Now what on Earth would he need that for? Kojima Productions has produced all of about zero titles for the 360; he's flatly said MGS4 isn't meant for that platform, and MGS4 openly disparages (spoiler, kinda) the HD-DVD format in a codec call.

Maybe he was just using it for "research." That's the excuse I give when the credit card company asks me to validate certain, uh, Interwebs purchases.

Jonny says the above frame came from the segment "Hideo Kojima's Gene" in the bonus features disc, for those who have it and want to watch. The large size version, without graffiti, is after the jump, if you want to get down and sleuth this and argue the details of the frame.

Kojima Makes Fun of Xbox 360's DVD Format in MGS4 [Scrawl]

【MGS4】ビューティ＆ビースト部隊がエロ過ぎる、とにかくエロ過ぎる [Hatimaki]

Hey, You Put A PSP [PSP Fanboy]

UPDATE - Seems it's most likely the latter. A Konami spokesperson has told Mainichi that "Because of the number of people expected to gather at these locations, we are taking safety into account".

Believe it or not, I've been so busy working on a special surprise for MGS4 buyers (that not even those who have leaked copies of the game can spoil! Haha!), that I haven't had time to catch up on most of the pre-launch excitement.

A special surprise? I love surprises! What ever could it be? It's something that people with leaked copies of the game can't spoil, meaning probably DLC of some sort to kick things off? A special outfit? A new weapon? A cutscene only available through download?

Or is this one of those special surprises like Michael Scott from The Office would come up with? There's no way that folks with leaked copies could ruin ice cream sandwiches.

I suppose that in the interest of more accurate speculation we should stick to the DLC idea. You guys throw out your ideas while I rush to my local grocer's freezer.

I'm surprised nobody has stepped forward to debunk this rumor. There are no 90 minute cutscenes in MGS4. The ending is long, but 90 minutes is a gross exaggeration.

And here I thought gamers liked long endings!

So there ya go, no 90 minute cutscenes and a lengthy ending says Kojima Productions.

Five New MGS4 Ads [Dtoid]

MGS4 has '90 minute' cut-scenes [CVG]

UPDATE - CVG say it has 90-minute cutscenes. GamePro beg to differ, saying that "sounds like an exaggeration", though in saying that they fail to provide a "corrected" figure.

I gotta start thinking about MGS5... Even though, well, Snake's story ends in MGS4.

...About MGS5, that would be something that Kojima Productions would have to make, I think.

Sounds like Kojima's at least considering doing Metal Gear Solid 5. If MGS4 is a hit, it'll be hard for him not to do it. And hey, if he actually does make MGS5, then he can think about making MGS6 after that!

Famitsu scan below.

Kojima Is Thinking About MGS5 [My News Flash Blog]

Unfortunately, overseas game production companies, which are well-funded and extremely skilled, have surpassed us by a couple of steps...It was once said that Japan molded the world's video game [industry], but that's becoming a thing of the past. Sad as it may be, it's the truth.

Metal Gear Solid 4 golden [GameSpot]

MGO Character [Akayuki]

Or don't! The official Metal Gear Online news page stresses that the beta launch "may change due to unforseen [sic] circumstances." There is a tiny glimmer of good news, as the beta has been pushed on the back end, closing on May 11, instead of the fifth, as previously planned. So... Friday it is. Commence breath holding!

Metal Gear Online Official Site

US Version

European Version

I have a son in that particular age group, the 13-15 year old age group, and he's been with me watching me create the Metal Gear series. But he has always criticized it: 'Oh, Metal Gear is such a s****y game.' Until the point I released Portable Ops. So these kids are really into these handheld machines, and my son is really into Portable Ops as well: the use of the WiFi, the ability to play anywhere, bring it to school, etc. So it seems like the middle school kids are really, really having fun with the PSP.

February 29th, 2008 KONAMI will simultaneously release METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS ("MGS4"), a PLAYSTATIONR3® (PS3®) title, in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

This will be the first time ever for KONAMI to simultaneously release the METAL GEAR series throughout the world.

The METAL GEAR series celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The series has been created to carry an antiwar and antinuclear theme to society, and its total sales have surpassed 22 million units (*1) worldwide.

