..but properly translated. The NES version suffered a lot from a poor translation.

Kojima Productions Makes Subsistence More Solid with Metal Gear Saga Volume One
January 25, 2005 - Kojima Productions and Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. are pleased to announce METAL GEAR SAGA VOL. 1, a special-edition DVD gift for fans who pre-order METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE for PlayStation 2. Shipping soon to leading video game retailers across North America, METAL GEAR SAGA VOL. 1 features an in-depth documentary-style video feature that details the Metal Gear series’ epic narrative, from beginning to end. Spanning five games and just as many decades of fictional history, METAL GEAR SAGA ties together the game’s complex narrative in chronological order, from the 1960’s—with the heroic origins of Big Boss in METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER—to the cliffhanger conclusion of METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY, set in the early 21st century.

FIVE REVEALING SNAKE TALES At a running time of 30 minutes, METAL GEAR SAGA features five chapters, one for each of the critically acclaimed adventures of Solid Snake: Chapter Game Title Setting (Year) CHAPTER 001 METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER 1964 CHAPTER 002 METAL GEAR 1994-1995 CHAPTER 003 METAL GEAR 2: SOLID SNAKE 1999 CHAPTER 004 METAL GEAR SOLID 2005 CHAPTER 005 METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY 2007-20XX

CREATED BY KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS Produced by Hideo Kojima and directed by Ryan Payton, METAL GEAR SAGA features dynamic voiceover work by Jack N. Merluzzi, who also provides narration for the SNAKE EATER movie to be included with METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE.* Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima also appears in a series of candid interviews, recounting the origins of the series and sharing its secrets, such as the original setting of METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY, his thoughts on the infamous NES game Snake’s Revenge, and what gamers can look forward to in the forthcoming METAL GEAR SOLID 4 for PS3.

THE COMPLETE LIBRARY OF KOJIMA PRODUCTION TRAILERS METAL GEAR SAGA VOL.1 also includes the entire library of trailers created by Kojima Productions—including the award-winning trailers for METAL GEAR SOLID 4—all available in the DVD’s “Extra” menu: METAL GEAR SOLID 4 (E3 2005) METAL GEAR SOLID 4 (TGS 2005) METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE (E3 2005) METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE (GC 2005) METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE (TGS 2005) METAL GEAR AC!D 2 (E3 2005) METAL GEAR AC!D 2 (TGS 2005)

PREMIUM PACKAGING In continuing with its tradition of creating high quality products, Kojima Productions has prepared a special package for METAL GEAR SAGA VOL. 1, which features a foil-embossed cover and artwork by Yoji Shinkawa.

AVAILABLITY Gamers can look forward to receiving this special edition DVD at the moment they pre-order METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE at leading video game retailers across North America. The METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SUBSISTENCE pre-order campaign – featuring the METAL GEAR SAGA VOL. 1 DVD – begins mid-February 2006.

Please visit the Kojima Productions official web site for more information: www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/ *(Limited Edition version only)

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence Bonus Disc--A First Look at Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1
Konami will pay Metal Gear devotees a big favor in the coming weeks with the just-revealed documentary DVD Metal Gear Saga Vol. 1, which will be offered with preorders of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, the upcoming special edition of 2004's award-winning Snake Eater. We got an exclusive sneak peek at this most recently announced addition to the illustrious Metal Gear series, which sounds like just the sort of fan service diehard devotees to this long-running series would expect.

Metal Gear Saga does the seemingly impossible by making sense of the five major games in the Metal Gear canon, including (in chronological order storywise) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (released only in Japan on the MSX), Metal Gear Solid, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The DVD will be split up into five chapters over 30 minutes, covering the series' overarching narrative, which makes us wonder how the entire story can be told in less than a half hour, when all of Sons of Liberty alone would probably take three and a half.

The documentary will also include candid interviews with the man behind Metal Gear, creator Hideo Kojima, who will comment on everything from the origin of the series to its conclusion in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. He'll also give the dish on the infamous Snake's Revenge, the unofficial sequel to Metal Gear on the NES, which made its way to the North American market in lieu of the actual sequel, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (and which was made without the involvement of Kojima or any of the original Metal Gear team members).

