Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Sure, I think that's a perfectly reasonable point. You'll find quite a lot of name overlap on Death Stranding (Kojima's first independent game) and Metal Gear Solid 5. But rather than appeal to Kojima attracting the best talent, I'd appeal to something else. Kojima has been creating Metal Gear games for nearly 40 years. And while there's naturally going to be some overlap between iterations, it's all liminal.

Go back to the original 1987 Metal Gear on the NES and you'll find 0 overlap except for Kojima. Kojima was a new hire at the time and thrust onto a completely new team on a project already in development. He dramatically shifted the direction of what was being built, and what was born was Metal Gear. And, as would become a recurring pattern for every single title he's been involved in, it was met with phenomenal reception.



Yeah, what you're saying is quite likely.

I think the truth is somewhere in between. Kojima benefits from relying on a highly skilled team that deserves more credit than they get. At the same time he probably doesn't get enough credit for attracting that talent and creating an environment they can flourish in. If that were easy then anyone would do it.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: