10 Times Video Games Accurately Predicted The Future
9. Metal Gear 2 Predicts Algae-Based Fuel
In 1990 top-down action title Metal Gear 2, Snake is sent to Zanzibar Island after a group of terrorists kidnaps Dr Kio Marv.
Dr Marv is somewhat of a genius and has been working on alternate fuel solutions since the world of Metal Gear is in dire jeopardy thanks to seriously low reserves of oil. His brilliant scheme is to use genetically engineered algae, which he calls OILIX, and convert it into fuel.
Kojima didn’t just pick algae on a whim though, it was based on studies he had no doubt seen during the 1990s into the species Botryococcus braunii. Scientists had noted that the microalgae’s genetic makeup was similar to crude oil. Over the years, this research bore success and in 2012 multiple companies were selling algae-based fuel to the public.
In 2017 the microalgae biofuel market was estimated to be worth $4.7 billions with predictions that that could double by 2024. Despite the cost of fuel production, research into algae and what makes it a viable replacement for oil could provide the stepping stones needed for the future.
Hopefully not a future with giant mech death robots and nanomachines but, at this point, who can say.