Update [Mon 4th Apr, 2022 09:40 BST]: Konami has confirmed to TechRadar that the metalgear35th site that appeared just before April Fools' Day is indeed a fake.
In fact, it has now been transformed into the 'Konami Memorial NFT' site with an explanation posted by the site's creator that, yes, it's all just a light-hearted joke:
A spokesperson told TechRadar quite definitively that Konami wasn't behind this:
This site is not Konami's site. We are currently considering how to deal with this site.
So where does this leave any genuine Metal Gear 35th anniversary plans? "There is nothing we can say right now," TRG were told.
Original Story [Thu 31st Mar, 2022 18:30 BST]: It's that time of year when prudent sites on all rungs of the games media ladder go full 'shields up, red alert': April Fools' Day approaches. In fact, it's already 1st April in some parts of the world, and video game companies will insist on making silly-and-obviously-joke announcements alongside silly-but-actually-real announcements.
One of the most eyebrow-raising ones we've come across today is the site metalgear35th, which appears to be an official repository waiting for some anniversary related content from Konami, the holders of the keys to the Metal Gear franchise.
Yes, it's approaching three-and-a-half decades since the original Metal Gear launched in July 1987 for MSX2, with the NES version releasing in Japan on 22nd December the same year. And while this new site looks perfectly official — with the appropriate Konami branding and the links to boring corporate pages you'd expect to find on such a site — we're not quite ready to dive into rampant speculation just yet. The timing is just too iffy.
After all, we've seen someone snap up silenthill.com recently just to troll Konami. And even if it does turn out to be legit, the relative (or should that be RElative?) disappointment of Capcom's recent (REcent?) teases and subsequent reveals (somebody end this!) is another reason (...) to exercise caution.
While the series spearheaded by auteur game director Hideo Kojima is perhaps more closely associated with PlayStation, we've had some notable entries in the canon appear on Nintendo consoles: the aforementioned original Metal Gear, of course, plus Metal Gear Solid on Game Boy Color, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes on GameCube, and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D on 3DS.
What do you think? Is Konami genuinely cooking something up for a proper celebration? Is somebody getting ready for some hilarious April japes? Let us know in the poll below.
[source metalgear35th.com]
Comments 62
Probably a sick joke from Konami or someone pretending to be them, but if it is real I would love Metal Gear Solid 1,2, and 3 on the Switch, that would be awesome.
NFTs, baby. Did you forget what they did for Castlevania already?
There's no way it's not an April Fooks joke. And if it was made by Konami, that'd be a whole new low for them. It'd be like Nintendo making a joke about a mother 3 port on the switch.
Please don't pull the rug out from under us Konami. Not with Metal Gear. If something is happening please let it be legit and not just an April Fools joke.
Though if I'm being honest, I can see it being a joke sadly 😥. I miss Metal Gear!
I'm a glass half full kind of guy, so I'm going to predict that there's a collection on the way. It's hard to be positive with Konami but they did recently announce the Cowabunga Collection and not long before that, they said they were going to focus on releasing more video games going forward.
@87th Oh noooooo. I've added that to the poll.
I'd really appreciate a current-gen port of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The best entry in the series not enough people played.
Metal Gear Collection for Switch confirmed.
I can't say I'll care much since Konami is dead to me after their treatment of employees and IP.
They're gonna do NFTs, and I won't even look at them.
I hate Konami
@HamatoYoshi *Metal Gear Ac!d collection
I wouldn't mind the games to just be ported in collections (like Castlevania) just so that they are accessible to play. I'm not digging up a PS3/PSP just to play Peace Walker or the Acid games. Some games are even on GameBoy..
Personally I don't think Kojima is as much of a "writing genius" as people say and to me Metal Gear isn't such a masterpiece series but even I will admit I would like to replay them anytime in the future.
But hey, Konami's name slapped on it doesn't make me hopeful. Even if it somehow is big collections for the games, nothing is stopping them from doing just as bad as the Silent Hill HD Collection.
