MGS4
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Joystiq live from Hideo Kojima's GDC 2009 keynote
Well, yet another Konami event without any peep of MGS4 on Xbox 360 and, if you follow Kojima's chart of Metal Gear progression, it doesn't sound like it's ever happening. Next up is a new project -- "the next MGS" -- coupling Western development techniques, with an advance in hardware and game design to hopefully create Kojima's apparently-still-unfulfilled goal of bringing us "the ultimate stealth game." Maybe then, Kojima will be able to finally leave the Metal Gear series behind. Head past the break for complete coverage of the Kojima keynote (updated from bottom to top).
Metal Gear Online makes a SCENE (expansion) March 17
Konami has revealed -- via the PlayStation Blog -- that Metal Gear Online's latest expansion, "SCENE," will be available in North America beginning March 17. (Hold on, we'll type louder so you can hear us over the cricket sounds.) Alright. So, the pack will be available via PSN and Konami's own online shop for $9.99; with the previous "MEME" expansion for $14.99; or as part of the full add-on pack -- "MEME," "GENE" and "SCENE" -- for $17.99.The expansion, which adds MGS4 characters to the mix along with new maps and a "Solo Capture" mode, can be pre-ordered via Konami's e-store, which is offering an exclusive in-game cardboard box headgear (sure not to get you noticed) for those who make the early comittment. Of course, you get a whole bunch'a wacky stuff just for buying the pack. Clown paint, anyone? Anyone? Crickets?
SEE Metal Gear Online SCENE in action
You ready to dance like Vamp? To get your ninja skills right as Raiden? Metal Gear Online's third expansion pack -- SCENE -- adds new playable characters and new maps. Of course, you knew that already. The upcoming DLC will be available in March, but you can take a first look at the new content in this Japanese trailer. Like most everything Kojima-related, it's filled with some truly zany moments.%Gallery-45226%
Monster Hunter tops Japan's 100 best-sellers list in '08, MGS4 best-selling PS3 game
The results are in for Japan's Top 100 software sellers for 2008 and the data is certainly unsurprising. Rising to claim the #1 spot is Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. The PSP phenomenon has been topping the Japanese software charts for most of last year, and is, in fact, still selling hotly in Japan. The PS3's best-selling game in Japan, Metal Gear Solid 4, barely scratched the top ten as it ranked in at #11. It was knocked out of the top ten by nine Nintendo exclusives, which include the likes of Super Smash Bros. Brawl at #5. But wait, Solid Snake is also in that title ... In a way, you could say he infiltrated the top ten. Back to your old tricks, Snake? And here we thought you had retired.
Metal Gear Solid 4 going Platinum on March 5
Unsurprisingly, Konami's grandpa-spy sim Metal Gear Solid 4 sold extremely well across the globe -- so well, in fact, that the game has reached the ever prestigious Platinum Range in Europe, an honor bestowed to titles that reach sales upward of 400,000 within their first year on the market. A Platinum edition of the game will hit European store shelves on March 5, bringing with it some slightly updated box art and a discounted price of EUR 29.95 (or GBP 19.99). Hopefully, the game will follow suit by qualifying for Greatest Hits status in North America, an honor that brings a similar discount to $29.99, as well as a provocative crimson jewel case. We've begun growing our unsettling math teacher moustaches in feverish anticipation.
Kojima to speak at GDC for first time
Hideo Kojima will sneak into the 2009 Game Developers Conference this year and get his keynote on, according to Gamasutra. It'll be the designer's first presentation at the event, with his debut titled "Solid Game Design: Making the 'Impossible' Possible." GDC Event Director Meggan Scavio notes that the group has asked Kojima to keynote almost every year "for as long as [she] can remember." She's curious to see how the "revered and elusive" creator will inspire attendees. The presentation is scheduled for an hour, but given the designer's inability to edit, don't be surprised if it lasts 8 hours, with two 90-minute cutscenes and a couple of codec conversations included.
Konami game revenue up in Q3
Whipping up some numbers to report, Konami announced that its net income for the games division during the first three quarters of the fiscal year reached ¥13.3 billion ($148.3 million). The figure represents a 5% increase from the same time last year; however, for its full fiscal year, the company estimates to bring in ¥18 billion ($200M), a slight decrease from last year's ¥18.5 billion ($206.3M).The financial fortunes in the division were driven by (gasp!) Metal Gear Solid 4 and the Pro Evolution Soccer series. With all the negative news coming out of other publishers, Konami's ability to weather the current global financial crisis is about as good as it gets. [Image]
NPD: Console exclusives performed with mixed results in '08
According to the NPD, a good exclusive does not necessarily equal good sales. The group has collected data for 2008's exclusives on each platform and, well, there have been some under-performers. On the Xbox 360 side, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was a disappointment, selling only 140,000 units. The other exclusive on Microsoft's console, Fable 2 (Joystiq's GOTY), was more of your traditional success story with a respectable 1.2 million copies sold.And what about the industry-leading PS3? We already know MGS4 sold extremely well, but the same cannot be said (yet) for LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2, both of which seemed to perform lower than expectations; LBP sold 611,000 copies in North America while R2 unloaded 600,000 units. As for Nintendo, well ... it won. It always does. Last we heard, Nintendo stopped making games and was in the process of building a Kirby-shaped Death Star to orbit the planet.
