Scientists May Help Make Hideo Kojima’s 40-Year-Old Dream of Blood-Scented Physical Game Editions a Reality

Researchers have described a technology that can already transmit several smells, and it may bring a decades-old Hideo Kojima idea closer to reality.

As technology advances, ideas that once seemed hard to imagine are becoming possible. Players recently had a reason to recall one of Kojima’s dreams, which he described on social media back in October 2010.

While working on Snatcher, Kojima wanted to make a physical copy with the “smell of blood.” The computer would heat up enough for a special paint on the floppy disks to release a scent, which would let players smell a crime scene:

The objections from Kojima’s colleagues are easy to understand. At the time, such an idea would have created many problems. The paint trick works only once, it could damage the hardware, and chemical fumes would build up in an enclosed space. But almost 40 years later, scientists may have changed the situation.

Image source: Kaizerkunkun’s account on X

The scientists described a system in which an “electronic nose” recognizes specific smells, such as coffee, and then tells a small wearable device to release molecules of the matching aromatic substance.

This makes it possible to transmit smell data over any distance. The current version of the electronic nose can recognize five smells. To support more, the electronic nose must be trained to recognize them, and the matching scented liquids must be supplied to the smell generator.

For now, this is only a research prototype. Moving to commercial use would require a larger and more diverse training dataset. The system would also need to recognize specific smells reliably in real-world conditions, where smells often occur in mixtures. Even so, the technology has some potential, including for fulfilling Kojima’s dream.