In common usage, theft is the taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it.^[1][2] The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud.^[1][2] In some jurisdictions, theft is considered to be synonymous with larceny;^[2] in others, theft has replaced larceny. Someone who carries out an act of or makes a career of theft is known as a thief. The act of theft is known by terms such as stealing, thieving, and filching.^[2]

Theft is the name of a statutory offense in California, Canada, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Victoria.^{[citation needed]}

Elements[link]

The actus reus of theft is usually defined as an unauthorized taking, keeping or using of another's property which must be accompanied by a mens rea of dishonesty and/or the intent to permanently deprive the owner or the person with rightful possession of that property or its use.

For example, if X goes to a restaurant and, by mistake, takes Y's scarf instead of her own, she has physically deprived Y of the use of the property (which is the actus reus) but the mistake prevents X from forming the mens rea (i.e., because she believes that she is the owner, she is not dishonest and does not intend to deprive the "owner" of it) so no crime has been committed at this point. But if she realises the mistake when she gets home and could return the scarf to Y, she will steal the scarf if she dishonestly keeps it (see theft by finding). Note that there may be civil liability for the torts of trespass to chattels or conversion in either eventuality.

By region[link]

Canada[link]

Section 322(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada provides the general definition for theft in Canada:

322. (1) Every one commits theft who fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent

(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;

(b) to pledge it or deposit it as security;

(c) to part with it under a condition with respect to its return that the person who parts with it may be unable to perform; or

(d) to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be restored in the condition in which it was at the time it was taken or converted.^[3]

Sections 323 to 333 provide for more specific instances and exclusions:

• theft from oyster beds (s. 323)
• theft by bailee of things under seizure (s. 324)
• exception when agent is pledging goods (s. 325)
• theft of telecommunications service (s. 326)
• possession of device to obtain telecommunication facility or service (s. 327)
• theft by or from person having special property or interest (s. 328)
• theft by person required to account (s. 330)
• theft by person holding power of attorney (s. 331)
• misappropriation of money held under direction (s. 332)
• exception for ore taken for exploration or scientific research (s. 333)

In the general definition above, the Supreme Court of Canada has construed "anything" very broadly, stating that it is not restricted to tangibles, but includes intangibles. To be the subject of theft it must, however:

• be property of some sort;
• be property capable of being

• taken (therefore intangibles are excluded); or
• converted (and may be an intangible);
• taken or converted in a way that deprives the owner of his proprietary interest in some way.^[4]

Because of this, confidential information cannot be the subject of theft, as it is not capable of being taken as only tangibles can be taken. It cannot be converted, not because it is an intangible, but because, save in very exceptional far‑fetched circumstances, the owner would never be deprived of it.^[4]

For the purposes of punishment, Section 334 divides theft into two separate offences, according to the value and nature of the goods stolen:

• If the thing stolen is worth more than $5000 or is a testamentary instrument the offence is commonly referred to as Theft Over $5000 and is an indictable offence with a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment.
• Where the stolen item is not a testamentary instrument and is not worth more than $5000 it is known as Theft Under $5000 and is a hybrid offence, meaning that it can be treated either as an indictable offence or a less serious summary conviction offence, depending on the choice of the prosecutor.

• if dealt with as an indictable offence, it is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years, and,
• if treated as a summary conviction offence, it is punishable by 6 months imprisonment, a fine of $2000 or both.

Where a motor vehicle is stolen, Section 333.1 provides for a maximum punishment of 10 years for an indictable offence (and a minimum sentence of six months for a third or subsequent conviction), and a maximum sentence of 18 months on summary conviction.

Republic of Ireland[link]

Theft is a statutory offence, created by section 4(1) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.

Romania[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

By the Romanian penal code for theft (furt) a person can face a penalty ranging from 1 to 20 years.

Degrees of theft:

A: Theft (one to twelve years)
When a person steals a thing, or uses a vehicle without permission and no aggravating circumstances apply.

