Hideo Kojima almost added ads to an old Nintendo DS game in an attempt to lower its retail price, but scrapped the idea after others didn't support it.
Speaking about Lunar Knights, a Nintendo DS JRPG released by Kojima Productions in 2007, on Twitter (opens in a new tab), Kojima revealed his initial plans for the game. He wanted to use the top screen of the Nintendo DS to not play. but to show ads to players.
"We've made the top screen of the Boktai DS version a 'pseudo-sun'. What I wanted to do was put 'corporate ads' on the top screen and use the revenue from those ads to reduce the price of the packaged product (almost for free) Kojima tweeted.
"I gave up because there weren't many fans and there were a lot of hurdles to overcome, but now it's not an uncommon project."
In the final version of Lunar Knights, the top screen of the Nintendo DS is used to display the game's ParaSOL weather control system. Players can see if the sun or moon is currently shining in the game world and if they are obscured by clouds. These weather conditions determine the energy and abilities of the game's two main playable characters.
1/2In the end, we defined the upper screen of the Boktai DS version as a "pseudo-sun". What I wanted to do was put "corporate ads" on the top screen and use the revenue from those ads to lower the price of the packaged product (almost for free). June 29, 2022
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Ads are not weird
Kojima is no stranger to putting ads in his games. The Metal Gear Solid series has seen many cases of product placement. The CalorieMate energy supplement that restores Naked Snake's stamina in Metal Gear Solid 3 is modeled after an actual Japanese energy bar, and Metal Gear Solid 4 includes many products from Apple and Sony.
The PSP spin-off Peace Walker also featured a bunch of links, covering Pepsi cans, Doritos packets, and Ax deodorant. Kojima acknowledged product placement in this game in 2010, tweeting (opens in a new tab): “I want to surprise users. The collaboration will end when the surprises and freshness wear off. It's different from Hollywood merchandising” (translated by Google).
Kojima is not alone in advertising products in his games. Battlefield 2042 included Logitech Gamer Cards soon after launch, Alan Wake featured a fair share of Verizon billboards, and Mario Kart 8 added a bunch of free Mercedes-Benz cars in 2014.
The commercials offered by Kojima in Lunar Knights, however, were markedly different. He says that he wanted to include the ads to allow Konami to release the game at a much lower price. It's a similar reason behind Amazon's Kindle screensaver-style ads, which theoretically drive down the retail cost of the eReader.
We'll have to see if Kojma follows the trend and includes a bunch of product placement in Metal Gear Solid 6. If the game ever makes an appearance, sure.