I was fortunate enough to attend the Metal Gear Solid 4 launch in New York City on June 12th. I stood in line outside the Virgin Mega Store in Times Square for more than 8 hours to meet one of the most acclaimed videogame directors of this generation, Hideo Kojima, and to purchase a game for a system I don’t currently own.

Shaking Mr. Kojima’s hand was definitely worth the 8 hour wait as I valiantly exited with my signed copy of Metal Gear. During that time, I also noticed the intense amount of PR Mr. Kojima had spread throughout the area.

Camera crews flooded the avenue, interviewing the fans in line, to make a video specifically for Hideo. The crews wore exclusive Metal Gear launch shirts that the rest of us would kill to have for our own, but what caught my eye even more was the list of tour dates on their backs.

This appearance from Kojima productions had been just one of many in celebration of the game’s release. For the first time that I can remember from my experience in the gaming industry, a game propelled itself far enough and accumulated enough fans for a World Tour.

This is simply incredible considering that few other acts currently are deserving of “World Tour stature.” Mr. Kojima remained locked in New York for the night as he had another official signing at UNIQLO located in Manhattan the next day, releasing a limited Metal Gear Solid 4 shirt.

Simultaneously, David Hayter and Ryan Payton of Kojima Productions were harboring more Metal Gear fans 3,000 miles away to the west at a Best Buy in Los Angeles. Worldwide, Kojima Productions conducted at least five separate events and emerged with over 400K units sold within the first week.

Clearly their exhibiting methods of promotion mark quite a tremendous change in the industry. Just months before Metal Gear’s launch, Grand Theft Auto 4 went crazy, dominating every record in the entertainment industry, and the power of videogames was shown to the world then.

Now we’ve moved on to World Tours. Since this move by Kojima was hugely successful, we can only expect moves like this in the industry to increase as blockbuster movies are replaced by console gaming.

Tags: hideo-kojima, MGS4, NYC

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2 Comments »

1. PortalPunta on June 25, 2008 2:12 am

   A few hours into MGS4 and I am sad to say that I’m not too impressed. Hopefully it gets better.

2. Dan Landis on June 25, 2008 1:54 pm

   I have played exactly zero hours of MGS and I’m already unimpressed.

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