Without the help of anything branded ‘Metal Gear Solid’ for the nine months ending December 31st, Konami has posted revenues of ¥190.1 billion ($2.1 billion), which is down from ¥234 billion ($2.6 billion) during the same period last year, representing a drop of 18.4%.

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Gamers enjoy being rewarded for their in-game actions over and above the joy they get from actually playing the game, as the Xbox 360’s Achievement system has ably demonstrated, providing an incentive to continue playing with a ‘ding’ sound, an on-screen graphic, and a sprinkle of points added to an ever increasing total.

This same longevity trick found its way onto the PS3 and its library of games in the form of the Trophy system, officially, in July last year, now required to be included in any game released for the system.

Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PS3 released in June last year, however, and as a result doesn’t have support for the superficial Trophy reward system. Fans of the game have been grumbling about its inclusion since Trophies went live, though, which has grown into an audible protest, asking developers Kojima Productions to retrofit Trophies into the game by way of a patch, as other developers have done with their games.

During a recent Kojima Productions Report podcast, Sean Eyestone addressed fans’ comments on the lack of Trophy support for Metal Gear Solid 4:

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It’s been announced that you are now able to pre-order the SCENE Expansion pack for Metal Gear Online.

You can order the pack in a variety of configurations, either on its own for $9.99, as a bundle with the previous expansion pack, MEME, for $14.99, or you can get all three expansion packs, from GENE and MEME to the latest, SCENE, for $17.99.

While SCENE is only releasing on March 17th, if you buy one of the bundles, either with the already available GENE and MEME expansions, the content in those packs will be made accessible immediately. How thoughtful!

Additionally, if you pre-order now, either through the PlayStation Network or Konami’s in-game shop, you will get an extra bit of content for free – the ‘Cardboard Man’ head gear! Sold!

To whet your appetite for the Metal Gear Online: SCENE Expansion, you can watch a trailer revealing the new maps, characters and bikini-clad soldiers you’ll have access to with the purchase of the pack.

A new trailer for the Metal Gear Online: SCENE Expansion has been released, revealing the three new maps - Outer Outlet, Hazard House and Ravaged Riverfront - while also confirming the new characters, Raiden and Vamp, as well as a bevy of… bikini-clad soldiers? Huh.

The add-on will be available later this month. Watch the trailer for MGO: SCENE Expansion below:

Konami have announced the third expansion pack for their online Metal Gear experience, Metal Gear Online for PS3.

The expansion pack, called SCENE, will release in March with three new maps - namely Outer Outlet, Hazard House and Ravaged Riverfront - two new characters - in the form of Raiden and Vamp - and a host of new equipment options.

You’ll be able to pre-order the expansion a week before its release via either the in-game shop or Konami’s online store and, as a reward for pre-ordering, you’ll get a free gift in what Konami call the “hilarious classic ‘cardboard man’ head gear.” Hilarious indeed.

It was recently announced that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be heading to Sony’s Platinum range next month across Europe.

On March 5th, MGS4 will be available for 29.95 Euro for the first time since its release in June 2008 as a full-priced title, when over three million copies of the game were shipped to retailers, contributing to the 26.5 million unit sales of the Metal Gear series. European Marketing Director for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH, Martin Schneider said:

“Metal Gear Solid 4: guns of the Patriots has proved to be an outstanding title, and its many awards and accolades are testament to this.

“With the PLAYSTATION3 user base growing at a rapid rate, this welcome re-release for an all-new price will give this growing community a chance to get to grips with one of the most innovative, testing and varied title for the format.”

El33ontline seemed to enjoy MGS4 quite a bit, so, if you haven’t yet indulged in Hideo Kojima’s latest masterpiece, do yourself a favour and pick up MGS4 on Platinum.

From now until January 29th, you’ll be able to download a free demo of Metal Gear Online (MGO) from the PlayStation Store and experience the Metal Gear Solid 4 multiplayer supplement mode. Apparently over one million users have already signed up for MGO, which is quite a feat.

Additionally, in what Konami are calling the ‘Welcome Rookie Campaign,’ if you register the full retail version of MGO from now until February 16th (or have registered your version previously from December 24th 2008 onwards) you will be entitled to the special MGO Codec Pack (which includes special voice content) as well as 5000 reward points that can be redeemed within the MGO in-game shop, allowing you to buy items for use in MGO.

These prizes will be available on February 17th to all newly registered players who have not previously installed and registered their version of MGO before December 24th. A bit complicated, but sounds enticing enough for people to get into the MGO experience!

