Ben-DutkaMaybe a different theme wouldn't be a bad idea.
Usually, Hideo Kojima says he wants to quit doing Metal Gear Solid and work on something else. He's been saying that for years; we're used to it.
But in a recent 4Gamer interview (as translated by DualShockers ), the MGS guru actually says he isn't ready to stop telling Snake stories. He might, however, want to change the setting and theme and honestly, I can't blame him.
He says that the series has always depicted a period of time when the US was at the top of its strength. Now, however, Kojima thinks the concept of a "strong America" is changing, so we may see a different MGS theme in the future. …man, that's a pretty sad commentary, isn't it? Of course, it's tragically accurate, as we just continue to eat and medicate ourselves into comas, and all we do to combat it is try to pass laws and programs that further enable and even encourage sloth and laziness.
Gee, I can't imagine why our strength might be fading. 'rolling eyes'
Related Game(s): Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Different Setting than the US Army? I think i know what Kojima is saying.Might be that Snake as a code name will be taken by a different person than Big Boss or Solid Snake and we'll see a new protagonist with a different back story.
Metal Gear Solid Franchise is in very capable hands if there are still stories to tell after Metal Gear Solid V:The Phantom Pain releases.
Last edited by Japanese_Gamer on 3/29/2014 12:19:04 PM
I think when our nation went down the path of offensive, unilateral, unjustified invasion we lost all credibility in the world as the good guys.
As far as the games go, I think it's safe to say Koji will never leave MGS now.
I wouldn't say the US has weakened (the economy is still groing, the military improving, and with recent experience in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq will be relatively fresh to conflict as well), but that Kojima has fallen into the trap of talking about relative strength in zero-sum terms (not to mention short-term trends). The US is still, by far, the strongest nation in the world, but China has grown in strength relatively compared with the US, as it should have with three times as many people and similar levels of natural resources. China's development is the single largest factor in reducing global poverty in the last however many years, so it's not a bad things.
That said, I do agree there are cultural/social issues affecting the US (and Australia, where I'm from) that are holding them (and us) back from where we could be. However, I don't think the issue is the laws being passed, but rather the way people interpret those laws. I think both of our countries lack a sense of purpose and identity, because we've spent the last however many years telling ourselves that the only purpose in life is to consume as much as possible and live hedonistically, and now our societies reflect that. Maybe, in a few years time, we'll work out that was a bad idea ;).
Argh, sorry, that was meant to be a general comment, rather than a reply to World (which was going to be along the lines of it's been a long time since the US was unequivocally 'good guys', after the misadventures propping up dubious regimes in all sorts of places – noting that the US has done and continues to do a lot of very good work globally – I'm not saying they're bad by any stretch, and definitely one of the better countries out there).
Seems to me he's talking about the fact that we've retreated from getting into wars all over and policing the world, which admitted looks weaker than stomping around the world. It does change our military landscape immensely though, which would show up in a MGS commentary on how the military operates in a post-Iraq world, which is generally more subdued.
I wouldn't say the US has retreated that much – they're still on the ground in Afghanistan, were heavily involved in the campaign in Libya in 2011 and were pivotal in the Syrian chemical weapons deal, as well as leading the negotiations with Putin over his Crimean takeover (and is also taking a keen interest in China's recent bellicosity in the South China Sea and over the Senkaku Islands). I've been following international relations for a long time, and the US interest tends to ebb and flow a little (not surprisingly, after long deployments in Iraq and Adghanistan it's on the ebb at the moment), but but it's still pretty strong, and there's no country out there comes close.
Interesting. Regardless of the character's nationality, I've little doubt MGS will fail us. I'm an American and I can't argue his thoughts.
He is correct in these ideas. But personally, despite how much I love Kojima's series, I really want the man to finally be able to find a worthy successor to keep making this series so he may try something different.
The only changing of strength of America is the 3rd weakest president we ever had, Barack Obama. With Bush Junior being second and, of course, Jimmy Carter being the most wussified we ever had.
No country respects Obama's words. Sadly, that is all he has.
In fact, Obama has and still is highly respected in Europe, but his attempts at making a change has met a resistance that the typical european don't understand. And his speech abilities are second to none, and it's a very common opinion that he's got a charisma not seen in an american president before.
But the image of USA has suffered some severe damage, mainly during the period of the the cowboy Bush, but lately with RSA.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/31/2014 1:10:40 PM
Militarily we've never been stronger, relative to the rest of the world, than we are now. We spend more on defense than the next 27 countries combined, and are technologically superior to a ridiculous degree.
America may not have the same political, diplomatic or cultural 'strength' it once did, but there's no nation in the world that would be willing to throw down with us right now.
I think we're taking it a little more serious than we need to if think that small quote implies America is no longer a dominant force, let alone "weak."
No country would head butt America head on, but we can't deny that other countries have stepped up even if they still can't compare.
Last edited by daus26 on 3/29/2014 4:39:18 PM
The only "strength" of a nation that matters is its general health (physical and mental) and intelligence.
A great man once said: "You can gauge the state of advancement of a nation by its libraries."
…..which puts us in the effing gutter, as usual. What was our educational rank again? 37th? We're just way too busy staring at our damn iPads, as if THAT'S helping our kids.
I don't think that is necessarily a good thing, Bio. Look at all the bad wars we have fought, all because we have the power to dominate. Just because we are able to flex our will upon others, doesn't mean that we should. And we are not really spending money on Defense. I don't think it is Defense when we invade other countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, do you? Beating the War Drums for invading Syria, Russia, Iran…It's more like we spend more money on Offense, instead. And now we have militarized the Police?! Are you freaking kidding me? What country(s) does this remind you of?
Do you realize that the Founding Fathers have said that we should never have a Standing Army? It's hard to imagine now, but really, we should only have a Navy and a Militia based on Volunteer participation AND ONLY in Self Defense. We shouldn't have these Standing Armies which FORCES soldiers to serve the State and any dillusional issue they choose to send our boys out to die or to kill others for.
Take a look at what James Madison said:
"A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. The means of defence against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people."
As for Kojima, I agree with Ben, it is REALLY sad to admit that America is not the great nation it once was. I am really depressed by that realization. It sickens me, actually. I hope we can turn it around, but it's really gonna take a change for the better as a society and morally, to make it happen.
wait, so for once hes not actually b*tching about how he wants to leave MGS, and how its holding him back from all the other projects he wants to do?
faints.
america has been on a down trend for awhile now and that has been evident in battlefield 3 and 4 and COD ghosts too and in real world terms america isn't what it once was so yeah i don't blame him for wanting to change with the power changing and ties changing and the world changing his game with the times wud make sense
happy gaming =)
I wouuuuldn't really say that the US was the strongest country in the world during the events of MGS4.