Chief operating officer of Electronic Arts Peter Moore believes that Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami should work to fix their working relationship and continue to work together, according to an interview with GameSpot.
In said interview, Moore was asked if bringing Kojima on board at EA to develop his next project was something the company was considering, given the rumor that Kojima and presumably key members of Kojima Productions will be parting with Konami after Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain has been released and they are released from their contracts with Konami.
"I've always liked Kojima-san,” Moore said. “I got on with him during my days at Microsoft. I just think… what's going on there… I just think both of them should kiss and make up.
"From my experience, and I've spent a lot of time working in Japan, I think that Konami and Kojima will figure it out. Those kinds of business relationships [in Japan] are typically for life, and Kojima is such an important part in what has gone on there."
Moore also said that while Kojima has big ideas and visions for his games, balancing creative ambitions with the realities of business can be difficult.
"Clearly, Kojima and Konami are at a rocky stage in their marriage," he said, "but you could take what is said about [Kojima Productions], about a game not adhering to budgets, about a game not being ready, and you could apply that to a lot of people."
"Any game that isn't iterative in nature the way an EA Sports game is, or any series that doesn't ship every single year… those things can go on forever,” he continued. “There needs to be an agreement between the publisher and developer to make sure that both parties understand when the game is supposed to ship, and what it's supposed to be.
But with regards to Kojima and Konami, they'll kiss and make up. They'll be fine."