B: Qualified theft (basically three to 15 years, but there can be special cases when the penalty range is from four to 18 years and even ten to 20 years)

• Aggravating circumstances - three to 15 years: a) by two or more persons together b) by a person in possession of a gun or a narcotic substance c) by a masked or disguised person d) against a person who cannot defend his or herself e) in a public place f) in a public transportation vehicle g) during the night h) during a natural disaster i) through burglary, or by using an original or copied key j) stealing national treasures k) stealing official identity papers with the intention to make use of them l) stealing official identity badges with the intention to make use of them

• Aggravating circumstances - four to 18 years: a) stealing petrol-based products directly from transportation pipes and vehicles or deposits b) stealing components from national electrification, telecommunication, irrigation networks or from any type of navigational system c) stealing a siren d) stealing a public intervention vehicle or device e) stealing something which jeopardises the safety of public transportation.

• Aggravating circumstances - ten to 20 years: when the consequences are extremely grave and affect public institutions or the material stolen is worth over 200,000 RON (Approximately US$80,000).

United Kingdom[link]

Two young waifs steal a pair of boots.

England and Wales[link]

In England and Wales, theft is a statutory offence, created by section 1(1) of the Theft Act 1968. This offence replaces the former offences of larceny, embezzlement and fraudulent conversion.^[5]

The marginal note to section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 describes it as a "basic definition" of theft. Sections 1(1) and (2) provide:

1.-(1) A person is guilty of theft, if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it; and "thief" and "steal" shall be construed accordingly.

(2) It is immaterial whether the appropriation is made with a view to gain, or is made for the thief’s own benefit.

Sections 2 to 6 of the Theft Act 1968 have effect as regards the interpretation and operation of section 1 of that Act. Except as otherwise provided by that Act, sections 2 to 6 of that Act apply only for the purposes of section 1 of that Act.^[6]

Dishonestly[link]

See dishonesty.

Appropriates[link]

Section 3 provides:

(1) Any assumption by a person of the rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation, and this includes, where he has come by the property (innocently or not) without stealing it, any later assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it as owner. (2) Where property or a right or interest in property is or purports to be transferred for value to a person acting in good faith, no later assumption by him of rights which he believed himself to be acquiring shall, by reason of any defect in the transferor’s title, amount to theft of the property.

See R v Hinks and Lawrence v Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Property[link]

Section 4(1) provides that:

"Property" includes money and all other property, real or personal, including things in action and other intangible property.

Edward Griew said that section 4(1) could, without changing its meaning, be reduced, by omitting words, to:

"Property" includes ... all ... property.^[7]

Sections 4(2) to (4) provide that the following can only be stolen under certain circumstances:

• Land or things forming part of land and severed from it (s. 4(2))
• Mushrooms growing wild on any land, or the flowers, fruit or foliage of plants growing wild on any land (s. 4(3))
• Wild creatures or the carcases of wild creatures (s. 4(4))

Intangible property

Confidential information^[8] and trade secrets^[9] are not property within the meaning of section 4.

The words "other intangible property" include export quotas that are transferable for value on a temporary or permanent basis.^[10]

Electricity

Electricity cannot be stolen. It is not property within the meaning of section 4 and is not appropriated by switching on a current.^[11] Cf. the offence of abstracting electricity under section 13.

Belonging to another[link]

Section 5 "belonging to another" requires a distinction to be made between ownership, possession and control:

• ownership is where a person is not legally accountable to anyone else for the use of the property:
• possession is where a person is only accountable to the owner for the use of the property; and
• control is where a person is only accountable to two people for the use of the property.

So if A buys a car for cash, A will be the owner. If A then lends the car to B Ltd (a company), B Ltd will have possession. C, an employee of B Ltd then uses the car and has control. If C uses the car in an unauthorised way, C will steal the car from A and B Ltd. This means that it is possible to steal one's own property.

