PS3 No Letdown, Kotaku is Wrong

No, no, no! When Hideo Kojima said the MGS4 graphics on the PS3 weren't to his "satisfaction" or that he realized there were lots of "restrictions" the PS3 posed, he didn't mean it. He was just trying to be humble, you know! He's not disappointed with the PS3 at all. He is totally happy with it. The PS3 is awesome. Says Kojima:

On the internet, there's stuff saying "Hideo Kojima" isn't satisfied with the PS3. I'd like to talk about that today. I just got back from Paris and did 15 interviews and everyone asked me about it, did I say that. The meaning of what I said has totally been changed, made totally different. Today, I'd like to talk about that. Why did it turn into that? When I'm doing an interview, I answer in Japanese, and I can't control how the writer will interpret that into English... What I say is then translated in English, and the writer then changes that into their own words and writes that. So, right there, the meaning of what I say changes a lot.

[BilI Gates]

Kotaku was just trying to spread false BS as always. Nothing new here.

[sonarus]

Seriously speaking kotaku needs to try a little harder to not sound so anti PS3

[v1c1ous]

dot dot dot

[jwatt]

"The next time I interview in America, I will just say "MGS4 is the best, the end."

lol

[Marceles]

"Let's say this developer is making hardware, in this case a game, and that hardware is at the level of a car. And when looking at the specs, the developer claims the car is able to fly. Now there is no stopping when you say, "This is a car that can fly." When you claim that it can fly, the speculation grows from "oh so it can FLY?!!!" And the developer would set his goals higher. The specualtion is that if the car flies, then it should reach a MACH speed...but it doesnt stop there...it'd go beyond the specualtion of then "it should go into space!" with all the excitement around, and the developer would go deeply into making the car going into space... however, he'll come up to the public and say the car reaches the MACH speed, but it fails to go into the space. But he shouldn't give up, because for a car to even reach a mach speed and go into air is revolutionary. I wished to convey my thoughts like that, but I guess it didn't work very well."

[Varsarus]

but even if he is disappointed, he said they were restrictions...., meaning that Sony have only given him a few major features of the PS3 tech.

[gambare]

kojima weren't satisfied with his work like EVERY artist, even if at the eyes of everyone is perfect (like MGS4) but at his eyes there's always a "If I could do this or have something there"

true masters are never satisfied with their works but kotaku tried to turn it with biased eyes

[ianp622]

"MGS4 is the best, the end." - Hideo Kojima

I am SO going to quote that out of context.

[LastDance]

theres alot of sour folk coz they dont get to play MGS4. Forget about it.

MGS4 is the BEST. the end.

[The Lazy One]

it's in the rules. If you want to add your own comments, do it in the comments.

Titles stay as they are until you find an article with the title you want.

[rushbd]

they think they are better than Kojima ?
They think they have the knowledge to judge kojima ?
they dont have anything . They are a disgrace to gaming community . When is the last time they bashed anything about 360 ? point me to an article if you disagree

[J@D]

typical isn't.

[Saint Sony]

The game could be better, but it is still great with PS3.
Every game could be better. If PS3 has some limitations it does not mean the game will suck. The game will be what PS3 can offer right now.

[znu]

i don't like how he says that JUST BECAUSE he is japanese, he is modest and that Americans arn't.

Im not even American and couldn't give a damn but i don't like how he talks like he is better than everyone else and then claims to be humble.

Other than that he has the mind of a genius. I can see why he would be dissapointed with MGS4 as someone mentioned before that once it is released he'll always be thinking but i couldv'e done that. Most developers don't care, they getting cash cough*Ea*cough. then instead make a wholem new game a year later adding in that one little thing.

Kojima wants it to be perfect and that's why MGS4 will be the game of the year. I'm not saying that it will top software charts and get perfect reviews, im saying that not only will it own, i'll love every second of it.

[Will-UK]

just listen to hideo

[thewhoopimen]

Perhaps you didn't read the article... but he's not just attacking the statement about overblown the dissatisfaction with the Ps3 translation statement. He's talking about on the whole of everything he says. Your current perception of his arrogance is also a "mis-translated" quote as well. Please think about it in the larger context.

[ikkokucrisis]

...how kotaku can get it all wrong, but yet many of us that read it on N4G perfectly understood what Hideo meant (look at the original thread here):

http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News...

I mean, if they as a "reputable gaming journalism website" are not understanding what hundreds of thousands of other people do, there's something seriously wrong here right? I think so.

[Archaeox]

In the words of Kaz Hirai:

32 DAYS UNTIL JUDGMENT DAY NAZISOFT! MWAH-HA-HA-HA!!!!

[will11]

Xbox sucks, PS3 FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shaka2K6]

.

[WildArmed]

Kotaku are idiots, ofcourse they are wrong. They full of xbots.. i guess they have nothing to do since their 360 has RRoD so they write up crap(they have no journalistic ability anywayz) about the PS3.

PLAY BEYOND!

[Kaz Hirai]

One small adjustment has to be made, my friend- it's now 31 DAYS!

31 days until Judgment Day, Nazisoft!

MWAH-HA-HA-HA!!!

[Sir Ken Kutaragi]

...i bet you he said he's used only 10% of PS3's power!!! ;-D

The xBot Lemmings internet sites and MicroLies can Try and Try to Destroy the MIGHTY PlayStation Brand!!!
But NEVER will!!! ;-D

'PLAY-BEYOND...xBox 360's LIES!!!' ;-D

[Montrealien]

The Irony of little fanboys claiming their console should reign supreme and rule them all, calling another company Nazi just blows my mind. If I had a dime for every time Fanboys where hypocrites I would be a rich man I tell ya.

[AngryTypingGuy]

"Judgment Day" will come and go. And then Gears 2 will be unleashed (and most likely sell more copies) in November. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Evil Laugh, Evil Laugh, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[zapass]

only baboons believe dat sh!t.

gamesp@t, eurowanker, fukotaku: foxnews for gamers with a joystick up their @ss.

[Pain]

Kotaku = Biggest Bunch of Non-Paid M$ Flackys.

[TheXgamerLive]

Ya know why that is?

