Metal Gear Solid 5: Major Zero's VA Won't Reprise His Role Due To An 'Insulting Offer' From Konami

Ever since the announcement of Metal Gear Solid 5, things have not been exactly smooth for Konami and Kojima Productions.

[Yi-Long]

I really just wish that we'll finally be getting an option to play this game with the Japanese voices, with English subs.

It's 2014, 2015 when this releases: There's really no good excuse anymore to leave such an option out in this day and age.

[SoulMikeY]

Except that it's extra work, and only used by like maybe 50 weird kids that just wish they were japanese.

[Yi-Long]

Don't be ridiculous. Many people around the world prefer to watch and play their entertainment in the original language.

MGS also has a big fan-base among anime-fans, of which many prefer to watch their anime, and play their games, in the Japanese language (if that's the original language)

Just because a big group of American folks likes all their stuff 'dubbed' in English cause they flip out whenever they see a subtitle, doesn't mean people in Europe or Asia want to be stuck with English dubs on all their entertainment.

Also, the subs already exist. The sound already exists. It shouldn't be a problem to include that option!

[TheJacksonRGN]

50 weird kids? Or maybe it would be used by those who like Japanese voice overs.

Yes it would be extra work but I can't be that much. The game will already have Japanese voice work for the Japanese version. All they need is to include the code for it in the Western versions and have a translator code in the subs.

Pretty sure the game will included other languages such as German and Spanish, so why not include their native language as well?

[Jaqen_Hghar]

plenty of people do it with anime

[Jubez187]

Seeing as the voice over for Snake in MGS1-3 is ABHORRENT I would want to play those in Japanese. Why does that dude add 600 R'S to end of every sentence. NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT IN RELA LIFE.

Also, Japanese hit emotion much better than English. Go watch Attack on Titan in both languages and you'll know.

[dredgewalker]

I simply prefer the japanese voices in anime. It's not because I wish I was japanese, it just makes watching anime more authentic for me.

[rdgneoz3]

Many times, the original voice actors give a much better performance compared to the English counterparts / dubs (quality / skill / half the time the english voice actors have no feeling behind the lines).

There are only a few animes that actually have decent dubs. That or compare what is actually said in the original with subtitles to the dub (entire lines will be changed or end up with no meaning - Japanese characters using engrish mid sentence does not translate well...).

[Mainman]

@ Yi-Long
I think in the case of MGS:V the original language is English since the English voice actors did the facial animations.

I would agree with you about Japanese being the original in all the previous games though.

I also agree with you of having dual language's included in the game though. I for one would probably play both.

[opoikl]

@Yi-Long

True dat! I just saw the Miyazaki blu ray box set on amazon.co.uk and wanted to order it, but it seems it's only in dubbed English. I don't understand for the life of me how you can watch such brilliant and typical anime movies with a layer of Disney sprinkled on top.

But as you said, Americans can't stand "reading" movies or games, so entertainment companies adapt this reasoning to the rest of the Western market.

Imagine watching a movie with Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey or Gollum with French or German dubs. So much value lost right there...

Luckily us Belgians can read and watch simultaneously after years of practice.

[HammadTheBeast]

Not really, Japanese as a language just hits a lot more tones which convey emotion better (in my opinion) than English, which is why it sounds exponentially better to watch Anime in Japanese then English.

All depends on opinions.

[SilentNegotiator]

I'd rather they just hire decent voice actors for the English version, unlike 99% of Japanese companies.

[user5575708]

no david hayter already killed the integrity of the series and this guy did a great job in MGS3...what a shame

[donthate]

yi:

Way to stereotype, but yes Europe is actually far used to "dubbing" then any other part of the world. In fact, subtitles isn't common at all unless you are in the nordic countries.

That is why, the nordics don't get upset when people speak english to them, rather than their mother tongue like the rest of Europe.

I wouldn't be surprised if the largest consumers of japanese language with english subtitle viewers are from the US.

What I really don't understand is why these companies insist on leaving out a much asked for option, that to me at least doesn't seem like a lot of extra work to include?

[Paprika]

Have you heard goku from dbz in Japanese? Lol

[yuukiliu]

The Japanese voice actually suits the character better(if you start with Dragonball) Goku is not a serious kid, he is a goofy country hick with little to no knowledge of how to be a human being. The Japanese voice acting is pretty spot on.