Konami has announced that sales of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot have topped one million units within the first week across Europe.

Konami shipped over one million copies of the PS3 exclusive stealth game to retailers across Europe “to meet the exceptional demand.” Konami also confirmed high sales in all European territories and that the 25 000 copies of the limited edition MGS4 sets made available across Europe were bought almost immediately by MGS fans.

“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.

“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.”

MGS4 was released worldwide on the 12th of June and marks the final adventure of Solid Snake. The game sees an ageing Snake taking on long-time enemy Liquid Snake who has taken control of various private armies. The disc also includes Metal Gear Online, a dedicated online game that features locations from MGS4.

Find out more about the game in our MGS4 review.

We’ve waited for ages for this game to be released. The PS3 has been slated as the console that gets all the dodgy ports and has not lived up to the hype. The console war has been tough for Sony thus far, but it seems “War Has Changed” – in Snakes words.

As soon as your PS3 sucks this disc in you’ll need to get ready for some of the best video gaming this industry has ever provided. What you have seen in previews is not even a drop in the ocean of what there is for you to experience in this game. I’m not going to discuss anything over and above the sections of what most would have seen in the previews, so NO SPOILERS.

First of all let’s clear things up – If you have never played MGS1, 2, 3 then you should not even consider buying this title. It would mean zip to you. It is an emotional ride from the word “go” but you need to know what has happened beforehand. The other option would be to search YouTube and watch videos depicting the previous storylines this far. I urge you to do that before playing this.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Konami has announced a limited edition of Metal Gear Solid 4 will be available in the UK when the game is released on the 12th of June. Gamers in the UK can also look forward to a pre-order campaign.

The limited edition will include a soundtrack CD, a 6” Old Snake action figurine as well -as a ‘Making of’ Blu-ray disc (behind the scenes look at the development of the game and interviews with Hideo Kojima). It will retail at £79.99.

Gamers who pre-order MGS4 through key retail partners in Europe will receive Metal Gear Saga Volume 2 as part of a pre-order campaign. It is a seven part documentary which takes a look at the origins and evolution of the Metal Gear series.

“Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is rightly seen as the stand-out title for 2008, and we were determined to come up with something special for its launch,” commented Martin Schneider, European Marketing Director for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH.

“With interest so high, it is only right that we reward fans of the series for pre-ordering the game, and the Metal Gear Saga DVD is a stunning look at how the series has evolved into the phenomenon it has become. Likewise, the Limited Edition is a celebration of all things Metal Gear, and will be prized by those who buy it.”

Konami has detailed the products and packaging which will be available for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. MGS4 will be hitting store shelves on the 12th of June.

In a post on SCEA’s PlayStation blog, Konami Online’s Brandon Laurino detailed what the Standard and Limited Edition of the game as well as the MGS4 PS3 bundle would include and announced the MGS4 Limited Edition PS3 bundle would include a gunmetal grey PS3.

Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 Bonus DVD plus MGO Beta

Konami announced that the Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 free pre-order bonus offer DVD with MGO Beta Unique Product Voucher Code insert would be available through participating retailers for gamers that pre-order the MGS4 Standard Edition or the MGS4 Limited Edition. Stocks for this special offer are limited and gamers have been urged to check with retailers when the stock will be available.

The Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 DVD contains extensive original video content, with the focus mainly on how the ‘Snakes’ (namely, Big Boss (Naked Snake), Liquid Snake, Solidus Snake and Solid Snake) are connected. The DVD also contains a compilation of all the MGS4 trailers as well as a special Prologue video to MGS4.

Gamers will find an insert in the Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 DVD case. This insert will contain a Unique Product Voucher Code which will enable gamers to participate in the Metal Gear Online Beta. Gamers will be able to download the MGO Beta from the PlayStation Store from the 17th of April to the 5th of May, with game play being available from the 21st of April to the 5th of May.

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Yesterday Sony announced that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot will be released across North America in late quarter 2 of 2008, which runs until the 30th of June.

Sony also took the wraps off a new PS3 bundle that will include an 80GB PS3, a copy of MGS4 as well as a DualShock 3 wireless controller. The bundle will retail at $499.99 and will be released to coincide with the game’s launch. No doubt the release of this new MGS4 bundle will boost PS3 hardware sales even further.

Pictures of the bundle have now surfaced but Sony has yet to stamp them official.

Image Source: Kotaku