In R v Turner,^[12] the owner removed his car from the forecourt of a garage where it had been left for collection after repair. He intended to avoid paying the bill. There was an appropriation of the car because it had been physically removed but there were two issues to be decided:

• did the car "belong to another"? The garage had a lien i.e. a "proprietary right or interest" in the car as security for the unpaid bill and this gave the garage a better right than the owner to possess the car at the relevant time.
• what was the relevance of Turner's belief that he could not steal his own property? The defence of mistake of law only applies if the defendant honestly believes that he has a right in law to act in the given way. Generalised and non-specific beliefs about what the law might permit are not a defence.

With the intention of permanently depriving the other of it[link]

Section 6 "with the intent to permanently deprive the other of it" is sufficiently flexible to include situations where the property is later returned. For example, suppose that B, a keen football fan, has bought a ticket for the next home match. T takes the ticket, watches the match and then returns the ticket to B. In this instance, all that T returns is a piece of paper. Its value as a licence to enter the stadium on a particular day has been permanently lost. Hence, T steals the ticket. Similarly, if T takes a valuable antique but later repents and returns the goods, T has committed the actus reus with the mens rea. The fact that T's conscience forces a change of mind is relevant only for sentencing.^{[citation needed]}

Alternative verdict

The offence created by section 12(1) of the Theft Act 1968 (TWOC) is available an alternative verdict on an indictment for theft.^[13]

Visiting forces

Theft is an offence against property for the purposes of section 3 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952.^[14]

Mode of trial and sentence

Theft is triable either way.^[15] A person guilty of theft is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years,^[16] or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum, or to both.^[17]

Aggravated theft

The only offence of aggravated theft is robbery, contrary to section 8 of the Theft Act 1968.^[18]

Stolen goods

For the purposes of the provisions of the Theft Act 1968 which relate to stolen goods, goods obtain in England or Wales or elsewhere by blackmail or fraud are regarded as stolen, and the words "steal", "theft" and "thief" are construed accordingly.^[19]

Sections 22 to 24 and 26 to 28 of the Theft Act 1968 contain references to stolen goods.

Handling stolen goods

The offence of handling stolen goods, contrary to section 22(1) of the Theft Act 1968, can only be committed "otherwise than in the course of stealing".^[20]

Similar or associated offences

According to its title, the Theft Act 1968 revises the law as to theft and similar or associated offences. See also the Theft Act 1978.

Northern Ireland[link]

In Northern Ireland, theft is a statutory offence, created by section 1 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969.

United States[link]

Bicycles can occasionally be stolen, even when locked up, by removing the wheel or cutting the lock that holds them.

In the U.S., plenary regulation of theft exists only at the state level, in the sense that most thefts by default will be prosecuted by the state in which the theft occurred. The federal government has criminalized certain narrow categories of theft which directly affect federal agencies or interstate commerce.

Although many U.S. states have retained larceny as the primary offense,^[21] some have now adopted theft provisions.

In many states, grand theft of a vehicle is charged as "grand theft auto" (see motor vehicle theft for more information).

Repeat offenders who continue to steal may become subject to life imprisonment in certain states.^[22]

Sometimes the federal anti-theft-of-government-property law 18 U.S.C. § 640 is used to prosecute cases where the Espionage Act would otherwise be involved; the theory being that by retaining sensitive information, the defendant has taken a 'thing of value' from the government. For examples, see the Amerasia case and United States v. Bradley Manning.

California[link]

The Theft Act of 1927 consolidated a variety of common law crimes into theft. The state now distinguishes between two types of theft, grand theft and petty theft.^[23] Grand theft generally consists of the theft of something of value over $1000 (it can be money, labor or property but is lower with respect to various specified property),^[24] while petty theft is the default category for all other thefts.^[25] Grand theft is punishable by up to a year in jail or prison, and may be charged (depending upon the circumstances) as a misdemeanor or felony.^[26] while petty theft is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or imprisonment not exceeding six months in jail or both.^[27] As for the older crimes of embezzlement, larceny, and stealing, any preexisting references to them now mean theft instead.^[28]

Victoria, Australia[link]

Theft is defined at s.72 of the Crimes Act 1958. The actus reus and mens rea are defined as follows:

Actus reus[link]

West Lavington: the Robbers’Stone. This memorial warns against the consequences of getting caught thieving

Appropriation - defined at s.73(4) of the Crimes Act 1958 as the assumption of any of the owners rights. It does not have be all the owner's rights, as long as at least one right has been assumed(Stein v Henshall). If the owner gave their consent to the appropriation there cannot be an appropriation(Baruday v R). However, if this consent is obtained by deception, this consent is vitiated.

