It’s officially the 25th Anniversary of what many consider to be one of the greatest video games of all time; Metal Gear Solid. The title originally launched way back in 1998 for the original PlayStation, and to say that it was a success is an understatement. It was a watershed moment not just for Konami, Kojima, or even the PlayStation, but for the video game industry as a whole. It circumvented the entire meaning behind the stealth genre, and ushered in a new era of gaming and storyline writing. Kojima himself acknowledged this as a major turning point in his career and made a post briefly entailing his experience that led up the title’s release.
Kojima states that for the first time, he was in charge of not just the development, but also the production side as well, or in other words, the budget. Kojima went to great lengths to keep the overall costs down, so much so that he claims to have stopped his team from working at night in order to keep the office’s electricity bill down. This specific office, which was located in Tokyo’s Ebisu prefecture of Shibuya, was established in 1996, and essentially made for Kojima and his team to operate in. Kojima also states that he launched a drama series which released around the same time as the game in order to turn a profit, as well as porting another title, Bemani, to the system to assist with revenue.
Regardless of his somewhat unorthodox tactics, no one foresaw what was about to happen once Konami released the title in early September 1998. It was and still is one of the most revolutionary moments for the video game community. Metal Gear Solid became one of the most-sold titles of the year and quickly turned into one of the best sellers for the PlayStation. Critics and players alike praised the title for it’s immersive gameplay, incredible storytelling, and at the time, excellent voice acting.
The title catapulted the Metal Gear franchise into superstardom and made Kojima a household name around the world. He would go on to direct, produce, and write several other entries for the series, leading up to his very public split with Konami, who still retains the rights to the IP. Kojima would of course continue to thrive in the industry, creating his own studio and putting out the very successful Death Stranding some time later.