This isn’t entirely unexpected, but it’s still pretty cool. Konami recently announced that they would be releasing the first three Metal Gear Solid games in one collection, dubbed “The Essential Collection.” The package will include Metal Gear Solid for the PSOne and it’s two respective sequels for the PS2 for a packaged price of $29.99. Konami hopes this will give gamers a chance to experience the full saga right before the release of Metal Gear Solid 4. Kind of wish they could have gone the extra mile and ported The Twin Snakes and then added the “Substance” and “Subsistence” versions of MGS 2 and 3, respectively. Of course, for anyone who hasn’t already played these games, this is a must-have.

Via GameTactics

UPDATE: I’m now hearing that “Substance” and “Subsistence” will actually be included in the collection.

As we’ve become used to with Microsoft’s spin on each month’s NPDs, their announcement that the “Xbox 360 won 2007” is based entirely on money spent. $4.8 billion in “total consumer spend[ing]” was the 360’s total, compared with the Wii’s $3.5 billion and PlayStation 3’s $2.2 billion. Microsoft claimed this was a historic year as “consumers have spent nearly 45 percent of total industry figures on Xbox 360.”

The above line chart (is that what they’re called? Math terms haven’t stayed with me over the years) was provided to illustrate the Xbox 360’s lead over the PS3, although the Wii is (not so) mysteriously absent from the chart.
Check after the break for a bullet point list from Microsoft illustrating just what a miracle the Xbox 360 is, and my subsequent demolishing of said list.

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I’m starting to believe that Konami (and more specifically, Kojima Productions) are masters at getting people to buy the same game twice. Ever since Metal Gear Solid 2, it seems like every other Metal Gear game has gotten a re-release with almost a second game’s worth of extra content. Thus, we get Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops +, which looks to add a lot more than just a mathematical symbol to the game’s title. As this trailer shows, you’ll now be able to work through levels with a completely different set of objectives and you can now recruit enemy soldiers over to your side, forming a squad of your own. Then you’ll be able to take these characters, with their own special skills, online to battle it out with others on some new levels. It should at least tide you over until MGS4 finally arrives.

Reuters has an interesting article up today exploring the question, is Metal Gear Solid 4 destined to be the last of the great third-party exclusives? Video game production costs are rising these days, costing between $10 million and $50 million to make a quality title. Assistant producer for MGS4, Ryan Payton, says that the game will need to sell a million units on day one to recoup production costs. That’s quite a tough mark to hit, since only two other PS3 games have sold that many to date. Thus, many game developers are going multi-platform, a fact that Sony has been observing for some time now:

“We understand publishers are needing to recoup their investment,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony. “From our perspective, as long as the games aren’t going exclusive to other platforms, PS3 gamers are not actually losing anything.”

For my money, I doubt MGS4 will be the last great third-party exclusive, but they are becoming rarer these days. Still, as long as the console makers have enough money to lure developers to their camp, I’m sure we’ll continue to see the occasional major title remaining exclusive to one console or another.

Via Reuters

Fans of the Metal Gear Solid franchise have been eagerly awaiting Snake’s swan song in the form of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots since 2005. Originally slated for a November 2007 release, the PS3 exclusive was delayed until Q1 2008. Now, it looks like we are going to have to wait a little while longer. According to Konami, the game will still be released in Japan in the first part of 2008, but the rest of the world will have to waiting until Q2 – which means sometime between April and June.

A spokesperson for Konami has stated that: “Konami has decided to delay the title’s release in order to make further improvements to the quality of the game and provide even greater enjoyment for more customers worldwide.” They also stated that they will be working continuously on MGS4, so that it will “meet everyone’s expectations.

While I can find no fault with Hideo Kojima wanting to make sure that his baby is perfect, I – like many who have been itching to play MGS4 – am disappointed that I will not be able to get my hands on it sooner. However, in the grand scheme of things, there are many titles out there to keep us occupied until it is finally ready for its devoted followers. Metal Gear Solid fans would rather wait for a great sequel than be force fed a mediocre game any day – all that would do is make us angry and do an injustice to our hero Snake.

Thanks: GamesIndustry.biz

The newest trailer featuring footage from Super Smash Bros. Brawl is of Metal Gear Solid’s Snake – and he and Mario are putting the ‘whooping’ on each other. The intro to the video is very tongue-in-cheek, and shows an intel conversation regarding Mario – then clips of the fighting ensue. Nintendo’s latest incarnation in the popular Super Smash Bros. series of titles features all new characters ranging from Kirby and Wario to Samus, and will be released on December 3rd.

Ah, SomethingAwful.com. It’s one of those sites that’s great to pass the time and relieve a bit of boredom, particularly with their Photoshop Phriday and Comedy Goldmine features. Last week though, they decided to post a list of “spoilers” (read: fake spoilers) for the Metal Gear Solid 4. Of course they contain hilarious revelations like how the whole twisted plot has just been a series of nightmares and the monkey seen in the trailers is actually the final boss. My personal fave:

“If you shoot an enemy soldier on his birthday, his ghost will follow you around for the remainder of the game, lamenting all of the poor life decisions that eventually led to you shooting him on his birthday. Ghosts can only be destroyed with the ghost gun, which is invisible.”

Oh, the hilarity.

Via Something Awful

Out of the Tokyo Game Show comes a brand spanking new trailer for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4. And in the general fashion of MGS trailers, it makes almost no sense, but it’s awesome.

The video introduces us to a number of new characters, including Liquid’s private army, the “FROGS.” Yeah, it’s a lame name, but they look to be pretty much a full squad of Ninjas (plus it looks like Raiden may be one of them !?). We also meet a mysterious military scientist who watches over a little girl and Drebin, a “weapons launderer.” There’s also apparently a new enemy in the form of “Big Mama,” who bears more than a passing resemblance to The Boss from MGS3. And is it just me, or does that guy with the mohawk look a lot like Fatman, the bomb specialist from MGS2? I won’t spoil the shocking ending to the trailer, but suffice it to say it starts to tie up a loose end from MGS2.

Dammit, Kojima, why you gotta force me to buy a PS3? And if the rumors are true, I may even have to get one before the year is out.

Apparently, the latest issue of Nuts — a UK publication — has an interview with Christian Bale, where he states that he is in the running to play Solid Snake in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the actual interview, but the movie is supposedly slated for a 2009 release. Personally, I’m hoping this rumor turns out to be true and he does get the role. Equilibrium, American Psycho, The Machinist, Batman Begins, The Prestige: the man certainly has played in some truly memorable roles, so there’s no doubt in my mind that he can pull off the character. The question remains though, can he pull off the mullet? We shall have to see.

Via PS3 Forums

Coming out of the Leipzig Gaming Convention is a brand new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. This new video finally gives an in-depth look at some of the new Metal Gears in the game; and man do they look freaky. There’s one that resembles a wolf (complete with howl), and then three other types that look like robotic women with strange devices attached to the back of their heads: wings, tentacles, and six extra arms. You then get to watch these guys take out an entire squad of heavily-armed soldiers in yet another spectacular cut-scene from this game. Pair crazy videos like this with some of the gameplay footage we’ve been treated to, and this game has become my reason to get a PS3 before its early 2008 release date.