Property - defined at s.71(1) of the Crimes Act 1958 as being both tangible property, including money and intangible property. Information has been held not be property(Oxford v Moss).

Belonging to another - s.73(5) that property belongs to another if that person has ownership, possession, or a proprietary interest in the property. Property can belong to more than one person. s.73(9) & s.73(10) deal with situations where the accused receives property under an obligation or by mistake.

Mens rea[link]

Intention to permanently deprive - defined at s.73(12) as treating property as it belongs to the accused, rather than the owner.

Dishonestly - s.73(2) creates a negative definition of the term 'dishonestly'. The section deems only three circumstances when the accused is deemed to have been acting honestly. These are a belief in a legal claim of right (s.73(2)(a)), a belief that the owner would have consented (s.73(2)(b)), or a belief the owner could not be found(s.73(2)(c))

West Indies[link]

In the British West Indies, especially Grenada, there have been a spate of large-scale thefts of tons of sand from beaches.^[29] Both Grenada and Jamaica are considering increasing fines and jail time for the thefts.^[29]

See also[link]

• Anti-theft system
• Asset management (corporate theft prevention)
• Confidence trick
• Copyright infringement
• Counterfeit
• Credit card fraud
• Dishonesty
• Fence (criminal)
• Force-initiation
• Fraud
• Larceny
• Money laundering
• Organized crime
• Pickpocketing
• Plagiarism
• Property is theft!
• Secret profit
• Skimming (casinos)
• Taxation as theft
• Theft Act
• White-collar crime

Specific forms of theft and other related offences

• Art theft
• Bank robbery
• Bandwidth theft
• Carjacking
• Computer crime
• Data theft
• Economic Espionage Act of 1996
• Embezzlement
• Espionage
• Extortion
• Identity theft
• Kidnapping
• Laptop theft
• Metal theft
• Motor vehicle theft
• Organized retail crime
• Package pilferage
• Piracy
• Receipt of stolen property
• Street sign theft
• Tax evasion
• Theft of services
• Theft by finding

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Allen, Michael. Textbook on Criminal Law. Oxford University Press, Oxford. (2005) ISBN 0-19-927918-7.
• Criminal Law Revision Committee. 8th Report. Theft and Related Offences. Cmnd. 2977
• Griew, Edward. Theft Acts 1968 & 1978, Sweet & Maxwell. ISBN 0-421-19960-1
• Ormerod, David. Smith and Hogan Criminal Law, LexisNexis, London. (2005) ISBN 0-406-97730-5
• Maniscalco, Fabio, Theft of Art (in Italian), Naples - Massa (2000) ISBN 88-87835-00-4
• Smith, J. C. Law of Theft, LexisNexis: London. (1997) ISBN 0-406-89545-7.

External links[link]

Look up pilferage or scrump in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Theft

