We get pretty nervous when publishers start testing the waters with higher price points, so we like to think our sticker shock at seeing this $1,000 listing for Metal Gear Solid 4 is forgivable. But it is a pretty good game and we would like to have a second copy, just in case. Plus, there's only one left in stock!

But just as we were about the make the purchase, we noticed that shipping price. $7.99?! What, are we made of money?

[Thanks, Christopher]

Konami has a whole week of "surprises" lined up for the one-year anniversary of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots' release. So, surprise: Metal Gear Online has received an unlikely update in the form of bikini-clad babes. Rather than draw form the series' pool of female characters, the pack lets players roll their own originals, complete with sultry -- even scandalous! -- "taunts."

The DLC is free for players who already have the GENE expansion pack purchased and installed. No amount of money will get your dignity back after friends catch you testing the ladies' over-the-top "jiggle simulation." (Or simply watching the video of others doing it after the break.)

Despite stating that he would be more hands-off with the Metal Gear Solid games after the fourth installment, Kojima has decided to once again roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Speaking with Japanese mag Famitsu (via PSPHyper), the gaming icon has said that Peace Walker will pretty much be his MGS5 -- something that will likely be excellent news to every Genome soldier reading this very post -- and that the MGS4 team will be working on it. (For some new Peace Walker screens, fresh out of Kojima Productions, check out our gallery embedded below).

Moving on to Metal Gear Solid Rising, Kojima says the game will include "a completely different kind of action than what has appeared in the series so far," though we're not sure if that's a good or bad thing. He also mentioned that he will be involved with the project "more deeply" than a normal producer which, considering the expectations and the new engine involved, makes sense.

The implicit bad news here: With all this Metal Gear stuff taking up Kojima's time (not to mention Castlevania: Lords of Shadow), we're unlikely to see that rumored Snatcher and/or Zone of the Enders and/or Something Else title anytime soon.

Source - Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker details
Source - Kojima discusses Metal Gear Solid Rising [via Eurogamer]

Like a case of bad allergies, Metal Gear Solid 4's graphics left us rubbing our eyes. That said, when it comes to developing the recently unveiled Metal Gear Solid Rising, the latest sequel's eye candy is not nearly sweet enough.

According to Kojima Productions assistant producer Sean Eyestone, the team is remaking Rising's engine "from scratch" to make it look better than MGS4. Speaking during a recent Kojima Productions podcast, Eyestone describes the multiplatform project as "a big project like Metal Gear Solid 4," adding that the team "team is serious about making it look as good as possible on every platform." Let's just hope our meager eyes can take it.

[Via 1UP]

Konami has released more specifics on the new "Race Mission" mode and "Patriot" feature for Metal Gear Online we first told you about last week. First up, the Race Mission is aptly titled, as it sees two teams attempting to pass through racing game style checkpoints after tracking down their oh-so-adorable frog and duck KEROTAN and GA-KO items. The mode's rules state that if the item is dropped and not picked up in time, its team will have to seek it out at a random spawn point. We're only guessing that the match is won by whichever team passes through the most checkpoints with cuddly mascot in-hand, as Konami oddly left that bit out. All will be revealed come May 12.

Not forgotten in today's update was word of the Patriot system, which -- at least at first -- sounds like a cool reward for the game's best players. Basically, the game will select a random set of top players each week as "Patriots," granting them access to a Patriot .56mm "hand rifle" ... which has infinite ammo and doesn't require reloading. Let's see: MGO's best players with infinite ammo and no need to reload. Sounds fair, right? We'll find out how it works out starting May 26.

We're just about a month away from the one year anniversary of Metal Gear Solid 4's release. In spite of a cumbersome Konami ID system, the game's packaged Metal Gear Online mode has seen a number of add-ons, with no end in sight. On May 12th, MGO players will be able to enjoy a new game mode, "Race Mission," which will be available to "all players, not just those who have purchased SCENE." In this mode, the two teams must protect a certain target while passing through various checkpoints.

It looks as though some major updates are still in the works for the Metal Gear universe. Konami's Brandon Laurino teased PlayStation.Blog readers, stating that the team still has "even more awesome stuff" to celebrate the game's one year anniversary with. What could this entail? We'll let you cook up some conspiracy theories as we count down to June.

