Kojima Escapes Hiding to Sign Things at Stores

We spoke earlier about Konami and the Mysterious Case of the Poster Signed by Persons Unknown, and while we still don’t know the identity of that strange autographer, it doesn’t change the fact that Mr. Kojima has, thus far, been strangely absent following the release of Metal Gear Solid V, given his long and storied history of signing things. Fortunately, that changed the other day in Japan, where Hideo Kojima (apparently without the authorization of Konami) snuck into several retailers and signed things for fans. He was accompanied by Metal Gear artist Yoji Shinkawa, who also put his name on things and even drew some sketches for people.

Now, Mr. Kojima loves to autograph things, and certainly wears his title as a gaming celebrity with an enormous amount of pride—but I’m not convinced that’s the only reason he decided to go sign posters on his own time. Hideo and Konami alike have strongly hinted at the idea that this will be his last Metal Gear Solid game… and very likely, the last Metal Gear Solid game that fans acknowledge, because we all know Konami won’t drop a money-making IP out of respect for its creator. This might be one of the ways he’s started saying goodbye to his fans, and the franchise he fathered.

Of course, that’s all just speculation on my end—if I had any idea what was going on in that head of his I might actually understand the plot of these games. In the meantime, check out some of the pictures of him autographing things below, and be envious that you are not Japanese. Or, if you are Japanese—shouldn’t you be asleep right now?