Look up theft in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

v t e English criminal law Part of the common law series Classes of crimes Common law Indictable Either way Summary Regulatory Lesser included Elements of crimes Actus reus Causation Mens rea Intention (criminal law) Intention in English law Recklessness Criminal negligence Corporate / Vicarious / Strict liability Omissions Concurrence Ignorantia juris non excusat Inchoate offences Encouraging or assisting crime Conspiracy Accessory Attempt Common purpose Defences Self-defence Duress Necessity Marital coercion Consent Insanity Diminished responsibility Intoxication Category:Criminal defences Offences against the person Homicide (Murder / Manslaughter / Corporate manslaughter / Infanticide) Child destruction Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm Common assault Battery Kidnapping False imprisonment Harassment Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sexual offences Rape Sexual assault Sexual Offences Act 2003 Public order offences Riot Violent disorder Affray Fear or provocation of violence Intentional harassment, alarm or distress Harassment, alarm or distress Public Order Act 1986 Nuisance Public nuisance Offences against property Dishonesty Burglary Robbery Theft Taken Without Owner's Consent (TWOC) Deception Handling stolen goods Blackmail Computer crime Theft Act 1968 Theft Act 1978 Fraud Act 2006 Criminal damage Conspiracy to defraud Forgery, personation and cheating Forgery Cheating the public revenue Offences against justice Bribery Perjury Perverting the course of justice Other common law areas Contract Tort Property Wills Trusts and estates Evidence See also Criminal procedure History Law of England and Wales portal Criminal justice portal

Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫?)
Hideo Kojima at GO3 2007 in Perth, Australia
Born	(1963-08-24) August 24, 1963 (age 48) Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Screenwriter, video game designer, game director, game producer
Years active	1986–Present
Website
Hideo Kojima's Blog (Japanese)

Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫, Kojima Hideo^?, born August 24, 1963) is a Japanese game director originally employed at Konami. He is currently the director of Kojima Productions^[1] and was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment in early 2011.^[2] His previous positions include being vice president of Konami Computer Entertainment Japan.^[3]

He is the creator and director of a number of successful video games, including the Metal Gear series, Snatcher, and Policenauts, and also produced both the Zone of the Enders and Boktai series. Kojima is consistently named by fans and industry experts alike as being one of the most influential and innovative video game directors and writers in the industry. Newsweek named Hideo Kojima as one of the top ten people of 2002.^[4][5] In 2008, Next-Gen placed him seventh in their list of "Hot 100 Developers 2008."^[6] In 2009, IGN placed him sixth in their list of top game creators of all time.^[7] At the 2008 MTV Game Awards, Hideo was given the award show's first Lifetime Achievement Award for a game designer and was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Game Developers Conference.^[8][9]

Early life[link]

Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1963,^[3] Kojima moved to western Japan at the age of three. Kojima has said that early on in his life he often had to deal with death.^[10]

When he was little the Kojima family moved to a small city called Shirasaki.^[10] Just as quickly, his family soon moved to Kawanishi, Hyōgo^[11] in the Kansai region.^[10] Kojima has noted that growing up he was a latchkey kid, often having to watch television and look after himself when he came home from school.^[10] Staying at home by himself in isolation still affects him to this day stating, "[whenever] I travel and stay at a hotel I put the TV on as soon as I enter the room, just to deal with the feeling of loneliness."^[10]

Initially wanting to be an artist or illustrator, he was often discouraged by societal norms of Japan which favored finding safe and well paying jobs. He was also discouraged because his uncle was also an artist but suffered from financial difficulties.^[10]

He eventually started writing short stories and began to send them to Japanese magazines but was never able to get anything published. He cites that his stories were often 400 pages long while most magazines wanted their short stories to be around 100 pages.^[10] Eventually he shifted his focus to making films with his friend who had an 8mm camera.^[10]

Career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2008)

In an interview on G4's TV series Icons,^[12][13] Kojima describes much of his earlier career and influences for game design. Kojima grew up early in life watching movies with his parents. While studying economics in university, Kojima found himself playing video games during his free time, mainly games on the Famicom. In his fourth year in university, Kojima surprised colleagues by announcing his intentions to join the video game industry, despite initially having ambitions of becoming a film director.^[14] He felt a career in video games would be more satisfying.^[15] Kojima has cited Shigeru Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros. (1985)^[11] and Yuji Horii's Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (1983)^[16] as the games that inspired him to make this decision.