It's the only and I mean ONLY way the ps3 can handle anything graphically intense. It's to weak and to difficult to extract memory from the cell to handle gameplay and graphics. It's not a lie, that's an OBVIOUS truth.

Sony is lucky it has Blu Ray otherwise they'd really really suck. Not being able to compress data is one thing and having these mandatory downloads is another. Yes, MS screwed up to. They should of put HD-DVD in it's system, but it's good in a way they didn't, competition wise I mean. Sony wouldn't of stood a chance then and BR would of lost easily on cost.

Both have learned their lessons hopefully, and our future systems should really rock and be even more hyper competitive.

Oh yeah, back to the story, so yes Hideo is dissapointed in the ps3 for above stated reasons and more.

[v1c1ous]

i think kojima's words were given the wrong meaning in the process of translation.

then when he read the translated english interpretation (by japanese forum readers of all things) of what he said, THAT also lost some meaning and he got the wrong impression.

honestly, this whole thing is just a problem of miscommunication.

also, i AM HOPING his insult of US modesty is a translation mishap because....it's not gonna be pretty.

yes i understand being modest is woven into asian society. but that doesn't mean other countries aren't modest. it's not culture exclusive.

i really hope this doesn't turn into another bash-usa-a-thon-because-we-lik e-anime like the last thread.

EDIT: ALso, fix the title. its agaisnt the rules to change title from original.

[Ju]

I wouldn't say, 'wrong meaning in the process of translation', but re-interpretation of the spoken word.

English is a strange language, allowing all kind of interpretations. A simple thing, if one asks you "How are you doing?", one can respond, "Well, doing OK.". Based on the emphasis and how you say it you might get a response from "Oh, what's wrong?" to "Good to hear." and sometimes depending on the person interpreting what was said.

Being a non-native english-speaker (apologies to everyone), I run into things like that all the time, down to, "oops, didn't mean it that way", and I have learned to be very careful in some situations. So, I can kind of understand what he's trying to say.

And my experience especial with American culture is, that a lot of things are exaggerated. Not putting any qualification behind this, I am just saying, that other cultures might not work that way. If I have a discussion in German with friends, some Americans sometimes think we are fighting, simply because that's how it might sound to them. But the simple explanation is, that German simply sounds "harder" then English.

That said, Kojima might have said what was reported, and he might not have been satisfied. He might even have said he is unhappy with the HW. But this could simply be the result of his high goals (actually, I think that). We'll see. I think MGS4 will be one (if not the) best game out on the PS3 so far (until the next wave comes later this/next year). Marketing wise, this was, err, "unfortunate", at least. Maybe he should have left the talking (so short before a release) to the PR professionals.

[ruibing]

Or simply, it wasn't put completely into context.

[primordialmeme]

Kotaku is the tabloid of gaming journalism. Big failures.

[dantesparda]

And i can honestly tell you that a sh!tload of Americans think they are the sh!t! And most Americans think that America is the best country in the world and much better than other countries. And i speak Spanish and can tell you that English is way more open to interpretation than Spanish is. Oh and Vicious, i did read the article and Kotaku is trying to blame him an talk sh!t. They are just straight up haters

[Tmac]

Denying that the North American holds modesty as a virtue is lying, North America holds modesty as a second hand figure, a sign of weakness, defeat in many terms. To say that Americans are modest would be untruthful.

[PimpHandHappy]

360 crazy ppl saying

Metal Gear looks like sh!t just based off his comment. Its funny how blind some ppl chose to be

[Blademask]

can we stop posting kotaku crap? They are trying to fix their image.

[v1c1ous]

what happened to your, like, 20 bubbles?

[poopsack]

Dude where have you been, I confused you with some other mask guy that is a total fanboy! It been a month man!

[PLiPhaze]

"I confused you with some other mask guy that is a total fanboy!" I LOL'd!!!

[Varsarus]

LOL.

It's pretty obvious that bots will believe Kotaku for everything they say bad about the PS3.

Dumb xkiddies.

[TheMART at Xbotkings]

PS3 Yes Letdown, Kotaku is Right.

[kornbeaner]

Your an idiot, kornbeaner is right!!!

Works both ways.

[Surfman]

poor bot, they are mindless.

[pwnsause]

mart, werent you the one asking for your mom to get Banjo? so you're a kid? lmao

[Whoooop]

Guys..

watch closely. He ain't Mart.

Mart gave up, too much PS3 awesomeness for him to bare... He's now committed to xboxkings trying to raise the site traffic to at least 500 a month.

:)

[Thoas]

Funny things is MGS4 would never work on Xbox 360. Reason 1= You would need 9 dvd disc to play. Reason 2= Hard drive space The game will have at least a 3GB install and we know how 80% of the xbox 360 owners only have 20gb oh my bad i mean 14gb. LMAOOO you would have to delete your GOW, Halo 3 and mass effect saved game to install oh yeah! you might have to erases your overpriced movies too you get from the marketplace, oh my bad! they get erased after 24 hours.

[TheMART at Xbotkings]

You droids are just jealous.

Anyways my name is Martijn Van Amstel, and I'm from the Netherlands. Be sure to check out Xboxkings.com

Here's my Live ID if anyone wants to play online : TheMART

Don't WAIT B3YOND, Jump In.

[gambare]

you gotta be kidding right? now you gonna say that you are cracky chan or something?

[Thoas]

Jump Out! Hurry! If you Jump In you will get RROD.

[alexM]

MART and POG are the same person caught at PSLEGION

http://www.n4g.com/ViewComI...

http://resistance100.wordpr...

http://resistance100.wordpr...

MART aka POG lives in USA. He uses babell translation to register in dubious Dutch websites and claim to others that he is dutch??

he is a 35 year old gamer living in USA

[PoSTedUP]

if only the 100gig blu ray disc was out, then kojima would have nothing to worrie about. that was his major concern, disc space. it should be an all around bad a$$ game though.

[tweaker]

Even if he worked on a 100gb disc he still wouldn't be satisfied.

[Qbanboi]

I love how Kotaku take the comment from Hideo, personal. And Attack back. Keep hating on the Ps3 Kotaku, but it will take more than that to make your revenge on it.