[Paprika]

English goku sounds goofy too, only he sounds better. Japanese goku just sounds clinically insane!

[Eamon]

That's because she was the voice actor of Goku as a kid back in the original Dragon Ball anime.

In Japan, voice actors are mega celebrities like Hollywood actors in the West. The voice actress of Goku was so popular since the anime became extremely popular, that it was impossible to change the voice once Dragon Ball Z began. Not to mention, Japanese viewers are generally okay with females voicing teenage-to-adult ages males.

[Leio]

Japanse Goku is and was one of the most ridiculous thing that ever happened to japanese anime.

[dredgewalker]

I am actually used to hearing Goku in japanese rather than in english since I've watched the original dragonball long before it was voiced over in english. He might sound silly to some of you guys since you're westeners.

[ShinMaster]

So your excuse is 1 character in a sea of Japanese media.

[HammadTheBeast]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Link for the uninitiated.

[imtheman2013]

While I do agree with you that there should be an option for the Japanese voice actors (for those who prefer them), I would never use the option for one reason: most characters in the game either speak English as their native tongue (like Big Boss) or are multilingual (like Kaz). So it doesn't really bother me that they aren't speaking Japanese because most of the characters aren't Japanese. Just because Kojima is, and the game is made in Japan, doesn't mean that they have to, or should be, speaking in Japanese.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

Data. Cost. MGS4 was 50GB. It BARELY fit on a dual layer blu-ray. A lot of that was redundant data for load times, but a hefty portion was audio data. If you had double the voice audio, that might require another blu-ray disk. So, you'd be adding development cost AND a manufacturing cost, so a handful of otakus could be happy.

[Neo_Zeed]

The problem is going to be the amount of extra storage needed to house both sets of audio data. On a smaller game that is doable easy. MGS4 filled the entire blu-ray disc. MGS5 will probably have just as much voice data if not more.

[FlameBaitGod]

People who disagree with OP obvsly don't watch anime.

[PizzaSteve]

I don't get why people prefer Japanese over English in Anime too. If I could speak Japanese than yeah I would prefer it but I hate having to read subs. I don't get the fun in it. Even though some English actors may be bad, I rather have it because English is all I know.

[Yi-Long]

Because I'm an adult and I can read subtitles!?

Simply look at it this way: Here in Holland we get American shows. Now, there are people here who don't understand English. Should The Simpsons and Breaking Bad and The Big Bang Theory and all those other shows be dubbed into Dutch!?

Of course not. That would diminish the quality of the show, for everyone.

It's more than bad enough already that they dub American cartoons and teen-TV shows into Dutch. Terrible.

[jeenyus]

Metal Gear is one of those japanese things that sound better in english. After all, it's a Rambo+japanese lulz game.

Asian movies/anime are a different thing that can't be compared to this game.

[The_Klank]

Not the 1st time Konami has been stingy with paychecks, but I guess they need all that money for Hollywood stars.

[strauser360]

Hayter > Sutherland - as snake any day of the week.

[Kivespussi]

The problem is that people are used to Hayter. Sutherland was in my opinion a better voice actor judging from GZ

[Eamon]

The problem is that people are bad judges of voice acting performance. Sutherland wasn't great at all. Just average.

Not to mention, we hardly hear him speak in Ground Zeroes. Which makes me think it's because of money issues.

It all makes sense now with this Major Zero problem. Sutherland was offered a huge paycheck that took out a lot of the budget, which is why Zero's voice actor was pissed off with what he was offered.

Kojima can make bad decisions like any other human being - and this was one of them. He should have never been so fixated on making Sutherland the new voice.

[FriedGoat]

Hayter was great in MGS 1, where he sounded like a normal human being. Unfortunately, his voice kept getting worse with each instalment until 4 where it was pretty bad.

[pivotplease]

He's supposed to sound messed up and decrepit...thus the name Old Snake lol. I enjoyed thoroughly in MGS4. It sounded like he was going to drop dead mid-line half the time. The sense of desperation and futility just adds to the overall tone of the game.

[cell989]

Sutherland was not a better actor, I had issues trying to understand what he was saying, he sounds muffled. With Hayter it was always clear voice work. Was the extra money for Southerland really justified?

And all thanks to Kojimas infatuation for anything Hollywood -__-

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

I heard Hayter had to put up half his pay check to bring the old voice actors back for Twin Snakes.

