This is patently ridiculous. I love those games immensely and have nothing but massive respect for Mr. Kojima. I did mention one disagreement I had regarding the climax of the game, a question of character, but this is just par for the course when many people work on the same piece.

From the videos we posted, it certainly seemed like Hayter was joking. And besides, what's wrong about disagreeing? A man's entitled to his opinion, and Kojima is free to make the game however he sees fit. That doesn't mean there's any ill feelings! Hit the jump for the full message:

Everyone,

Apparently, the people at 1up dot com have taken some of the things I jokingly said at the Anime Expo 08 panel and made it sound like I had problems with the Metal Gear series and Mr. Kojima's work.

This is patently ridiculous. I love those games immensely and have nothing but massive respect for Mr. Kojima. I did mention one disagreement I had regarding the climax of the game, a question of character, but this is just par for the course when many people work on the same piece.

Anyway, I'm sure I don't have to remind any of you out there, but please don't take half the stuff you read on-line seriously.

Thanks,

David Hayter

See, this is why I don't do public appearances... (From DH) [IMDB Thanks, Jim!]

Does it need a movie? No. Do people want to collect the money that would be made from a movie? Sure. [laughs] I think that any time that a property is as valuable as this one, they're going to do it. It's not a question of if there is a need for a movie, it's a question of how do they insure that the movie is good, and worth watching.

And how would Hayter make Metal Gear Solid a movie worth watching?

I think, because of the scenes — there's so much movie in every Metal Gear game — it's like, well, do we really need to see a bunch more talking about Metal Gear? As a movie adapter myself, I would never take those scenes verbatim and put them up on screen; it wouldn't make any sense. I mean, a lot of times it doesn't make any sense in the game. But you're sort of speaking a language that all of these fans would understand.

In a movie, you're going to want, for the lack of a better term, a more American style of dialogue. Tighter scenes. Themes that aren't quite as ambiguous, that speak more to Americans. You're really watching a Japanese perspective of American military power, where as it would be interesting to me to see the American perspective on what American military power has become. Now it's kind of dubious right now, so it's an interesting time to sort of explore that.

If you're going to do it well, do it. If you're going to put out some piece of crap, then no. Nobody needs that. Why waste your two hours when you can waste 18 watching Metal Gear 4. [laughter] No, not waste. Not when you can add quality to your life by playing Metal Gear Solid 4. [smiles]

If Hayter doesn't end up writing the Metal Gear Solid movie and the flick stinks, fans will default to they-should-have-gotten-Hayter. And if Hayter does write the flick, the director and the producers might feel as though they're always deferring to Hayter and not making the movie as they see it.

Destructoid Interview: David Hayter [Destructoid]

I didn't agree with that [Snake flinching at pulling the trigger on himself] at all, and I begged them to change it, but I think it's still in the final game... I didn't buy it at all. I think it's weak for Snake to be killing other people and then not be able to kill himself when it's time. If he knows it's time, then it's time.

Point. Fair enough, fair enough. Though, we can also see how Kojima might have wanted to humanize Snake in his final moments as well.

David Hayter Critical of Some MGS Moments [1Up]

Eds Note: Reader Zac attended the panel, and sent along these edited YouTube clips:

Lest you blanch at the notion of Solid Snake lumped in with Days of Our Lives or Waiting to Exhale, I would suggest to fans of Braveheart, Lost, CSI, and virtually every sports movie ever made that you are also fans of melodrama. The Call of Duty series, the Final Fantasy series, Bioshock - even significant portions of GTA IV - all rely on melodrama to deliver their experiences.

And at the center of these tales is the classic Melodrama Hero - a man (sometimes, but rarely a woman) of strength and courage who must do great deeds in an environment of heightened emotional intensity; a hero who operates within a clearly defined world of good and evil, charged with restoring order and stability from chaos. Solid Snake and Dudley Do-Right are cut from the same cloth. One may be a conflicted hero with lots more backstory (and, okay, Dudley is a cartoon caricature), but dramaturgically they function in remarkably similar ways.