[Bathyj]

Even after all that Kotaku still try to have a little swipe at Sony in the last paragraph. I wish I knew women that suck as much as them.

[jwatt]

Yea I read that, are they serious?

[Meus Renaissance]

Isn't Kotaku the same website which tried to compare which was worst; RROD or the PS3 freezing because of GTA IV? Lawlz

[TodGeck]

they also failed to mention the problems/same ones occurring with the 360 version in that same article you mention.

They're a bunch of kids twisting/omitting quotes/facts around to get massive page views and promote their own agenda.

[Meus Renaissance]

"In Asia, humility is prized quite highly as a virtue. Thus, it's very uncommon to find traditional Asian folk who will blatantly extoll their own virtues, or indulge in boasting.

Thus, for example, if relatives were to ask me how I did for a test, it's much much more common for me to say (I'm Asian) that I did ok, it was alright, instead of bluntly saying I topped the class (or whatever). It's not about the lying, it's about being humble I guess, knowing that there are always people better than you.

Which was why when I first read the Kojima piece of how MGS4 didn't live up to his expectations, I understood it as him saying yea he was happy enough to have let it ship (given his track record as a perfectionist) but that he genuinely feels that it could have been done better, etc. "

[Britjadg]

too many haters out there. shame on kotaku.

[Game13a13y]

yes, and also, in asian culture, even if you are the f*cking best, no one goes out and call himself "i'm the f*cking best at blah blah blah" that would only make him look like a retard.

but anyway, this is not about cultural difference, this is all about Kotabu, or whatever that lame site is, being a jerk site. taking things out of context that even a 3 year old can figure out what he really means, or wait, are they that intelligent?

[Mr_Kuwabara]

Kojima has been a game director for many years, and in those years he has been working for the Playstation (Sony's console) the most so I'm really not that surprised that Kojima respects the Playstation (Sony that is) brand and I doubt he'll talk bad about the Playstation 3 since in the end of the day, it's a great console. Besides, fanboys took that misunderstood comment the wrong way, which hurt the PS3 regardless.

The same if he'd been working for the 360 or Wii, why bash a console if you're making a freaking masterpiece on it on the first place?

It's like N4G for example, I don't own it, I'm here almost everyday because I like it, so why would I bash/talk bad about it it?

Now watch we Americans misunderstand Kojima's newest interview and his modesty and say that he is anti-American....

[poopsack]

Couldnt agree more.

[Rocko]

Damage control, lol.

[n00bPwner]

Ayup, and look at all these droids going crazy. LOL.

[Whoooop]

This is bad for gaming and bad for relationships.

A humble developer like Kojima, will now think twice about being honest or about talking his mind to the american media.

He was just explaining his view on things and the media quickly turned it into flamebait news.

sad.

[Vulcan Raven]

This game is going to kick major a$$. I will be seriously addicted to this game once it is released. I am hoping for a midnight launch in my area.

[Xbox is the BEST]

at the pic in the summary. Is there a secret game in the works?

[Electronic Arts]

Ya, we call the game Photoshop

[SUP3R]

The funniest thing I saw all day was the pic for this article.
What's makes it even funnier is the person who submitted it.

Anyway. Does anyone take Kotaku seriously? They're so biased it's sad.

[addic]

lmao

[DJ]

Wow, the media is having a REALLY bad year.

[DiabloRising]

Man, Kotaku sounds so butthurt. What's with the continuing PS3 hate? They use any excuse to knock it. Game journalism, still pathetic.

[jackdoe]

Only a few of their writers continue to knock it consistently, namely Ashcroft and Crecente.

[kornbeaner]

is wrong with their little tyraid at the end of their story.

Yes it is possible that Edge magazine simply took Kojima's words out of context. It happens all the time in the press when an interview is given and then written in the same language. So how is it not possible that it would happen when a story has an English interviewer, Japanese guest and a middle man who has to go between the both of them.

I mean I speak Spanish and translating from Spanish to English is a b!tch, the meaning for some words are not the same and the context of some are also a loss. To try to do that with a language as complex as Japanese should be expected to produce some lost in translation parts considering, emotion and context are not even close between Japanese and English.

So Kojima is right and Edge is not necessarily wrong, they just grasped a different meaning of the words. The only wrong ones in this situation are the spin doctors at Kotaku and media outlets just like them.

[Zhuk_]

Hideo Kojima is more than welcome to be a proud supporter of Microsoft. As a result, porting the next installment of the Metal Gear series to the Xbox 360™ would benefit Konami in terms of sales while gaining a substantial increase in its fanbase. Kojima Productions will proceed to developing a superior port to the Xbox 360™ as a result of the abysmal sales on the inferior platform that is the Playstation 3. This would be definitely be another fantasic addition to the already stellar library of the Xbox 360™.

This would also be huge plus for Metal Gear Online, as the Xbox 360™ has a massive and thriving gaming community. Xbox LIVE is the premiere online gaming and entertainment service capable of delivering a true next generation gaming experience. Its been proven that the Xbox 360™ platform is the preference of choice for developers and the consumer. Microsoft will continue to lead the gaming frontier through the generations to come. Absolute gaming nirvana can only be found on the Xbox 360™.

Though as a member of the N4G gaming community, I will continue to denounce the propaganda coming from Sony and its diluded droids from allowing the gamer and average consumer from making an informed choice.

[Electronic Arts]

Yes Yes Yes we all have impossible fantasies

[kornbeaner]

Honestly, If I worked for Microsoft I would so hire you on the spot.

[PoSTedUP]

yea you know you want this game, too bad it wont fit on your system. if kojima wanted to make a crappy MGS4 then he would of made it on the 360 only. but... he was smart about it and decided to make the better game on the only system you can make it on...the ps3. xbox live sux, i have to pay to play my games online, plus i can go to netflix and get blu ray movies cheaper and in better quality than hd-dvd. the money you payed to play your games online you could of bought a ps3 biiii*ch. facts

[Thoas]

Inserting all those disc would give you RROD for sure.

