"...When you think about the future of videogames, I think that you need to take some risks to move on forward," Kojima said at a press briefing in Tokyo, as reported by GameSpot. "Once you halt, it"s really hard to go [back on track] and take steps forward.

"Unfortunately, overseas game production companies, which are well-funded and extremely skilled, have surpassed us by a couple of steps. It was once said that Japan molded the world"s videogame [industry], but that"s becoming a thing of the past. Sad as it may be, it"s the truth."

Kojima"s sentiments aren"t a first coming from a Japanese game developer. For instance, Konami sound director Akira Yamaoka recently told Game Developer Magazine, "There"s a huge gap, actually [between Japanese and American developers]. They"re very advanced. ... I look at what American developers are doing and I think wow... Japan is in trouble."

Even Nintendo luminary Shigeru Miyamoto acknowledged Western strides in game development when he told Wired recently, "I think America has always been better at creating unique products."

During the conference, which was held in conjunction with the official completion of Metal Gear Solid 4 development, Kojima said that his latest creation was a sort of love letter to the hardcore gamer who"s making his way in an increasingly casual world.

"...We shouldn"t forget about the hardcore gamers whose lives are about videogames," he said. "The gamers who consider videogames a subculture, and enjoy taking their time to sit down and play games that gives them energy and courage. I wanted to remind those gamers about the fun of videogames.

"I know that we"re going against the trend, but we"ve been working hard for the past four years so that the fire [of non-casual games] won"t blow out."