Many developers have been inspired by other works to create their video games. Now one has revealed what thought brought him into the industry.
Which legendary developer is it about? Hideo Kojima is a well-known developer who created the “Metal Gear Solid” series under Konami. After his time at Konami, he founded his studio “Kojima Productions” in 2015.
With the studio, the development of the action-adventure “Death Stranding” also began. The second part of Death Stranding was released in 2025 and was nominated for Game of the Year.
Kojima was excited about Super Mario, but wouldn’t play it today
Which gaming classic inspired Kojima? In an interview with WIRED on YouTube, the legendary developer talks about his inspiration that brought him to video games.
Hideo Kojima says he neglected his classes to be able to play. Furthermore, he talks about the classic Super Mario Bros. and writes the following: “Without Super Mario, I probably wouldn’t have ended up in this industry.”
While he sent the plumber from left to right to rescue Princess Peach, one of his thoughts was: “When I saw this, even though it was pixel graphics without a story, I felt that this medium would one day surpass movies. This conviction brought me into the game industry.”
Why wouldn’t the developer play Mario today? In the same interview, Kojima says that he wouldn’t play the classic nowadays.
As the main reason, he cites the gameplay of Super Mario and says the following: “At the moment, I can’t really do much with it. It’s a side-scroller. Mario just runs from left to right, in the end, you just jump.”
Hideo Kojima is not a developer who just churns out video games. He wants to understand his works and provide a realistic experience as possible. He completed training to understand how weapons work precisely: A legendary developer trained skills to make better games – if he used them, he would probably end up in prison