[butterfinger]

It really is a shame that you do all of this work for Microsoft for free. I'm sure they have a good laugh from time to time about good old Zhuk, the one that spams Playstation forums for us all day long for free. Microsoft doesn't care about you, so why would you care about it? For me, I'll stick with the company that I have had the opportunity to grow up with, and that is Sony. They have been true innovators in gaming, and if you have never owned a Playstation in your life, then you are not a true gamer. I prefer to respect the company that made the industry what it is today.

[InYourMom]

You get the fanboys lining up like little puppy dogs for a treat. You manipulate them like a puppet master.

Anyway, if Kojima wants to talk about lacking "modesty" he needs to look no further than the Sony cult that exists on this site. I mean look at these comments, not a modest one in the lot.

But not lacking in hypocrisy that is for sure.

@7.5 - I agree, we should all be thanking Atari and Nintendo.

[PoSTedUP]

what pic? were?

[The Lazy One]

I was more confused by his example than by his original statement.

There is a point to japanese modesty, and there is a point where he can claim he was being modest, but he said specifically that the PS3 had hidden limits in it that disallowed him from fulfilling his end goals.

I'm also a little confused by how he could get mistranslated by his own translator, who he speaks highly of in the thing.

I really think this came off a lot worse than the original statement. Sure, western cultures aren't as modest, but we also don't secretly think we're better than everyone and that anything we do is superior to something someone else does.

Sometimes you say things wrong, and more times than not it's better to just let them die than to try to explain yourself.

[Aclay]

Yes, I have read that article and another article similiar too it and basically Kojima said that it was taken out of context by "Westerners" that he was trying to be humble, but Westerners don't really understand what it means to be humble. He said next time he'll just come out and say, "Metal Gear Solid 4 will be the best".

Anyways, MGS4 is going to be a system seller, it's going to be in the running for Game of the Year and it's the game that will turn the most hardcore Xbox fanboys to PS3 owners. Period.

[Ureval]

PS3 fanboys, no one has made me want to buy something less in my life then you. You guys are terrible at marketing.

[Electronic Arts]

Ahhh, is that you in your pic?

[Tetsuryu]

Not to criticize or anything but it looks like a younger Gabe Newell to me.

Here's his present photo:

[TheMART at Xbotkings]

lol

[rjgbyrne]

A bit of bull-Shiat being spread. Sad thing is to me the difference between the 360 and PS3 in minor. The large head start for MS has proved to be a winning formula, either way the PS3 is a good peice of hardware, I reckon the next set of consoles will benefit from both the Xbox and PS3 outcomes. Blu ray for PS3 and Live for Xbox, would be greaat to see it all combined.

[RecSpec]

MGS4 is putting the fear into some journalists. Not saying it's gonna be the greatest game ever made, but game journalists are looking at this going "We might have been wrong..." Prepare for a lot of backpedaling in reviews regarding the PS3 once the MGS4 reviews hit.

[PoSTedUP]

stellar game library? or no variety? no variety is more like it. masseffect, bioshock, grars, halo, orange box, any thing in common among your best titles? the halos haven't changed a bit(gears 2 is falling in the same footsteps). mass effect (only the faces look good lol) plus their all shooters. i know were to go for a good variety and thats the ps3. GT5(most realistic racing sim hands down). Drakes Fortune(killed the 3rd person action adventure games). hevenly sword (awsome chick fighter).resistance (better than halo on and off line w/betterguns and less jumpy powerangers) hot shots golf (turned tigerwoodses boring pga tour into something enjoyable and fun, theirfor i respect that alot) their, i just sh!ted on your 5 best exclusives with a VARIETY of 5 better exclusives. go get a ps3

[Darkshader]

Well i already knew that the american media & kotaku spread those lies about Mr. Kojima. Why would you believe in something like that....it means they made a mistake in translating his interview or deliverately changed it? Who knows?

You piss-off Mr. Kojima, do you think he will create a MGS game for x-box 360 after interpreting falsely and spreading gossip regarding his game? And instead of Kotaku being humble and saying sorry....No!!!...they even defended their gossip article.

[v1c1ous]

Kojima did not mention 360 and KOJIMA HIMSELF mentions that japanese media is very guilty of twisting words, so don't play that card.

stop talking nonsense if you won't have the decency to think things through before talking.

[bootsielon]

"PS3 fanboys, no one has made me want to buy something less in my life then you. You guys are terrible at marketing."

It goes both ways. Zhuk and his gang has repelled me from going into Xbox LIVE again, because I might just end up playing with them.

Anyway, in Kojima's words "PS3 is definitely revolutionary (a car that can fly, i.e. it's next gen), it can even reach mach speed (it goes beyond everyone's expectations), but I couldn't take it to space as I wanted to" (Kojima is too ambitious; no wonder Blu-ray 50GB was too small for him).

Kojima's analogies are funny.

[Rocko]

But I suppose it doesn't matter since hes the droid's messiah.

[PoSTedUP]

yeaA! thats the ticket! you tell him rocko! stupid droids!.....now lets go play with our pinatas.....cmon rocko.......the pinatas are waiting....AND I HERD WE HAVE MORE ON THE WAY!!! LETS GOOO!!! PINATAS!!!YEAAAAA!!!!!

[jackdoe]

Lol, anyone with half a brain could see that his original comments were due to modesty. Kojima is addressing those people WITHOUT a brain, fanboys for example, who misanalyzed his comments and used them to EITHER trash MGS4 to "protect" their PS3's honor (PS3 fanboys) or used them to trash the PS3 itself (360 fanboys). Glad this is all cleared up, though Brian Ashcroft's final comments in the article make no sense and seem like the words of a rambling fanboy.

[Ikanago]

...I completely understand what Kojima-san is saying. It's difficult for Americans that don't understand Japanese to grasp. But, Japanese as a spoken language differs depending on the contextual situation. That is, there are specific honorific and humble phrases and ways of speaking that Japanese speakers use on the fly.

In a sense, they are always putting down themselves and honoring / putting up the people around them. So, even though you can translate Kojima's phrases directly to mean that he is unhappy with his product, the Japanese audience understands that he is being modest and that there really isn't a culture of boasting about personal accomplishments in Japan. This is just a cultural difference.

Compare Kojima's statements to Cliffy B's from the GameTrailers World Exclusive and you'll see what I mean.

