Hideo Kojima, the famous creator of the series Metal Gear Solid (with Konami) followed by the most recent Death Stranding, is a frequent visitor of the Tokyo Games Show 2022 (TGS 2022). When he used to work at Konami he led several sessions to talk about his upcoming games. This time around, there was no special booth for Kojima Productions, apart the ones dedicated to selling merch to guests.
But Kojima could still be seen visiting several parts of the show. He happened to stop by at Komodo’s booth dedicated to the Steam Deck.
And here’s Kojima trying out Death Stranding on the Steam Deck at the show.
And holding the unit in front of Death Stranding’s poster.
Here’s how Death Stranding runs on the Deck:
While we are on the matter of Death Stranding, at the TGS 2022 the Kyoto-based company Atmoph was showcasing their new Virtual Windows with external scenes in the world of the game. It’s a really cool company (I have met the founders before and they have great ideas) if you have some extra cash to spend.
It would be fairly unlikely that Kojima has tried the Steam Deck for the first time. So why do it so publicly in front of the cameras? My educated guess is that this is some kind of promotion or endorsement of the Steam Deck by Kojima. Valve has probably secured the good will of most of the games shown at the show on the Deck from the publishers and developers themselves: at the end of the day it’s a win-win situation for everyone. The Steam Deck gathers attention, and their games end up being seen and played on the device.
These tweets of Kojima endorsing a product are a common occurrence on his feed. Kojima is an avid Twitter user, and frequently posts about things, products, or initiatives that he likes. Since Kojima is also commercially involved with many parties, it’s not always clear what is actually sponsored from what is just a private nudge.
He was also seen with Phil Spencer (presently CEO of Microsoft Gaming) after the TGS, as most people also gather for business meetings. Maybe a next acquisition target?
Kojima is also not new at the “influencer” game. He’s been embracing podcasts for a long time and used to have a Japanese weekly show on iTunes a long time ago (more than 10 years back). He’s recently started a new podcast with Spotify, called Brain Structure. Spotify has been spending some big dollars to make sure this show is well advertised.
He won’t be getting Rogan-type deals here, but it’s certainly not a small side-gig either. While I have yet to listen to the new podcasts, he has recently invited Mamoru Oshii (of Ghost in the Shell fame), so that might be a good reason to tune in at least once.
Too bad that Oshii has not made anything really remarkable in recent history, but he’s still directing new animes and live-action movies as well so who knows, there could always be a good surprise at the corner.
So there you have it. Kojima probably likes the Steam Deck. Along with many other things. There’s some good chance that his next title works well from Day 1 on the Deck when it’s released.
Join us on Matrix to chat with us and our community!
BoilingSteam lets you access our content for free, but writing articles is a constant investment. We don't use ads or sponsporship, help us make our activities sustainable by donating via Patreon or LiberaPay if you prefer it anonymous. You can follow what we do via our newsletter, our RSS feed, our Mastodon profile or our Twitter feed. We also have Peertube, Youtube and LBRY channels. If you'd like to chat, you can also find us on #boilingsteam:matrix.org. (what is Matrix?)
he face in the picture with phill spencer, looks like he is forcing an smile