During a recent trip to Tokyo, Japan, late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien was invited to Kojima Productions for a sneak peek of the hotly anticipated Death Stranding. There, eponymous studio founder Hideo Kojima asked O’Brien “So Conan, do you want to be in the game?”
After reacting with surprise and asking “I can be in the game? Really?” Kojima points to his side and answers “We have a 3D scanner right there.” Thereafter the video cuts to O’Brien sat in the center of an 80-camera scanning rig, where Kojima and a few members of his team have Conan perform a variety of facial expressions. This process should help his character to be more emotive in the final product.
Later we get an actual look at O’Brien in virtual form, where he appears as a hologram that interacts with protagonist Sam (portrayed by The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus). It looks to be similar to the cameo made by video game industry veteran and personal friend of Kojima, Geoff Keighley, which was revealed at Gamescom 2019.
Conan was invited to Kojima Productions due to his “connections in the gaming world,” no doubt garnered through the popular Clueless Gamer series. The recurring talk show segment often sees O’Brien receive privileged access to upcoming games while he acknowledges he has little interest in the medium. As such, it often provides the audience with an amusing and grounded look at a game that cuts through much of the pre-launch hype.
Prior to being 3D scanned, a portion of the footage was blurred in order to obscure the work being done by Kojima Productions employees and preserve Death Stranding’s renowned air of mystery. Rather than reveal anything new, Conan and Kojima instead sat down to watch some existing promotional trailers. Like many, O’Brien initially asks Kojima-san “What is wrong with you?” before coming around and concluding “I think this is absolutely stunning work.”
Death Stranding will be available exclusively on PS4 starting Friday, November 8, 2019.