I have to say I would think most people would blanch at the idea of Solid Snake lumped in with soap operas ... but he's got a point. Melodrama is a hugely effective narrative style — and the reasonably clear dichotomies we see in many narrative-driven games is one critical part in labeling them as 'melodramas,' or at least as media possessing melodramatic elements. However, I don't think the world is quite ready for the Days of Our Lives RPG. At least, I certainly hope not.

We do melodrama [The Brainy Gamer]

Thanks DavidXsee!

Nintendo Wii outsells Sony's PS3 in Japan in June [Reuters]

Honestly, we asked the motion capture actors to do the motion capture nude, but of course, we couldn't use this in the actual game.

レポート：トークショウ [Gpara via My game news flash]

Saw this a few days ago at my local Sams Club in Douglasville Ga.
I picked it up to verify it is for the Wii. The release is, I think, is a week or two away.
Sorry for the poor quality. I was in a huge rush.

Domestically, the one-day peak time is 11pm with 12,000 players playing online simultaneously. Worldwide, we've seen about 100,000 connect [to MGO].

Famitsu confirmed the standalone version of Metal Gear Online, which goes on sale for ¥1,800 (US$17) on July 17th.

横浜で"MGS4 ワールドツアー in Japan" [Famitsu]

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]

She got the unlock codes from two different launch events in Japan today, in Shinjuku and Yokohama. A third was released at Omiya but she wasn't there, so its code is still out there, presumably (if you have it, send along to tips.) But McWhertor tested these out and they're on the level:

password mekakorkkk unlocks the .45 caliber pistol.
password mnsoymsyhn unlocks the Mosin-Nagant rifle.

Enjoy your ill-gotten firearms! The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled you have a right to 'em after all ...

Yes, hairsplitters, that's shipped to retailers, not sold through to customers. Still, we're fairly certain Hideo Kojima can flaunt that number to friends and probably secure a line of credit at his favorite silk shirt retailer because they know he's good for it.

Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting [Famitsu via IGN]

僕らの時代のスーパーロボットが登場 [IT Media]

June 28th, Saturday
•Yodobashi Camera Shinjuku 10:00AM - 11:00AM
•Sofmap Omiya 2:30PM - 3:30PM
•Yodobashi Camera Yokohama 5:30PM - 7:00

June 29th, Sunday
•Nagoya Station Bic Camera 10:30AM - NOON
•Osaka Yamada Denki Labi1 4:00PM - 5:30PM

Seems like signatures are mostly being limited to game packaging (Premium Pack is okay!), so that means no Kojima signed cigarette boxes. Bummer.

GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS　ワールドツアー　in JAPAN [IT Media] [Pic]

Zero Punctuation The Escapist]

So, shortly after hanging up the phone, I sent him a follow-up. There was one MGS4 idea that we hadn't discussed that I thought was deserving of an NYT spotlight: How sad the game is. And how rare it is that we get a chance to play a sad game.

In my letter, I wrote:

MGS4 is the rare effort of video game blues and tragedy. Gamers are used to being asked to save the day and be the hero. Metal Gear Solid 4 is so unusual in that it's the rare game that asks them to be interested in something else: a march toward defeat, an interactive tragedy.

I've printed my full e-mail below. No spoilers beyond what was in the game's trailers.

Anyone else want more video game tragedies? (cue mention of Conker's Bad Fur Day)

David,

One other thing that we should have talked about: the novelty of a video game tragedy.

The video game medium has largely been one of triumphal fiction. One could argue that that's because of the nature of games. Designers need to keep their players entertained, which, in character-driven games as far back as Pac-Man, involves giving the player obstacles and enemies to overcome. And many modern video games keep the player engaged by rewarding the player with an expanding arsenal of abilities. Get this far in a game or conquer this challenge in a game and your character will now be able to jump further or replace her pistol with a shotgun or finally be able to swing not just a sword but now a sword engulfed in magic flame. Players are compelled, so often, by a sense of progress. And that's why, I think, so many games' stories are necessarily ones of triumph, of Horatio Alger status climbing or Joseph Campbell heroic feat.

