Metal Gear Online going solo in Japan

By Ellie Gibson Published 30 June, 2008

Kojima hints at worldwide tournament.

Konami has announced the Metal Gear Online component of MGS4 will soon be available separately in Japan.

As reported by IGN, it'll go on sale on July 17th priced at JPY 1800 (around GBP 8.50 / EUR 11).

So any news on a European price and/or release date? "I cannot comment until we announce concrete PAL plans," a spokesperson told Eurogamer. At least there are "plans".

News of the Japanese release came during a MGS4 signing session, where series creator Hideo Kojima gave a talk. He revealed there are plans to host a global tournament titled Metal Gear Online World Championship 2008, but declined to offer any more details.

Stat fans may like to know that MGO connections peak at around 11pm (Japanese time, presumably), with up to 12,000 people playing the game online.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (12) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bad09 #1 4 years ago

    I'm glad MGSO comes on the MGS4 disk over here, that way I know I can't trade in MGS4 when I've finished it!

    I hate trading great games but it's not cheap being a gamer and even the greats need to fund the cause from time to time :(
    Edited by 1 at 30/06/08 @ 10:26

  • Artemus #2 4 years ago

    I prefer it if it was a PSN store game, so I could load from harddrive (like the beta). It's a bit of a slow process currently - put in MGS4, load MGS4, select MGO, load MGO, connect.
    Edited by 1 at 30/06/08 @ 10:50

  • bad09 #3 4 years ago

    So much hard work isn't it Artemus, I feel you pain friend ;)

  • DFawkes #4 4 years ago

    Nice point Artemus, if it was a PSN game I'd even consider buying it just to save all that hastle! Most times I go to play MGO, I just think "screw that effort" and stick in CoD4. When the beta was running, it was the other way around - I'd start my PS3, see the icon for MGO and think "screw getting the CoD disc" and play MGO instead.

  • Artemus #5 4 years ago

    @bad09

    Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? Seriously, it's a pain when you compare to how quick you can set up a Warhawk game.

  • bad09 #6 4 years ago

    @ Artemus

    Sarcasm me? never! :)

    To honest I did think it funny they want to treat MGSO separate but then put it in MGS4 but it's not much hassle putting a disk in and loading it, is it? One thing I've never thought playing MGSO is "man, it's such a hassle loading MGS4 to play MGSO".

    But that's me I suppose, I still remember 10-20 minutes of screeching noise to load a game on speccy :)

  • theiceman #7 4 years ago

    @ bad09

    i too had a speccy 48k. those loading times were diabolical! or you get to the end of the game loading and it crashed straight away! great times....

  • Arwin #8 4 years ago

    For that price it seems likely that it would also be a PSN release? You already installed the whole thing on the HDD during the Beta as well anyway. In fact, the Beta was basically a PSN release, certainly in Europe where it was the only way.
    Edited by 1 at 30/06/08 @ 12:55

  • Artemus #9 4 years ago

    Well I'm a lazy bastard these days and swapping discs is annoying when I could just load off the harddrive. I guess because I got used to playing MGO beta like that, it was a bit annoying going through MGS4 to play now.

  • bad09 #10 4 years ago

    @ great times indeed staring at this....

    [link url=http://uk.y outube.com/watch?v=nCEFFY_ujXs
    ]http://uk.y outube.com/watch?v=nCEFFY_ujXs
    [/link]


    @ Artemus

    Yeah I do agree it was nice off the HDD with the beta, but to be honest it's no hardship - for anyone not lazy that is :)

  • dahsif #11 4 years ago

    MGO is my first and only foray into online gaming. Predictably enough, I suck at it. I kept getting killed the first day only to realize that it was due to me actually playing it like I do any Metal Gear game (stealthily and slooowly), whereas the other guys just go in guns-a-blazin'.

  • DFawkes #12 4 years ago

    Don't worry dahsif, as you play more and level up, you'll see people playing stealthier and stealthier. Sure, there'll still be run and gunners, but when you level up your CQC, it's great to sneak out and choke one of them out :)