Yesterday, the biggest game magazine in Japan, Weekly Famitsu, held an awards ceremony. In the past, Hideo Kojima has attended the Famitsu Awards. This year, he did not.
Many other famous creators were on hand to go on stage and receive their awards.
Picture: Famitsu
Like Level-5’s Akihiro Hino, creator of the incredibly popular Yokai Watch.
Picture: 1stPD_PR
Square Enix’s Yoshinori Kitase showed off the award Final Fantasy X received. This photo was tweeted out by the Square Enix, who seem proud!
Video: NicoNico
Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai was also honored.
Regardless what you think of Famitsu, this is an event that the Japanese game industry luminaries make time for, whether they’re the middle of production or not.
Kojima’s absence wouldn’t be that strange if there weren’t strange things going on (more here and here). That, and there’s the fact that Hideo Kojima has appeared at the Famitsu Awards several times in the past when his games have won prizes. People like to have their work recognised! They like getting awards. Hideo Kojima is probably no exception.
Here he is in 2006 at the Famitsu Awards 2005, picking up the award of excellence for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.
Picture: Famitsu
Here he is in 2009 at the Famitsu Awards 2008, picking up a special Most Valuable Person award and an excellence award for Metal Gear Solid 4.
Picture: Famitsu
And in 2011, at the Famitsu Awards 2010, once again getting an MVP award as well as an excellence award for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
Picture: Famitsu
This time, things were different. Not only was Hideo Kojima absent, but nobody from Konami was able to pick up the awards. And this wasn’t just one award, but three. Surely, someone at Konami could’ve found a moment out of their schedule to pick up these awards, no?
Here’s when Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was given the award of excellence.
Video: NicoNico
And P.T. getting an award for innovation.
Video: NicoNico
Finally, Metal Gear Solid got a “Game Media Award” from Famitsu and Dengeki. Again, nobody showed up to claim the award.
Video: NicoNico
The official Metal Gear Twitter account did tweet out several expressions of gratitude (here, for example), and Hideo Kojima did retweet these. However, Konami hasn’t offered an explanation as to why nobody connected to Metal Gear Solid or P.T. was in attendance.
Once again, if this isn’t just strange happenings at Konami and a PR stunt, it’s a pretty mean one! Online in Japan, many game site commenters (here, for example) are writing that they think Konami is awful for this and wish Kojima could’ve been there to get these awards. Many people seem troubled by his absence.
I’m sure there’s a good explanation for all that’s been happening. And this is just a terrible misunderstanding. Or perhaps, not.
Picture: Konami
Toshi Nakamura contributed to this report.
Comments
9 responses to “That Awkward Moment When Hideo Kojima Doesn’t Appear”
I’m a bit torn on this. On one side it’s not nice for anyone to be messed around in this way. On the other hand, I hope it makes him more appreciative of other people like Hayter who gave so much to the western branch of his games, only for Hayter to be tossed aside.
The loss of Hayter is still fresh in my mind.
I appreciate that my reaction is a bit extreme, but I’m totally boycotting GZ and Phantom Pain. I wouldn’t I’d minded if Hayter has been approached and told “sorry but we need an actor for motion capture”, but Hayter was the one chasing people to find out what was happening from what I understand.
forgive the typos, Sony make really awful phones.
Tad melodramatic, and a bit sad if you’re going to boycott one of the biggest games of the year over a company not using a certain actor. The fact is that Konami is a business and owns Metal Gear, it’s their IP and they can do whatever they want with it. They don’t owe us anything. Also the fact that you care about Metal Gear enough to boycott it over an actor not getting a role tells me that you care about Metal Gear enough to actually end up playing the game anyway.
So you’re boycotting what looks like to be an amazing MGS game and possibly Kojima’s last because of rumours you’ve read on the internet about the relationship / conversations between Hayter and Kojima that may or may not be true, but have no way of actually knowing…? Is it hard for you being this easily swayed?
I love Hayter as much as the next person, but from I’ve played and seen so far, Kiefer is doing a great job, and definitely not something i’m willing to miss an amazing game experience over.
Oh well, I’d say it’s your loss.
Well said.
Both your points would be justified, if you actually read and understood what I’d said. Neither of you have. This is great, actually, I can practice my critical thinking on your arguments.