1980s[link]

Kojima tried joining the game business but was unable to do so at first. His game design ideas were rejected but he never gave up and eventually he was accepted. He joined video game publisher Konami's MSX home computer division in 1986 as a designer and 'planner'.^[12] Initially, he was disappointed with his assignment, and desired to work on Nintendo Entertainment System and arcade games instead—Kojima felt the color palette of the system was too restrictive.^[15] Kojima's gameplay ideas were often overlooked initially, and due to his lack of familiarity with programming was repeatedly snubbed for his failures in his initial years at Konami. At one point Kojima considered leaving the company, but he hung on.^[12]

The first game he worked on was Penguin Adventure, the sequel to Antarctic Adventure,^[10] as an assistant director. It significantly expanded upon the gameplay of Antarctic Adventure, adding more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment,^[17] and multiple endings.^[18] The first game he actually developed was Lost Warld, a platform game starring a masked female wrestler, in 1986. However, the game was ultimately rejected by Kojima's superiors at Konami.^[12]

Kojima was asked to take over a project, Metal Gear, from a senior associate. Hardware limitations hindered development of the game's combat. Inspired by The Great Escape, Kojima altered the gameplay to focus on a prisoner escaping.^[15] It was released in 1987 for the MSX2 home computer in Japan and parts of Europe. The game centers around a special forces operative codenamed Solid Snake, who is sent to the fortified state of "Outer Heaven" to stop a nuclear equipped walking tank known as "Metal Gear". Metal Gear is one of the earliest examples of the stealth action game genre, where avoiding encounters from the enemies is emphasized over direct combat. A port of Metal Gear was also released for the Nintendo Entertainment System through Konami's Ultra Games division. Kojima was not directly involved in the production of this version and he has openly criticized some of the changes made in this version.^[19]

His next project was the graphic adventure game Snatcher, released for the NEC PC-8801 and MSX2 computer platforms in Japan in 1988. The game, influenced by science fiction works such as Blade Runner, The Terminator, and Bubblegum Crisis, is set in a post-apocalyptic world and centers around an amnesiac detective who faces a race of cyborgs (the titular Snatchers) that kill their victims, copy their likeness and assume their place in society.^[20] While Kojima and his team wrote the entire story of the game, they were forced to leave out the final act of the game due to time constraints. The game was highly regarded at the time for pushing the boundaries of video game storytelling, cinematic cut scenes, and mature content,^[21] and was praised for its graphics, soundtrack, high quality writing comparable to a novel, voice acting comparable to a film or radio drama, post-apocalyptic setting, light gun shooter segments, and in-game computer database with optional documents that flesh out the game world. The Sega CD version of Snatcher was for a long time the only major visual novel game to be released in America, however, partly due to a Teen rating limiting its accessibility,^[20] it only sold a "couple of thousand units", according to Jeremy Blaustein, a member of Snatcher's localization team.^[22]

1990s[link]

In 1990 Kojima was involved in the productions of two MSX2 games: a spinoff of Snatcher titled SD Snatcher; and a sequel to Metal Gear titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which further evolved the stealth game genre. The player had more abilities, such as crouching, crawling into hiding spots and air ducts, distracting guards by knocking on surfaces, and using a radar to plan ahead. The enemies had improved AI, including a 45-degree field of vision, the detection of various different noises, being able to move from screen to screen, and a three-phase security alarm. The game also had improved graphics and a complex storyline dealing with themes such as the nature of warfare and nuclear disarmament.^[23][24]

SD Snatcher is an RPG which adapts the storyline of the original Snatcher, while featuring its version of the originally planned ending. The characters are depicted in a "super deformed" art style, in contrast to the original game's realistic style. Like the original computer versions of Snatcher, it was only released in Japan. It abandoned random encounters and introduced an innovative first-person turn-based battle system where the player can aim at specific parts of the enemy's body using firearms with limited ammo. Such a battle system has rarely been used since,^[20] though similar battle systems based on targeting individual body parts can later be found in Square's Vagrant Story (2000), Bethesda's Fallout 3 (2008), and Nippon Ichi's Last Rebellion (2010).^[25]

