Metal Gear Solid 5 dev defends Ground Zeroes length

The length of a game isn't necessarily associated with its quality. That's the message Kojima Productions designer Jordan Amaro has for fans up in arms about the recent news that you might be able to complete Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes in just one sitting.

"Are Journey and Dear Esther long? [Voltaire's 18th-century writing Candide] is like a hundred pages at most," Amaro said. "Yet they are masterpieces of video game and literature. This smearing will not stain and affect what we're aiming to achieve with MGS, the game industry in Japan, or video games as a whole."

Journey and Dear Esther might not be long games, but they sell for $15 and $10, respectively. That's below what Konami is charging for Ground Zeroes, which ranges from $20-$40 depending on platform and delivery choice.

"I want people to celebrate the new MGS like we used to. I'm not dismissing their concerns. But this [issue surrounding the game's length] has been trumped-up," Amaro said.

The game is a prequel to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which is said to be "hundreds of times larger" than Ground Zeroes. Konami hasn't set a release date for that game yet.

The length of Ground Zeroes isn't the only part of the game drawing heated debate. It's also been revealed that the PlayStation 4 version of the game looks "slightly better" than the Xbox One iteration, a point that Metal Gear Solid series creator Hideo Kojima reportedly agrees with.

Konami has yet to confirm whether or not there is a resolution or frame rate difference between the two next-generation versions, but it wouldn't be the first time a multiplatform game was visually preferable on Sony's console.

This story has been updated with additional comments from Amaro and adjusted to reflect his intent.