No reason to expect anything good from Konami. Expect rubbish and on the off-chance we get a Twin Snakes remake or remasters of the PS2 games for modern consoles, well that will be a pleasant surprise.
If it's an April Fool's joke, then Bravo! Good one
But I'll hope the rumours are true and Metal Gear games are coming to Switch.
Mobile Gotcha Game incoming!
It’s NFTs 100% from Konami
If it’s anything game related wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just released on PlayStation and Xbox
Got no time for Metal Gear so this is as about as exciting and the franchise for me.
NFTs or a mobile Metal Gear game
Metal Gear Solid Survive 2 and NFTs for sure
It's definitely gonna a history site. I doubt Konami would announce an NFT via website launch but something like a history site with like one or two merch options would be the best way for Konami to pretend they care about the series without actually doing anything to celebrate the anniversary.
Konami has been doing collections. I could see a new Metal Gear collection.
MGS4 is still locked to only PS3 disc copies now
With the TMNT Cowabunga collection coming, I'm hoping they will be cooking us a Metal Gear collection as well. It doesn't need to include every game just Metal Gear 1, 2, Snake's Revenge, Twin Snakes, Sons of Liberty, Ghost Babel, Snake Eater, and Peace Walker. Though I like Guns of the Patriot, Revengeance, Ground Zero, Phantom Pain, and Survive I much prefer the classics more.
NFT, Mobile, Pachinko... The possibilities are just endless with this company.
Best case scenario is a MGS compilation of some kind.
I have no idea, on one hand, they could do the stupid NFT stuff just like they did with Castlevania, on the other hand, they announced the TMNT Cowabunga collection, so who knows? Expect the best, prepare for the worst?
Skateboards and t-shirts at the most.
What's the deal with celebrating a 35th anniversary anyway? Is it a Japanese thing? Mario 35 was the first time I'd ever heard of a 35th anniversary being celebrated.
I wouldn't trust Konami with taking out my trash, let alone giving MGS the time of day to port to modern consoles or any other kind of proper love. This is fake.
I'll take a new mainline Metal Gear game with Kojima at the helm please. Also, give me a side of Silent Hill and a Cherry Vanilla Coke. Thanks, and keep the change!
Fairly sure they have had a collection like the contra, castlevania and arcade releases ready. It'll be Metal gear, metal gear NES, Metal gear 2, metal gear 2 NES (the cack one) with the GBC Metal gear solid as the bonus game. Frankly it would be worth the money for the GBC game. With scans of the manuals and extra features etc.
I would love to see remakes with Fox engine for all the games especially MGS 4 which needs a port to something other than a PS3.
Metal Gear (Solid) died when Kojima left Konami. Not that I really lament it, 3 is overrated IMO (and 4 and 5 are even worse), Peace Walker was great the first time, but I haven't really felt compelled to go back to it.
1 and 2 are classics (especially the first) and the gameplay actually worked in them. It didn't really work in 3, and 4 and 5 just felt uninspired story-wise (and don't get me started about the ridiculously long conversations and cut scenes in most of the games).
Kojima is an old man now and his games belongs to another time IMO. There was a reason Konami fired him, not only as a game director, but also as the high ranking executive he'd become within the company; he simply wasn't good for the financial state of the company.
He wanted to make a new AAA Silent Hill game, a series that had been going downhill sales-wise more or less since the very first game. That, and maybe MGS5 underperforming, was the reason they fired him IMO (not because they were bad people, but because it wasn't financially viable to keep him hanging around, doing his thing).
@shgamer hard disagree. Kojima was Konami’s most bankable personality and his Silent Hills demo continues to be one of the high profile what ifs in gamer culture. His games were merely becoming too expensive for a company that was becoming increasingly keen on cutting corners to make quick cash.
@DiggleDog You know, Konami really tried resurrect the franchise for quite a few years (at least 8 I think - wasn't the last Team Silent game, 4: The Room, from 2004).
They started contracting non-japanese developers around 2005-2006, doing Origins and Shattered Memories with a british company, then Homecoming with an american company, Downpour with a czech company and last, but not least, Book of Memories from late 2012 (it is actually a really good game in its own right - and it was made by the same company that are making the Advance Wars remasters/remakes for Nintendo, Wayforward).
