The final game in the Metal Gear Solid series under creator Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, is expected to be released worldwide on Sept. 1 for PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360, while the Steam version will go live on Sept. 15. The Collector's Edition of the game has been sold out in the United Kingdom.
According to Tamoor Hussain of GameSpot, Konami, the publisher of Metal Gear Solid games, reported a net revenue increase of 0.3 percent over the previous year with an increase in operating income of 87.8 percent. However, Konami Digital Entertainment, which focuses on game development and publishing, including that of Metal Gear Solid, had a decrease of 7.1 percent over its previous fiscal year.
"Konami's expectations for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain weren't discussed in any detail," Hussain wrote. "It instead opted to simply say the upcoming title has 'garnered great response from home and abroad.'"
Konami added that despite the release of other games, "the number of sold titles decreased." In terms of console games, Hussain reported that the game company looks to include "sustained operation" modes that "utilize the operational expertise of mobile games."
However, Hussain reported that rumors surrounded the possible departure of Kojima once Metal Gear V is released, which Konami has not addressed yet. He cited several examples that backed up that assumption.
"Konami has removed the Kojima Productions logo from official artwork for The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes," Hussain wrote. "It also removed references to titles being 'A Hideo Kojima Game' from marketing material. The Kojima Productions logo was also removed from the Silent Hills/P.T. website, before Silent Hills was outright cancelled."
The reaction of gamers in the United Kingdom seemed to indicate that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain could achieve commercial success worldwide. That's because the Collector's Edition of the game, which is only available in that country through the retailer GAME according to Adnan Riaz of HardcoreGamer, has sold out.
"The Collector's Edition can no longer be pre-ordered on either PlayStation 4 or Xbox One," Riaz wrote. "Retailing at £99 (about $152), the Collector's Edition includes a copy of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a half-scale replica of Big Boss' bionic arm, DLC content, a Steelbook case, behind-the-scenes documentary and more."
Riaz added that the Phantom Pain will pick up on the story of protagonist Big Boss, who wakes up from a nine-year coma after the events as portrayed by events in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros.
