{"id":74632,"date":"2015-04-23T12:30:47","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T10:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=74632"},"modified":"2015-04-23T12:30:38","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T10:30:38","slug":"dr-sergio-canaveros-proposed-head-transplant-a-konami-pr-stunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/business\/74632-dr-sergio-canaveros-proposed-head-transplant-a-konami-pr-stunt","title":{"rendered":"Dr Sergio Canavero’s proposed head transplant, a Konami PR stunt?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A good majority of the gaming industry has apparently just taken the red pill<\/a>. But just how deep does the rabbit hole really go?<\/p>\n

What are we on about? According to a number of sources, most of whom are simply taking the piss, Dr Sergio Canavero\u2019s proposed head transplant procedure<\/a> (creatively named \u2018HEAVEN\u2019 for head anastomosis venture) is all just part of an intricate and very elaborate marketing PR stunt for the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain<\/em>. Something Kojima and Konami have been planning for years now.<\/p>\n

This image, originally published on NeoGAF<\/a>, says it best:<\/p>\n

\"Metal<\/a>

This probably isn’t a coincidence, but that doesn’t mean it’s a fanciful conspiracy either.<\/p><\/div>\n

We\u2019re not one to steal Kotaku or NeoGAF\u2019s thunder, Kotaku UK<\/a> originally published the conspiracy theory, but this is just too interesting a theory to ignore.<\/p>\n

The theory, like any good conspiracy theory, is built almost entirely upon circumstantial evidence, probable coincidence and speculation. Here\u2019s what we know; you decide for yourself.<\/p>\n

It essentially started back in 2010 when Hideo Kojima, project head for all things Metal Gear<\/em>, tweeted<\/a> about the ethical ramifications of an as-of-yet-unannounced project: \u201cThe next project will challenge a certain type of taboo. If I mess up, I\u2019ll probably have to leave the industry. However, I don\u2019t want to pass by avoiding that. I turn 47 this year. It\u2019s been 24 years since I started making games. Today, I got an ally who would happily support me in that risk. Although it\u2019s just one person. For a start, it\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, throughout his medical career, Dr Sergio Canavero has focussed some degree of attention on phantom pain<\/a>, and phantom pain-like, conditions.<\/p>\n

This has lead any number of people around the internet to inundate news sources, forums and everything else in-between with a supposed causal link between Dr Sergio Canavero\u2019s proposed HEAVEN procedure and the forthcoming The Phantom Pain Release<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Metal<\/a>

For as circumstantial as the evidence is, it’s still intriguing.<\/p><\/div>\n

That is nowhere near enough evidence on its own, and then more was uncovered.<\/p>\n