Hideo Kojima has been everywhere this year without really having to DO anything. There are rumors that have persisted, and look true, that he is signing a deal with Microsoft for his episodic horror game originally intended for Stadia. However, what he has mostly been in the collective public eye for is a game he has nothing to do with called Abandoned.
While everybody knows Kojima now as somebody with very little oversite that everybody is clamoring to work with, gamers might forget that was not always the case. Feeling Nostalgic, Hideo Kojima took to Twitter to talk about the length the fledgling developer went to sell his early game. That game, which had no credibility or fandom, was Metal Gear.
Begining the story “In the summer of my 23rd year, my first game (MG) was released.” He goes on to recount how there were no TV ads and it was quietly placed “in the PC software section of an electronics shop.” This all builds up to something that in 2021 might seem crazy, Kojima, going to the store, and doing everything he can to make his game sell.
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Even so, I went to the store every day, got flyers, and handed them out to people around me. I also bought three copies of the software myself.— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) July 14, 2021
Anybody looking to succeed should take note of the 23-year-old Kojima. Going to the store every day, talking directly to consumers, passing out flyers, and buying the game himself to push up sales. All to one day be the guy you can present your game engine to on a flash drive in a gift box to, hoping that he will choose your engine to render Norman Reedus showering.
The story does not end there though. He then proceeded to talk about his next game in a second tweet. While not referring to this game by name, he is most likely referring to Snatcher based on the timeframe. While Snatch would not go to be the cultural hit that Metal Gear Solid is, it is a beloved classic all the same.
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it was quietly placed in the PC software section of an electronics shop since it was PC-88 and MSX. Even so, I peeked at the sales floor every day and turned up the volume a little on the PC monitor that was playing a demo in the store.— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) July 14, 2021
Once again Hideo Kojima proactively attempted to sell his game, this time by turning the volume up on the demo to attract games. Based on the recollections, most likely both of these strategies had a positive effect on sales, though either it helped move one copy or one hundred is unclear.
It is humbling to think of a young Kojima having to struggle for his art. Now we know him as the godfather of stealth, and an Auteur of video games, but years prior he was just ‘that guy’ trying to make his dreams come true one Metal Gear at a time.
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