So it was a bit strange when the first major MGS4 trailer premiered a few years ago and culminated with Old Snake finding a quiet spot of the battlefield away from the gunfire an placing the barrel of a pistol in his mouth. That's what feels so unusual about MGS4 even compared to the other MGS games. This is a sad story, one that feels destined to end in defeat. Snake is aging and dying. He's literally become toxic to the people around him. And his back hurts. (Which you'll see him clutch in pain if you let him crouch too long). MGS4 is the rare effort of video game blues and tragedy. Gamers are used to being asked to save the day and be the hero. Metal Gear Solid 4 is so unusual in that it's the rare game that asks them to be interested in something else: a march toward defeat, an interactive tragedy. That's what feels novel. And, like I said, it's still a challenge to parse the value of novelty from any sense of how the work will hold up in the long term.

Hope that helps!

-Stephen

The Metal Gear Solid series has again proved its huge potential, and we are delighted with the fantastic response the game has enjoyed at retail... MGS4 is nothing short of a masterpiece — an epic conclusion to the Solid Snake story. We are extremely pleased with the positive feedback we have received from retail and consumers alike, and will keep satisfying their needs with updates to the game's 'Extra' option, and via new content to Metal Gear Online.

Since Europe doesn't have a single chart tracker for every territory, it'll be a while until we have exact figures. (Konami will have to work off internal sales data for all of Europe.) But for now, this shipped figure will have to suffice. Full press release in all its confusing glory after the jump.

Metal Gear Solid 4 blows retail away!
Huge first week sales as Hideo Kojima's epic PLAYSTATION®3 title enjoys storming first week
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced that sales of its newly-released Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots title for PLAYSTATION®3 have exceeded one million units within the first week.

Konami has shipped over one million copies of the game to retailers across Europe to meet the exceptional demand, with high sales confirmed in all European territories and securing the Number One position in the relevant sales charts.

Released globally on June 12th, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots marks the final adventure for series hero Solid Snake. With his body failing and ageing at an accelerated rate, Snake is called on one last mission to halt the plans of his long-term nemesis Liquid Snake. Liquid has seized control of a series of private armies for his own nefarious needs and, in a mission that spans the Middle East, South America and returns to Shadow Moses, Snake must stop Liquid at all costs. Also included on the disc is Metal Gear Online, a dedicated online game featuring locations from and inspired by MGS4.

In addition to the high sales across Europe, Konami has also confirmed that the limited edition MGS4 sets that comprised a 'Making Of' Blu-Ray, soundtrack CD and 'Old Snake' mannequin. 25,000 sets were made available across Europe, but were snapped up almost immediately by fans of the series.

"The Metal Gear Solid series has again proved its huge potential, and we are delighted with the fantastic response the game has enjoyed at retail," commented Martin Schneider, Sales and Marketing Director Germany for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "MGS4 is nothing short of a masterpiece – an epic conclusion to the Solid Snake story. We are extremely pleased with the positive feedback we have received from retail and consumers alike, and will keep satisfying their needs with updates to the game's 'Extra' option, and via new content to Metal Gear Online."

The New York Times tackles MGS 4 in brief — discussing both the story ('What does it mean?') and people's reactions to the game, including a couple of choice quotes from our very own Leigh Alexander. Several other game writers weigh in on MGS 4's story and execution:

Even as gamers ponder what this symbolism means (an allegory of war in the era of Blackwater Worldwide and stateless enemy combatants?), they are also debating whether the story of Metal Gear Solid 4 is a satisfying one, and if its storytelling techniques are used effectively.

“You get so caught up in just figuring out, Does this story need to be here?” said Stephen Totilo, an MTV News reporter who covers video games. “That’s not a question you wind up asking yourself when you’re reading a novel. Of course the story needs to be there! Otherwise you don’t have a novel.”

Players like Shawn Elliott, the senior executive editor of the gaming Web site 1up.com, have criticized the game for its preachiness, and for its reliance on lengthy cinematic interludes that can run 30 minutes or longer.