MGS4 will be the final chapter in the METAL GEAR series, so all the major characters will make an appearance and all the remaining mysteries will be unveiled.

In addition, MGS4 was awarded a prize for excellence in the entertainment category (*2) at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, The National Art Center, and CG-ARTS Society as a video game pursuing a depth of visual expression that outstrips every previous generation of hardware.

In Japan, KONAMI will launch MGS4 in the following 3 package:

The "Standard Version" including METAL GEAR Online Starter Pack, the "Special Edition" including a Blu-ray Disc of bonus features in addition to the everything included in the Standard Version, and the "Premium Pack" which includes a PLAYSTATION®3 Console in addition to the Special Edition.

We also chat briefly about the current Blackwater controversy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the Metal Gear Solid 20th Anniversary Collection boxed set's status. Hit the jump for the full interview.

McWhertor: What do you think of E For All so far?

Payton: I wish I could see more of it. I been holed up in the MGS4 booth. It would be nice to play some Smash Bros. and some Super Mario Galaxy. I'm curious to see what happens on Saturday and Sunday.

Yeah, it's pretty light right now.

It's still the weekday. It's a consumer show, so we hope that more people show up on Saturday and Sunday. It's easy to look around and see that it's not crowded like Tokyo Game Show or previous E3s. With that said, there's a lot of press coming out of Nintendo, Konami, THQ and EA. If they feel satisfied with it and consumers keep talking about it, I don't see any reason why E For All won't be back until next year.

Well you've had pretty good lines for Metal Gear Solid 4 so far.

When we opened up the doors, there were a hundred people waiting. It was like that yesterday and today. We will not have an empty seat for the whole show. It's been wall to wall.

Are you getting any feedback from people who have played the game?

I've been trying to watch people play, but I've been doing a lot of interviews and presentations. TGS was a good experience for me because I made about five pages of notes. I was watching people like you play the game and watching other press play it, listening to what complaints they had or whenever they smiled to a make note about what was successful and what wasn't. But at E For All, I'm hoping to get a little more time to watch people play because there is a little more time to make some tweaks to make the gameplay a little more accessible to Western gamers. So far, response has been awesome. They've been saying "this doesn't feel like a Metal Gear game" but in a good way.

What did you notice as time went on? Can you talk about any of those recent tweaks?

It's mostly minute stuff. For example, the over the shoulder aiming system, I think it's a little bit too sensitive right now. With the PS3 controller, the left analog stick, if you just barely press it, it moves a little bit too fast for my tastes. And for a lot of people's tastes. I've noticed if you try to do a precision shot, it still moves around a little too much. So we're tweaking that, a lot of the stuff that's really kind of under the hood.

As far as other things are concerned, game balance and kind of educating the gamer that it's still a stealth game. It's an issue that I've noticed we had at TGS and here at E For All that, because we give you so many cool guns, because we give the over the shoulder aim, and because the game actually feels good with rumble and everything, people are killing PMC soldiers left and right. We want to make sure that people understand that there's a balance. Some sections are going to require traditional stealth game play and that you can't just go in guns blazing. It's still Metal Gear. There were some players who would just shoot every PMC they saw, without realizing that you can have alliances with groups like the Werewolves.

Yeah, how does that work? Will the four Beasts be in control of the individual PMC groups?

No, not really, although they do have similar names, like the Werewolves and Crying Wolf, and there's one that's called [Eight Arms of the Octopus in French], but they aren't under their direct control. They be played against each other, but you'll see how it plays in the game.

Speaking of PMCs, I was wondering if the Kojima Productions team has been paying attention to the current situation with private military contractor Blackwater and the surrounding controversy.

Sure, we've been following it pretty closely, but we've been following the PMC business for a long time now. The team at Kojima Productions is filled with military otaku, so we're well aware of the history of PMCs and the Blackwater situation in particular.

It feels like a bit of good and bad timing for you, as it will probably receive some attention from mainstream media but it could be spun the wrong way. Has this worried the team or does it feel like a boon to the game's focus?

We're not particularly worried about it. Mr. Kojima and the team have been working on the game for over three years now, so it's not something new for us. It was part of the vision from the very beginning so any attention it gets from current events isn't something that concerns us.

