The once-dormant Ask Joystiq has returned for a special Metal Gear edition. If you have any burning questions, unsolved gaming mysteries, or just a desire for musings from our knowledgeable cadre of writers, drop us a line at ask AAT joystiq DAWT com (and yes, we write it that way for a reason).

I want to get the MGS Essential Collection before I get Metal Gear Solid 4 but what exactly is in it? I mean for example does it have the Subsistence edition of MGS2 or MGS3? What does directors cut mean? Does it mean they cut from the original games? Please help me!
– Manuel G.

We can't decide what is more bizarre: the existence of a mint condition Metal Gear Solid 3 pizza box ("never had any pizza in it") or that it's being sold on eBay. We are, of course, amused either way. (Thanks, Anthony) Check out the highlights for this weekend:

Joystiquery
Japanese hardware sales, April 7 - April 13: Choose your own adventure edition
PS Fanboy Week in Review: 4/14 - 4/20
This Week in Review has a Nintendo overload

News
Xbox Live down Monday morning for spring cleaning
Konami replacing botched Metal Gear Online beta codes
Full version of indie gem Noitu Love 2: Devolution now available
Darkrai distribution events coming to Toys R' Us May 31 - June 1
Uh-Ohkami: Capcom botches Okami Wii box art, inadvertently advertises IGN
Hellboy: The Science of Evil trailer is chock-full of punching
Alone in the Dark 'Descent' trailer looks more than decent

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: GTA IV DLC may include entirely new cities

Culture & Community
Meet the Team Fortress 2 Scout ... again
Fan-made Tetris: The Movie trailer surprises us with quality

PS2 owners who are disappointed about their system's dwindling upcoming release list may have at least one more high profile "new" release to look forward to. We put "new" in quotes because this release would actually be a collection of some of the best old games on the system at a great price.

CheapAssGamer has some evidence that Konami is planning to bring Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection to the PS2 on March 18. According to a Play-Asia info page and two purported scans of a fact sheet, the game will include all three Metal Gear Solid games, including the Substance and Subsistence directors cuts of the latter two, all for $29.99. Try beating that with a stick.

While we're sure the four gamers who haven't played these games would be happy with the opportunity to play catch up, we're a little bummed that they couldn't somehow squeeze the Gamecube-exclusive Twin Snakes version of the original Metal Gear Solid into the package. Still, even if you've only missed one or two of these releases, you might want to put this one on your early-year-purchases list.

As Joystiq staffers descend upon the great city of Tokyo for the annual Tokyo Game Show, Konami kicks things off blasting out a list of all the games they're showing off at TGS and, we imagine, their press conference scheduled at 3PM Tokyo time (that's 2AM Joystiq time). Tops on that list is undoubtedly Metal Gear Solid 4 which, according to their press release, will be making its playable world premiere. We're already dreading the giant lines of would-be stealth assassins that will no doubt snake around this game's kiosks.

Metal Gear Solid 4 not blowing your skirt up, Nancy? Well, Konami's got you covered. If snapping people's necks isn't your idea of a good time well, we could question your patriotism, or we could point you people towards some of Konami's other offerings. The Big K isn't even ashamed to reveal that they've got a "game" called Wii Fitness (not to be confused with Nintendo's very own Wii Fit), along with some thrilling software like Pilates, Yoga, and Skin Basic for the Nintendo DS. We know some Metal Gear fans that could use all of the above. Check after the break for a full list of Konami's TGS lineup.

Metal Gear Solid 3 players have just over a month to get their 'Subsistence' online. Konami has passed along a brief notice that the game's servers will be permanently shut down on April 3:

"The last day of online service for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence in North America will be April 2nd. Konami sincerely thanks all of the Subsistence online community for their dedication to the game and support of the Metal Gear Solid series."

The notice concludes with a plug for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, which also features online multiplayer modes. The PSP installment may keep fans from starving, but this latest development must stir some hunger pangs. We needs our MGS4.

So what can you do for now? Start by signing the petition.

The rumors that Metal Gear Solid 4 is not a PS3 exclusive continue to snowball. A little over a month ago came the first wave of speculation and the idea even graced the cover of EGM. Fanboys screamed and raged, "Kojima-san owes way too much to Sony to stab them in the back like this, his honour would be tarnished forever and the Japanese care deeply about their honour." Konami's PR simply said, "Metal Gear 4 [sic] is a PS3 title."

Now website Noooz states they have "exclusive" information that MGS4 is coming to Xbox 360. We spoke directly with the editor of Noooz, Daniel Boutros, who has been around the industry for a good bit. He says his source for the information is quite high up, "I rarely run with anything unless I'm 100% confident. I rarely break news stories as you can see." He jokes that from now on he's sticking to opinion pieces after the storm of comments his site received.

Boutros' source says that MGS4 will be coming to the Xbox 360 shortly after the PS3 release. The source says Konami is concerned that there will still not be enough PS3 units out there to make the game profitable. This is the same rationale being used by many publishers, including Ubisoft, to jump off the exclusive bandwagon. Somebody has to pay the bills and the wider the net, the more money publishers will make. We, along with probably everyone else, will be following up with Konami and Microsoft for comment tomorrow. This story isn't going away until somebody sneaks up on it from behind, chokes it senseless and drags it into a storage locker.

[Thank you to all the people who sent this in]