Konami has launched a "Metal Gear Solid 4 Beginner Site" to help those Japanese gamers not familiar with MGS to become, well, familiar with MGS. The game initially did very well when it was launched in Japan last June, but hasn't hit anywhere near the million seller mark. Though! The game is the biggest selling PS3 title in Japan, and for that, Konami should be proud. Heck, Konami even puts that on the MGS4 beginner site.
While this MGS4-for-dummies site might be a little late, it's actually a pretty neat thing to click around. The above image is from the "What's Metal Gear Solid 4?" page. There are clones, PMC and girls, girls, girls. (Mmmm... Old dudes!) Below that, is a nice summary of the game system. There's also a history page with timelines and blurbs about games from the franchise.
People can also buy games from the Konami site. But! Prospective customers living in Japan, don't purchase MGS4 for the ¥8,800 (US$80) Konami is asking. You can probably find it in Akihabara for almost half that.
Metal Gear Solid 4 Beginner Site [Konami]