METAL GEAR SOLID 4 COMING JUNE 12TH

Yeah, it does seem like it's "Grub Off Kotaku Day" here at the House of Latenite, but I always go with the first place I saw a story when posting them, and Kotaku just seemed to beat everyone to the punch today.

PlayStation 3 fans have finally gotten the answer they've been waiting to hear for so long… Konami has dated Metal Gear Solid 4. Rather than tease you any further (and since the date is in the title, it's not like that teasing would be effective anyway), the game is scheduled to hit retail on June 12th, 2008.

However, much like a late night infomercial, there's more – Sony has announced that they will be releasing a PlayStation 3 bundle that includes the 80GB PS3, a DualShock 3 controller and Metal Gear Solid 4 for $499.99. That's a combination that will probably win over quite a few who have been waiting on the sidelines for MGS4 before investing in a PS3.

• Metal Gear Solid 4 – Official website
• PlayStation 3: Metal Gear Solid 4 Finally Has a Release Date – Kotaku
• Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 Bundle Announced – Kotaku

XBOX 360 TO BE BUNDLED WITH PGR3?

Gamespot’s rumor mill is carrying a story that Microsoft is planning on releasing a new $399 Xbox 360 bundle this fall to compete against the launches of the Wii and Playstation 3.

The story makes it very clear that the rumor started on the forums of another gaming site and that it’s source is dubious at best, so take the following with a grain of salt. According to the rumor, the price of the premium 360 package would remain unchanged, but the system would now come bundled with Project Gotham Racing 3, a 3 month Xbox Live Gold subscription and 1250 marketplace points.

While the source is unproven, I’ve got to agree with Gamespot’s position that it’s at least possible. Let’s look at it from Microsoft’s possible point of view;

• Project Gotham Racing 3
  • PGR 3is a game that showcases the 360’s power quite nicely, it’s a Microsoft Games title and has 2 pay content packs in the marketplace that are highly desirable. While it’s probably one of the best selling 360 titles now, come October when Forza Motorsport 2 launches, it’s going to see a serious decline in sales. On the flip side, you could also argue that PGR3 being provided free of charge could hurt Forza 2 sales, so I do see the potential hole in this side of the argument.
• 3 Months free Xbox Live Gold
  • The 360 already comes with a free month of Live Gold, so it’s not too far of a stretch to see MS raising the bar to 3 months – especially given the recent attach numbers Live has seen with the 360. While new adopters may not use Live enough in that first month, by the third they’ve probably picked up a few more titles and have expanded their friends lists to a point where there’s usually someone around to play with. Think of it this way – hook ’em now, so they pay later.
• 1250 Marketplace Points
  • Want to get new users to get into the habit of using the marketplace for purchases? Why not give them a ton of points to play with. It’s another case of getting them used to the idea of paying for content before they actually have to face shelling out money for it.

So there you have it, while it may not be true, it at least could make some sense. I guess we’ll know the real deal later this fall when Microsoft’s competition finally makes it to market.

Click here to head over to Gamespot’s rumor control to see their take on it or here to see the post that started the rumor. You could click here too, but it wouldn’t have anything to do with this story.