“It can basically become a movie for long stretches,” Mr. Elliott said. “It’s not necessarily a game catching up with movies, but a game kind of cheating and using a language that isn’t native to its own medium.”

Leigh is even described as an "unrepentant fan." Since the article is mostly taken up with quotes from people who know what they're talking about, it's not as eye rollingly bad as many NYT gaming-related articles can be ...

The Shootout Over Hidden Meanings in a Video Game [NYT]

I'm really fond of the Brainy Gamer, mostly because Michael Abbott's posts almost always live up to the title of the blog; this week, he tackled the question of 'genius' and auteurs, amongst a lot of MGS 4 talk (especially in reference to Citizen Kane). Abbott looks at the parallels between D.W. Griffith (director of Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, among a lot of others) and Kojima Hideo of Metal Gear fame. Leaving aside the question of whether Kojima 'is' a genius (at the very least, he is an auteur), Abbott draws parallels between the two, especially in terms of a 'blind spot':

His theater training may have impaired him in some ways, but Griffith always hired interesting, talented people. Lillian Gish almost single-handedly rescues several of Griffith's films from the ham-fisted performances of most of the other actors.

Similarly, Kojima's reliance on cutscenes can be tiresome, but he is a fine and gifted filmmaker. One can easily track his maturation from the original MGS. Unlike other so-called cinematic games like Mass Effect, the filmmaking in MGS4 is visually creative, high-caliber stuff. As with Lillian Gish, it's almost enough to make you forget the blind spots.

So how to account for it? Arrogance? Stubbornness? Or is it really just a blind spot? A certain inability to see the strangling grip of an old mode on a new one. An infatuation with the pretty girl who won't love you back. If the very thing that limits the artist is also the artist's primary mechanism for delivering content - as it is for both Griffith and Kojima - that blind spot is a very pernicious thing.

No one's perfect, of course — but Abbott's musings are thought provoking, especially considering the overabundance of film/game discussions.

The genius blind spot [The Brainy Gamer]

Metal Gear Solid 5 Could Be a Prequel [1UP]

"I needed to just play a game for a little while, " he told me during a late night call earlier this week. "I got stuck in Metal Gear Solid and it was so frustrating playing it over and over again."

At 70, my dad isn't probably the typical Metal Gear Solid gamer, probably not even the typical gamer. But after watching me play through chunks of Grand Theft Auto shortly after its release he vowed to pick up the Playstation 3. Why the PS3? Because the original Xbox, now a magnet for dust in his house, got a chance and it was the Playstation's turn, he told me.

So on launch day my dad made his way to the only GameStop in Moultrie, Georgia, a town of pecan trees, tobacco warehouses and business-stopping high school football games. He got there before opening and stood in a line of one just to pick up the PS3 Metal Gear bundle.

After the set-up, the tweaking, the firmware updates, he settled down to play some Metal Gear Solid 4, his first experience with the franchise. I didn't hear from him for days. I imagined him sitting, cocooned in the self-exile of a tiny town in a tiny county, playing unshaven, the last great moments of Snake.

After a few days I called him up to check in, make sure he hadn't gone down the rabbit hole of virtual unreality. I asked him what he thought of the game.

"I think," he said slowly, "that they need to decide if they want to make a game or make a movie."

Had he given up, I asked. No, he hadn't done that, instead he had buckled down and muscled forward, enjoying a lot of what he had experienced.

I told him I had suggested the game because I thought he would like the themes of military and espionage, and that unlike the shooters he was so used to playing, he didn't have to worry so much about his slowing reflexes?

You can take your time, and let the action and the story unwind slowly, like a good book, I said.

Oh, he replied, I play it like a shooter. I don't sneak around really. I just die a lot.

But despite what has to be the frustrations inherent in tackling a stealth game with guns blazing, my dad was showing signs of getting into it, digging it. He had one night after dinner, for instance, "accidentally" played the game well into the morning hours, going to bed not much before the sun rose.

