Kojima Productions refutes claims that playable demo is on the way next month.
The recent rumours of a possible playable Metal Gear Solid 4 demo had got the pulses of PS3 gamers racing, but it seems now that disappointment is on the way with the news that no demo is planned.
In a recent webcast on Hideo Kojima’s Konami blog, Kojima Productions’ Ryan Payton said quite starkly of the rumour: “That’s not the case.”
Even without those speculations I find it hard to believe that somehow this title is going to pick up additional fans when the PS3 has lost marketshare overall and it's an exclusive title.
@GoblinMerchant, I thought the X360 port is still speculation (not confirmed yet) ? Unless it is officially announced, there is no reason to factor in the cannibalization factor.
How did this get back up to 5 million copies, especially with all the Xbox 360 port speculations? If anything, the stock should've gone down from the additional risk of 360 cannabilization.
It looks like Ryan Payton might be able to "announce something early which they weren't planning to announce until later on," about MGS4 if the Green Bay Packers win their playoff game today (and it looks like they've almost won!). LINK
Konami has confirmed earlier reports that Metal Gear Solid 4 will indeed come packaged with the multiplayer spin-off title, Metal Gear Online, but it will only be a starter pack.
Mushashi, yes I realize that, sorry if I diverged from my point earlier. What I mean to say is, Metal Gear players are hardcore and 1) not going to wait to play 2) will play it on whatever platform it comes out on first 3) generally choose Metal Gear over other shooters given a choice
This is why sales of hyped games like Metal Gear under-perform when compared to other AAA titles. Metroid is similar in theory....
I think we will see a continuation of the reinvigoration MGS3 gave to the series. Now that survival and camoflauge have added to the complexity of Metal Gear, I think this one is going to continue to flesh out the concept of mercenaries and bring the game in a new direction.
I think American gamers will respond well to this and the new optional controls (I like the old ones just fine personally), but if you're expecting them in droves to a game that had lost its American audience, I'm not sure MGS4 will be enough to repair that rift in tastes competing against games like Halo, Call of Duty, Warhawk and other more "American Fare".
The 360 is not a factor in Japan, where the game is developed. The only way Konami will put this on x360 is if they need the platform to recoup losses.
If this were to happen it would cost them a lot to port their traditionally proprietary engine to directX at great cost.
North America might be the biggest market, but worldwide, Sony is gaining ground. They outsold the 360 world wide this christmas: PSP sold more than 360, PS2 sold more than 360 and PSP sold more than 360. The only other company that can claim that is Nintendo, which I guess leaves Microsoft as the one with the poorest growth (unacceptable for a console in its third christmas mind You!)
So I think you really need to look at worldwide numbers when formulating an opinion on MGS4's chances. To port a game of this magnitude for a single platform in a single region is unlikely to be profitable for Konami with less than 30 million 360s out in the world and a predicted cap of 50-60 million over its lifetime (which unfortunately I feel is overvalued).
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