[crimsonfox]

You heard correctly good sir. I wish more voice actors had legit passion for the projects they work on like Hayter. He's a unique butterfly in that sense. Obviously, as you can tell by this voice actor Jim Piddock's Jack ass reaction and unprofessional response to whatever Konami's offer was haha. I mean, I work at a animation studio and I see voice actors come in a few hours and walk away. Animators and developers bust their ass cheeks on these projects for years. I'm sure they aren't trying to pay this guy a couple hundred bucks. He's most likely just over valuing himself.

[Eamon]

This is one of the reasons why the way Kojima Productions shafted Hayter in the way they did was so ungraceful.

David, himself, had only heard about the game when it was officially announced to the public. And he personally made a phonecall to ask when the schedule for recording would be. Imagine how gutted he must have felt when they told him on that phonecall that he isn't returning. They could have made a courtesy call to him to let him know but he had to go out of his way to find out.

[cell989]

See what we have here is Kojima ditching his old friend for the new kid in the block. After years of working together he didnt even have the decency to call Hayter and thank him for his work, or at least explain him why he chose Southerland. Must have sucked for David to hear such bad news in that manner. If i was bummed when I heard the news I cant imagine how Hayter felt. He will forever be the Voice of Snake, whether Kojima likes it or not. Im still buying the game cause I know how good it will be, but I hope people rip him with complains about the voice over from Southerland, so that Kojima knows he cant just sweep this under the carpet.

I had no idea Hayter had taken such sacrifice for Twin Snakes #respect!

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

Found this on the net, Hayter says he won't be playng MGS5, Sounds like some bad blood there.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[crimsonfox]

I always wonder how much the development of the Fox Engine has dented their accounts too haha

[Sketchy_Galore]

They called him up and said, "Hey jerkoff, we're willing to offer you twice your regular salary if you can drag your fat ass in here to record some more dialogue with that stupid whiny voice of yours. See you Monday if you're not too busy feeling up your dad again, loser".

[pivotplease]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't reprise my role either.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

i would...sounds like easy money lol

[pivotplease]

But imagine if it was one of Kojima's many machinations. Just like when Austin Powers 3 opens up with Tom Cruise. I was actually profoundly upset until I realized Mike Myers trolled me.

[JackVagina]

So now people are blaming keifer based off nothing.

ok...

[Jaqen_Hghar]

Wonder if the same thing happened to Hayter

[BiggerBoss]

I highly doubt it. If they could afford Sutherland, they could without a doubt afford Hayter. I think Kojima just wanted a new voice for Snake this time around

[WitWolfy]

According to Hayter they never even contacted the poor guy, he had to read on the internet that he'd been replaced by Sutherland.

I developed a new kinda hate for Kojima when he pulled a dick move like this to a long time loyal employee who the fans adore.

[2pacalypsenow]

First hayter now him ? Smh

[TekKing]

More garbage English voices CONFIRMED!

Seems like only Japan will be getting the real experience.

[izumo_lee]

Wow Konami really screwing over people lately aren't they. Hayter, The cast of Silent Hill, now this guy. C'mon at least show some class & respect to those who brought life to some memorable characters from your games.

[Father Murder X]

so!

[DafunkyRebel]

so much wow

[Neo_Zeed]

Jim should have settled for half a cheese burger and a small coke. He is crazy to turn down a role in such an awesome project. I'd take the gig for free just to be part of it.

[e-p-ayeaH]

yeah his participation in mgs5 would at least benefit him on finding more VO work.

He probably only as a couple of lines in the script.

[SovereignSnaKe]

What grade of meth is being smoked over at Konami atm? I honestly am still convinced this is just Kojima trolling on a legendary scale. I mean what's next they're going to tap some cheaper British actor to record the lines? I wouldn't be surprised if they choose someone as outlandish (for the role) as Sutherland like Alex Pettyfer.

[Special-Agent-Milo]

Watch Kojima change Kaz' voice for Larry the Cable Guy or Ocelot's voice for Owen Wilson.

[WitWolfy]

WTF!! Its like they're saying "screw the fans, its all about Kiefer these days!"

Stupid Konami and Kojima productions.

I bet if it was Hayter he would've been more than happy to take a pay cut to get the original VA in their roles.

[GokuSolosAll]

I'd rather have no voice acting than not getting the original cast together.