Hideo Kojima’s Boss Fight With Time

[I show him the app. He says he must have it.]

If Scorsese’s doing it, I can’t criticize Scorsese. He’s the second god. The first is George Miller.

They ask film directors their four favorite movies. What are yours?

I say I can’t answer this all the time. It changes. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Taxi Driver. Mad Max 2. Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low. I keep a memo.

[He shows me his film diary on iOS Notes. A thumbs up emoji or two = a like or love. An eye emoji = no comment. A heart emoji = he watched with his sons.]

How did becoming a parent change how you make games?

It’s like the baton or the loop of life—at first, the kids are the center of the family. There’s a point where you don’t have the center of gravity. And sometimes people get divorced because they lose that. I still have the center of gravity called work.

And the work grounds you?

When I was single in my 20s, I just worked and worked. 20 hours a day, even on the weekend. It was so fun. When you have a family, you can’t. That’s the most important time—put everything into those ten years. All the other years, they’ll start to ignore you. [Laughs.] Now, my sons are independent, I’m back in my 20s again. But time is running short. I feel like one hour really goes by quickly. One day really goes by quickly.

Do your sons play your games?

The older son, yes. The younger son just reads books!

Coincidence and traveling are very important to living creatures. For example, migratory birds may carry disease as they travel, but by traveling, they are able to evolve. And so if we just connect via the internet, we will lose that.

How do you feel about AI and automation?

I’m not negative towards AI, but I’m not sure how much life will change because of it.

You talked about turning 30. And then turning 60. Can you see yourself making games at 90?

I go to the museums almost every weekend. And you see, like [he imitates a brushstroke with a flick of his hand] a brush. I could do that when I’m 90. But with games, you kind of have to burn your brains out. How old will I be after I finish Physint? Late sixties? I haven’t really said anything about the future projects—I do have ideas—but I’m thinking I should direct a film after Physint because I’ll be too old in the future.

Will Kojima Productions still make games while you shoot?

Yes, that’s my ideal. “Hey, go create the game,” and I go off and shoot. And when I come back, I’ll do another new project.

Do you think you can actually step back like that?

I had all these flops when I did that at Konami. I won’t name titles. If it’s a sequel, that’s quite easy. But a game that no one has ever seen before? Even if I write something, people won’t understand it.

You’ve talked about passing the baton in the loop of life. How do you want Hideo Kojima to be remembered when you pass it on?

I am not going to pass the baton to anyone. I will rather crush the baton… [Laughs.] I don’t need to give “Hideo Kojima” to anyone. If I pass the baton to my staff and tell them to make things the same way I do, the company will not succeed and will go out of business.

What do you mean by that?

Every day, if I tweet something that I like, a director or an actor or a musician contacts me. They say, “I’m a creator because of your games.” But they didn’t receive the baton of Hideo Kojima. They received my small fire. They’re not copying me. They’re not trying to be me. They have this fire, and they light up their own. And they’ll probably give that to someone else. There were legendary comic book artists when I was a boy. I didn’t become a comic book artist—I was inspired by them, I was influenced.

You took their small fire.

Exactly.

This conversation was edited for brevity and clarity. A version of the story has appeared in various global GQ magazines.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated.

Photography by Kazuhiro Fujita
Styling by Kentaro Takasugi
Grooming by Nanako Azuma