Snake Squeezes Onto Blu-Ray News

Now that the simultaneous release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has been set for June 12th, the countdown towards delivering Hideo Kojima's latest instalment in the long-running Tactical Stealth Action series can begin in earnest.

In an interview with one Japanese publication however, it seems that the publicity drive may be stuttering a little bit courtesy of remarks by Kojima that the mammoth 50GB disc space provided by a dual-layer blu-Ray isn't enough.

According to various transcriptions, the 'restrictive' space has meant that some features have been dropped, including Japanese voice-overs for the West's versions of the game. Despite this however, Kojima has still managed to get Metal Gear Online squeezed onto the disc too, rather than provide it as a digital download over PlayStation Network or on a separate blu-Ray. You can also bet that the restrictions won't have affected the franchise's infamously lengthy cut-scenes...

Whilst it would seem that Kojima's remark spells the end of the persistent rumours of an Xbox 360 version, given the even-greater space restrictions of the console's dual-layer DVD discs (it would have to be spread across 6 DVDs), it's worth remembering that swapping discs is far from a new idea on Microsoft's platform. Just look at Sakaguchi-san's Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.