Improving graphics and sound will only go so far, says MGS creator

CVG reports~

"The "next level" of gaming is not yet possible on current-gen hardware, says Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima.

Speaking to BBC’s Click program, Kojima said that improving the visuals and audio in games will only go so far in future console generations.

"We will keep on making games for consoles and the graphics and sound quality will get better and better," he said. "But I think no matter how much we improve the quality, there is only so much we can hear or see.

"The next level will be when we start improving the backgrounds, the things you don’t instantly see but enhance the experience. For example, there are leaves in the background and when you water them they grow. Instead of the backgrounds being pre-programmed, they actually respond to what the player does.

"This is not possible right now but maybe in the future it will be, and that is when we will have entered the next era of gaming," he added.

He’s as technology-obsessed as ever then. Not that we’re complaining; MGS4 is a massively impressive game, and a terrific showcase for the PS3.

Kojima is currently rumoured to be working on a new game based on RPG series Snatcher, with No More Heroes mastermind Suda 51."

(source: CVG)

Kotaku reports~

"During Sony’s mid-term strategy meeting, PlayStation president Kaz Hirai pointed to Metal Gear Solid 4 as an example of the PlayStation 3’s full abilities - noting that it shipped 3 million units worldwide within two weeks of launch, as Famitsu reported yesterday.

Hirai said MGS 4 is "the first title to fully utilize the capacity of dual layer Blu-ray disc…. Metal Gear Solid 4has created a world of gaming entertainment that can only be realized by PS3."

He also said MGS 4 drove console sales. "In the first week of the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, sales of PS3 in the Japanese market grew significantly, [an] eight times increase as compared to the week before, proving that Metal Gear Solid 4is a platform driver for PS3.""

(source: Kotaku)