LittleBigPlanet leads in AIAS award nominations
The game industry's closest approximation of Hollywood's Academy Awards has to be the Interactive Achievement Awards. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has revealed its nominees for 2008, and LittleBigPlanet has managed to run away with ten category nominations, the most of any game this year. Ahem. And the nominees are: Overall Game of the Year: Fallout 3 Grand Theft Auto IV Left 4 Dead LittleBigPlanet Metal Gear Solid 4 Console Game of the Year: Fallout 3 Gears of War 2 Grand Theft Auto IV LittleBigPlanet Metal Gear Solid 4 See the rest, after the break.
NPD: MGS4 sells over 1 million in US, Tomb Raider left undiscovered
Now that we've seen the real list for 2008's top-selling games, Gamasutra has taken a look at some of the high-profile titles that didn't make the cut. Thanks to data from the NPD, we now know Metal Gear Solid 4 has passed the one-million threshold in the US with 1.08M in sales -- 775K in June, 301K since then. It's worth noting that the figure doesn't include copies sold in the MGS4 PlayStation 3 bundle. Globally, Old Snake has enlisted over 4 million soldiers. As for LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2, they sold 611K and 598K stateside in 2008, respectively. Here's the bad news: Tomb Raider: Underworld has managed only 246K across three platforms since launching mid-November -- indeed a disappointment, but also a lowered bar for Naughty Dog's Nathan Drake vs. Lara Croft claim. To its credit, TRU has done better elsewhere, selling 1.5 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Prince of Persia did 483K in December, with at least 213K of those going to the PS3 version. While that puts it on par with Sony's first-party titles last month, it also means the Xbox 360 version saw relatively disappointing sales. Metal Gear Solid 4 and LittleBigPlanet were both "honored" (if you can call it that) in our Best of 2008 awards. See what else made the list.
Kojima picks 15 films that influenced Metal Gear Solid
Though you could never tell from his numerous games, Hideo Kojima is quite fond of movies. In fact, the Metal Gear auteur considers 15 films in particular as inspirational components of his epic stealth series. According to Siliconera, Japanese media store Tsutaya is running a new promotion highlighting all 15 flicks (seen above), complete with trivia (Hal and David? Those names come from 2001: A Space Odyssey!) and easily clickable purchase links. But ... wait a minute. Where's Escape from New York?[Via Siliconera]
Fan makes MGS4-inspired M1911 gun out of LEGO
There's only one way to show appreciation for any given object of desire and that is through the loving building blocks of dreams known as LEGO. Yes, LEGO. Metal Gear Solid 4 fan Samuel Lafleur knows this one simple truth in life and has made a worthy tribute to his beloved game. He has made, out of LEGO, Solid Snake's preferred weapon of choice: the M1911 Operator pistol. It's a rather gorgeous design; he's even got several modifications to it on his web page, so check out all the pics over there. Also, Sam, can we make a request for a full-sized Solid Snake bust which is opening up its mouth ready to shoot itself with that Operator? Only then will your tribute be complete. Well done.
Which game is David Jaffe 'most jealous' of? MGS4
David Jaffe is the focus of The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' weekly feature Ten Questions, where a member of the industry is subjected to ... well, ten questions. When asked about which title the acclaimed video game designer is "most jealous" of, he named Metal Gear Solid 4 as his choice, praising it as "an amazing achievement of both gameplay and mastering the process of game production. To make a game of that scale and at that level of quality clearly took a whole hell of a lot of tenacity and vision."You know what we think? Jaffe states in the feature that if he wasn't a game developer, he would be a movie director or film editor -- and we gotta say, MGS4 is as film-like as they come.[Via Joystiq]
MGS4 cast has identity issues, holds group therapy session
How dedicated is the vocal cast of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots? So dedicated that they believe they are the characters to which they breathe sound and life into. Is it some form of hypnotic gene therapy which brings out such wondrous talent? Maybe ... it's the work of the Patriots? *Cue dramatic music* Whatever the reason be, they now meet up regularly to (jokingly) discern between what really is game and reality.Dr. Sadie, records one such session documenting how far our beloved actors have had one too many serums in the neck. Paul Eiding (aka Colonel Campbell) is on a junkie binge for some Scissors 61. While Christopher Randolph (aka Otacon) reveals he's been turning his cat "Mark" into Mark II ... by strapping a camera to its back. David Hayter (Old Snake), Jennifer Hale (Naomi), and Quinton Flynn (Raiden) are all there with their buddies with some hilarious consequences. See it all after the break. Thanks go out to Dr. Sadie for totally breaking doctor-patient confidentiality! [Thanks LAZoftheTamarinds!]
