When Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater was released last summer, it marked a fresh start for a largely dormant franchise that was once the talk of the gaming world. Remaking the beloved third mainline entry was no easy task, but aside from some not-so-horrible technical issues and perhaps killing the online mode, Konami has done a tremendous job.
The success of the MGS3 remake paved the way for the development team to work on future projects in the Metal Gear series. So what's next? The series' current creators say they are still working out the issues. But for those who want a remake of Metal Gear Solid 4, let's keep our expectations in check. As he said, it will be a somewhat difficult endeavor.
“A very special code”
Metal Gear Solid producer Noriaki Okamura led the series' successful return to the Big Boss origin story, and now, in an interview with Japanese publication RealSound, he's answering some burning questions. When asked what Okamura has in mind for the next chapter of his tenure with the team, he responded:
“There may be remakes, but we can also try new works. The Metal Gear series is like the history of video games, and because it varies from pixel art to cinematic expression, each work has a different remake method and method of expression. We do not intend to apply the methodology created for MGS Delta to all works, but rather we will think about the method that is most suitable for each work.” -Noriaki Okamura
As you can see above, there may be new additions to the franchise conceived and long in the making by Hideo Kojima before any further remakes are made. Or it could be Remake City for a while, or a mix of the two. But what particularly caught my eye was Okamura's response when RealSound's interviewer mentioned his personal interest in a Metal Gear Solid 4 remake.
“The hardware at the time required some pretty special configurations to deliver 3D performance with the technology available at the time, and MGS4 had some pretty special code… It would be pretty difficult to do that now.”
MGS4's code is notorious for this, and the previously released Metal Gear Solid Collection Vol. 2, whenever it appears. As Okamura well knows, this game is… not an easy game to port. Otacon talked about the PlayStation 3's performance in his famous codec talk, but for all his happiness with Blu-ray technology, the processor itself made the console a nightmare to develop on.
Is Okamura saying there won't be a MGS4 remake anytime soon? Of course not. Does he cast some doubt that it will happen soon? maybe. Still, he spoke candidly about the headaches that could follow. At least that's what I hope to get from his quote. So unless the translation is weird or one of those “you had to be there to catch the tone and body language” moments that sometimes make news reporting so difficult, I think it's fair to say that we should all keep our expectations in check.