Kojima announced at last fall's TGS that MGS4 would be his and series' illustrator Yoji Shinkawa's final outing with the Metal Gear series. Though there was never any doubt about life after Kojima for Metal Gear, the DVD looks like it's going to reveal that at least one major player is leaving with the creator. What we've seen of Saga seems to indicate that if anyone picks up where he left off, the mulleted yet charismatic protagonist Solid Snake won't be revived with the franchise. Over the backdrop of MGS4, Saga reveals that the game is "the sixth and final chapter in the story of Solid Snake." Of course, other directors could go on to create games surrounding lesser characters like simpering antihero Raiden, but without Kojima or Snake, a Metal Gear is Metal Gear in title alone.

The DVD will also include all of the recent Kojima Productions trailers--including those for Metal Gear Solid 4, Subsistence, and Metal Gear Acid 2--and will be packaged in a foil-embossed cover with specially-drawn artwork by Shinkawa. Those looking to pick up the DVD should expect to get it for preordering Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence at major video game retailers beginning mid-February. We'll bring you more information on this DVD as Subsistence approaches.

Solid Snake on silver screen
Dec 14, 2005 - TOKYO--In Japan, Konami is holding a special theatrical event to promote its upcoming game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence. The company will be showing a three-and-a-half-hour movie of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater at the Oribe Hall in Tokyo, and series creator Hideo Kojima will be on hand to make some opening remarks.

Before MGS fans blow their top, they should know that the movie is just in-game footage, and it's not a premiere of the series' long-rumored feature film. On the other hand, it won't just be some dude playing the game on a giant screen. The movie features a lot of new elements from MGS3, including new cutscenes, narration, and remastered sound. Director Kojima previously stated at the Tokyo Game Show that its creation took the developers about the same time as editing a real film.

Konami has opened a registration Web page for the event on its official site, and 80 lucky winners will each be able to bring a guest to the show. The movie will take place on the night of December 22--the same date as Subsistence's release. Fans who can't make it to the event can still check out the movie by picking up a Japanese copy of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, as the first shipment includes a third disc that features the film.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence Prerelease Update
It's been well over a year since Konami unleashed the third chapter in the Metal Gear Solid series, and finally, the remixed, feature-packed rerelease of Snake Eater will be coming to American shelves in just a couple of weeks. At a recent Konami press event we got to take a look at the English release of Subsistence, which--surprise--looks just like the Japanese version! And we've covered that one to death, so if you want the full scoop, check out our past previews. But luckily, we did manage to glean some new details about the American release that should prove informative to eager Metal Gear fans.

We always knew that Subsistence would roll with a fully featured online competitive mode, a new third-person camera option in the single-player, and a host of other peripheral bonuses. But shortly before the game came out in Japan, we learned of one other tasty extra: a third DVD called "Existence" that simply cut the Snake Eater storyline and cinematics into a lengthy movie that fans could watch like a feature film.

To us, this disc always smelled like a Japan-only bonus, so we had to find out if American gamers would be able to enjoy Existence as well. Turns out there will be a limited edition of Subsistence that will contain all three discs, while the regular release will only ship with the main game on disc one and the multiplayer on the second disc (which is already a ton of game). So if you want the complete and total package, you'll have to make sure to get a hold of this limited edition, which may in fact be of, well, limited availability.

We were also interested to note that the American release of the game will feature full online leaderboards that you can access from within Subsistence's multiplayer interface. These boards will rank players over a long period of time and also by the week, and you can view overall rankings or simply the top players for one particular game mode, like deathmatch, sneaking, and rescue. Finally, players will be awarded animal rankings (much like in the single-player Metal Gear Solids) that gauge their performance, such as scorpion, tarantula, and fox hound (which is, of course, the highest rank).

The content of Subsistence will be identical to that of the Japanese version (except that it'll be in English, natch). Of course, the biggest news is the announcement of a new documentary DVD for preordering customers--check out our first look at that product. And at least it's nice to know that American gamers won't be deprived of all the other appealing bonus aspects of this value-loaded package. Stay tuned for our full review of Subsistence when it launches in March.