But his brief love affair with hardcore gaming came to a crashing halt Thursday night when Snake met Vamp and the mounting deaths finally sapped his will to game.

"I don't understand why they have to force me to beat Vamp," he said. "I mean it's completely stopped me from playing the game. I can't go do anything else. I just want to have fun, but I can't."

I hooked him up with some help, tips, a walk-through on how to deal with his Vamp problem, but I think, perhaps, it might be too late. Straddling the line between hardcore and easy entry games, my dad just got stun-knifed out of the game.

Old Man and the GTA [Kotaku]

Metal Gear Online Standalone [Rakuten via ２ちゃんねる Thanks, Muu!]

Tecmo will be less happy to see that Ninja Gaiden II has already dropped off the charts after an unimpressive showing last week.

01. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - 465,000 / NEW
02. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 38,000 / 1,444,000
03. Wii Fit (Wii) - 37,000 / 2,227,000
04. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (PSP) - 27,000 / 187,000
05. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP) - 26,000 / 2,203,000
06. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 2: CR Neon Genesis Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (DS) - 22,000 / NEW
07. Dragon Ball Z Burst Limit (PS3) - 18,000 / 111,000
08. DS Bimoji Training (DS) - 17,000 / 285,000
09. DS Yamamura Misa Suspense: Maiko Kogiku - Kisha Katherine - Sougiya Isa Akashi - Koto ni Maru Hana Sanrin: Kyoto Satujin Jinken File (DS) - 17,000 / 56,000
10. Fushigi no Dungeon - Furai no Shiren 3: Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime (Wii) - 14,000 / 73,000

11. Wii Sports (Wii)
12. Meccha! Taiko Drum Master DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken (DS)
13. Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou! (DS)
14. Family Trainer: Athletic World (Wii)
15. Valhalla Knights 2 (PSP)
16. Wii Play (Wii)
17. Mario Kart (DS)
18. Boura wa Kaseki Holder (DS)
19. Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage (DS)
20. Kuukan * Zukei: Hirameki Training - KuuTore (DS)
21. Majin Tantei Nougame Neuro: Neuro to Miko no Bishoku Sanmai (DS)
22. Link's Crossbow Training (Wii)
23. Motto TOEIC Test DS Training (DS)
24. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
25. Endless Frontier: Super Robot Wars OG Saga (DS)
26. Tottado! Yowiko no Mujintou Seikatsu (DS)
27. New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
28. More Brain Training (DS)
29. Battalion Wars 2 (Wii)
30. Pokémon Diamond (DS)

Media Create Weekly Software Sales [Gpara]

What's included? Complete storylines, character profiles, relationship diagrams(!), plus "much more." The best part? Spoiler protection, as sensitive information that might ruin your MGS4 experience is "blacked out" until you've completed the game.

We'll have to check with the official Kotaku excitement tracker, but we don't remember being this enthusiastic about a database ever.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Database on the way! [PlayStation.blog]

【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]

Chart-Track: MGS4 had "minimal" impact on UK PS3 sales [GI.biz]

Metal Gear Solid 4 is Kojima Productions' series swan song, an epic denouement that's dripping with metaphor and complex narrative, one that will most likely leave you ultimately satisfied rather than thoroughly confused. Getting to that point, we found, was a hell of a ride.

