For the last 20 years, the Metal Gear franchise has been one of the innovative leaders of the stealth action genre. Its mix of cinematics, complex plot lines, deep gameplay, and memorable characters have made Snake's adventures legendary. Now this acclaimed series is coming to a close with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , the upcoming PS3 title from Konami . At the recent MGS4 Boot Camp, we managed to get an interview with Hideo Kojima , creator of the series. We invited him to candidly share his thoughts with us as his iconic series concludes.

Why did Kojima feel the need to end his renowned franchise? What are his plans once MGS4 is released? Will we ever see Snake again? Read on to find the answers to these and other questions.

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I was supposed to end this in MGS2, you know, originally (laughs). And then I created MGS3, and I said, 'Okay, this is the final one. It's over.' But people said, 'No, there's still not enough answers (in that game)!' As a game design, the story was almost complete in MGS1, 2 and 3, or so I initially thought. But of course, there were some questions that weren't answered, especially with some things after MGS2. I didn't decide that this was the timing – there were a lot of voices saying, 'We want the answer to all of the questions!' That's why as a game, and as a saga, MGS4 is the complete wrap up.PR-wise, I really don't want to say that this the final game or this is the wrap up, but if I don't say it, people will make me create MGS again! (laughs) So I have to say, 'Die, Snake,' and really end it so I can move on to something else! (laughs) Actually, it's a game, so even if Snake dies, the game can live on. We have to kill him at a certain point.Actually, yes, to answer your question directly. But I can't say if it's going to be a game. Maybe it'll be a novel or a comic – I do have some ideas. However, I have to say that I'm not going to do everything if we were to create it. Maybe I'll just produce or maybe design the game and just act on that role, so I won't be the total creator of that series if it happens.I don't know if I should say this, but we found out that Portable Ops, for instance, in Japan especially, has totally different target groups that the MGS series on the console platforms. Namely, the middle school students, from 13 to 15, are really fanatical with the machine itself -- look at Monster Hunter Portable, for instance. So if I were to, I would like to continue with this, to aim at those middle school students because they are so interested with MPO right now. I would continue to try to reach them.I have a son in that particular age group, the 13-15 year old age group, and he's been with me watching me create the Metal Gear series. But he has always criticized it: 'Oh, Metal Gear is such a s****y game.' Until the point I released Portable Ops. So these kids are really into these handheld machines, and my son is really into Portable Ops as well: the use of the WiFi, the ability to play anywhere, bring it to school, etc. So it seems like the middle school kids are really, really having fun with the PSP. It might not be the Metal Gear series, but I would like to consider this audience because it's very important and new.