Hideo Kojima's Book is Coming to the West Under a Different Name

Hideo Kojima, the guy behind Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid, and the fall of Konami as we once knew it, is under the impression that he’s some kind of creative genius. He’s not the only one who feels this way, of course, but he’s probably his own biggest cheerleader in the public arena, missing no opportunity to both expound upon his own virtues and, of course, showcase the quirky, left-field kind of thinking that turned him into such an icon in the first place.

For example, in 2019, he published a book in Japan that was titled, and I quote, 'The Gifted Gene and My Lovable Memes', which included a series of essays about all the stuff that inspires his work, as well as an interview with a musician, Gen Hoshino, because why the hell not.

Well, that book is finally getting translated and being brought stateside thanks to Viz media, and you can see it on store shelves on October 12. But when looking for it, don’t bother looking for “The Gifted Gene and My Loveable Memes” — apparently they’re going to give it a more sensible name, “The Creative Gene”, and sell it under that.

More sensible, perhaps, but it feels a bit like a betrayal of what makes Kojima, well.. Kojima.