I give my liiiiiife
Not for honor,
But for yoooooooooou
Due to licensing issues, Konami is delisting Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 from digital storefronts. This is apparently due to rights issues with some of the historical archive footage used in each game. From their post on the issue:
*** [Important Notification] Temporary removal of METAL GEAR SOLID 2 and METAL GEAR SOLID 3 from digital storefronts (PlayStation®3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, etc.)
Thank you for playing the METAL GEAR series.
We are currently working on renewing the licenses for select historical archive footage used in-game, therefore, we have made the temporary decision to begin suspending the sale of METAL GEAR SOLID 2, METAL GEAR SOLID 3 and all products that include these games from digital storefronts globally starting from November 8th, 2021.
We sincerely ask for your patience and understanding as we work towards making these products available for purchase once again.
So, naturally, you’re probably wondering what’s affected by this. Thankfully, they gave a full list:
・PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
・PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
・PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION
・PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
・PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
・PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
・PlayStation™Now METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
・Xbox 360 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION: 2 & 3
・Nintendo 3DS METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
・GOG.com METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SUBSTANCE
・NVIDIA® SHIELD™ METAL GEAR SOLID 2 HD for SHIELD TV
・NVIDIA® SHIELD™ METAL GEAR SOLID 3 HD for SHIELD TV
Granted, not all of this has necessarily gone into effect cross-platform as of yet. There might be a few storefronts moving slowly in regards to removal from sale, but it will effect all listed variants.
The original deals for the aforementioned footage was for a 20 year period, and Metal Gear Solid 2‘s anniversary is coming November 13th of this year. It’s likely Konami just decided it was easier to renew the licenses for both games at once.
There’s no ETA on when these games will be back up again, however. And it’s entirely possible that they won’t return at all, at least in their current form; there have been rumors of a new MGS game in the works (among others), and the possibility of remakes/remasters to go with it. That said, there’s no real way of knowing whether those rumors are true.Still, anything’s possible, especially if it’s making someone money.
Source: PC Gamer
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