Producer: Metal Gear Solid 4 must sell a million copies day one
Metal Gear Solid 4 is turning into a third-party anomaly on the PS3. For Sony's sake it continues to be an officially non-timed PS3 exclusive even when others have left for greener pastures, but on the other hand its production costs are extreme for publisher Konami, and the big question is: How are they going to make that money back? Ryan Payton, assistant producer for MGS4, told Reuters that the game needs to sell one million units on its first day due to its production costs. We don't know if Payton is expecting a global launch, but just for a point of reference, in the US that would require 50% of PS3 owners to buy the game on the first day.
One million units on day one is a Reed Richards stretch; we're certainly curious to know how Konami is going to justify the exclusivity of MGS4 financially. If an efficiently produced game like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune cost $20 million, we can only wonder what a game with the production levels of MGS4 cost. There's a much deeper story here about the cost of MGS4 and Konami, but those answers probably won't shake out until long after MGS4 releases.
[Via PS3 Fanboy]
