"Dear Konami Customer:

We regret to inform that the release of the Expansion Pack "METAL GEAR ONLINE GENE EXPANSION" on 17th July 2008 was marred by major system related problems resulting in great inconveniences for all our customers.

We have been taking numerous corrective measures since the problems initially started, but unfortunately there are no permanent solutions we can announce at this present moment. With the problem still ongoing, we felt it would be our obligation to publish..."

"Before Kojima Productions and Konami get Hideo Kojima that editor he so desperately needs, perhaps the company should hire someone who knows how to launch an online multiplayer game. The Metal Gear Online "Gene Expansion" was released yesterday and promptly melted Konami's servers, resulting in the closure of the game's MGO Shop and Reward Shop and difficulty logging in to the service. Some MGO players have reported paying for the new expansion and getting nothing in return.

Konami's solut..."

"Metal Gear Online's first expansion pack - Gene - has been dated during Konami's E3 address yesterday. And that release date is...today, July 17!

The expansion will introduce a new gameplay mode (survival), three new maps, two new selectable characters (including Meryl) and a "reward shop", where you can spend the points you earn in survival mode on new gear for your character."

"" The much awaited ""METAL GEAR ONLINE GENE EXPANSION"" is now available!! DO NOT miss this opportunity to become a part of the evolution that is MGO!! Throw yourself onto new and unconquered Maps!! Make use of a whole new set of gimmicks and Characters! Why not try out the awesome new game mode "Survival"!?

The ExpansionPack includes an amazing 3 new Maps!!
Ever wanted to play as a character from MGS4 on MGO? Now's your chance as 2 seasoned warriors join the ranks!

Reward Points you e..."

"inspiration from the existing “Sneaking Mode”, which sees Snake use Octocamo to collect Dog-Tags from warring teams, this mode is a battle of two teams with different gear.

The mode consists of a Sneaking Team and a “Normal” Team going head to head. Like Snake, the Sneaking Team is stealth-equipped (thus virtually invisible) and to win must either eliminate all enemies or return KEROTAN or GA-KO to their goal. The defending team must defeat the sneaking team or keep KEROTAN or GA-KO safe t..."

"According to translated Japanese gaming forums (citing information from the newest edition of Famitsu), the pack will retail for 1200 yen, with another option of a 1500-yen pack that gives you a new character slot. Both packs will feature Johnny and Meryl, the ability to make female characters, a new Survival Mode, and three fresh stages: Shadow Moses, Mei Ling's Ship, and the Heliport from the original Metal Gear Solid on the PS1. Furthermore, as of Friday, we can expect a couple new rules f..."

Narrative, dynamic game play, installs, awesome graphics? What are all these things? Fuchal of NextGG.com offers a satirical guide for Xbox Fanboys who may wish to explore their feelings towards Metal Gear Solid 4.

"The Midtown Maelstrom map seems to be more of the same. You’re dropped down into a war torn setting that was probably once inhabited by middle class citizens until something big blew up. Expect to find lots of rubble to use for cover and a comfy spot for sniping. The real fun lies in the new Sneaking Mission mode.

Sneaking Mission mode lets you play as the Solid Snake as you go around collecting dog tags from fallen enemies. There’s more to it than that though. While you have all the nifty..."

"after what i've heard its only in the EU rightnow, because we just had a 2 hour maintenance which added those things.

im playing on the map rightnow, its pretty big and ****ing awesome!

"Midtown Maelstrom" is the name of the new map
the rules for Sneaking mission:
one player plays snake that is equipted with octo-camo, he has to collect dog-tags from the other players that are fightig
if 11 or more players are playing
one of them becomes Mk. II and can help snake on his mission
he ..."

"You know how the Metal Gear Solid Beta hasn’t exactly gone smoothly? The multiple delays combined with the horrible duplicate account process has put a bad taste in every ones mouth. That’s not even mentioning the short code problems that people have been experiencing.

The latest reports are that anybody who’s Internet Service Provider is AOL UK have been blocked from the beta. The cause or reason is unknown but members of the Official Sony Forums have voiced complaints about the beta not ..."

"The MGO development team has created a patch for the MGO Beta client, bringing it to version 1.02. This patch is intended to resolve and improve any connectivity issues on the client side. The patch is now available through the MGO Beta client. You will additionally need to download and install the 1.01 patch, if you have not already done so, also available through the MGO Beta client."

"As I’m sure most of you know by now (at least those who cared), the Metal Gear Online Beta has been delayed due to “high demand”. Uncertain as to when we would finally be able to play the beta, Konami updated their site to inform us that it will return this Friday. Here is how they put it:

“Start date: Planned for 04/25/2008 24:00(PDT). While the start is planned for the weekend, it may change due to unforseen [sic] circumstances.”

