The current state ofMetal Gear Solidas a once-iconic franchise has sadly fallen into disarray, with very little promising news regarding upcoming titles. But there is still a lot of praise and interest in theMetal Gear Solidfranchise as time goes on, and now the physical versions of certain games are taking a sharp increase in value now that Konami is losing its grip on the official game licenses.
AfterMetal Gear Solidgames were pulled from digital storefronts, physical copies seemed to be the only reliable way to play the full series as intended. In turn, websites like PriceCharting.com have been tracking some rarerMetal Gearphysical editions, revealing that rarity and prices have rapidly been going up in recent months.
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Metal Gear Solid 3is considered the peak of the series by many die-hard fans, balancing stealth action gameplay with a myriad of spy-suited equipment and gameplay mechanics such as camouflage. It is alsothe most re-releasedMetal Geargame, receiving a “Subsistence” PS2 re-issue, a PS3 HD remaster, a 20th anniversary edition, and a Nintendo 3DS-exclusive port in 2012 calledMetal Gear Solid 3Dthat made effective use of the handheld’s visual gimmick. The time for collectors seems to be now, with a sharp upturn of “complete in box” copies currently costing around $90 in comparison to a tawdry $27 back in November 2021.
Certain copies ofMetal Gear Solid 3 Subsistencewith specialist art booklets and cover design are already quite a pricey collector’s item, which means they could soon be appearing on otherexpensive PS2 game release lists. Prices in the secondhand game market mostly depend on condition and scarcity; the rarer a game is to play the higher a price it is usually sold for. Therefore, while licensing issues are still prevalent for Konami-owned products, the physical edition of Hideo Kojima’s stealth classics are looking to increase for the foreseeable future.
Cynical collectors and scalpers looking to make a quick buck can sadly plague the world of preserving classic games, with methods such as artificially buying copies to drive the market price up before re-selling multiple versions at a higher price. It can be argued that this artificial act cheapens the desire for people to play rare games, pushing classic titles out of most people’s price range. Other games such asMetal Gear Solid 4remain rigidly exclusive on the PS3 console, which makes all content such asMetal Gear Onlineonly available to PS3 emulatorsmaking it harder for interested fans to enjoy the series as a whole.
Unless Konami finds an amicable solution to the licensing problems then this could be another nail in the coffin for theMetal Gearseries as entries get harder to source. Even with the ever-present rumors ofaMetal Gear Solid 3remake in development, the disastrous PR debacles between Konami and Kojima mean a home-grown game from either developer seems increasingly unlikely.
Metal Gear Solid 3is available on 3DS, PS2, PS3, PS Vita, and Xbox 360. It is also playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S via backward compatibility.
