In the recent EGM, Metal Gear Solid 4 Assistant Producer, Ryan Payton had the following to say about the Sony Playstation 3′s Sixaxis Motion Sensing feature:

“I think the problem with this feature is it was severely overhyped …” He went on to say “It was talked up as Sony’s answer to the Wii Remote. The trick is to use Sixaxis sparingly and have fun with it. I don’t think anybody wants to play a long game while consistently having to tilt the controller around. Rather, it’s fun for the player when they’re given a chance to use it in short bursts– that’s how we’re approaching Sixaxis in MGS4.”

I personally agree with him, however I do believe that as someone who prefers what is now considered by many the “old school” controller approach over the arm-flaring Wiimote, I believe that I may be the minority on this subject. What do you think?

Via: PS3 Forums

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Can it be? Can the words I read be true? Is a Metal Gear Solid 4 demo coming to the Playstation Network next month? I do not believe it.

Ryan Payton, the game’s Assistant Producer, who we interviewed at E for All, gave us the impression that there would be no hope of a Metal Gear demo on the Playstation Network:

Considering how much we’ve changed since TGS/E for All, it would be a huge undertaking to create a new demo. Sorry guys.

To be honest, why would they need a demo for existing Playstaiton owners, when it’s almost certain that they are going to go out and buy the game anyway?

Nevertheless, perhaps Payton’s choice of words when he said a “new demo” wasn’t on the cards, should have been enough to place doubt in our minds. You would, however, expect Kojima to desire a demo that was representative of their final engine, so they might have taken that huge undertaking and updated the demo’s game engine.

So what leads us to believe that an MGS4 demo is on the way to the Playstaiton Network? Well, we can read it in the Playstation World magazine:

Want more MGS4? Well you’ll get it very soon. The stage we played here will be on the PSN Store in the next month.

What a tasty little surprise if true. But don’t forget, magazines have been known to get things wrong. Still, PSW sound very confident after their play time with the game.

While you ogle at the photograph of these edible words, we’ll try to keep you informed.

Update:  The PSW Editor has been in contact with MGS4.net to let them know that a demo for the PSN Store is indeed planned, and they expect it to land in February.  Though they do say that’s if the game is coming in May…when I was expecting it in June anyway:

At the time of writing the article a Konami rep told us a demo, the demo we played in our office for the magazine article, would be on the PSN Store. It’s finished, we played it, so something should be appearing this month.

It could all depend on the game’s final on sale date, if it has moved to May then a demo could appear later, possibly February.

Sources: Gametrailers Forums and MGS4.net

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Right at the end of the podcast, Ryan announces a set of announcements that are to come. Announcing announcements is not that exciting, aye? Perhaps not – but he does say that Kojima are working on three other projects to hit the US this summer.

Ryan wanted permission from Konami to announce at least one of three products, but he was turned down. For now the only news we have that there are these three products (interestingly not all digital content) that Metal Gear fans can get excited about.

I thought a Kojima hibernation was about to begin, but it seems that the veils are going to be taken off in the coming weeks. Ryan reveals that a train is about to start chugging along with announcement after announcement, trailers and screenshots, MGS4′s release date and other new information.

The details are coming week on week, so keep your ears and eyes open (well your ears don’t close…but you know what I mean).

• MGS4 Assistant Producers: Sixaxis Motion Sensing “Severely Overhyped”
• Sneak Out: MGS4 Deluge Continues
• MGS4 Demo Actually on the Way? *Update*
• Ryan Payton Leaves Kojima Productions to be Closer to Family, Drops Hint at MGS5
• Two MGS4 Reviews: Same Words, Different Scores
• MGS4 Bundle Sneaking Into Europe