Hideo Kojima's latest game, Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes, attempts to tackle a lot of taboo and mature themes, so much so that the creator is unsure if he will be able to release it in its current form.
"Video games as a medium haven't matured very much at all in the last 25 years," explained Kojima at a round table interview conducted today. "It's always about killing aliens and zombies. Not that I don't like those kinds of games... they are fun, but I think games have a long way to go before they can mature.
"Over the past 25 year I have tried to work with the Metal Gear series to introduce more mature themes, but really it hasn't gotten there yet. Compared to movies and books it still has a long way to go.
"That's precisely what I want to try to tackle with Ground Zeroes. Honestly I'm going to be targeting a lot of taboos, a lot of mature themes that really are quite risky. I'm not even sure if I'm going to be able to release the game, and even if I did release the game then maybe it wouldn't sell because it's too much. As a creator I want to take that risk."
He concluded: "I'm approaching the project as a creator and prioritising creativity over sales."
Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes is without a release date, but was announced as coming to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.