!

!

Let's all calm down here.

Look at those Kotaku comments. People are going WILD. They think this means an Xbox 360 Metal Gear, be it a port of MGS4 or a multiplatform (or even an exclusive) sequel. Everything the Konami site displays points in a different direction.

Of course, I'm not saying "Metal Gear will always be PS exclusive and all you xbots need to let it go." I'm not saying that at all. In fact, I would be surprised if the next entry in the series was exclusive (to any console, for that matter).

Take a close look at that image.

Now, a lot of people are jumping all over that power button icon, saying that it's existence means Metal Gear is coming to the 360. But take a close look at that thing. There are a couple holes in that conclusion:

1) "A NEXT METAL GEAR IS..."
a. First of all, it says "next," which severs pretty much any relation to Metal Gear Solid 4.
b. Second of all, it says "Metal Gear," not "Metal Gear Solid." That goes beyond this not being about Metal Gear Solid 4, but I'll get to that in a minute.

2) The vertical line of Konami's power button is an exclamation point, not a solid line like the 360's.

Clearly that power button is supposed to be some kind of a Metal Gear spin on the ubiquitous object, not some implication of 360 - MGS4 portage or exclusivity of any kind.

Back to the "Metal Gear [not Solid]" issue. The "Solid" in the titles of the past 9 or so games (that includes ports and expansions and such) was a reference to the fact that the games are in 3D, not the protagonist Solid Snake (which is why Metal Gear Solid 3 is called just that and not "Metal Gear Naked" or whatever).

Now, I don't know if Konami decided not to put "Solid" in there because they were trying to differentiate this "Next Metal Gear" from all the baggage from the series before it or what. The first thing I thought was "Metal Gear is moving into 4D, so it's gotta be PS3 exclusive." Then I realized that's god damn retarded and went with the more sensible thought.

So what do I think this thing means? I think it's all got something to do with the theme of the game. What that theme is I've got not solid (pun kind of intended) idea. Maybe the green resembles radioactivity? And the power button resembles just that? So nuclear power? Maybe it's got something to do with the energy crisis (if not the one in the real world then maybe one created in the Metal Gear world)?

See, I've got nothing good. What I can say though is I doubt this teaser has anything to do with which systems the next Metal Gear will be on, and I do think the plot is going to be separate from the Metal Gear games of old. Maybe not in a different universe, and maybe not forgoing some familiar characters, but probably unrelated to the Patriots, the Snakes, and all that business.

All in all, there are some pretty interesting things going on in that little equation. A lot of unanswered questions. What does that "i" stand for (something I intentionally did not bring up in this analysis of mine because I'm completely stumped about it)? Why is it green? What happened to "Solid?" What does the power button indicate? I've got no clue. And god dammit Konami, it is way too early for me to get all worked up again over Metal Gear. Just look at this fucking post! I don't have time for all this!

UPDATE:

A couple of things. One, a bunch of people on blogs like Kotaku and PS3Fanboy are saying that this means "A Next Metal Gear is On," as in, "in development." I don't think that's the case. I don't see how "i + ! = (!)" translates to "A Next Metal Gear = On." Also, I don't think such a cryptic message is necessary to say that the next Metal Gear is being developed. That's an incredible waste of hype.

Also, apparently the letters "mgst" appear in the web address for the site.

"http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/mgst/?ref=kjp_eng"

Yep, there they are. People are saying this is significant, and I agree with them. The odd thing is "s" is included in there. Could it stand for "Solid?" If so, where's "Solid" in "A Next Metal Gear is...?" Maybe I'm looking too much into it (meaning: maybe Konami just is trying to separate this new game from the franchise) but it still seems odd to me.