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2008: Metal Gear Solid 4
<< BACK (3) COMMENT NEXT (1) >> Is it a cliché to call Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots the gamer's game? Of course it is. But that's the thing with clichés, they're just so perfect at explaining what we're too unimaginative to express in fantastic detail. Fitting then, that MGS4 is a near-impossible amalgamation of cliché and creativeness. A spawn of convoluted histories and a bold vision of gaming's future.If it was up to creator Hideo Kojima to expound the merits of his masterpiece you'd be in for a verbose, probably boring -- and most certainly unplayable -- account. Thankfully, we will do our best to provide a terse study of Joystiq's runner-up to Game of the Year 2008. So then, what makes MGS4 so darn special?
Metal Gear Solid 4's in-game podcast returns in January
Kojima Productions will resume transmissions of its Metal Gear Solid Integral podcast to MGS4's in-game iPod beginning next month. The first post-hiatus episode will appear on the game's downloadable content menu January 8, and new episodes will debut every two weeks thereafter.The podcast will be hosted by MGS4 producer, Ken Imaizumi, sans his long-time podcasting partner – and MGS4 assistant producer – Ryan Payton, who left Kojima Productions in August to work on the Halo franchise at Microsoft. Imaizumi will be joined by Kojima Productions Report podcast regular, Aki Saito, and MGS4 script unit member Sean Eyestone.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
LittleBigPlanet's MGS pack includes new Trophies, paintball gun
The Metal Gear Solid level pack for LittleBigPlanet we told you about yesterday? It's more than just eye candy; it introduces a new gameplay mechanic.Specifically, your SackBoys (and girls) will be able to battle enemies (and each other) using paintball guns. There are even Trophies encouraging such harmless behavior among the 11 the pack will add to the game. Another Trophy: Rexecutioner. Yes, you will be able to take on an LBP-ized version of Metal Gear REX. Sony, would you kindly announce a US date?
Exclamation point: LittleBigMetalGear costume and level pack details
Old soldiers never die; they just become LittleBigPlanet costumes. Revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2008, the Old Snake SackBoy costume is a step closer to your PS3's HDD – and it's not on a solo mission.Sony's Hong Kong PlayStation site now lists a Metal Gear Solid costume pack for LBP along with a level pack. Old Snake, Meryl, and Screaming Mantis are available separately; buy the set, and Sony throws in Raiden (MGS4 version). There are no details on the level pack contents, so, as LBP so wonderfully encourages, we'll have to use our imagination. Better yet, what would you like (or expect) it to include?No date for the packs Stateside just yet, but it would make us awfully merry if Sony could sneak this into next Thursday's PSN Store update.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Rumor busted, Metal Gear not coming to the 360
Contrary to popular rumor, Metal Gear Solid (in any form) will not be coming to the Xbox 360 (for now), but the franchise will be going to the iPhone. Team Kojima and Konami just announced that Metal Gear Solid Touch will be releasing to the iPhone next year and that the marketing promotion's green aesthetic has nothing to do with the Xbox. Truthfully, we didn't want MGS anyway ::sniffle:: [Via Joystiq]
LBP and MGS4 score two big wins each at VGA 08
Only two PS3-exclusive titles went home with awards this past Sunday from Spike TV's annual Video Game Awards. Media Molecule won the honor of "Studio of the Year" for their work on LittleBigPlanet, which, unsurprisingly also netted them "Best PS3 Game." The embedded video above comes from the PS.Blog where Jeff Rubenstein caught up with the glowing-faced recipients moments after the show had ended.As for that other PS3-exclusive title, Metal Gear Solid 4 -- the tactical espionage title which debuted back in June -- won "Best Graphics" and "Best Original Score." While we definitely believe both wins are well-deserved, we could've seen MGS4 as Game of the Year material, but that's just us. It's also interesting to note, and a bit ironic we should say, that MGS4 won Best Original Score amongst a recent debacle regarding just how original that score really is -- well, its main theme, rather. With all footnotes aside, congratulations to both winners!