Loved
A Happy Marriage Of Art & Technology: Metal Gear Solid 4 is without a doubt the best looking PlayStation 3 game yet. A masterstroke of high quality art direction and technical prowess make it a feast for the eyes. Characters are modeled and animated beautifully, and the game's varied environments are expertly crafted. The attention to detail is simply stunning, with some of MGS4's clever product placement seemingly getting extra care. The frame rate may not be ideal, but given what's happening on screen, it's hard to quibble.
Being In Control: One of my biggest personal complaints about the Metal Gear Solid series was its complicated control scheme. MGS4 doesn't dumb things down, but introduces more context-sensitive actions and a tightened layout, resulting in less crab-clawing of the DualShock.
Gorgeous Direction:The bizarre and beautiful avant garde intro from Logan may leave players puzzled, but the Kojima directed in-game cinematics rarely stray into art house territory. Outside of a ludicrous breakdancing battle and some melodramatic emotional scenes, they're engaging and unparalleled in their production values.
Fan Service: MGS4 doesn't just dip into two decades of Metal Gear history, it bathes in it. Kojima fans will likely go wild with the game's extensive references to games past—and not just from twenty years of Metal Gear, but from other Kojima helmed titles, like Policenauts and Zone of the Enders. Many beloved characters make repeat appearances, even if some are just in flashback form. There are deviations from standard gameplay that might just blow your fanboy mind.
Great Gadgets: OctoCamo and Otacon's mini-Metal Gear are welcome additions to Snake's arsenal, as is the multifunction Solid Eye system. Upgrading weapons is a breeze, thanks to a generous and easy to use shopping system.
Robust Multiplayer Modes: Metal Gear Online may have initially seemed like an afterthought, but with six modes that range from straightforward Team Deathmatch to Sneaking Mission—in which one team member plays as Snake, another as Metal Gear Mk .II—it's clear Kojima Productions took multiplayer seriously. A fine replacement for the now-dead original MGO.
Comic Relief: Cola swilling monkeys aren't the only source of laughs in this generally gloomy chapter. Kojima and crew poke fun at themselves perfectly, with a welcome dose of MGS in-jokes and toilet humor that, believe it or not, actually makes sense plot-wise.

Hated
Obscene Cut Scene Length: Kojima Productions needs an editor. One portion of the game has the player mostly hands-off for close to an hour, with unnecessarily long cinematics flanking a hard drive install. We like Kojima's blend of action and narrative and often find his self-indulgence endearing, but there is simply no need to see some of this stuff. Gameplay feels like it takes a backseat to long-winded monologue at times, which is a shame, since the mechanics are so masterfully honed in this chapter.
Getting Metal Gear Online Online Is A Hassle: The Konami ID system is overly complicated and confusing, something we can't imagine doing via DualShock. MGO itself was somewhat unstable, resulting in three failed attempts at downloading a software update and occasional server disconnects.
Loading.... There is a somewhat lengthy install at the beginning of the game, plus additional smaller installs prior to each act. Potentially more aggravating are numerous loading screens that break up the action, with one particular thrilling chase sequence suffering most.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is a fascinating specimen, equal parts video game and interactive digital cinema. It is both aided and hampered by Kojima's predilection for extensive dialogue and exposition. It's so thematically layered, so steeped in Metal Gear lore that it might be intimidating to new players—having skipped out on Metal Gear Solid 3, I was concerned about being completely lost—but it shouldn't be. There are at times I wanted to throttle Kojima for his seemingly endless script, wanting to just play the damn game—something you do less and less as the game wears on—but there's still a certain charm to the game's thickly interwoven themes of the economy of war, familial strife, the role of science, and the toll that time takes on the mind and body.

Metal Gear Solid as a series, we hope, is over. It ends on such a high note—despite its numerous flaws—and so succinctly wraps up its voluminous, twenty-year long narrative that we'd hate to see an even older Snake give it another slog. Playing through Metal Gear Solid 4 again, however, is a different story. It's worth another shot.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was developed by Kojima Productions, published by Konami. Retails for $59.99. Available on PlayStation 3. Played single player campaign to completion on "Solid Normal" difficulty. Tested all Metal Gear Online modes and extras.

The events of 38-year-old Hideo Kojima's life prepared him to design the amazing video game Metal Gear Solid 2. As a child growing up in Kobe, Japan he played outdoor games like thief-and-detective, peeking around corners in much the same way as Solid Snake, the hero of MGS2, does today. In middle school he wrote five 600-page science-fiction novels. When one of his friends brought a camera to school, Kojima took up filmmaking, using his camera. Then he charged neighborhood kids 50 yen each to see his own movies. By the time he reached college, he had worked for Nintendo to develop video games using film techniques and became famous as a video game designer.

