Kojima: Peace Walker Tie-Ins 'Not Hollywood-Style Merchandising'

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for PSP was recently revealed to sport a volume of product placements, from Doritos to Axe body spray, that generated a buzz of disapproval from some. But series director Hideo Kojima says that the brand tie-ins aren't simple opportunism. In a Twitter post translated by website Andriasang, Kojima aimed to explain the decisions to followers. "Regarding the collaborations, I have one reason for doing them," he wrote. "It's because I want to surprise the players. If the surprise and freshness were lost, I would stop the collaborations." The fan favorite "stealth action" franchise has always featured product tie-ins -- for example, meal replacement Calorie Mate appears in multiple games, and recent MGS 4 featured a branded iPod music player. These have always been fairly subtle, and often were aimed to blend with some of the story's more humorous tonal elements. Although the sheer number of tie-ins would appear to be without precedent for the series, "It's different from Hollywood-style merchandising," Kojima asserts. Among the tie-ins is the appearance of creatures from Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise in the game. The title launches in North America on June 8, where it'll get a "Spirited Green" PSP-3000 bundle at retail that also includes a content voucher and a memory stick.