I suppose you could say that any publicity is good publicity. At least you're going to be lightening up the heavy themes with monkeys in diapers addicted to soda.

Yeah, having a shaved monkey should divert attention away from something like that.

When we posted that Justify Your Game, a lot of people were like, "Who's Ryan Payton?" So, just to clear that up, what is it that you're doing on a regular basis. I know that you're bringing some Western tastes to Kojima Productions, but what does that involve for you?

Everyday I'm doing something different as a producer. It's funny, it's been a running joke in my family because everybody's been asking me what it is exactly that I do. They'll ask me "Are you designing the game?" No, I'm not. "Oh. So did you write the story?" No, I didn't. But I am in charge of the English script, the voice over direction and involved with the motion capture as well. I'm in charge of the international version of the game, not just as far as the master submissions are concerned, but gameplay as well. We're going to have different game balance, different controls, different difficulty levels, different gaming styles for the international versions. It will be a different game from the Japanese version. That's a lot of tweaking, going through the game and making suggestions, changing the gameplay based on what American gamers demand from their games. Japanese gamers, they haven't gotten to that point yet. Their experience with 3D games is usually with fixed cameras like Onimusha, Resident Evil games, Siren. We have huge expectations coming out of America, but for the Japanese they want to keep it more simple. We decided just recently that I'm going to be in charge of making sure the game lives up to those expectations, trying to exceed those expectations coming out of the West.

I'm in charge of the movie, which we're working on with Logan, which is one of the top design companies in the world. They invented the whole iPod silhouette ad campaign. Not just print, but the TV ads and the billboards. They design all those and they're a really hot design company. They're designing and producing our opening movie which is something that's never been attempted before in games. It's going to be the talk of the town when the game comes out.

What are they doing with it that's going to be so dramatic?

It's not just something you sit there and watch, hit the start button and then play the game. There's actually no gameplay involved. It's somewhere in the middle of those two. It's something that nobody has ever attempted before in games. It's a different take on video games.

This is something that my boss, Kenichiro Imaizumi, the head producer on the title, something that he's really talented at, combining two different forces that you would think wouldn't make sense. It's Metal Gear, a military game, combined with Logan, which is really great with cutting edge pop culture advertising. Melding those two together, we've created something that's really cool. They've also designed our logo which is a pretty big departure from our previous logo which have all been just Helvetica, so this is something that's really encouraging for us. Next week we'll be doing production work on it in Hollywood. It's a massive project. I can't give out number figures, but I know of some games that have as big a budget as we have on just this opening movie.

That's not going to win too many friends. Well, speaking of Western gamers, you had the Metal Gear 20th Anniversary collection in Japan and when I talked to Anthony Crouts at Comic Con about it, he said it was a possibility. The end of the year is creeping up and there hasn't been anything announced. Is that going to happen? Are you guys going to bring it stateside?

Yeah, we're working on it pretty much every day, trying to make it happen. There are a lot of issues. American gamers and European gamers are always very vocal, wondering "Why don't we get this?" The truth of the matter is, people like me, like at Konami US and Konami Europe actually want to make it happen. But there are a lot of issues that the average gamer doesn't know about.

It's easy to launch something in Japan. There are only a number of retailers that are going to carry a product and they're more liberal with their shelf space. They allow different size packaging, whereas in the United States, if it's not a DVD-sized package, they're not going to carry it. There are issues, for example, in Quebec where it seems, like now, you might not only have to have your manual, but your entire game in French if you want to release it in Canada. So there are a lot of issues that we have to face, and with that said, we also have to ship Metal Gear Solid 4! So, is the boxed set coming out this year? It's tough to say. At some point next year, I want to have a boxed set on store shelves to give people a chance to play Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2 before they jump into MGS4.

I know you said that a lot of the work that was going into four was that you were trying to make the game more approachable to someone who had never played a Metal Gear game before and it would be nice to have that back catalog for people if they fell in love with the series at this point.

