It has been nearly 20 years since the Metal Gear Solid franchise from creator Hideo Kojima hit our screens and took the world by storm, and to this date, we are still learning some interesting facts regarding the development of each installment of the espionage franchise that popularised the genre.
One of the most recent facts that has been revealed by the game creator Hideo Kojima is how the game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was actually named. Even though this isn’t mind-boggling, it is rather interesting to get a peek behind the curtains of a game developer and find out why they made a decision like this.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Nearly Had an Entirely Different Title, According to Hideo Kojima
One of the biggest draws for a game is its title. If the title is boring and bland, gamers will likely ignore it and choose not to get involved with said franchise, or potentially leave a franchise if they were already fans, and this is a problem that Hideo Kojima faced over 14 years ago.
14 years since the release of “PW.”I was still in my mid-40s. At the time, many game companies were beginning to shift to developing apps for the phones. After finishing up MGS4, I felt the need for a proprietary game engine. The vertical leap of the game had to be done after the… pic.twitter.com/vZ3fyCfmkd
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) April 29, 2024
Back 14 years ago, Kojima Productions was working on a whole new title, which eventually came to be known as Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, or MGSPW, but this title wasn’t its first choice as the game would originally follow on with the sequential numbering system that was being used throughout the franchise.
At the time, MGSPW would have been the fifth game in the franchise and would have been known as MGS5PW, but according to Kojima, this title was originally declined by the marketing team as the intent was to release this title onto the PSP handheld console.
Due to the plan to release MGSPW onto the PSP, the marketing team at Kojima Productions felt that it was more important to aim this title towards a younger audience and those who aren’t involved within the franchise already, which in the end was a smart idea.
Thousands of Metal Gear Solid Fans Joined the Franchise Thanks to This Title’s Name Change
One of the biggest issues with the MGS franchise is the fact that it has been going for so many years and has countless games that lean into each other’s stories in ways that would be too complicated to explain, so having an entry point is rather complicated for new gamers.
This is something that the marketing team at Kojima Productions understood, as following through with the numerical system would cause gamers to feel that they wouldn’t be able to enter the franchise since it would have been the fifth game in the franchise.
and it worked delightfully. the one that made me fall in love with Metal Gear. happy 14th!
— gerald “revolver” ocelot (@geraldmunoz1201) April 30, 2024
Since most gamers who bought a PSP would be quite young and wouldn’t want to jump into a long-running franchise like MGS, the marketing team decided it would be smarter to make the game look like a new part of the franchise, which in the end worked as so many gamers have replied to Hideo Kojima on Twitter/X detailing how this game brought them into the MGS family.
Forever remembered by me as one of the few games to take place in my home country: Costa Rica!
— FD (@bballnewsetal) April 29, 2024
Why you chose that setting I have no idea. But glad you did.
What do you think about the lack of sequential numbering on MGSPW? Did you play this game, or did you miss out? Let us know in the comments what you think!