Due to the success of the original Metal Gear on the NES, Konami decided to create a sequel to the game, Snake's Revenge, without the involvement of Hideo Kojima. During a ride home on the train, Kojima met one of the staff member who worked on the game who asked him if he would create a "true" Metal Gear sequel.^[12] As a result Kojima began plans for his own sequel titled: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The game was only released in Japan for the MSX2 as one of the last games Konami produced for the computer system. The game would not be released overseas in North American and Europe until its inclusion in 2006's Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

All of his subsequent projects after Metal Gear 2 were produced primarily for disc-based media, allowing for the inclusion of voice acting in his games. He remade Snatcher in 1992 for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM². An English localization of the game was produced for the Sega CD in North America and Europe in 1994. Kojima was not directly involved in the Sega CD version nor the subsequent PlayStation and Saturn ports released in Japan in 1996.

In 1994, Kojima released Policenauts, a film noir/sci-fi-themed adventure game set in a space colony, for the NEC PC-9821. Kojima oversaw the subsequent ports released for the 3DO in 1995; and the PlayStation and Saturn in 1996, which all featured animated cut-scenes not in the PC-98 release. Despite announcements for an English release in 1996,^[26] problems with synching the English dialogue with the cut-scenes stopped its production.^[27] An unofficial English translation patch was released to the public at midnight (JST) on August 24, 2009, to coincide with Hideo Kojima's 46th birthday.^[28] From 1997 to 1999, he developed the Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series, a trilogy of visual novel adventure games.^[29]

With the release of Metal Gear Solid (MGS) in 1998 for the PlayStation, Kojima became an international celebrity among the video game media. Metal Gear Solid was the first in the Metal Gear series to use 3D graphics and voice acting, which gave a more cinematic experience to the game. MGS was highly regarded for its well-designed gameplay and for its characters and storyline, which featured themes of nuclear proliferation and genetic engineering.

2000s[link]

In early 2001, Kojima released the first details of the sequel to Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, for the PlayStation 2. The game's highly detailed graphics, physics, and expanded gameplay quickly made it one of the most anticipated games yet.^[30][31] The game was highly successful and critically acclaimed at release, due to its graphics, gameplay and storyline, which dealt with myriad philosophical themes as specific as memes, censorship, manipulation, patricide, the inherent flaws of democracy and as grandiose as the nature of reality itself. While MGS2 broke ground with the breadth of its subject matter, the lengthy exposition of these issues, particularly in the bewildering maze of dialogue and plot revelation in the final hours of the game, left a sour taste in the mouths of many gamers, who expected the Hollywood-style resolution of its forerunner.

After the release of MGS2, Kojima produced the game and anime franchise Zone of the Enders in 2001 to moderate success. In 2003, he produced Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand for the Game Boy Advance. In this, players take the role of a young vampire hunter who uses a solar weapon which is charged by a photometric sensor on the game cartridge (forcing them to play in sunlight). Another team inside Konami (in a collaboration with Silicon Knights) began work on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a GameCube remake of the first Metal Gear Solid with all the gameplay features of Metal Gear Solid 2 and with cutscenes redirected by action/horror film director Ryuhei Kitamura. It was released in 2004.

Afterwards, Kojima also designed and released Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the PlayStation 2. Unlike the previous games in the series, which took place in the near future and focused on indoor locations, the game is set in a Russian forest area during the year 1964, and involves wilderness survival and camouflaging. The North American version was released on November 17, 2004, with the Japanese counterpart following on December 16. The European version was released on March 4, 2005. Critical response to the game was highly favorable.

At that time Kojima produced Boktai's sequel, Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django for the Game Boy Advance. Released in summer 2004, it makes more extensive use of the cartridge's sunlight sensor and allows players to combine various new solar weapons.

Also released was Metal Gear Acid for the PlayStation Portable handheld. This turn-based game is less action-oriented than the other Metal Gear games and focuses more on strategy. It was released in Japan on December 16, 2004. Its sequel Metal Gear Acid 2 was released on March 21, 2006.

