I must have watched the E3 2007 ["Metal Gear Solid 4"] trailer over a hundred times.

– Ryan Payton, Kojima Productions

What is it with all these “Metal Gear Solid 4” trailers?

This summer, in the span of just two months, Kojima Productions released three different show-stopping “MGS4″ trailers for three different major gaming conventions. Since 2005, the team has released nine major trailers (well, eight, plus a popular 15-minute clip of the game being played by creator Hideo Kojima) to hype a game that won’t even be out until 2008.

Why make so many? What kind of changes have been made to “MGS4″ due to fan reaction to the trailers? How many more are coming? And are these things, by any chance, responsible for why we’re not getting “MGS4″ a little sooner?

I asked Kojima Productions’ Tokyo-based assistant producer Ryan Payton these questions in an e-mail interview earlier this week. Read on for the answers.

MTV: What is Kojima Productions’ strategy in terms of promoting “Metal Gear” games with trailers? What reaction, in general, is an “MGS4″ trailer designed to get?

Ryan Payton, Kojima Productions: Making epic trailers of our upcoming titles has been a tradition of our studio ever since we unveiled the original “Metal Gear Solid” at E3 in 1997. Show-goers were blown away by the tape, and that excitement followed the game through its release in 1998. I think that really set the stage for what has become an integral part of our studio’s approach to making games — offering exciting previews through cinematic trailers.

Many believe the first trailer for MGS2 was visual proof that the PlayStation 2 would be a really great console. And I think we’re repeating history with “MGS4″ — the TGS 2005 trailer for “MGS4″ was one of the only trailers released that year that was truly built on PS3 hardware and helped build excitement for that console.

MTV: “MGS 4″ has had at least six trailers: the E3 2005 conceptual one, the TGS 2005 real one, the E3 2006 and 2007 ones, the Leipzig one and a new one for this TGS. I don’t think any other 2008 game has had so many trailers. Why release so many new ones?

Payton: Yeah, I think we’ve done eight trailers. (nine if you count our gameplay presentation, which was one of our most popular)

E3 2005 — Conceptual
TGS 2005 — First real one
E3 2006 — 15 minute story one
GC 2006 — E3 version with additional Gekko battles
TGS 2006 — Gameplay debut
E3 2007 — English voice acting debut
MG 20th Anniversary Party — 15 minute gameplay presentation
GC 2007 — E3 2007 version, plus BB Corps debut
TGS 2007 — Introduction of Drebin, Sunny, and Big Mama

Why release so many? The public expects that from Kojima Productions. We love to contribute to the excitement of trade shows like GC, E3, and TGS, and I think we’re afraid to disappoint people who expect us to make big splashes at every show.

Trailers are a great way to remind people of one of our studio’s strengths — cinematic gaming. We think of our trailers as showcases of how far “Metal Gear” has come. We’re not aiming to make movies — we’re aiming to push gaming forward. Trailers are a great vehicle to show non-gamers how far the medium has come.

MTV: To what extent are the trailers used to get feedback from gamers that will ultimately influence the development of “MGS4.” Can you give any examples of comments people have made about any of the trailers that inspired the development team to make changes in the game?

Payton: For gameplay focused trailers, it’s a great way to gauge public opinion on the game. Gamers are a very savvy group and know what they like. They may not be able to explain exactly why something doesn’t look fun, but they have that sense and are able to detect when game designers are on the wrong path.

So with that said, we don’t implement very much public feedback because our trailers are mostly snippets of non-interactive cutscenes.

We did, however, take in a lot of feedback from our TGS 2006 trailer, which offered the public a first glimpse at the gameplay of MGS4. People loved OctoCamo, the drum can, and the war zone environment we showed off, but some thought some of the animations looked unrealistic. We took that criticism to heart and fixed a lot of things. The good news is that, one year later, I’ve only been hearing great things about our animation at TGS 2007. I thank the “MGS” community for their help, and thank the motion team for their extra hard work.

MTV: How much man-power and how many hours does making these trailers take? Certainly I can’t conclude that “MGS4″ would have come out in November if only you guys hadn’t been busy making so many trailers. But can you at all shed light on how big an undertaking these trailers are, maybe using this summer’s run of trailers as an example?

Payton: It’s hard to calculate how many man hours one trailer takes to produce since the workload is spread out over weeks and months. Certainly, creating trailers is a big production, but they also act as milestones for most of the divisions in the studio (sound, motion, cinematics, character design, etc). And while the creation of trailers usually takes weeks of hard work, if the public’s reaction is good, it offers an amazing joint of motivation for the team.

MTV: How many times do you think you’ve seen each of the “MGS4″ trailers?

Payton: I must have watched the E3 2007 trailer over a hundred times. We used E3 2007 to debut the English voice acting for the game, so I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I cut together different lines for that trailer (instead of just swapping out Japanese lines for English lines) so it flowed better. The night before we departed for E3 was spent with the sound team as they worked until the last second, making sure everything sounded perfect. I think we created the master tape at 8 a.m. that morning.

MTV: Do you have a favorite one? If so, why?

Payton: Without a doubt, the E3 2006 trailer is my favorite. It offers the viewer a first glance and how we’re approaching cinematics in the game. Old Snake in a suit, saluting a grave with flowers waving under the power of a helicopter… Yoji Shinkawa’s imaginative Gekko in action… Raiden’s undeniable comeback… I think that’s a great trailer.

MTV: How many more “MGS4″ trailers do you think there will be?

Payton: Good question. TGS 2007 could be the last trailer for “MGS4.” The pressure is really on to finish work on the game, and we have decided not to be sidetracked by any more promotional work.

MTV: Finally, do you think other studios should take the “MGS” approach and put more trailers out there? It certainly seems like gamers love the approach you guys take.

Payton: As games become more cinematic, I see no reason why other studios shouldn’t promote their games through trailers. In a perfect world, video game trailers will be freely accessible from on-demand television, iTunes, and other mainstream distribution methods just as commonly as movie trailers are.