Yeah. Ideally, it would be great to have it out before MGS4, but let's say it's sixty or seventy dollars, which is a lot to have people put down to get familiar with the story. One of the things we're doing with MGS4 is that we're putting in a digital encyclopedia that people can access from the main menu, so they can cross reference different characters and find out what happened in previous games. In that sense, we're backing ourselves up in MGS4 itself. We also have flashback sequences in the game that refer to Metal Gear Rex, Shadow Moses, the Big Shell and what happens in Portable Ops, where players can push the X button and you're going to presented with a flashback sequence that will play back what happened in previous games to re-familiarize people with what happened previously.

I think we're covering our bases, but it would be nice to have that boxed set out before then.

Speaking of Shadow Moses, we just got our first look at it in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Shadow Moses Island. Have you played Smash Bros. yet?

No! I haven't.

You haven't played Smash Bros. yet?! You guys don't have an early copy in the office?

No, it's all over at Sakurai's office.

So you're not involved at all?

No, for various reasons, this is something that's between Mr. Sakurai and Mr. Kojima. There was a decision made early on that we weren't going to involve our team with the production, because Mr. Sakurai's got a very capable team, we feel very confident about letting them handle it. We don't have to involve ourselves in giving them direction, because not only does he know Metal Gear, he has a very talented team in Tokyo. It would be nice to play Smash Bros., but I've got enough things to worry about.

It's just that the Snake dialogue was just absolutely hilarious. I didn't know if you were writing that dialogue.

It's really funny. Yeah, I had a chance to look at it, to offer suggestions before we recorded it and I also made sure that Chris Zimmerman, who's our voice over director for all of our Metal Gear titles, it was my only request that she directs the dialogue sequences for Smash Bros. because if she's involved, I know it's gonna be good.

Well, I should let you go. I've gotta go talk to IGA and you've got some Smash Bros. to play. Thanks for talking to us.

No worries. It's always fun to talk to you guys.

"We're working on it pretty much every day to make it happen," he said at the E For All Expo "but there are a lot of issues that the average gamer doesn't know about." So, who's to blame for the lack of box set love? Retailers? Maybe. Canada? Only partially. If you're going to blame anyone, blame your fellow tightwad gamers, who make convincing the Powers That Be difficult with their garage sale attitude toward video games.

Still, Payton has hope. "At some point next year, I want to have a box set on store shelves to give people a chance to play MGS1 and MGS2 before they jump into MGS4." But don't count on the box set coming out before the PlayStation 3 sequel and don't expect it to look like its Japanese counterpart. Payton talked briefly of his design document for the Western version of the package, one that's slightly different from the home turf release.

More details on the progress of Metal Gear Solid 4 and additional details on the Metal Gear Solid Collection coming in our full interview with the Kojima Productions producer.

For those attending, plan on getting to the booth early—it's just to your left as you enter the South Hall—and prepare for a wait. Anyone waiting to try out Solid Snake's PS3 adventure will have to endure a training briefing in the closed theater before getting their hands on a PS3 controller.

It's prettier this time...you know, than my artistic reinterpretation when we spotted the video earlier on the floor.

And now with sound!

Following the Kojima Productions credits, the trailer runs with the following scenes.

On the streets we've seen in the previous trailers, a heavily armored bulldozer climbs over a mound of rubble, clearing away barricades laced with razor wire. Snake watches the dozen or so soldiers following the dozer, hiding behind a Dumpster.

The bulldozer struggles to pass something in the road. We can see only a portion of the obstruction, even from the driver's view. The PMCs trailing the vehicle dart around the front to help clear the way.

The driver shifts gears, its treads spinning in place. He's stopped cold by a four-legged metal gear dubbed Crying Wolf. As the driver realizes what he's up against, the monster begins to overturn the dozer. The driver, panicked, attempts escape as the soldiers spray the beast with machine gun fire.

Some have already given up and flank the dozer. They're quickly sliced in half by the wings of aerial boss Raging Raven who flies away.

The remaining PMCs eventually given up on killing Wolf, attempting to flee the scene.

Five of them run into Laughing Octopus. The four-tentacled boss unsheathes her thick metal arms behind one of the unlucky, while another points to the danger behind him. She grabs the soldier with lightning speed, constricting him in her embrace until he's crushed to death. A dry looking, death defining spray of blood is released and his body is dropped.

One of the remaining four of this group has had enough. He runs through a trio of PMCs, one armed with a rocket, taking aim at Octopus. The coward of the group suddenly locks up. He quivers. Then he opens fire upon his own team, killing them all.

