"Young Japan is losing," says Kojima

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has said the new generation of Japanese game designers don't have enough motivation to keep up with the West.

Writing on his Twitter page, Kojima said he came to this conclusion after watching a documentary on foreign exchange students at Kyoto Seika University. The students, who were studying manga, were portrayed as being highly motivated.

"The Game industry is very similar. The West is very motivated. The younger generation of Japan is losing," Kojima wrote.

"The designers and to-be-designers in the West have the focus, ambition, and ability to make their dream become true. So it is not the Japanese technology or culture that is losing, we are lacking the motivation."

Kojima went on to point out that less and less Japanese undergraduates are studying abroad at institutions like Harvard and MIT. "The engineering population in Japan may be in jeopardy. We should first review our education system here in Japan," he said.

"Lately I have come to conclusion that, with highly motivated foreigners... it doesn't matter where they are from, working with highly motivated indiviuals is the only way to move forward. I am tired of taking care of people who do not have the passion."

According to Kojima, "Time is used differently between people who have and don't have motivation. They are willing to learn and study on their own." He highlighted the example of two programmers in his own studio, one who reads two novels a day and another who plays Call of Duty during his lunch hour.

"The reason why the programmer plays "COD" during his cherished lunch time is because he likes gaming more than anything. Even if I am busy, even if I have to sacrifice something, I would... for movies and books," said Kojima.

"Saying you don't have time because of work, using work as an excuse, will not help you grow. Creating abilities, at it's core, is reliant on your love for the creation."