A former worker at Kojima Productions has said that Konami had gotten Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot to run “beautifully and smoothly” on the Xbox 360.
Imagining what could have been
The 2008 Metal Gear Solid entry was a PS3 exclusive, though some were hopeful that an Xbox 360 version would see the light of day. However, given that the Microsoft console was DVD while its Sony rival was Blu-ray, it was believed that the game would have had to span multiple discs in order for it to run on the now-defunct Xbox machine.
However, in the 2021 book The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2 by Steven L Kent (via Time Extension), there was no official deal between Sony and Konami to make MGS4 exclusive to the console.
Speaking to Kent, former staff member at Kojima Productions Ryan Payton said that many colleagues did not believe the game would run well on “Microsoft’s older and inferior hardware.”
However, the research and development team at the studio did show off a version of MGS4 playing through an Xbox 360. Payton is quoted as saying that it was “running beautifully and smoothly,” adding that, as an Xbox fan, they were excited.
Sadly, it never came to fruition, but with Metal Gear Solid 3 getting an official remake, there will be hopes that the fourth installment will get a similar treatment. As of now, Metal Gear Solid 4 does not look like it’s going to be making a return, but you never know what Konami’s going to plan next.
