Photos: Metal Gear fans welcome Kojima to London

  • By rambo_ando, GameSpot UK
  • Posted Jun 2, 2008 5:05 pm GMT

After a long, four-year wait, Solid Snake is soon to be back in action when The Guns of the Patriots arrives June 12 worldwide. In the lead-up to launch, the series' creator and director, Hideo Kojima, has embarked on a world tour. In doing so he is giving fans a chance to meet the man behind one...

After a long, four-year wait, Solid Snake is soon to be back in action when The Guns of the Patriots arrives June 12 worldwide. In the lead-up to launch, the series' creator and director, Hideo Kojima, has embarked on a world tour. In doing so he is giving fans a chance to meet the man behind one of the most successful video game characters of all time, and perhaps say farewell to the legendary soldier once and for all.


Kojima-san kicked off his world tour at HMV's flagship store in Oxford St, London, partly because (according to a Konami staffer) Kojima is a fan of HMV in Japan.


Meanwhile, Konami's spokesperson told us that fans had started queuing up from Saturday. Those who got there early enough and whacked down a £5 deposit on the game were given an exclusive HMV Metal Gear Solid 4 sleeve, limited to 300 copies that day. The sleeves officially went on sale at 9 a.m. and were sold out well before Kojima stepped onstage at midday.


Thankfully HMV bestowed apon us a media pass, allowing us to get in the thick of the action.


Along for Kojima's whirlwind tour was series lead artist Yoji Shinkawa and actress Yumi Kikuchi.


Unlike his colleagues, however, the man requires no introduction.


The stage is set, the crowd awaits...


This is what fans have been waiting hours for. A limited-edition MGS4 sleeve, limited to a mere 300 copies at the store.


Hundreds of fans lined up for a brief chance to meet the team behind the series.


Coincidentally (or not), the stage is mere metres away from another type of metal, although it appears Kojima-san is a fan of another style of music...


According to a Konami staffer, Kojima is a big fan of Joy Division, evidenced by his walking onstage to their song "Atmosphere" while sporting a Joy Division T-shirt. He's flanked by Kikuchi on the left and Shinkawa on the right.


Without stopping for questions, Kojima jumps straight into the hot seat and begins the task of signing autographs.


Kojima passes a sleeve over to Kikuchi to add the finishing touches.


Kojima takes time to chat with fans, pose for photos, and shake hands.


Some even presented him with gifts, and their own fan art.


While bouncers informed fans that only one sleeve per person was to be signed and those who didn't conform might be ejected, Kojima-san nevertheless seemed happy to oblige fans.


Cem Hizli, who came all the way from Surrey, was chuffed to get his sleeve signed.


London is the first stop on the Metal Gear Solid 4 World Tour. Other appearances include Milan, Madrid, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka.

71 Comments

  • xX-BIG_BOSS-Xx

    Posted Jun 9, 2008 11:49 am GMT

    I WANT A GAME SLEEVE BUT I AREADY PREORDERED MY COPY 4RM GAME =[ NEWAYSS WILL C EVERYWUN ONLINE PSN : SIL3NT_ASSASSINN =]

  • mracoon

    Posted Jun 9, 2008 4:11 am GMT

    Wish I could have gone.

  • cool4eva

    Posted Jun 8, 2008 12:45 pm GMT

    i wish he was cumin to york

  • solidsnakehd

    Posted Jun 8, 2008 8:22 am GMT

    Oh my god.kojima is my best.i love him

  • wellrod

    Posted Jun 8, 2008 2:17 am GMT

    For people that didnt meet him simply do extremely well on MGO and you will get noticed by the guys at the company and those monitoring the games ladder. Top 100 on the ladder should be enough still its not actually meeting him lol.

  • wellrod

    Posted Jun 8, 2008 1:38 am GMT

    Oh well exams suck I also had them but live up in Newcastle anyways. If i didnt have an exam i could probably get the train. We dont even need GCSE's really A levels are the important ones augh.

  • NFD

    Posted Jun 7, 2008 1:17 am GMT

    Yeah i also had exams

  • Shanki_360

    Posted Jun 5, 2008 9:01 am GMT

    Dammit
    i really wanted to go
    but i had two GCSE exams so i wouldnt have made it ='[

    i hate school >.

  • Tamz

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 7:15 am GMT

    this event was awesome, man it was awesome meeting Kojima

  • Sanguis_Malus

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 2:51 am GMT

    I never knew about this...............but besides, I seldom go in to the West End anyway.
    Oh well, good stuff for the folk that enjoy this sort of thing.

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 2:33 am GMT

    thanks akiwak ... i'll definitely be on his visit to the metreon in san francisco.

  • HeathO

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 12:48 am GMT

    As a long time fan of Metal Gear, since the first one on nintindo. There is one thing I've always wondered, and maybe Mr. Kojima has been asked this before. Did the first two Rambo movies have any influance on the Metal Gear games? There are a lot of simalarities, and I know he is a big film buff. Anyone?

  • metalliod

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 8:34 pm GMT

    Great work guyz.Hats off to MGS4.I wish i had been there.Finally the game of the year is going to launch.

  • wambabonga

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 9:24 am GMT

    If only they came when I wasn't WORKING, I really wanted to go to this signing.

  • Snake_87

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 5:28 am GMT

    no Kuwait T.T

  • _JPH_ posted Jun 3, 2008 4:44 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    _JPH_

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 4:44 am GMT (hide)

    He is doing as much as he can to obtain high sales in MGS4. He's desperate.

