We've been collaborating for a long time. We devised a few pairs that…

“The game industry took a toll on my eyes. I started wearing glasses when I was about 30.”

“We're both pretty close to each other in that the movie business has been near and dear to our hearts. The only difference is that he's been able to keep making adventures this whole time.”

As a teenager, Kojima used science-fiction years—1984, 1997 and finally 2001—as future milestones that reality turned into the past. When 2001 arrived he discovered the film still belonged to the future and said his internal clock would remain stopped there until the world reached its perfection and creators managed to surpass it; for him the film was the monolith placed in the path by a god named Kubrick.

Although he was Kojima’s biggest fan, he refused for years to buy 2001 on VHS, LaserDisc or DVD, believing that a work of such gigantic scale should not be paused, fast-forwarded or rewound for personal convenience. He yielded to a two-disc special edition, watched the making-of and listened to the audio commentary, and regretted it when he received explanations and interpretations from the creators; he said he did not need a talking monolith and left the DVD case closed ever since.

“I admired TAG HEUER because it was worn by Steve McQueen or by 007 ... I bought watches worn by movie actors or popular stars. ... Although a Rolex can save your life from the yakuza, as it was written in a book by Teru Miyamoto. I was tempted to try it, but I stuck with my favorite watch.”