Konami
Hideo Kojima almost quits Konami because of how difficult it was to launch MGS2 after 9/11 attacks
The release of the Japanese genius' well-remembered and highly political work coincided with one of the most important events that would change the world.
Younger readers may not remember, but the turn of the century was turbulent. Not because of the fear that computers would collapse with the Y2K bug (and with it the world economy), but because of the attacks on the New York World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The world changed from then on, and products for the mass public were no exception.
When censorship came to Metal Gear Solid 2
It had happened to a teaser trailer of the first Spider-Man movie by Sam Raimi. The wall-crawler trapped the helicopter of some criminals between the twin towers with his web. After the September 11 attack, it disappeared as if it had never existed.
The Metal Gear series has a strong political component, and Sons of Liberty, the famous second installment that debuted on PS2, was no stranger to it. The game was forced to undergo changes in names, concepts and scenes. Among the latter, Raiden cutting down an American flag, as well as a ship crashing into Manhattan. Hideo Kojima describes the challenge of a game paralleling such delicate events in the real world in an interview with IGN (via Kotaku).
“9/11 took place in 2001 right before the release of Metal Gear Solid 2,” commented Kojima. “We’d just sent off the master, but the game featured both the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It seemed impossible to release the game. I was called to the board of directors and they all turned pale when I explained the situation. Nobody would tell me what to do, with the exception of Mr. Kozuki, who tackled the issue.”
The tension grew so high that Kojima considered leaving Konami, something that, coincidentally, happened a handful of years later for different reasons.
“As I thought about what to do, I went to speak with Mr. Kozuki about possibly quitting the company. That's when he told me: 'When this game comes out and society has their say about it, they'll be talking about you, its creator, and me, the person who sold it. I doubt they'll say anything about anyone else. What will you do? I'm ready for whatever happens.'”
It was a punch on the table in troubled times, and Kojima was given back the responsibility of launching the game knowing that it would be supported. And, "When I heard how far he was willing to go," he continued, " I made the firm decision that we’d release it together." As he aptly concludes, the rest is history.
Source | Kotaku