Wait, wait. So little Kojima stole some other kid's camera to make movies and then charged other children 50 yen to see his movies? That explains a lot!

Hit the jump for the Korean text.

MGS2 Test [Ruliweb Thanks, Torokun!]

Playboy Spices Up MGS4 [Siliconera]

Kojima explains his brand of antiwar sentiment, which is more or less circumspect about the reasons and results of war rather than outright pacifism. He also pines for a future where smaller, art-house productions are comparatively viable, among a world of titles that are increasingly developed for blockbuster effect, like Grand Theft Auto IV and MGS4.

Kojima said that action, sex and gambling are the genres "immediately understood all over the world," and expands on that in a thought-provoking way.

"We use action and that is why our games become bigger and bigger - Hollywood big. It is however possible to make smaller, more personal games if you, for example, limit the target region, the gender or the age of the audience. MGS is a Hollywood blockbuster, like GTA. But maybe it is time for something like independent movies, with a smaller target audience, like movies for an arthouse movie theater.

And he gives a great one-liner when asked to explain MGS4 to a non-gamer. "It's a game of hide-and-seek."

Spiegel Online Interview: Hideo Kojima talks about pacifism, movies and GTA [Gaming in Germany, thanks for the translation maxax]

Beyond MGS4, I have a Kotaku giveaway contest to design this weekend, a birthday party to attend, plus some Meat Bun related things to wrap up, all very exciting stuff. All that and a Metal Gear Solid 4 review by Monday? Can I do it?! What about you? What are your IRL and virtual plans for the weekend?

“War has changed.”

That’s one of the main themes of Metal Gear Solid 4, and from the beginning, it forms a major thread that runs through Hideo Kojima’s hallmark marriage of gameplay and narrative.

Even if one were to skip the game’s introductory cinema, it’s evident something has changed from the first moment of gameplay. The silent tranquilizer gun, a fixture of the Metal Gear Solid series, has historically been the key weapon in a game that prefers the player be stealthy rather than confrontational, pragmatic rather than murderous. As the symbolic lynchpin in that approach, it’s usually one of the earliest pieces of equipment the player obtains.

At the beginning of MGS 4, though, as soon as gameplay begins, your first look at your weapons inventory reveals that instead of the seminal, suppressed tranquilizer gun, you start off with a real one.

Though the game takes place across several different locations, it opens in the Middle East, where local rebels are at war with the soldiers of a private military company (PMC). Instead of Snake’s customary subtle insertion into the outliers of a guarded facility, you’re in the thick of war when the game begins. Stealth is much, much harder now, and cutting through enemy soldier lines against the desert backdrop or carrying an assault rifle amid tanks and grenades evokes moments of feeling just as if you’re playing a typical war title.

War has changed for the MGS universe - and the experience of approaching the series has changed for the player.

Within the game, though, the reason for the evolution in war is explained largely in two parts: First is the privatization of war, waged by corporate platoons-for-hire rather than national armies, and second is the proliferation of nanomachine technology.

The nanomachines prevent soldiers from experiencing fear or feeling much pain, and a digital ID system prohibits them from using unapproved weapons or taking inappropriate actions on the battlefield. The overall effect renders these PMCs little more than remote-control humans, without allegiances, loyalty or personal reasons to fight, and their wars are just business.

This new value set for war stands in direct contrast with the one with which we became acquainted in the original Metal Gear Solid, whose theme could be summed up in a single question: “What are you fighting for?”

In fact, the entire MGS 4 continuously recalls the narrative structure, cinematic arrangement and other key elements from the first game, emphasizing the contrast. The series’ past themes of the necessity of war, battlefield values and personal ideals are put to the test along with the gameplay’s core tenet of intelligent non-confrontation.

MGS 4’s antagonist is overtly once again Snake’s twin, Liquid. But the larger conflict is with this corruption of core ideals - the game presents a world where Snake’s core values, and by extension, the franchise’s, no longer mean anything.

