Japanese economy magazine Nikkei Business published a
lengthy interview with Hideo Kojima as part of a big feature on 5G. Hideo Kojima answered multiple questions regarding 5G, streaming technology, and how it’ll affect the gaming industry. Hideo Kojima also spoke about how cinema and gaming evolved in a similar way, and how new technologies change the way entertainment is created and consumed, in an endless cycle of evolution. Hideo Kojima also teased that he has a very big thing in mind in relation to streaming. Lastly, Kojima stated he always believed that ultimately, movies and games will become one and the same entertainment medium. He’d love to be a pioneer in that domain, no matter the cost, as he’s not making games for profit.
Now that the world’s first 5G commercial services have launched this April, Kojima believes that streaming platforms like Google Stadia will become the norm:
5G commercial services have launched, Google announced a cloud gaming service, and Apple is strengthening its position in the gaming industry. Cloud gaming allows direct delivery of games on any screen, be it a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop, without the need for consoles. Cloud gaming experienced a boom around 4, 5 years ago, but there was no phenomenon carrying it. Many say it’ll end in failure, but I think it didn’t work out because the technology wasn’t advanced enough. Now that 5G has launched, we’ll see a huge shift to cloud gaming during the next five years. Entertainment as a whole will change and allow more liberty.
When asked about how Google Stadia will affect the game industry and if game consoles will disappear, Kojima answered:
Games we’ve never seen before will appear. This is certain, considering how the entertainment industry evolved. Most movies aren’t longer than 2 hours because the audience at theaters would get hungry or need to use the restroom. Plus, it would mean less screenings a day, and theaters’ revenues would drop. When TVs came around, entertainment adapted to keep watchers glued to their screens so they don’t switch channels. Hence why concepts like cliffhangers before commercial breaks were invented.
Hideo Kojima mentioned that Google Stadia’s features, like being able to directly join the game of a YouTuber you’re watching, is only the tip of the iceberg of what cloud gaming can bring:
As streaming keeps evolving, games, movies, documentaries and any type of video content will all be on the same platform. This is the future I’ve always wished for. Services like Netflix will divide its content between “interactive games” and ‘”non-interactive movies”. Games and movies are complete opposites, separated by a border. But that border will disappear. It already started to disappear. Like with Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch published last year.
Kojima also wishes to contribute to this merge between movies and games, and to leave his own mark in its history:
Games will change drastically. Of course, high-end console games like the ones released nowadays will remain. But technology will keep progressing, and we’ll be able to create brand new types of games with novel gimmicks. I’m very busy myself, but I too would love to leave my mark on this side of history.
Continuing on, Hideo Kojima stated that he actually has a big thing in mind related to streaming:
We’ll start seeing completly different games these next five years as 5G spreads. There’s one big thing I have in mind related to streaming as well. I can’t say anything more as I don’t want to spoil though (laughs).