“Unforeseen circumstances” like what happened today? I ..."

"We would like to thank all players for their keen interest in taking part in the beta test.
However, we regret to inform you that due to extraordinary levels of traffic from all around the globe, we have been unable to run the service to the level we expected.
As a temporary measure, we will be deferring the start of the US public beta test until we are able to stabilize our server.
We would like to apologize for all inconveniences as well as confusion caused.

We would like to add t..."

"Konami has tried to be very clever, anticipating the high demand and volume of downloads they have realized it would make a lot of sense to have gamers download from one another rather than everyone suddenly making a run on their servers slowing them down to the speed of a tortoise wading through a sea of thick, sloppy disappointment.

Sadly, there are pros and cons of each method and a giant trap for us all to tumble in to. Firstly, if everyone opts to download via P2P then everyone will g..."

"Earlier today, we posted a quick news piece regarding the availability of the Metal Gear Online beta. Originally scheduled for download on April 17th, the file for the beta and its update are currently available. While it wasn't possible to create Konami IDs because the portal and website are down, it appears that there's a much larger problem – some beta key owners don't have a full key to acquire the beta files.

According to some comment and board posts on our site, some users report rec..."

"Packs

Lair Deadly Dragons Pack SCEE (FREE)
Warhawk Operation: Broken Mirror Pack SCEE (£3.99)
Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta Konami Digital Ent (FREE)

Video

GTA IV: Trailer 4 ‘Everyone’s A Rat’ Rockstar (FREE)"

"The European PlayStation Store has been updated and Europe and now download the Metal Gear Online Beta, which was released in the US a day early. Unlike the US, anyone can access the online beta. US games will have to preorder Metal Gear Solid 4 in order to receive a beta key to gain access to the game. Konami require you to register for a Konami ID in order to play the beta. The download weigh in at 741MB."

"Here's a bit of a shocker to everyone waiting for the Metal Gear Online beta: we all thought we'd get to download it on the 17th of April, but for some reason, that's not the case. As it stands, the download is now available over the PSN. A day earlier than expected.

The download is 741MB, so that shouldn't take a whole lot of waiting to get. Sadly, though, you won't be able to play it just yet. We all still have to wait for the 21st of April to sneak up on enemies and give them cans of bu..."

"Thank you for using KONAMI ID.

However, we regret to inform you that your KONAMI ID has been deleted due to the registration of false information. We would like to add that this is in direct breach of the KONAMI ID Basic Terms and Conditions of Use clauses “2.4 Prohibited Conduct” as well as “2.2 Registrant Information”.

Your KONAMI ID will be deleted once you have read this mail.

For more details on the Terms and Conditions of use, please refer to the below web address.
..."

"Most gamers likely feel a great sense of weariness at the prospect of being forced to sign up for yet another email account, web login or profile page just to be able to access some variety of digital content -- but what if that login was necessary in order to play Metal Gear Online?

According to the official Playstation Blog, that's exactly the case for those individuals lucky enough to have scored themselves a preview beta of Metal Gear Online by either pre-ordering Metal Gear Solid 4 or..."

"Aussie gamers will be able to take part in the beta test for Metal Gear Online very, very soon. The new look PlayStation Store goes live tomorrow, on April 15, and a fresh batch of content will be downloadable from the 17th – including the MGO beta.



Two maps will be included with the beta: ‘Blood Bath’ and ‘Groznyi Grad.’ The latter, adapted from the setting for Metal Gear Solid 3, will include man-cannons for launching players through the multi-level environment."

"“The beta phase features two maps, four gameplay modes, the SOP System that encourages up to 16 players to team up and share information, and deep skill-customization. Also equipped with auto-matching and training modes, the game offers players a sneak peak of this totally new approach to console-based competitive gaming.”"

"Since the announcement of Metal Gear Online, it’s been left unclear whether or not it would be released as a standalone title or bundled together with Metal Gear Solid 4. It’s only commonsense that the two should be paired together, but early talk didn’t seem to suggest that they would be. Well, the January ‘08 issue of the new PlayStation: The Official Magazine (formerly PSM) was just dropped off in my mailbox headlined on the cover with exclusive confirmation that MGS4 and MGO are in fact b..."

"Famitsu magazine is reporting that yes Metal Gear Online will come with Metal Gear Solid 4. Great news for MGS fans."

"The lucky bastards who signed up for the Metal Gear Online Beta successfully are now starting to receive their invitations to download the software on their PS3. Of course, only Japan applicants are actually being picked, and those who slyly managed to sneak in their non-japanese applications haven’t received invites, meaning they were probably denied. Or at least, they better be. And yes, I am being a hater."