Konami just announced both Solid metal gear 2 and Solid metal gear 3 are being removed from online storefronts after “Licensing of selected historical archival material used in the game” issues.
The company’s full statement reads:
*** [Important Notification] Temporary removal of METAL GEAR SOLID 2 and METAL GEAR SOLID 3 from digital shop windows (PlayStation®3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, etc.)
Thank you for playing the METAL GEAR series.
We are currently working on renewing licenses for selected historical archival material that will be used in the game. As a result, we have made the temporary decision to stop selling METAL GEAR SOLID 2, METAL GEAR SOLID 3 and all products that contain these games from Digital in storefronts worldwide from November 8th, 2021.
We sincerely ask for your patience and understanding as we work to bring these products back for sale.
Thank you for your continued support of the METAL GEAR series.
Sounds like something that should have been worked out before the licenses were renewed, but Who am I to teach Konami about image rights?.
The takedowns not only include these two games, but collections that contain them, in addition to MGS2 and MGS3 remove disappearing konami too Metal Gear Solid HD Edition also from the sale.
There is no word as to whether every piece of archive material was to blame or only part of it, for example for them kind of videos became Here is some Cold War footage from a Solid metal gear 3 Cutscene:
The full list of affected games and shopfronts is:
・ PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
・ PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
・ PlayStation®3 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION
・ PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SONS OF LIBERTY HD EDITION
・ PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID 3 SNAKE EATER HD EDITION
・ PlayStation®Vita METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
・ PlayStation ™ Now METAL GEAR SOLID HD COLLECTION
・ Xbox 360 METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION: 2 & 3
・ Nintendo 3DS METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D
・ GOG.com METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SUBSTANCE
・ NVIDIA® SHIELD ™ METAL GEAR SOLID 2 HD for SHIELD TV
・ NVIDIA® SHIELD ™ METAL GEAR SOLID 3 HD for SHIELD TV
G / O Media can receive a commission
The takedowns are effective from today (November 8, 2021). Whether their removals are really temporary or result in a repackaged re-release with missing footage remains to be seen.
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