Illicit Famitsu scans have hit the web, showing off what appears to be Metal Gear Solid Touch for Apple’s line of touch-screen devices. Konami later confirms it along with new Silent Hill and more for iPhone.
Update: Who knew you could get official word so late in the evening these days? Kotaku has confirmed with Konami that Metal Gear Solid Touch is indeed a real title in development for the iPhone. It’s an original title set in the Metal Gear Solid 4 universe with 8 levels and unlockable content to decorate your iPhone with. Metal Gear Solid Touch is currently scheduled for a worldwide release in Spring 2009.
Solid Snake isn’t the only Konami staple making its way to the iPhone as the announcement also contains a first look at Silent Hill: The Escape, Dance Dance Revolution S-Lite and Frogger, all three of which are due in 2008.
Original Story: On December 5, the developers behind Konami’s Metal Gear Solid series, Kojima Productions, put up a new web page teasing the next installment of the long running franchise. Sporting an iconic power symbol and a shade of green that could only be described as Xbox-sheik, it lead many to believe that we would finally see the long awaited and much debunked announcement of Metal Gear Solid 4 for Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Those dreams may be crushed once more should you believe recently discovered scans supposibly from an upcoming issue of the Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu Weekly, depicting Metal Gear Solid Touch for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
But does the math add up? Konami nor Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima have made any specific announcements concerning the teaser site, but it does seem very Kojima-esque to lavish the website in an obnoxious green color, only to pull a last minute swerve. What has many out there scratching their heads is an interview Kojima did with 1UP News while attending the Spike Video Game Awards this past weekend in which he said to expect more literal news in a few weeks time. Kojima is an extremely media savvy fellow and would surely know if Famitsu was ready to spill the beans less than a week from then.
1UP editorial director, Sam Kennedy, makes a good point, however, when he updated their original story on the Kojima interview to say that perhaps he was referring to the Macworld Expo, set to take place on January 5. Apple’s director of technology evangelism, John Geleynse, recently told a San Jose audience that the iPhone is not in fact a phone, but a gaming console and one that posed a threat to the likes of the Nintendo DS. If Apple felt like asserting that claim, rolling out Hideo Kojima and a new Metal Gear Solid title for the iPhone at its final Macworld keynote would be a perfect way to do so.
Finally, the idea of Kojima Productions working on an iPhone title isn’t much of a stretch as it’d be joining fellow Japanese developers Square-Enix (Song Summoner) and Namco Bandai (We Love Katamari) in creating games for Apple devices. If anything, it would be another case of them pushing for Japanese developers to look beyond their homeland to create for a more global audience.
Of course it could also be an extremely elaborate hoax by someone with a deft hand when it comes to Photoshop. In which case I would say, kudos to you.