----------------

Of course I didn't hear his original comments to the interviews that sparked all of this. But my guess is that his comments about the PS3 limitations were more along the lines (in Japanese) of saying that his team had all of these awesome goals for the graphics and that in the end they didn't really have the time and power to implement them into the final game. While you could certainly interpret this as being a strike against the PS3 (as the article writers did), you could equally say that there will never be a game console powerful enough of creating the game Kojima-san has in his head.

That's just my take, but as I said, I didn't hear his original Japanese that the interview was based on.

[wow4u]

Ok, since you're familiar with the culture, wouldnt you *also* say that Kojima's earlier comments would be *very* provacative?

For Kojima to say "Sony over-promised the PS3, and we couldnt do what we thought we could do based on what Sony said is possible"

Wouldnt that be INCREDIBLY provacative? And, being that it is provactive, wouldnt it *also* be very likely that he is now been told to "save face" for Sony by basically falling-on-his-sword/apologizi ng/withdrawing his criticism?

[Ikanago]

I'll say, I don't know what he said in Japanese during the interview initially. None of us do. Without hearing his words, I don't know if the article's author wrote exactly what he said in Japanese or just sorta interpolated from the gist of it. Either could be true.

So yeah, what you're saying could be a possibility, but I honestly think all of this was just sorta lost in translation. I don't think he's trying to save face, listening to him in his podcast, he seems more depressed about how his words were "misinterpreted," not like he's saying this with someone watching over his shoulder.

Who knows? The game will be great!

[JokesOnYou]

It was his own translator who always translates for him, besides even in the interview they noted that Kojima might be a little too hard on himself...also how do you translate him wrong/misinterpret that he basicly said he overestimated ps3 capabilities???? It would have been alot better if he just said he made a mistake, it happens you know, sometimes in the heat of the moment people say things they don't mean, but either way it was his translator so how the hell were they suppose to know what the hell he *meant to say? I guess sony was pissed off at him, huh?

ha ha Damage control!

edit: vvvvv shadow, so you're an American, I'm an Americaon, so what? This isn't about what OUR nationality is, this about someone using a stereotype to deflect the blame away from himself, its no big deal, but it would be nice to see people own up to their mistakes instead of looking for a scapegoat. Kojima is no saint, he's made some pretty bias comments in the past towards micro and nintendo. ha ha and please stop bringing up Ken, that only hurts your case, that guy was a walking PR time bomb!

JOY

[wow4u]

He has been told to fix his public f-up by Konami and/or Sony.

What did he say in that interview "Sony over-sold PS3 ("4D!!1") and he's not the first one to say it, the games have been demonstrating that.

He has clearly gotten "in trouble" for his earlier honesty.

[Tmac]

He's not under Sony's pay roll. Honestly he could start making MGS4 for Xbox 360 right now, evidently he chooses not to. Your comment holds no ground, he isn't under an embargo to hold true to the PS3 vision. He can say whatever he wants to say because he can, no one is holding him down except perhaps Konami.

Who is going to slap him on the wrist? Think your comments through before hitting "Add Reply" please.

Many Americans are not humble or modest, take both of your comments for example. This is exactly the demographic both of you fall into. Let me see you try and deny it for the sake of ego.

[ApocalypseShadow]

and i've seen many american media sites takes things out of context.

but what else is new?but it doesn't end there.i would say that the english media as a whole is just poor these days.and that includes european journalists.kojima is just the latest victim of out of control journalists who have no college degrees or integrity.

same happened to ken kutaragi.he tried promoting the ps3 to american journalists.they took what he said about ps3 being expensive(and sony did say WAAAYYYY before E3 2006 that ps3 was going to be expensive.)

but the american media dumped on him.dumped on his ideas.dumped on his saying that ps3 could do 120fps.how do armchair devs know what ps3 can or cannot do?the pseye camera does 120fps.could you make a game with low polys running at 120fps?yes you could.

he talked about 4D.but no one thinks that in his thoughts,"TIME" can be implemented in games.but with a hard drive,you could come up with a game that remembers everything you did in game.characters or plants that grow over time.people dying and new npcs being born from other characters.and the hard drive saving it.

asian devs hav had to deal constantly with poor translations of their work or interviews.as i would think english devs had their work poorly translated in asia.

but kojima isn't the first.

megaton....................

[AbdullaMTR]

Sorry to tell If u Wanna play it buy a PS3 bcz 360 v. never will happend bcz of the hardwere spec kojima Want to get advance in graphifcs and the gameplay he Dont wanna the game to turn like a mgs 1 like this the game exvlosive when he said about the Cell This Monster will never die with any games The Spe r eating everything get inside it thats why games becomes better and better over the years with PS3 system.
1PPu 2thread, 8Spe's Runnning like hell, 3.2 Ram speed can, Blueray can reach 200Gb If Kojima want his game be better So why he's not improve his game till 100Gb blueray get out guest what MGS4 is max out with 50 GB and he is really happy with his game and PS3 will still above his imagnation.

[AbdullaMTR]

The PS3 can go 120z but not now the PS3 still new they cant Max it out the games over the years is advancing with Ps3 system See KillZone 2 Its 4D graphics and afrika 4D too heavy rain is most realistic ever its use a new tecnology, Blueray size is going bigger then u will see 1080p 120z 4D graphics its only 2-3 years the PS3 10 years Life spin it has 1.3 HDMI can reach 1200P Picture reslution

b4 u say somthen about this u knew Coding is really hard 4 a new hardwere Go make pac man if u can.

[Neo604]

ps3 deliver the best technology to date.

[eagle21]

Zhuk said, "absolute gaming Nivana on 360"??? LMAO

So that's why my brother took that loud ass 2005 DVD player back to the store for a Playstation 3 he never turns off???

Misery loves company. I heard Australia really isn't buying 360 hardly anymore. awwwwwwwwwww :)

[yanikins111]

website = crap

[Ali_The_Brit]

HA! NOW YOU STUPID ASS XBOTS CAN STOP TRYING TO THROW THIS IN OUR FACES, WE WIN YOU LOSE
XBOX- FAIL
PS3- WIN

[AngryXbot]

FACT: Kojima was being humble (something I said from day one - if you actually know this guy, you would know he doesnt brag about his game).

