful and engaging franchises.

He is arguably one of the most controversial yet celebrated game directors in gaming history. Although Kojima is most known for this iconic series, he’s worked on quite a few projects over the years, with credits in design, production, and even some acting credits. Below are the top 10 facts about the auteur.

1. Kojima was born on August 24, 1963, in Setagaya, Tokyo

Kojima was born in Setagaya, Tokyo on August 24, 1963. He was the youngest of three children. His father, Kingo, was a pharmacist who regularly travelled for business and called his son Kojima after the most common name he encountered among physicians.

His family relocated to Osaka when he was four years old. Kojima described that period of his life as “a sudden shift of surroundings,” and he spent much of his time thereafter indoors, watching television or producing miniatures.

2. He graduated in Economics but swerved to become a game designer

Photo by Florian Olivo on Unsplash

Kojima unexpectedly chose economics. It wasn’t his first option, but the pressure to find a solid job compelled him to pursue a more financially secure career. Fortunately for the rest of the world, his enthusiasm won out and he pursued a creative career nevertheless. He is an economics graduate who worked for Famicom. Following that, Kojima began to learn how to build games from friends and seniors who mentored him.

3. Kojima joined video game publisher Konami’s MSX home computer division in 1986

Photographed Konami Corporation headquarters. photo by Tokumeigakarinoaoshima – Wikimedia commons

In 1986, Kojima joined video game producer Konami’s MSX home computer division. He applied to Konami since it was the only game developer with a stock market listing in Japan. He was originally dissatisfied with the position since he had hoped to create games for the Nintendo Entertainment System and felt that the MSX’s 16-colour palette was too limited. As an associate director, his debut game was Penguin Adventure, the successor to Antarctic Adventure.

4. His first game project under Konami was a failure

Hideo Kojima na Brasil Game Show 2017 photo by Lau Anime X – Wikimedia commons

After joining Konami in 1986, Kojima’s first game was a flop due to his inadequate programming experience. Surprising none of his colleagues at Konami made fun of him for his failure, and the publisher offered Kojima one final chance to turn things around. Thankfully, he succeeded with the Metal Gear games, and the rest is history—at least until Kojima quit the firm after engaging in several misdeeds.

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5. He designed and wrote Metal Gear (1987) for the MSX2

From the left: Kenichiro Imaizumi (producer), Yumi Kikuchi (Raging Raven character of The Beauty and the Beast Unit, voice actor and motion capture actor), Hideo Kojima (creator of MGS series, producer, director, writer). photo by włodi – Wikimedia commons

He was employed by Konami in 1986, and it was for them that he designed and wrote Metal Gear (1987), a game for the MSX2 that served as the inspiration for stealth games and the Metal Gear series, two of his best-known and most well-liked creations. Kojima was asked to take over a project, Metal Gear, from a senior associate.

Due to hardware constraints, Kojima changed the gameplay to emphasize a prisoner escape rather than engaging in battle, drawing inspiration from The Great Escape. In Japan, it was launched on July 13, 1987, for the MSX2 home computer, while in Europe, it was released in September of the same year.

6. Kojima established Kojima Productions under Konami in 2005

In 2005, Kojima established Kojima Productions within Konami, and in 2011, he was appointed vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment. In 2015, Kojima Productions separated from Konami and became an independent studio. Death Stranding, his studio’s debut game without Konami, was published in 2019.

7. He desired to work in the film industry

Hideo Kojima at the Tokyo Game Show 2011. photo by Nikita – Wikimedia commons

Even while Kojima’s early desire to create films was well known, the tale behind it is still intriguing. He developed a love for movies as a young child when he used to watch movies with his family; in fact, they would not let him go to sleep until the movie was through.

This inspired him to seek a career in cinema, but he was dissuaded since Japanese culture preferred secure employment and filmmaking wasn’t a very stable career. Since the technology wasn’t as developed as it is now, it was challenging to make any movies at the period. He thus wrote short tales throughout college and sent them to Japanese publications, but they were turned down.

Kojima ultimately acquired the Nintendo Famicom, the equivalent of the American NES in Japan, and developed a love for video games. This made him think about a career in game creation since he thought it would be more fulfilling.

His work on video games, particularly the Metal Gear series, is influenced by his love of movies. Many Metal Gear fans thought that a Metal Gear movie would be a brilliant concept because the Metal Gear series is recognized for having cinematic characteristics.

8. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Game Developers Conference

Kojima received the award show’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for a game creator at the 2008 MTV Game Awards, and he was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. Kojima received the inaugural Cinematography in Videogames award from UNESCO’s Bradford City of Film in 2014, “for his extraordinary direction, narrative, and cinematography” in video games.

9. Kojima has contributed to Rolling Stone columns

The logo of Rolling Stone – American magazine photo by Rolling Stone – Wikimedia commons

He has contributed to Rolling Stone, an American monthly magazine. He frequently makes comparisons between video games and movies, which are the subjects of his writing. He compared the 2017 X-Men film Logan to Metal Gear Solid 4, for instance, while drawing comparisons between the Metal Gear series and Logan.

Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4 is getting older quickly, and his health is deteriorating, which will eventually kill him. This is similar to how Wolverine ages and loses his healing abilities in Logan. This is a link Kojima made: the tales of the characters in both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Logan are wrapped up.

10. Kojima likes to watch movies

While he never became a director, he remains passionate about the medium. Kojima consumes films as if his life depended on them. A short look at his social media accounts shows the most recent films he has watched, and he frequently retweets film-related messages.

While he has many favourites, Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Spacey Odyssey are at the top of his list. Given his dedication to watching at least one movie every day, Kojima has good taste in cinema.