"The reverberation has been bigger than imagined," the game designer writes. How big? Apparently KP staffers who worked on Z.O.E. have been stopping him on the elevator, in the office, in restaurants and in Tokyo Midtown, saying "Is it true?", "When do we start making Z.O.E.?" and "Please let me join the team!" One guy even has a Anubis (Z.O.E.) print out tacked up on his cubicle!

"No, no, a little longer," Kojima writes. "I want you to wait."

アヌビスのその後｜コナミ小島プロダクション公式ウェブログ [コジブロ]

Anubis was slated for release during holiday 2002, but was pushed back to February due to the packed December release calendar, just as many games scheduled for this holiday have been pushed back to early 2010.

"Everything was due to an error by me, the producer," wrote Kojima in his blog (translated by Andria Sang. "At that time, if I hadn't made a mistake with the release date, Anubis might have ended up a major Kojima Productions title to follow MGS, still seeing development as a series."

Interest in Z.O.E. has not dimmed, and Kojima writes that he would like to make a sequel. "Also, we feel that if we do it, we'd like to make Anubis succeed this time," Kojima continues. "I already have a game plan and method for sales in my head."

Kojima, however, does not know if the Zone of the Enders sequel will get the green light as the production hopper at Kojima Productions is currently full.

"I cannot make a promise about time," writes Kojima. "However, I can promise a sequel." Someday!

ANUBISでの苦い想い出｜コナミ小島プロダクション公式ウェブログ [コジブロ via andriasang via Destructoid]

Kojima tells PlayStation.Blog.Europe:

A lot of [people] love Zone of the Enders, and we love the title as well, especially at Kojima Productions and we always want to create one for the next gens as well.

Of course, Kojuma Productions has a long list of things we want to bring out, and of course Zone of the Enders is one on the top of the list.

However, we have to manage staffing and work around projects therefore it's not going to be out too soon, but we are really considering it.

He also says that he wants to create an original title and he could produce Z.O.E.

Oh, and Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear Solid anymore. Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear Solid anymore. Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear Solid anymore. Kojima-san doesn't have to...

Kojima on Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker [PlayStation.Blog.Europe via VG247]

At the end of my interview with Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima last week, I asked the renowned game developer about the desire of many of our readers for him to make games other than Metal Gear.

It's been years since Kojima attached his name to projects like Boktai or Zone of the Enders, and while he may have a supervisory role on the next disc-based Castlevania game, he's been consistently making Metal Gears for most of his recent career. Up next for him are two more: Metal Gear Peace Walker on the PSP and Metal Gear Rising on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

As I reported last week, Kojima said this about the topic of expanding his horizons beyond the adventures of Snake and Raiden:

"Not only the Kotaku readers but I myself am interested in doing something besides Metal Gear," he said. "But, right now, I am working on Peace Walker. Eventually, after the project is done, I might think about it."

He joked: "If you write that 'Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear any more' every day on Kotaku, and write to the CEO of Konami and tell him that, then it might be easier for me to make non-Metal Gear games."

It's not like the Metal Gear games that Kojima is still making are bad or anything. The new PSP one actually seems to be very good. But since the publication of my Kojima story on Friday, at least 45 readers have written the sentence "Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear any more" in the comments section to that post. I promoted the comments to make them easier to see.

So just remember, if and when Hideo Kojima announces that he's making a game that isn't Metal Gear, you'll know what caused it. That said, we won't be publishing that sentence every day here on Kotaku. The point has been made.

"We've manufactured certain amounts depending on the title," a Konami spokesperson has told Eurogamer, "and they're being bought by wholesalers so will likely pop up in independent rather than chain stores."

The games currently available are:

Suikoden Tactics
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

While Silent Hill 2, 3 & 4 will be released soon. As they're old titles, Konami have even priced them accordingly, offering them for between £10 and £20 (USD$16-$33).

Bravo, Konami! May this serve as a shining example to publishers everywhere.

Konami confirms PS2 re-issues [Eurogamer]

ZoE spawned two three sequels as well as two anime. The first title was released on the PlayStation 2 in 2001 with a Game Boy Advance version, Zone of the Enders: The First of Mars, following later that year. A proper sequel, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, came out in 2003.

Kojima has expressed interest in a third ZoE title, but said he was too busy with Metal Gear Solid 4. That game is done! Adding fuel to the ZoE speculation is the latest Metal Gear Solid Integral podcast, in which the following question was thrown out there: "How many people really want Zone of the Enders a sequel?"

Konami's Aki Saito added, "If there's so many people wanting to see Zone of the Enders, why not put the priority on top, a little further up, you know, but we just want to know."

Saito even encouraged listeners to "make sure you write your comments and we'll check your comments out."

Kojima Productions: Do you really want Zone of the Enders 3? [PS3 Center]

I would like to say that Zone of the Enders is quite near the priority list… [after MGS4] it might be good to change to outer space or robots or things like that for a change.

Really, who doesn't like giant robots fighting? ZOE 3 anyone?
ZOE on To Do List [GameFunk]

Kojima, who has overseen development on original Konami franchises like Zone of the Enders and Boktai, may talk about what's on deck for Kojima Productions, but not until after Metal Gear Online gets a "major push." That's according to Konami president Fumiaki Tanaka, who says the company is also working on reviving some of its classic franchises.

I've got a zillion dollars on an HD remake of Martial Champion. Who wants some of this action?

Hideo Kojima Working on New Title [IGN]

We kind of knew 'Crackdown' would need as much help as it could get to get into players' hands. Like we've always said: It's a game player's game. It's not something that's going to sell in screenshot. So that was good.

So you're not feeling like the Zone of the Enders of the new gen, then? Good.

I can see where Jones is coming from. This game really must be seen in motion (and played beyond the first 15 minutes) to get an appreciation for what makes it unique. Sticking your first 60-foot leap while sniping some poor Los Muertos in the kneecaps is just so damn fun. Michael McWhertor

'Halo 3' Gives 'Crackdown' A Boost — And That's Just Fine With Its Creator [The New, Improved and Readable MTV.com]

Now there's talk of a third being readied for Sony's PlayStation 3, much to the delight of Jehuty fans.

We'd heard talk of it recently being featured on the cover of PSM3 as a teaser. Now reader Martin sends us the above scan of what PSM3 had to say. Not much info, true, but they allude to Kojima and company spilling more mecha action beans soon. Watch this space! Michael McWhertor