FACT: Kotaku, EDGE, EUROGAMER, GAMETRAILERS and other xbot sites suddenly claimed that Kojima claimed that the PS3 is weak. Something Kojima did not claim.

FACT: Kojima explains how his words were twisted. Xbot sites made to look like idiotic fools again (something that isnt hard to do when youre an xbot. Since we all know how uninformed and dumb most xbots are).

FACT: KOTAKU spins story into negative blaming Kojima instead. How are you going to spin around this one Kotaku. The guy you quoted from, said you took his words out of context and you are blaming him for not understanding him and not doing proper research to think.

Guess what, you look like idiots.

[techie]

Lol Kotaku's sarcasm is cringe worthy.

[AngryXbot]

They clearly made a mistake by not doing proper research and having their fanboy sides got the better of them.

And now they are blaming Kojima instead.

The man said something but its Kotaku and others who took it out of context and didnt asked for further explanation or do further research, is it not?

Then guess who's fault it is then!
Cannot spin your way out of this Kotaku. You look like idiots for the millionth time trying to do it.

[richie007bond]

Lol ive never seen so many deluded fanboys comments,he said what he said end of story and no amount of spin and back peddling is gonna change that.

[Lumbo]

I can fully understand his frustration. The problems with the cultural barriers often hit from unsuspected directions. And with the added Internetspin it can easily reach proportions that have nothing in common with the original statement.

HE is right when he describes the western culture as one of "boasting" when you stay away from the obvious kneejerk reaction and see this NOT as an insult but as a description how it is realized by other cultures. Western culture is based upon a highly focused individualism that focuses on yourself and your OWN achievements and merits. Therefor people tend to paint themself and their work in the best possible light and in bright colors. It is sometimes like a commercial for oneself. American culture is only the most pronounced one of this kind. Just take a look at the "dishwasher to millionaire" approach that is hold in high regard, and the walk over corpses for personal gain. The motto would be "forget the others, whats important is YOU"

Asian cultures, and Japanese to an extreme, have been build around the collective mindset that the individual is nothing, and the group/team is everything. Therefor the stiff formalities and rituals of politeness have caused the people to always make the others look better, to participate in that glory. Hence Japanese people are inclined to downplay their own achievements and praise the group and even the competition instead. The motto would be like "you are nothing, the group is everything"

To make matters worse the respective audiences COMPENSATE for these effects subconsciously to avoid being disappointed. Hence western audiences tend to only believe half of what a developer claims his work is. If the developer claims 100% we automatically reduce that subconciosely to 50% and we don't hit far of the mark with that.

When Japanese developers present their work they tend to only give themself credit for half the actual worth of the work because of the forced concept of politeness. The Japanese audience subconciusely adds quite a margine of expectation to that cause they know the developer just wants to be polite and hence downplays his work.

That looks like this:

reality:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Western developer claims:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Japanese developer claims
XXXXXXXXXX

Western audience cuts XXXXX subconsciously to reach reality
Japanese audience adds XXXXX subconsciously to reach reality

Thats all fine and dandy as long as the respective developers stay in their own cultural context. But sadly with a globalized market and media coverage that is not so anymore.

So what happened to Kojima ?

He had in mind:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

HE said (expecting people to add to that like at home)
XXXXXXXXXX

Western media subconciousely cut XXXXX

"Reality" as seen by the western media:
XXXXX

Verdict: meh :(

Japanese Internet readers read "Kojima said PS3 = Meh :( "
and add the usual XXXXX to that , result:
Japanese bloggers write:
"Kojima said PS3 = §#$% piece of §%$&#"

Kojima reads that and goes WTF ????? Tries to explain it and voila western gutter media like Kotaku goes ballistic on some randomly proclaimed "insult" that never was there to begin with.

the end.

PS: and as usual Kotaku needed to add another layer of unfounded hate and spite in the last sentence. Shows the credibility of that page ..

[LeShin]

What a brilliant and concisely well written explanation! Bubbles to you!

[richie007bond]

Wow your making me dizzy with your spin doctoring,now this is exactly what am talking about..i rest my case

[DoctorXpro]

Will be the best PS3 game in all ps3 life.

[The Lazy One]

you better hope not.

[Vip3r]

Kotaku have just gone lower than GT. Fake BS for their pro-360 campaign.

[andron]

Kojima is a perfectionist and visionary. I doubt any hardware could ever bring his vision completely into life.

But it was always clear that those comments were twisted by the media. He's come out and said so himself now...

He is satisfied with MGS4 on PS3 and I think we will be too...

[Razzy]

MGS4 is going to be nothing short of spectacular. It releases next month and I'll be first in line to pick up my copy.

Fanboys can argue until their blue in the face, and they will, about who said what about whom but in the end who cares? The game will speak for itself next month. Some are just a little cranky they won't be able to play it.

Nuff said.

[Sangria]

Kojima with a Microsoft Xbox 360 background, whereas nowhere it talks about 360. Coincidence, irony or proof that Kotaku is heavily biased?

[Razzy]

Well...he doesn't look at all happy in that pic though. :)

[yanikins111]

Im suprised that no one has told Microsoft that parading captured enemies in public is a violation of human rights and the geneva conventions....

[titntin]

Theres not a lot of news here!

Journalists spin statements to create more sensationalist story!
Why would anyone be surprised?

To be fair to the guy, there is a big difference between the cultures and to interpret what he says you need to make allowances for this. I sympathize with his sentiment about just saying 'this is the best ever' for the US market, as that IS exactly what that culture wants hear - anything less and there must be something wrong.

I'm in the UK, and even here its a big big difference - I remember the head of E.A. worldwide studios (it was Bruce McMillian at the time) coming over to give the English devs a talk and show some promotional material to the UK studios. He made a speech full of 'whooping it up' that no doubt would have gone down a treat back home, but in the UK was met with a resounding stony silence. I remember the expression of complete incomprehension on his face, and I very nearly felt sorry for him! It may be a small world, but culturally there are still major differences!

