Oh man, lots of information to get to with Metal Gear Solid 4. First, as posted here a little over a week ago, it has now been confirmed by a press release (found at the bottom of this page) that Metal Gear Solid 4 is indeed coming June 12th, and that is going to be a worldwide release. Mark your calenders and keep reading on for more juicy information.

On the matter of controls, the newest EGM has a quote from Kojima Productions producer Ryan Payton, on the Sixaxis and how in a very smart move on their part, limiting its usage within the game:

“I think the problem with this feature is it was severly overhyped. It was talked up as Sony’s answer to the Wii Remote. The trick is to use Sixaxis sparingly and have fun with it. I don’t think anybody wants to play a long game while consistently having to tilt the controller around. Rather, it’s fun for the player when they’re given a chance to use it in short bursts– that’s how we’re approaching Sixaxis in MGS4.“

Great news for those who don’t wish the PS3 to become the next gen waggle box. On the next update, a nice little Kojima quote from a Japanese magazine on the subject of Blu-Ray disc space:

“I am not satisfied with the quality yet, however…there isn’t enough space.”

Interviewer: “Not enough space..on..Blu-ray..?”

Kojima: “Yes. (laughs). Not enough space.“

I attempted to get a full transcript from the below image from my brother, but as it turns out, he does not read Kanji, only Hiragana and Katakana (damn you Florida public school systems, he is useless to me now). So should Xbox 360 owners be jumping ship if they want Metal Gear action? All signs point to ‘duh,’ .. however there is a side of me that believes in compression and the use of multiple discs (yeah, I’m a fool, but we’ll see!)

(Click image to go to scan source)

New images were advertised in the title of this post, so new images you get, without having to click through them all, someone has made a little YouTube image compilation video:

Still want an old school static image?! Konami has been kind enough to release a bad ass looking wallpaper for who knows what reason. All I know is it couldn’t have come at a better time with so much other MGS4 press going on right now.

(Click image to get in 1024×768 1280×1024 1600×1200 or 1920×1200)

Finally, as stated way at the top, here is the official press release for the worldwide release of MGS4:

February 29th, 2008 KONAMI will simultaneously release METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS (“MGS4″), a PLAYSTATIONR3® (PS3®) title, in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

This will be the first time ever for KONAMI to simultaneously release the METAL GEAR series throughout the world.

The METAL GEAR series celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The series has been created to carry an antiwar and antinuclear theme to society, and its total sales have surpassed 22 million units (*1) worldwide.

MGS4 will be the final chapter in the METAL GEAR series, so all the major characters will make an appearance and all the remaining mysteries will be unveiled.

In addition, MGS4 was awarded a prize for excellence in the entertainment category (*2) at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, The National Art Center, and CG-ARTS Society as a video game pursuing a depth of visual expression that outstrips every previous generation of hardware.

In Japan, KONAMI will launch MGS4 in the following 3 package:

The “Standard Version” including METAL GEAR Online Starter Pack, the “Special Edition” including a Blu-ray Disc of bonus features in addition to the everything included in the Standard Version, and the “Premium Pack” which includes a PLAYSTATION®3 Console in addition to the Special Edition.

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