Metal Gear Solid 4 is still exclusive to the PS3, but it was almost Xbox 360-bound at one point. Apparently, it even “ran beautifully” on the seventh generation console, but the system’s reliance on DVD CDs canceled its release.
Ryan Payton, the game’s assistant producer, revealed these surprising details on The Ultimate History of Video Games Vol 2 (via Time Extension). Even more shocking was the fact that there was no exclusivity deal between Sony and Konami, with the decision of the game’s release coming down to hardware.
“Despite how downtrodden my colleagues were with developing on PS3, most of them were still hardcore Sony fans and were not in favour of spending resources on such a test,” Payton explains in the book. “They believed Metal Gear Solid 4 would look and run terribly on Microsoft’s older and inferior hardware.
Apparently, it was believed that the game wouldn’t run well on the Xbox 360 due to the small power difference between both systems. Later on, it was revealed that the game did run well on Xbox 360 but the sheer amount of discs needed to fit the game was too much. Sony’s PS3 blu-ray discs could hold up to 54GB while the Xbox 360’s DVD discs could fit less than 10GB.
Metal Gear Solid 4 may have been ahead of its time as the game doesn’t run problem-free on the PS3 either. It’s never unplayable but there are frame drops and the installation process takes a really long time. Despite improved technology, the game remains a PS3 exclusive to this day and has never been re-released.
There is some hope for a re-release as Konami did announce a new collection for the series with multiple volumes planned. We’re still not getting Twin Snakes from the Gamecube but a second volume could finally re-release the series’ fourth installment.
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Fans might not be getting Metal Gear Solid 4 again anytime soon but they are getting a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater will be coming to the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC, though no release date was revealed.