Kojima, who lived in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures for 30 years from the age of 3, cannot forget the spirit of entertainment or comedy for which his home region, Kansai, is known.

MGS 4, too, is filled with giggle-inducing aspects. "I'm often asked not to include such elements in a hard-boiled game. But I can't help it," Kojima said with a laugh. "My ideal game is something that makes you want to come back to the world later. It is not enough only to make you enjoy the sense of tension. I want game users to laugh or cry a little," Kojima said, this time seriously.

Kojima, who in 2001 was named by Newsweek magazine as one of the 10 most influential shapers of the future, often says, "Seventy percent of my body is made of film." Kojima said he enjoyed Sylvester Stallone's recent Rambo film and cited The Mist as director Frank Darabont's best work.

Kojima said he played outside in the daytime as a child, but enjoyed films on TV at night. He began shooting zombie or detective stories on 8-millimeter film with his friends while in middle school.
"I learned every important thing about life from film. I seriously dreamed of becoming a film director," he said.

Kojima came to dream of doing something different when he began playing video games while at university. But thanks to the success of the MGS series, Kojima now has acquaintances in the film industry.

Park Chan Wook, the South Korean film director best known for Old Boy, and Ryuhei Kitamura, who directed Azumi, are two such friends. Shinya Tsukamoto, the director of Tetsuo, voices one of the characters in MGS 4.

Kojima, however, does not necessarily like to have his game called "cinematic."
"Games and films are two totally different things. I use cinematic means of expression for my game, but I have been creating stories, worlds and the sense of tension that can only be possible in a game," he said.

Asked to mention memorable or influential games for him, Kojima cited five: the ultrapopular Super Mario Bros series and Port Pia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken, both first released in 1985, Xevious, first marketed in 1984, Outer World, released in 1992, and MGS, in 1998.