He then starts floating, his arms and back are pulled in an unnaturally twisted position as we hear his back breaking. As the camera pans around him, we see that he is being suspended from a series of gossamer wires. Cut to Snake, who looks up to see a hovering Screaming Mantis on top of the building across the street. She sports a six armed backpack, blades in four of her mechanical limbs and what look like two floating, spindly, artificial embryos hovering by her side. She's the definition of spooky.

Cut to another group of soldiers. They're attempting to leave via another route. Raven flies overhead firing RPGs at an archway. The rubble crushes a threesome of soldiers. Cut to the back of Snake, still watching the slaughter.

Wolf returns running through a crowd of five survivors, bouncing off walls, headbutting the PMCs to death. Back for another run, he eliminates the remaining two.

Return to Octopus who is swatting away soldiers with one tentacle while skewering another, slamming his bloody corpse to the ground.

Raven is now on the ground, burning his jets over the corpse of a fallen soldier. Wolf howls into the sky. Octopus stands motionless, body draped from her techno-organic attachment.

Snake watches all the four bosses casually leave the scene, seemingly taking instructions from Mantis. Mantis looks in Snake's direction, eyes glowing, and dramatically bowing toward him, making an ominous swipe with a sickled arm before backing away and out of view.

As the camera pans over the carnage...

Simultaneous worldwide release!

If you missed today's earlier announcement that an expansion to the original Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops would be coming to the PSP, this post is for you. Even if you did catch it, but were too lazy to navigate the Kojima Productions site to uncover the above trailer, this post is also for you. This newly released trailer of the Portable Ops+ bonus content shows that Kojima and company really care. And that they've got a sense of humor.

The KP Report Session 047 [i-revo]

Konami's launched a 20th Metal Gear Anniversary website that gives a rundown of what's included in the 20th Anniversary Pack. There are also Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers, including a "remix" of last year's E3 trailer with smoother frame rates, more sparks, less yellow tint and better debris! What's missing? The "PLAYSTATION 3" logo which appeared on the original E3 trailer. Does that mean MGS 4 is cross-platform? Everything we've heard first-hand from Kojima and Kojima Productions indicates that the game is a PS3 exclusive, so we're not jumping to any conclusions before hearing any official announcements. You?

Hit the jump for the remixed trailer and credits. Brian Ashcraft

Original Credits

Remix Credits

Metal Gear 20th Anniversary [Neo GAF via 1Up]

On Ryan Payton's Kojima Productions podcast, he dishes on how Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima played the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl at creator Masahiro Sakurai's Tokyo studio. According to Payton, Kojima said that:

The game already feels very complete, it's already a lot of fun and that you guys (Sakurai's studio) could put it out now, and it would sell millions of copies.

Kojima was playing as Snake, Sakurai was playing as Mario. Yet, Kojima humorously admitted that he wasn't able to punch of kick the character he's grown up with, Mario — Out of respect. Click over to listen to the rest and hear about MPO Europe extras and about Kojima and Ken Imaizumi (above) playing Guitar Hero. Brian Ashcraft

Payton Report [i-revo]

Here's the second part of the Kojima Productions podcast I appeared on with Ryan Payton. We talk about Kojima's favorite games, Japanese gaming tournaments, those MGS 4 appearing on the Xbox 360 rumors and game journalism. After listening to it, I can safely say that all the parts in which I'm not talking are fascinating. Brian Ashcraft

Hear It Here [Ryan's i-revo Blog]

The Kojima Productions podcast I appeared on with Ryan Payton has gone live. It's part one of two, so you can hear me drone on and on and on this week and next week! We talk about Osaka, blogging and, of course, THE IDOLM@STER. Brian Ashcraft

Listen Here [Ryan's i-Revo Blog]

Yesterday morning, I arrived in Tokyo a little earlier than scheduled to appear on the Kojima Productions podcast with Ryan Payton. As I've mentioned a gazillion times before, I was in town for an article I'm doing for a design magazine. I headed over to Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills to the Kojima Productions office. I hadn't been there in a while, and security is still ass-tight. Here's the last time I visited Mori Tower.

