Alas, no interesting news for Europe

Mar 19, 2008 09:02 GMT  ·  By

Metal Gear Solid is one of the foundations of Japanese gaming. The iconic characters it spawned in Solid Snake is instantly recognizable to gamers everywhere, even to those that have never picked up a Metal Gear game in their lives. The themes that the games touch upon are universal, from the militaristic utopias the villains strive for to the musings regarding genetic alterations and the power of control. So, it's no surprise that the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is generating huge interest among gamers and offers to match that from game companies.

Japan is getting a special offer on a bundle which will feature the game alongside a special steel-colored and MGS-themed PS3. The price is set to be around 500 dollars for the bundle. The game will ship for 91 dollars, the normal version, and also has a Special Edition available for 101 dollars.

There's also a bundle offer for the North American market, consisting of a normal PS3 with a 80 GB hard drive, a DualShock 3 and the game itself that is retailing for just short of 500 dollars. Apparently, there are no plans for such offers on the European markets. Why, Sony, why? Don't we love Snake as much as anyone else?

The above are all signs that Metal Gear mania is intensifying before the June release of MGS4. Hideo Kojima has already revealed that a Metal Gear Solid movie is in production and that it will launch shortly after the game, and there's also talk about the original game being launched on the PlayStation Network.

Guns of Patriots is set to wrap up the loose ends in the Metal Gear Solid universe and provide closure for the series. Its creator, Hideo Kojima, has said the game will feature extensive flashback scenes designed to give background on all the characters and the stories of the previous games in the series.