I did read and do understand what you said:
“but Hayter was the one chasing people to find out what was happening from what I understand”
See the last part of your sentence there? Your argument and boycotting is based on what you ‘understand’, which would be very little and only based on the rumor mill…..unless you have a personal relationship with Kojima you haven’t mentioned?
Otherwise, what have i misinterpreted here about what you’ve said?
I’ll be sure to come back to this once I finish work 🙂
I’m back!
Ok! Let’s break this down.
That’s been said ever since Metal Gear Solid 2. That was in 2001. It’s 2015. That’s 14 years. There’s going to be 15 MGS games since MGS released that Kojima has been involved with, and that’s excluding the likes of Substance/Subsistence/etc. What you’re doing here is an “argument from authority”. A says B, therefore, B is true. As we can see, it’s not the first time this hasn’t been the case.
To use your own words, unless “you have a personal relationship with Kojima you haven’t mentioned”, then I pressume that you made your decision that Phantom Pain “looks like to be an amazing MGS game” based on what you found online. Through videos, interviews, etc. Exactly the same methods I used to make my decision to boycott the game. For you to make a sweeping generalization about my sources is to question the credibility of your own. You’re also begging the question, or “petitio principii”. The premise “rumours online are false” depend on the conclusion “you can’t trust rumours online”. It’s a bad argument.
This is equivocation (to be fair, I don’t think you realise you’re doing it), mingled with bifurication. You’re trying to shift the meaning of my decision to boycott the game, “I don’t approve with how Hayter was treated” with “I think Hayter is better than Sutherland”, denying the grey area that I could think “Hayter is a good Snake” and “Sutherland is a good Snake”. You’re also not actually engaging me in debate. You’re trying to misrepresent and weaken a position that I’m not even holding, as if it is my position. That’s known as a “Straw Man”.
In actual fact, I even supported the idea of Hayter being replaced in my earlier reply: : “I wouldn’t I’d minded if Hayter has been approached and told “sorry but we need an actor for motion capture”.. I don’t think Hayter is an “actor” in the traditional sense of the word. If you stuck motion capture on his face and asked him to act, I don’t think the performance would be terrific. Sutherland, then, would be a better choice. Again, that’s not what I was trying to argue.
This is where it gets fun.
What you’re actually, deliberately (and quite crudely) doing here is “Ad hominem”. Literally it means “argument to the man”. You’re attacking me (suggesting I apparently didn’t see the sentence I wrote earlier) rather than my argument. Insults and mudslinging do not, a great argument, make. It’s the method of politicians, bullys, and internet trolls.
For the record, my argument is this:
“If Kojima treats people badly, then I won’t buy his games”
“Kojima treated someone badly”
Therefore
“I will not buy Kojima’s games”.
Thanks, this has been a pretty good exercise.
Due to the length of your last reply I can’t reply directly for some reason.
…Anyway, good job on your wall of text, although you added very little to the your actual argument, providing a critique and analysis of my own words doesn’t really count you know?
Yes and no. Things like gameplay videos and actually playing Ground Zeroes for myself is EVIDENCE that i can base my opinion on. Whereas your view is based on hearsay. That’s the big difference there. Can you provide me with some evidence directly from Kojima, Hayter or from whoever else was directly involved that indicates he was badly treated apart from Hayter just saying he wasn’t asked to reprise a role in the game?
Please please please back that up. You keep insisting this is a fact, but show me? And i’ll gladly agree with you on that.
Also, and probably one of the most important things for this whole ‘I want David Hayter’ argument in general (…and no i’m not saying that is your argument, i haven’t misunderstood you) is; Do you know the difference between the two characters Big Boss and Snake? They are not the same character. Did you know that the voice actor for Big Boss in MGS 4 was NOT voiced by Hayter? Did you know MGS V revolves around Big Boss?
It’s very funny that you say this:
…considering the majority of what you spewed out seems to be an attack on my intelligence and lack of understanding in what i’m saying and not actually adding to the discussion.
And finally, please don’t waste your time writing out another analysis of what i’ve just said, it’s completely irrelevant and also I really don’t care. If you’ve got some evidence, sure thing, lay it out.