Perhaps that’s the reason behind the decision to prematurely age Snake so severely – that state of affairs actually required some reaching outside of previously-known information to explain. But his advanced age emphasizes his status as a relic in this digitized battlefield, creating player empathy for his loss of relevance and highlighting his heroism when he continues to stand and fight against such overwhelming odds.

Snake, of course, directly contradicts the labeling of himself as “hero” – several times throughout the game, when he’s asked why he still goes into battle, he responds simply that he “still has things left to do.” Simple as that.

The question is, could Metal Gear Solid 4 be a larger metaphor for Kojima’s career and the evolution of the game industry, where high-powered, mindless-slaughter FPS titles set in explosive warzones now dominate, and both creativity and individual vision are minimized against the high-risk “arms race” of the video game console war?

In MGS 4, war has become a financially-driven corporate industry, and the “war economy,” in which PMCs wage war for profit, is another key theme. The game world is bereft of all value except the financial – and even that fluctuates regularly depending on the tide of the war. It looks a lot like a depressing interpretation of the game industry, come to think of it.

MGS 4 was also promoted with the tagline “No Place To Hide,” frequently punned as “No Place For Hideo.” It’s entirely possible that MGS 4’s themes are an expression of Kojima’s own sentiment that the industry has lost its values, glutted itself on war titles, relegated personal strength and creativity to near-extinction, and become entirely focused on money – leaving “no place for Hideo” after all.

Kojima has actually mentioned numerous times that he’s finished with the franchise, often before making a new Metal Gear game – just as, at the end of every game, Snake attempts to retire from war.

Snake is always drawn back in when he’s needed, though, notably led by people who tend to manipulate and lie to him. Even when he’s aware of this, though, Snake, a mercenary who follows orders because of his own values and not because of allegiance to a larger organization, fulfills his objectives for the sake of finishing things.

Maybe Kojima felt he “still had things to do,” just like the rapidly-declining Snake. MGS 4 wraps up all of the loose ends in the series’ plot; whatever Snake has left to do, he’ll finish it at last. And maybe this time Kojima is truly finished, too.

Now, as millions of gamers all over the world immerse themselves in Snake's final adventures, we take a look at how the game fared in the hands of the reviewing public.

IGN
Is it possible to give a game an 11? If so, this would be the game that would merit that score. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a title that exceeds all of the hype that was attached to the title. Regardless of whether you've seen every trailer and screenshot, read every preview and heard every interview, you won't get a full sense of how phenomenal this title is unless you sit down and experience it for yourself.

GameTrailers
On the more exciting end of the spectrum are tense standoffs, gloriously insane fight scenes, genuine emotional moments, and some comic relief. These moments and the overall cinematic direction that frequently provides beautiful transitions in and out of gameplay are worthy consolations for players who unlike devoted fans won’t watch every scene gripping their controller and waiting for a button prompt to trigger a still image flashback or briefly switch a camera angle.

Eurogamer
You're sorry to see Snake go. But should you be? Guns of the Patriots is a frustrating, fractured game that turns Metal Gear Solid's world upside down several times over, but never changes it. It just burrows deeper into what fans love and detractors hate than ever before, and it will make few converts. It's a crying shame, given how many genuinely classic gaming moments there are here, given the countless exquisite creative touches, but Metal Gear Solid 4 is its own worst enemy. You could not ask for a funnier, cleverer, more ambitious or inspired or over-the-top conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid series, but it's definitely time to move on.

GameDaily
With four difficulty levels, enjoyable stealth based play and plenty of over the top action, Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the best PlayStation 3 games. That said, its features, acceptable 10 years ago, seem foolish given the better playing games on the market. Snake's epic, final act just isn't the triple A extravaganza we expected, and it's clear that if Konami intends to continue this franchise or spin off into something new, it needs to study its competition and evolve, delivering shorter cut scenes and superior shooting. But for now, this is one of the most important games in history and you'll dig its cool boss battles, at times witty dialogue and unrivaled sneaking mechanics. Just be sure to keep a magazine handy when those cut scenes get ridiculous.

When it comes right down to it, none of these reviews will effect game sales whatsoever.