  • goonerscott1988

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 3:52 am GMT

    i went its was awesome!!!! im in the pics on Gamespot aswell!!!....the mans a legend and loves his fans....he even let you shake his hand not like the FFXII i went to last year

  • R-Force

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 3:09 am GMT

    OMG! I knew I should have ponied up and made the trip for this one. Rats. Some great photos there, guys.

  • Rhen_Var

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 10:25 pm GMT

    Kojima is awesome, nuff said.

  • Wej_accept_it

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 10:14 pm GMT

    No Australia??? ARGH! Why not?

  • Daylen posted Jun 2, 2008 10:12 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Daylen

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 10:12 pm GMT (hide)

    Lol I'd throw eggs at the talentless hack.

  • itwiz90

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 8:20 pm GMT

    Can't wait til he gets to NY. I'll be camping out for that one.

  • OPOLO

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 7:44 pm GMT

    I want one of those tshirts

  • Elviathan

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 6:35 pm GMT

    Gosh, I wish I could go there! I would really love to meet Kojima!!!

  • fuelhandler

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 4:40 pm GMT

    3 US dates, and nothing in Canada??? You'd think since he was over this way anyway, he'd stop by Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver... or something... the great white north is forgotten again Oh well... still have lots of love for the man.

  • jay_rock_

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 4:28 pm GMT

    God It would be nice to meet him....

  • Dill-Man

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 4:14 pm GMT

    That's really cool, I wish it'd come to where I live.

    I like that guys shirt

  • sony_is_sony

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 4:12 pm GMT

    but with that chick XD

  • sony_is_sony

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 4:10 pm GMT

    awww that was osaaaaam ... wish He'll visit Australia next time >_>

  • DanielOcean11

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 3:19 pm GMT

    That chick is crazy hot.

  • michaelP4

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 3:16 pm GMT

    I wish he'd come to Northern Ireland.

    However, it's very nice seeing fans with a game developer.

  • Ricardo_gil

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 2:58 pm GMT

    This really shows the respect that existes between the fans and game producers. Its not everyday that you see something like this.

  • akiwak

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 2:47 pm GMT

    Hope the list helps. Sorry it was a bad copy and paste. See all you MGS fans there!!!

  • akiwak

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 2:46 pm GMT

    Metal Gear Solid 4 World Tour Schedule: June 2nd: London, UK at HMV Oxford (Hideo Kojima, Yoji Shinkawa) June 3rd: Milano, Italy [private show] June 4th: Madrid, Spain [private show] June 6th: Hamburg, Germany at SATURN June 7th: Amsterdam, Netherlands at Media Markt Arena June 9th: Paris, France at FNAC FORUM June 11th: Tokyo, Japan at Yodobashi Camera June 11th: New York, USA at Times Square Virgin Megastore (Hideo Kojima) June 11th: Los Angeles, USA at Best Buy (David Hayter, Ryan Payton) June 12th: San Francisco, USA at Sony Metreon

  • rgame1

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 2:20 pm GMT

    I am a super hardcore gamer!!

    Why the ***** wasn't i told of this!!

    WHY!!!!

  • SonOfSparda018

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 2:20 pm GMT

    Great guy, great game!!!

  • Viral-venom13

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 2:03 pm GMT

    Its really cool to see how Kojima and the team are going around the world on tour to meet fans of the series that they've all worked hard on to craft for them to enjoy!! This is like one of the best rewards any Game Developer Team could give to fans to further show them their appreciation of fan support that they enjoy having them as fans and not just because they're willing to cough over some bucks to play their games!!!

  • coold_steam

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:42 pm GMT

    its nice that he meet his fans

  • DRXgamer93

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:35 pm GMT

    WHEN IS THE NEW YORK TOUR COMING WHAT DATE I NEED THISSSS

  • aaronmullan

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:10 pm GMT

    Shows how much of a nice guy he really is

  • aaronmullan

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:10 pm GMT

    Shows how much of a nice guy he really is

  • benleslie5

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 1:05 pm GMT

    Luckly them for those who live in London, I'd be annoyed if they gave the game out a week early.

  • ocdog45

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 12:58 pm GMT

    thats would be a tight thing to do.

  • shadwell-

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 12:52 pm GMT

    "...came all the way from Surrey." That half hour train ride must have been epic!

  • WR_Platinum

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 12:08 pm GMT

    Can't wait till Mr. Kojima arrives here in NY!

  • rety5

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 12:04 pm GMT

    I wish I was there To meet one of my few real life heroes would have been awesome. And he seems a nice enough guy in these photos.

  • senjutsu

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 11:59 am GMT

    Kikuchi (the actress) is sexy to say the least. But I think this should have been done with the real game, so we would have a signed copy of the game. Still, having the sleeve signed is the same in some way I suppose. I mean, this way we can put it somewhere to show it to friends instead to putting our game away if we don't want to hurt it too much, lol.

  • Junaidmalik109

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 11:47 am GMT

    kojima is awesome and mgs4 will own!!!!!!!

  • Ricksterlau

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 11:31 am GMT

    I was planning to go but thank God I didn't. "...sleeves officially went on sale at 9 a.m. and were sold out well before Kojima stepped onstage at midday." And I was planning to stop by at 11am.

  • KlausRottingham posted Jun 2, 2008 11:31 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    KlausRottingham

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 11:31 am GMT (hide)

    I trekked to London this morning at stupid o'clock just to see him. He actually looks like a psychopath

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