The graphics in Silent Hills (the game Kojima wanted to make with some famous movie director) didn't look cheap at all. And you know if a company loses money, it's not just some people's savings they lose; they lose the confidence of the stock markets too (which could be fatal in the long run too - there are actually once huge companies that doesn't exist anymore for that reason - Blockbuster, Kodak etc.).
Nintendo are not better than Konami IMO, they also have some "dormant" franchises they have given up on, because they didn't sell well enough (and so do Sony, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Capcom etc.). Basically all successful companies has such "dormant" properties which doesn't make sense to them financially anymore. But it doesn't necessarily make them bad people IMO.
Can't wait for the NFT's they're going to sell! Boy, do I love Konami!
Metal gear survive nfts.
I like “disappointing” history sites actually…
@Dpishere yeah, it sucks the HD collection isgone. We need 1,2,3 on Switch with Twin Snakes!
@Kage_M I would love that.
I think it's fake. I did a whois search on it and the Konami website, and the information is completely different.
Metal Gear Solid
Tactical NFT Action
Netal Fear Tolid
I'm hopeful we can get some kind of new compilation on Switch and PC.
A collection consisting of MG, MG2, MGS, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, Peace Walker and MGSV (and maybe you can throw in Portable Ops), all in their original versions (no "upgrades" or stuff like The Twin Snakes)... and then Hideo Kojima and the rest of the series' developers will return and they'll make Metal Gear whole again.
But wishful thinking aside, if this isn't fake, I guess it would be nice to have some games re-released (MGS4 is still only available on PS3), hopefully without changes or missing features... even though Kojima's absence would still hurt...
gonna be another pachinko machine…
I wouldn't be surprised if Konami was working on a collection; it seems to be all they do when they're not busy pissing off their former fans! We had anniversary collections for Contra and Castlevania, there's the Castlevania Advanced Collection, and the TMNT: Cowabunga Collection as well. If anything, it's weird that they haven't done a collection for MGS/Silent Hill for modern systems.
Well apparently it’s fake.
It's an April Fools joke. ☹️
Nothing to see here folks.
***** the person who did this. Not funny.
The recently pulled digital copies off online stores, so it would make sense to rerelease them as HD remasters the same way Rockstar approached GTA Definitive Edition. Hopefully their execution is far better. At least from their recent Castlevania release Konami shows that they haven't forgot about the game library they hold. (Edit: Disappointment)
@87th You're an absolute psychic!
Whoever ran this site might get charged with falsifying copyrights, if that's a thing.
There's a bunch of instances of "©2022 Konami Digital Entertainment" on there that can't be upheld.
@KayFiOS There we go!! I love the optimisim. I am hoping for a Metal Gear Collection, Batman Animated Series, Tiny Tunes, Animaniacs, Sparkster collection as well. Who knows? They might deliver.
@Cheez Not to mention they take down fan projects like Nintendo.
We need MGS on Switch since the HD collections have been taken down!
@Fizza Lay your controller on the floor
Finally, a gaming related April Fool's Joke that got hopes up and dashed them in the best way. So tired of these softball obviously fake "pranks".
I think this joke ended well. Hopefully they don't go after him in court. I thought his statement was awesome!!!!
@MysteryCupofJoe let's hope so. They have to be aware they're being mocked for making stupid decisions with their IPs at this point. Maybe this is asking for much, but I kind of hope they take this criticism to heart and actually put efforts into doing what is necessary to bring MGS 2&3 to modern systems.
There's nothing light-hearted when you put Konami and anniversary in the same sentence these days.
The way they say "deal with this site" is ominous, like they're going to put a hit out on it or something.
The email address could also be fake. Edmund Exley is a character from LA Confidential. Great movie, though.
Wait, Konami is still a developer? I laughed at their concern about what to do with the site. How about instead of getting butthurt about obvious jokes, they...I dunno...work on making decent console games?
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