[DevilsJoker]

Kotaku was just a crappy '1NTERTZ' gaming website, now its just a fanboy website. Kojima said something, it was misunderstood by a different culture, Kotaku says 'PS3 IS BALLS!'
Kojima goes 'No, what are you saying? I was being modest, its what i do, why are you twisting what i said?'
Kotaku says 'HIDEO IZ BE1NG TOLD OFF BY SONY. LOL HEZ A TOOL'

Offically never using Kotaku again, congrats.

[SL1M DADDY]

This is not surprise to those of us who have kept up with them. They take any chance to dig at the PS3. When the PS3 is getting praises, they jump on the wagon and are quick to hide their hate but when somebody messes up and says one thing that can be taken as a negative point towards the PS3, they run with it like a child running with scissors. Sorry Kotaku, but taking you seriously is foolish and is something you will never see me do.

[Glad to be a gamer]

In that interview and in His reply in this article he basically says that he over estimated what the ps3 can do due to dev(Sony) over exaggerating about their new console. He also said he only took 1 step instead of the 10 steps he thought he would from the last game in the series. There was also talk of restricitons(guessing ram and architecture) causing him to not progress to where he wanted to go.

Now modesty aside you can try to spin this or damage control the interview but for me looking in and having read the edge mag 1st hand it has made me wary of PS3'S capabilities and whether its worth buying a Ps3 for Mgs4 solely this year.

Lbp looks fun but i dont know if it will come out this year and BK3 is out this year so my platforming fix will be taken care of(I know their diff game ie lbp create your own levels but both are platformers 2d/3d respectively.)

I know Mgs4 will be great but i now think from what ive seen that the Ps3 has trouble doing things that the 360 seems to have no problem doing. Online,AA,Resolution etc etc.

I don't know what to believe in all honesty but im gonna wait till the game comes out and see what reviewers say. With so many good games coming out for the 360/wii Mgs4 is gonna have to be fckin special to get me to drop the £300 notes on it.

[The Lazy One]

He didn't say "oh the game is ok" or "I wish we could have done better". He said that his team overestimated the PS3 hardware, and couldn't achieve goals because of it. That is not modesty.

[Glad to be a gamer]

Because there are a lot more PS3 fans on this site and i don't really get it?

Educate me on why you guys bought a Ps3 at launch or after instead of any of the other consoles or in fact both of them for the same price?

Man Hideo and Mgs4 have alot of pressure on there shoulders. This game is being looked at as the first game that will finally give us a taste of what the Cell and Br can do for the games industry.

I wonder whether Sony and Konami have persuaded Kojima to do this interview?

Got to give it to HIDEO hes a genius and an honest man no BS lets see how this one plays out.

[avacadosnorkel]

Any of the Sony made first party games.

[SL1M DADDY]

If you have to ask your question about why people would buy the PS3 then you sir, are not a gamer. A gamer buys all three consoles out to date to have an oportunity to play all titles exclusive to those systems. It is a well known fact that Sony first party titles are great. Likewise with both MS and Nintendo. Sure we have multiplatform games that you can pick and chose what system you want them for but in the end, there will always be titles exclusive to one system. If you missed out on Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, GT5:P, Folklore, Super Stardust: HD, Pain, High Velocity Bowling, UTIII, Motorstorm, Resistance: FOM, Hot Shots Golf, Lair (Even with new controls recently released), Blast Factor, Calling All Cars, EchoChrome, Everyday Shooter, and many more, then you missed out on a large portion of great games. There isn't one game enough to buy a PS3, there are plenty more than that. Buying one game and a system for it is something that the hardcore do, I do it myself but for many, they have a need to buy more than just one game to justify their purchase. At the moment, the PS3 has a ton of great titles to explore. Sayong otherwise just shows us that there is less gamer in you than ther is fanboy. Glad you asked and please, don't take it as a slam if you in fact are asking in earnest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Angelitos]

Kojima said he was satisfied with MGS4.

[avacadosnorkel]

Needs to stop being Microsoft goons for hire.

[Salta_nelas]

Kotaku at it again.

[Pornlord]

[richie007bond]

The guys just back peddling,he's developing a game for the ps3 and has some major flack for his honest comments about the limitations of the hardware.Now all the sony fanboys forums are in a uproar,Sony gets on the phone and tells him WTF are you saying Kojima" do you want this game to sell,we admit the ps3 is not all that but dont broadcast it man, we need to keep the drones in check.Ok tell them you were just deluded you didn't know what you were saying,blame it on the hot weather!! blame it on anything just fooking sort it out.....

[wow4u]

Exactly. He's absolutely backpeddling. He basically told us that Sony was overpromising (again), now that its got so much attention, his bosses @ Konami probably came down on him very hard.

Sony is their partner for MGS, he probably got told to get out there and "correct" his mistake of honesty.

[Imalwaysright]

Lol your comments alone are proof of what he is saying.... and so what if he PS3 wasnt enough to satisfy Kojima's vision??? He complained the most about storage capacity so of all the 3 next gen consoles this game could only be done on the PS3. Instead of focusing on the PS3 limitations you should be happy that Sony released a console with Blu ray and it is because of that feature that we are going to be able to play this game... sorry... masterpiece in a month.

[zonetrooper5]

You guys do know that Kotaku is a great site, oh and btw they joke about alot of stuff. Maybe you guys should find that humour you lost.

[budbundystyles]

I'm getting a Dreamcast 2 anyways.

[wow4u]

"This is the best one", just like how Americans brag stuff like this... That's why i interview in Japanese, and Mr. Sai (translator) translates my side of the inteviews very well in English. Westerners do not have a tradition of modesty"

Hey Kojima, dont be such an Anti-Western xenophobe. Screw this guy.

"Westerners do not have a tradition of modesty"?

What the fcuk is that garbage?

[Raupet]

""Westerners do not have a tradition of modesty"?

What the fcuk is that garbage?"

Point proven?

:P

[Tmac]

Inexplicably in the process of trying to prove your point, you pwned yourself.

[Blackcanary]

and theres me thinking this is a good web site damn i was so wrong.
After this i'm never going back on there again.

[GreyMatter]

My last few months have been spent begrudgingly visiting Kotaku as some semblance of an alternative news source, but this was the last straw.

