1. Money
There's a reason so many games go multiplatform these days, and it has absolutely nothing to do with publishers giving two shits about staying neutral in the console wars. The fact of the matter is that big, flashy games like Metal Gear Solid 4 require huge teams of people and multimillion-dollar budgets to create, and the quickest way to make that money back is to enable as many people as possible to buy it. Producing a game that's exclusive to a single console means locking out millions of potential customers, and when every dollar counts, that's not a decision to be taken lightly.
Above: See all the detail in this shot? It doesn't come cheap
Now, MGS4 has done extremely well for Konami, selling a reported 774,600 copies in the US in June 2008 alone (and that's not counting all the copies sold in hardware bundles). But while some might see that as a sign that sticking with the PS3 was the right strategy, it's really all the more reason for Konami to consider a 360 version. If it sold that well on the world's No. 3 console, just think how much money it could makeon the 360.
2. Sony doesn't pay for exclusives - but Microsoft does
Although there's potentially a lot more money to be made by squeezing MGS4 onto the 360, it's still an expensive proposition. That's where Microsoft and its infamous practice of paying bonuses for exclusive games and content come in. Microsoft could float Konami a massive loan, as it did to secure 360-exclusive downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV. At one point, it was even rumored that Microsoft had offered to handle development of a 360 MGS4 itself.
Above: Why is GTA IV's DLC exclusive to the 360? Moneyhats, that's why
Whatever the case, given MGS4's success at retail, we'd expect Microsoft to be more interested than ever in seeing the game show up on its console. It's just idle speculation at this point, but we'd be genuinely surprised if there weren't at least some shady backroom conversations going on in Redmond.
3. Access to a bigger install base
Whatever your opinions on the relative superiority of Microsoft and Sony's consoles, the fact remains that the Xbox 360 has a considerably larger base of users than the PlayStation 3, with more than 20 million consoles sold worldwide (as opposed to the PS3's 14.4 million). It doesn't matter if the PS3 is quickly closing the gap, or if it eventually overtakes the 360. In terms of sheer numbers, right now, 360 users outnumber PS3 users by a margin of 5.6 million.
(And yes, we know they're both vastly outnumbered by Wii owners. But we're not here to discuss rumors about MGS4 showing up on the Wii, are we?)
Above: Finally, a chance to play Metal Gear Online with themillions of friendlyracists and homophobes on Xbox Live
An Xbox 360 version would more than double the potential audience for Solid Snake's final adventure, which in turn could go a long way toward defraying the high cost of its development. All national and corporate loyalties aside, it's difficult to imagine that being an easy prospect to ignore.
4. Konami doesn't have to break any promises
If you've been a Metal Gear fan for any amount of time, then you already know that - around a year after release - an extras-packed "definitive" version of each game in the series hits stores. It happened with the first MGS (in Japan at least, with MGS: Integral), and again with MGS2: Substance and MGS3: Subsistence. And it'll probably happen with MGS4.
Above: Hey, remember this?
Above: How about this?
So while Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots might never appear on the 360, that doesn't mean that MGS4: Resistance (or Consistence, or Sublimation, or Subterfuge or Subtitle Goes Here) won't. Technically, the original would still be a PS3 exclusive - thereby keeping Konami true to its word - but 360 owners would still get a chance to experience the game in a new, expanded form.
5. It's happened before
In the early days of the PlayStation 2, no game (with the possible exception of Grand Theft Auto III) was more closely tied to the system's identity than Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Just seeing the first trailers, and the level of then-staggering detail in Snake's face, was enough to convince millions of undecided gamers that they needed to buy a PS2. And when the game hit stores in late 2001, it helped the PS2 stand stronger than ever against the twin launches of the Xbox and GameCube.
Above: So it looks better on XboxAND you can play as Snake?The PS2 is doomedOH WAIT
Fast-forward to one year later. Remember that "Substance" edition of Metal Gear Solid 2 we just mentioned? It started life as an Xbox exclusive, and it stayed that way for four months before finally appearing on PS2 and PC. And believe it or not, it wasn't the end of the world for Metal Gear, Metal Gear fans or Sony.
But, you know. Never say never.
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