Between the original Matrix and its first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, Lana and Lilly Wachowski had the ambitious idea to tie in the story to a video game as well. The project that eventually came out of that was Enter the Matrix, which was published by Atari. But if the Wachowskis had their way, that game would have reportedly been made by Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima.
Konami’s former VP of licensing, Christopher Bergstresser, recently shared an account of Kojima’s meeting with the Wachowskis while speaking with Time Extension. According to Bergstresser, the biggest reason it didn’t happen was because of Konami executive Kasumi Kitaue, who shot down the idea immediately.
“The Wachowskis were big fans of Kojima,” related Bergstresser. “So Kazumi Kitaue, Kojima, Aki Saito (who still works with Kojima), and I were at the Konami HQ, and we got a call from the Wachowskis, who wanted to come in and meet with Kojima. So they did! The two of them came in with their concept artist, and effectively they said to Kojima, ‘We really want you to do the Matrix game. Can you do that?’ Aki translated this into Japanese for Mr. Kitaue, and Kitaue just looked at them and told them plainly, ‘No.’ We did still get to enjoy the Matrix Japanese premiere and afterparty, though.”
Kojima actually mentioned this meeting in his Metal Gear Solid 2 production diary, and noted that the Wachowskis brought their concept artist, Geoff Darrow. As alluded to above, the date was the same as the Japanese premiere of The Matrix: August 25, 1999.
Intriguingly, Time Extension cites an anonymous source who states that Kojima remained interested in making a Matrix game even after Kitaue said no. However, the project didn’t come to fruition with either Kojima or Konami.
Currently, Kojima is working on a horror title called OD, and a stealth-action game called Physint. However, neither title currently has a release date.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.