The controversy about the close resemblance between the Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doctor featured in the game's short trailer and the real life neurosurgeon Dr. Sergio Canavero of Italy has spawned an ongoing internet frenzy among fans and pundits alike.
Reports said that Dr. Canavero had became instantly famous when he claimed that he can conduct human head transplant and he even found a patient who is willing to undergo the process, a Russian named Valery Spirodonov who has a terminal muscle wasting disease.
The Italian doctor is planning to conduct the operation by removing the head of the 30-year old Russian volunteer and attaching it to the body of another man who has untimely died.
Dr. Canavero is said to have reacted angrily because of claims in the social media that the medical operation is just another marketing promotion for the Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain game.
It said that some readers noticed that the Italian neurosurgeon has written articles on the phenomenon of the game and in connection with, there was speculation from that Snake had a head transplant on MGSV or that Snake's scar somehow resembles the logo in the background of Dr. Cavanero's TED talk.
Gamepur received an official confirmation from Dr. Canavero which he said that he is not in any way involved with Hideo Kojima or with Konami's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and he is even planning to take legal action against both Kojima and Konami.
Kotaku's Gabriel Galliani tried to call the doctor to verify about the controversy, and the doctor said that he was shocked by the similarity of the Metal Gear Solid characters with him, including his appearance and mannerisms.
Galliani said that random people online have been trying to contact Dr. Cavanero but one Redditor had managed to get a single line of text from him.
"He told me that he has never been in any kind of contact with Konami or Kojima, that he had never even heard of them before all of this happened and he doesn't understand why they used him as a template for that character without asking him permission," said Galliani.
On the other hand, the doctor cannot hide his delight that because of the controversy, his project has finally get an attention because he needs money to fund his medical experiment.
"To be completely honest with you: this isn't such a bad thing. Since my project requires a lot of money, Mr.Kojima will be able to say he had a part in HEAVEN [the name of his head transplant procedure] despite the fact that he probably never intended to," said Dr. Cavanero.
"It's just surprising that despite having been around the world, speaking at more than 300 medical conferences about what could be the biggest medical achievement in history, I feel like now I'm at the peak of my popularity thanks to a video game...a video game I wasn't even involved in to begin with," added the Italian doctor.
Following the recent controversy surrounding the Kojima-Konami split comes another that might end up in court or is this simply a marketing campaign for the nearing release of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain? Sound off your comments below.
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