despite its favorable reception, "the 2nd runner" got mediocre sales. in 2003, it was the 130th best-selling game in japan, selling 97,296 copies. producer hideo kojima blamed himself due to issues with the release time frame. he considered the game a "medium success" and believed it could have ended up "a major kojima productions title to follow mgs" as a series. as a result, kojima mentioned he devised as a game plan and method for sales should eventually develop another sequel.