Hideo Kojima: I Was Born In the Wrong Country

Many Japanese developers haven’t found a way to appeal to Western gamers. They are still struggling to break out of the mindset of Japanese gamers-only. That isn’t a problem for Hideo Kojima. On the contrary, his games sell even better outside of Japan. Although one can still recognize the Japanese-influences, particularly from anime, the style and themes are broad enough to appeal to both the East and the West.

In a recent interview with CVG, Kojima spoke about the Japanese curse and even went so far as to say that maybe he was born in the wrong country.

CVG: What do you think of the Japanese market compared to the European and North American industry?

Kojima: One thing about Japan, and this isn’t just games, is that things made in Japan are very much targeted at Japan, whether it’s games, movies or novels. The curse in Japan is that a lot of media is made in Japan just for Japan – you go to the cinema and it’s all Japanese movies. My generation is now being exposed to a wide range of influences, that’s why what I want to make is a little bit more in tune with what people in the West will like. I really like all the things that are being made in the West. When I come to shows like E3 and see the announcements and go to Comic-Con, I love all of the presentations, so really I’ve been thinking maybe I was born in the wrong country!