I've known Ryan for a few years now. We worked on a Wired Mag piece together eons and eons ago — Before he was working for KP. Anyway, it's was good seeing him again, hanging out for a bit and appearing on his podcast. Not sure when it will air, but will let y'all know when it does.

Didn't have much time to snoop around the office because I was on a tight schedule, so I was pretty much in and out. There weren't playable copies of Metal Gear Solid 4 just lying around, but I took a picture of the hallway leading into the room where they are making it. SO EXCITING. Brian Ashcraft

Yes, I need to recharge my DS Lite. Ryan Payton at Kojima Productions was kind enough to pass along Lunar Knights for me to take a look at. I'm a few hours in, and I'm really digging the title. It's slick and polished, just like what you'd expect from Hideo Kojima and co. Music's great as are the anime cut scenes. Lunar Knights is a dungeon crawler (which I dig) with vampire slayers. The game takes place in the Boktai universe and is the forth installment in the series — A non-sequential one at that, apparently. Out is the solar sensor of previous installments. And in its place, touch screening and whistling into the mic. All in all, solid title that shapes up to be more than a diversion for Kojima while he plucks away at MGS 4 (and for everyone else waiting for it!). People in Kotaku-land pick Lunar Knights up? If so, whaddaya think? Brian Ashcraft

Zombies! The walking dead. We love 'em and were so happy to hear Metal Gear Solid Hideo Kojima does too. Though, he loves them in a slightly different way. He tells Edge Magazine about an online game concept of his:

The zombie idea I have is a bit different...Imagine a large town where half the inhabitants are zombies. Users would subscribe, get inside the town and get bitten. At that stage they become undead and can't control their character - all they can do is modify the camera angles... They'd see their character attacking humans and have to pay just to watch!

The only way they could end it is by opening another account, hunting themselves down and killing themselves. Of course, the problem is that your second character can get bitten as well.

And this apparently isn't just Kojima talking out of his ass. Saying if the timing was right, he will "take some time to prepare [a zombie title]. Very seriously." Is there ever a "bad time" for a zombie game? Brian Ashcraft

Kojima Talks Undead [Games Radar via QJ.Net]

Ryan Payton, assistant producer for the Kojima Productions game and host of The Kojima Productions Report, told the folks at PSM that: "If [Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is] successful on the retail level there will definitely be a sequel."

See how easy that was? All everyone had to do was buys tons of copies of the game! And since that requirement has already been fulfilled, I'm sure the Kojima Productions team is already hard at work. I mean, if they'll do a sequel to Metal Gear AC!D, not to mention making 3-D goggles, they'll do just about anything. Thanks for doing your part, game buying public! Michael McWhertor

Metal Gear PSP to get sequel? [Eurogamer]

A PSP game to get excited about? Believe. Kojima Productions Producer Ryan Payton sits down to chat about Metal gear Solid: Portable Ops. Says Payton:

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (MPO) has no relation to the Acid series. One of the first steps in developing MPO was to place the existing MGS3: Subsistence engine on PSP — so what you're getting here is a brand new game built off of the Subsistence infrastructure. Everything that you'd come to expect in a MGS title sneaking, first-person view, CQC, using enemies as shields... it's all present. This was quite a chore to implement and playtest into the game, but I think MGS fans will appreciate having all of Snake's moves available in a new game on PSP.

And thrilled not to have to muck around with the cards or goofy 3D present in AC!D. The game, which drops next week, sounds like a solid title. Literally. Brian Ashcraft

Payton's New Game [IGN, Thanks Keu!]

Where to start? Deep breaths... MGS Gackt poster, MGS telephone cards, MGS business cards, Kojima Productions recruitment card, MGS Calorie Mate postcard, MGS Zippo, MGS GameCube, MGS t-shirt, trading cards, MGS bag, MGS cigarette case, MGS tapestry, MGS bandana, MGS Fossil wristwatch, MGS Famitsu dog tag and MGS wine. In one fell swoop, Japan-based seller "phyhod000" is dumping eBaying the biggest single Metal Gear collection we've seen. It's as though somebody woke up one day and decided they really, really hated Hideo Kojima. Brian Ashcraft

Loads Of Metal Gear [GameSetWatch]