Kojima wanted Solid Snake to appear in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Melee, but due to development cycle problems Nintendo was unable to add Snake in. When Super Smash Bros. Brawl was in development, series producer Masahiro Sakurai, contacted Kojima to work Snake into the game. Kojima also worked on Snake's stage for SSBB.^[32]

Released in June 2008, Kojima co-directed Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots with Shuyo Murata.

Kojima received a lifetime achievement award at the MTV Game Awards 2008 in Germany. In his speech, he said in English, "I have to say, even though I received this award, let me state that I will not retire. I will continue to create games as long as I live."^[33]

Before E3 2009, Kojima stated interest in working with a western developer.^[34] This later turned out to be a collaboration between him and MercurySteam to work on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

Although he announced that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots would be a film adaptation of the last Metal Gear game he would be directly involved its direction,^[35] he announced at E3 2009 that he would return to help on two Metal Gear games: Metal Gear Solid: Rising, as a producer and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker as writer, director and producer.^[36] When interviewed at Gamescom 2009, Kojima stated that he got more involved with Peace Walker because, "there was a lot of confusion within the team and it didn't proceed as I wanted it to. Therefore I thought that I needed to jump in and do Peace Walker".^[37]

He recently stated he is currently working on a new intellectual property with Suda-51, tentatively titled Project S, as well as preparing new projects. On July 8, 2011 Kojima announced that Project S was a radio-show sequel to Snatcher, entitled Sdatcher as a reference to the show's producer Suda-51. The show would air on Fridays on Kojima's bi-weekly radio show, starting with show #300 which is scheduled to air in August 2011.^[38]

2010s[link]

Hideo Kojima was at E3 2010 to show off his team's latest project, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, but a report from CVG says the game developer has a "massive PS3 exclusive" to unveil at Tokyo Game Show however nothing to date has been mentioned.^{[citation needed]} He was also seen in Nintendo's 3DS interview video, where he stated he was interested in making a Metal Gear Solid game for the 3DS and wondered what it would be like in 3D.^{[citation needed]} This game ended up being a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3 titled, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. In late 2011, Metal Gear Solid: Rising was renamed Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance with Platinum Games being involved in developing it alongside Kojima Productions. Nevertheless, Kojima is the game's executive producer and showed interest in working in the game's demo to be featured in June 12.^[39]

Hideo was promoted to Vice President of Konami Digital Entertainment, effective April 1, 2011.^[2]

In an exclusive E3 video review, Hideo Kojima revealed his new innovative gaming technology labeled as "Transfarring" This new technology enables gamers to transfer their gaming data from the PS3 to PSP in a quick data transferring process and bring it on the go from home into the outside world. ^[40]

He is also currently working on Sdatcher, a radio drama set in the world of Snatcher, working alongside Suda 51 and Akira Yamaoka.

Influence from movies and books[link]

Kojima's love of film is noticeable in his games where he pays homage through his stories and characters, sometimes to the point of pastiche, as in Snatcher. Snatcher is inspired by many science fiction movies, particularly from the eighties, including Blade Runner,^[41] Akira,^[42] The Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers^[43] and The Terminator.^[42]

Examples of influence by films include Solid Snake's codename (named after Snake Plissken from Escape from New York),^[19] Snake's alias in MGS2: Pliskin (in reference to the last name of Snake Plissken from the Escape movies), Snake's real name (Dave from 2001: A Space Odyssey),^[44] and Snake's trademark bandana (The Deer Hunter^[45]).

Movies would also have influence on other aspects of his games. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich (named after HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey and film director Roland Emmerich),^[44] Sniper Wolf shooting Meryl in Metal Gear Solid (Full Metal Jacket),^[19] Psycho Mantis (inspired from the film The Fury)^[19] and the whole Metal Gear stealth concept (The Great Escape^[19] and The Guns of Navarone^[46]). James Bond also had a large influence on the Metal Gear series,^[47] with Metal Gear Solid 3 having a James Bond-like introduction sequence.

Game designer mentality[link]

In regards to storyline development and interaction with them, he said:

Works[link]

[edit] Metal Gear series