No matter how many times the Mega64 guys dress as beloved video game characters and go into public, we never fail to be entertained. But their take on Metal Gear Solid 4, which debuted at the GDCAs last week, takes a turn towards the surreal and becomes something far more epic than simple spoof.

We want to tell you more, but, frankly, we've said too much already. You should probably just watch the whole thing for yourself right after the break.

Well, yet another Konami event without any peep of MGS4 on Xbox 360 and, if you follow Kojima's chart of Metal Gear progression, it doesn't sound like it's ever happening. Next up is a new project -- "the next MGS" -- coupling Western development techniques, with an advance in hardware and game design to hopefully create Kojima's apparently-still-unfulfilled goal of bringing us "the ultimate stealth game." Maybe then, Kojima will be able to finally leave the Metal Gear series behind.

Head past the break for complete coverage of the Kojima keynote (updated from bottom to top).

Hideo Kojima will have the fancy new title of "Executive Corporate Officer Director, Kojima Production" starting April 1. His previous job title was, um, not too different: "Corporate Officer Director, Kojima Production." Shhhh, this is total "!" stuff! We've also received the list of alternative titles Kojima could have received:

• Grand Executive Poobah of the Codec
• Slayer of writers who know the power of editing and can tell a story or tell a joke or make a tongue-in-cheek observation about something which can be considered funny
• Executive la-le-lu-Liason
• Executive in charge of making us a new Snatcher game already
  

If you reveal this information to anyone, you've got 30 seconds to find a closet ... make sure to stay in there at least a minute.

[Via Kotaku]

It's certainly not the experience Metal Gear Solid fans are probably expecting, but Metal Gear Solid Touch released today on the iTunes App Store for $7.99 on iPhone and iPod Touch. MGS Touch covers the events of MGS4, with players assuming the role of Solid Old Snake, in what amounts to a screen-tapping shooting gallery.

The game features 20 levels and has the cloned protagonist fighting all the characters you've come to know from MGS4 -- minus the 45-minute cutscenes. We should have our review of the app up soon.

You ready to dance like Vamp? To get your ninja skills right as Raiden? Metal Gear Online's third expansion pack -- SCENE -- adds new playable characters and new maps. Of course, you knew that already. The upcoming DLC will be available in March, but you can take a first look at the new content in this Japanese trailer. Like most everything Kojima-related, it's filled with some truly zany moments.

GameFly's sixth annual Q Awards have bestowed Fallout 3 with "Game of the Year" and "Xbox 360 Game of the Year" honors. The winners were selected by tallying over 100,000 votes by the rental service's subscribers. The winners across platforms:

• PS3 game of the year - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• PS2 game of the year - Kingdom Hearts: Re-Chain of Memories
• PSP game of the year - God of War: Chains of Olympus
• Xbox 360 game of the year - Fallout 3
  
• Wii game of the year - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  
• DS game of the year - Final Fantasy IV
  

To see the runners-up in each category, check out the Q Awards page at GameFly. Looking at the list (and taking into account GameFly's demographic), is anyone surprised?

The results are in for Japan's Top 100 software sellers for 2008 and the data is certainly unsurprising. Rising to claim the #1 spot is Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G. The PSP phenomenon has been topping the Japanese software charts for most of last year, and is, in fact, still selling hotly in Japan.

The PS3's best-selling game in Japan, Metal Gear Solid 4, barely scratched the top ten as it ranked in at #11. It was knocked out of the top ten by nine Nintendo exclusives, which include the likes of Super Smash Bros. Brawl at #5. But wait, Solid Snake is also in that title ... In a way, you could say he infiltrated the top ten. Back to your old tricks, Snake? And here we thought you had retired.

Unsurprisingly, Konami's grandpa-spy sim Metal Gear Solid 4 sold extremely well across the globe -- so well, in fact, that the game has reached the ever prestigious Platinum Range in Europe, an honor bestowed to titles that reach sales upward of 400,000 within their first year on the market. A Platinum edition of the game will hit European store shelves on March 5, bringing with it some slightly updated box art and a discounted price of EUR 29.95 (or GBP 19.99).

Hopefully, the game will follow suit by qualifying for Greatest Hits status in North America, an honor that brings a similar discount to $29.99, as well as a provocative crimson jewel case. We've begun growing our unsettling math teacher moustaches in feverish anticipation.