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Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4 is not only a blockbuster but it may also be the PS3's first true system seller. It single-handedly lifted PS3 sales in June. We examine Old Snake's energetic performance.
by David Radd on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The original Metal Gear Solid is a title that many gamers recall with great fondness, and for good reason. The game put a new face on the classic Metal Gear franchise and mixed stealth/action gameplay with an engaging plot that was both well written and well acted. The PlayStation hit was revolutionary, featuring cinematic quality before such a thing was common in games and using stealth mechanics before it became something of a negative gaming cliché.
Ten years and two cannon titles in the series later, we're at Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PS3. The unique world of series creator Hideo Kojima has gotten quite large, although some things haven't changed: the game still focuses on stealth sequences punctuated by memorable boss fights while being held together by story sequences. Love it or hate it, the game is here and it's a bona fide success. We sneak in to take a closer look at Metal Gear Solid 4.
Snake? Where did the copies of your game go? Snake!? SNAAAAAAAKE!
According to the NPD, Metal Gear Solid 4 was the best selling singular SKU for June. This naturally made the game the top PS3 game for the month as well. Overall, software sales for Metal Gear Solid 4 were nearly 775k during the June period.
The success story, however, does not end with the game's software numbers. The NPD reports that if you count the PS3 hardware that Metal Gear Solid 4 was bundled with, sales of the game shot up to nearly a million for June. On top of that, PS3 sales got a notable boost from fans who wanted to pick up the limited edition hardware bundle. With PS3 hardware sales of 405k in June nearly doubling the previous month's total (208k), there's no doubt about it: Metal Gear Solid 4 is a system seller.
While the U.S. results for Metal Gear Solid 4 have been great, the international results have been perhaps even more spectacular. The game sold roughly 500k copies its first week in Japan, lifting weekly PS3 sales by more than a factor of eight to 77k units. Additionally, Metal Gear Solid 4 sold over one million units in Europe its first week, with that region's limited edition copies selling out almost the instant they became available. Konami shipped three million copies of the game globally, and we'd have to imagine that international sales are approaching that number by this point.
Just an old killer hired to do some wet work
The Metal Gear Solid series has always been, first and foremost, about avoidance rather than direct confrontation. To that end, in Metal Gear Solid 4, Snake has access to a steel drum disguise, "Octocamo," which lets him blend in with his environment, and a small robot drone called Metal Gear Mk. II that lets him scout and even incapacitate enemies. However, should players choose the more direct approach in dealing with the game's myriad situations, they can rack up "Drebin points," upgrade their arsenal and take advantage of the new camera mechanics to run and gun. These game mechanics also form the base of Metal Gear Online, a standalone online multiplayer offering that promises to get more content additions in the years ahead.
Metal Gear Solid 4 Screens
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the saga of Solid Snake which sends him around the world in pursuit of his arch nemesis, Liquid Ocelot. Armed with new gadgets and abilities, Solid Snake must shift the tides of war into his favor, using the chaos of the battlefield to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. In his globetrotting final mission, Snake must sneak deep into enemy locations in the Middle East, South America, and other corners of the Earth to foil Liquid Ocelot's plans for total world domination.
Konami
Of course, no Metal Gear Solid title is without an involving story, and Metal Gear Solid 4 is no exception. The setup for the game is a world dominated by Private Military Companies (a euphemism for mercenaries), with all of the world's most powerful nations reliant upon their strength of arms. As it turns out, the man pulling the strings behind the scenes of the most powerful PMCs is Liquid Ocelot, who wants to realize the dream of his "father" Big Boss for a world that will always have a need for soldiers. It is in this scenario that the player is thrust as Solid Snake, now Old Snake, who has been hired by his former Col. Roy Campbell to terminate Liquid and put an end to the crisis.
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Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- GenreAction
- Release Date06/12/2008
- PublisherKonami
- DeveloperKojima Productions
- ESRBM - Mature
