They say that if you can’t beat them, then you might as well join them, which may be what Konami is doing at the moment.
In an interview with IGN, Konami producer Noriaki Okamura addressed one of the biggest elephants in the room regarding Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots‘ absence from current platforms following last year’s surprise Metal Gear revival.
While stopping short of officially announcing the port, Okamura’s response all but confirmed its arrival, “We definitely are aware of this situation with MGS4,” adding, “Unfortunately, we can’t really say too much at the moment with Vol. 1 containing MGS 1-3… you can probably connect the dots.”
And, boy, connect certainly every camouflage-wearing Metal Gear Solid fan did.
The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1, released last year, brought together five classic titles from the series, including the original Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, and the first three numbered Metal Gear Solid entries. The collection’s success and its “Vol. 1” designation all but confirmed future intries, with MGS4 as the prime candidate for the sequel.
However, bringing Metal Gear Solid 4 to modern platforms isn’t easy. The game was famously designed to push the PlayStation 3 hardware to its limits, utilizing its Cell processor architecture in ways that make a straightforward port difficult.
Hideo Kojima, the series’ creator, once remarked that it would be easier to remake the game from scratch than to port it to other systems due to its intricate ties to the PS3’s hardware.
Another hurdle to porting MGS4 is the game’s extensive use of licensed content. From Playboy magazines to Apple iPods, and a plethora of real-world weapons, the game’s product placements and brand integrations would require either extensive rework or renegotiation of existing license contracts. The game even features voiced dialogue that specifically mentions the PS3, requiring further editing or re-recording for multiplatform releases.
Finally, MGS4 incorporates a section that uses PS3’s built-in PSOne emulator to run the original Metal Gear Solid, which would require creative reimagining to work on other systems.
Then again, the Metal Gear Arcade does exist. The PC-based MGS4 engine used in arcade machines suggests that the groundwork already exists, no matter how impossible previous developer comments may make it seem.
With that said, dropping hints of the Metal Gear Solid 4 port just as Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions are about to reveal what many believe is the PlayStation 5 Pro at the Tokyo Game Show in late September is ingenious. Unlike last year, Konami isn’t joining the upcoming event, leaving the doors open for Konamo to announce Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2 right around the same time Kojima grabs the headlines.
Konami knows that Kojima’s name will forever be linked with Metal Gear, regardless of how much it tries to scrub the auteur’s name off the game’s credits. So it might as well take advantage of it.
Death Stranding 2 will be the talk of the town for a while but people will compare it and Physint to Metal Gear. With Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots both hiding in plain sight, we should prepare popcorns for whatever kind of discussions among hardcore fans are about to happen.