Their lust for poor, biting sarcasm and ignorant bias just crossed the line between fanboy and downright arrogant. To make matters that much worse, I doubt they'll ever have to humility to apologize for any remarks, but that's also a matter at hand.

This isn't just a "cultural difference" and it's not about blaming the translator. It's a severe problem with American society. However, that's a debate best kept elsewhere..

Just make sure you stay tuned for more Fair & Balanced coverage from Kotaku, the new Fox News!

[zonetrooper5]

I'm getting a PC as they are superior to everything. =D

P.S. Kotaku joke alot and take the piss out of every console and the PC.

Waiting disagrees etc.

[sodeaf]

We're not modest people. We brag and brag and brag. I'm a PS3 fan all the way and I'll pick my PS3 over a 360 any damn day but I have to sit back and really look what he's saying. Typing "PS3 FTW!!!! 360 Sucks!!!" makes us look like even bigger mindless jackasses. We always talk sh!t and brag about sh!t. Both 360 and PS3 have there goods and they're bads, but all this bragging makes developers like Kojima not even want to interview with us. It sucks. Oh well, lets just enjoy MGS4. Happy gaming y'all

[jollygoodchap8]

Well, I'm not going there again.

I used to like them, but their bias has come much more obvious and outright.

They might as well call it xboxkings2.com

[N4g_null]

This is going to be a problem, first the bad online beta now this and it does not help his case when he delayed it to up the quality. He don't he just say help what a ride We've already started on our next hit! Then Kotaku responding to him is even sillier. I mean really the cry babies of game blogs faking as news site?

I'm not surprise but Kotaku only does this when they smell blood and hits due to flames or what ever.

[f789790]

Its what the press does. Hideo Kojima meant he wished the graphics could even more spectacular like we all do. Maybe with the PS5 we'll get to completely realistic.

[TodGeck]

lol I like how kojima basically says: "I guess I am responsible for all the articles"

Then kotaku reply...
"If you stick your foot in it and screw up, it's always easier to shift the blame, pull the You-Don't-Understand-Japanese card or gloss over important details like, you know, reading."

[xtreampro]

i've barely made it through the start screen and a messege comes up saying ''insert disc 135 please''...LOL!! i'll be here all year LOL!!

[KingKirchner]

F*** Kotaku. Everyone knows what Kojima really meant. Artists are never satisfied with their work, they always want to do more and more, but there will be limitations.

Kotaku is just a bunch of angry 360 fanboys from the looks of it. They took his original, and new comments way out of context on purpose to put down the PS3 and MGS4. Now they're going so far as to disrespect Kojima himself, one of the greatest and most well-known developers ever. While they're at it why don't they ask Miyamoto to suck their balls?

Their site, judging from that read there, just emulates and extreme air of anything but proffessional journalism.

[richie007bond]

Another deluded drone,blame blame blame...he said what he said get the fook over it,sony over promised and under delivered,Kojima realised that and spoke the truth,now the firing squads out to get him...

[KingKirchner]

did you just call me a fanboy? I happen to own Wii and PS3, and I have nothing against 360. I actually play it frequently at friends' houses.

What I have a problem with is these guys at Kotaku continually antagonizing and mocking Kojima (one of the most respected game developers in the world) and blowing his words out of context.

Did you even read his analogy of the flying car thing? It perfectly explains what he means. They were promised a flying car, they believed they could reach MACH speed, and hoped they could reach Outer Space. In the end, they fell short of Outer Space but still exeeded expectations by reaching MACH speed.

And besides, like TodGeck said, He admitted he was responsible for all this exaggerating, but people still keep saying he's blameing other people. WTF?

[BattleAxe]

Kotaku is just a fanboy site. It should really be called: KOTAKU FANBOY FOR XBOX360.

[Figboy]

who thinks that Kojima gives the best analogies in the world?

i mean, they're completely incomprehensible, and yet...they make PERFECT sense!

anyway, as an American, i don't take offense to what he says about American modesty.

turn on the TV at ANY POINT during your day, and you'll see that "American Modesty," at work.

we are far from a modest people.

that doesn't mean that individual Americans aren't modest, but the face we put forward via television, military, music, etc, are far from humble. in truth, America thinks it sh*t don't stink, and sometimes, we need to be reminded that it, indeed, DOES.

i understand what Hideo is saying here, and his comments were blown WAAAAY out of proportion, especially by a website that prides itself as being on the pulse of Japanese culture.

i stopped going to Kotaku a long time ago because of their blatant anti-Playstation 3 sentiment, and i'll continue to not visit their site now, and in the foreseeable future.

i'm not comparing myself to Kojima, but i'm an artist myself. as an artist, i'm ALWAYS striving to make something better than what i have. many a drawing i've done, my family, friends, etc, have doted over it, claiming out amazing it is, but all i see are the mistakes. being the man behind the scenes, all i see is, "i could have drawn that line better," "i could have fleshed that out, instead of hiding it in shadow," "i could have added deeper colors here," or better "lighting there," "the poses and camera angle could have been more dynamic."

and i'm just a LOWLY artist, with little to no real art credits to my name, and i have these thoughts, and this guy has MILLIONS of people seeing his work, WORLDWIDE. i can't even BEGIN to understand the pressure he is under to deliver, and the disappointment he must feel when he looks at his finished work and sees, "i could have fleshed that out better," "i could have done this, i could have done that."

get off of Kojima's back. and Kotaku should be ashamed of themselves.

god i hate them. lets see THEM make a multi-million dollar, multi-million unit selling franchises that has endured for over 20 years and is loved by millions of people around the world.

everyone is a god damned critic, and barely a single one of them has produced what the subject of their criticisms have. amazing.

[DRC]

A lot of BS nowadays.

[skynidas]

I didnt know that Kotaku was so biased

[InYourMom]

So this is another site banned by the Sony collective? Is there any site you guys can still go to where you don't feel this immense bias? N4G?

Everybody is against the PS3 or payed off by MS. Jesus the excuses never stop. It's getting tiring going on 2 years now. If anything is lacking in modesty it is PS3 fanboys. They have to have it all and be the best at everything and the ocean's need to part for it or there is some bias.

The world is out to get the PS3.. (puke)