PS3 Informer

Sony Should Bring Peace Walker to PS3

A revolution of sorts is happening on Sony's PSP platform, and it's not just the fictional one that serves as the backdrop to Kojima's latest Metal Gear Solid game. Once the hapless recipient of endless ports, remakes, and outright hatchet jobs, the PSP struggled to find its own calling as an independent platform in the Sony family. But recently, thanks to a 'no more ports' policy at Sony, the handheld platform is playing host to some genuinely exciting new properties. Games like Valkyria Chronicles 2, Ace Combat: Joint Assault, and The Third Birthday are suddenly making the platform a more attractive value proposition for skeptical gamers. Nothing highlights this new trend better than Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Created under the careful guidance of Hideo Kojima himself, the game has rightly been referred to as a "true" entry in the series. Basically, Metal Gear Solid 5. We might never get another canonical entry in the franchise, and the only place to play this gripping new entry is on the PSP.

The game has released to almost universal critical acclaim in Japan and America. Typical of Kojima productions, both the story and gameplay are outstanding. Between the main storyline (playable solo or cooperatively) and a huge assortment of additional post-game missions, the game is tremendous value. Most gamers will get 40 hours of gameplay from the title, a rarity in recent times, even for console games.

Given the high quality of the game and its massive success so far, the temptation to port it over to consoles must be almost irresistible for Sony and Konami. The danger in doing that is that it would remove the jealousy that makes Peace Walker such a potential system seller for the PSP.

It is clear that Sony and Kojima could make a killing selling a slightly improved port of Peace Walker on the PSN. It's not as if the development team has to completely re-make the game, either. Most PS3 owners would probably be happy with some touched up geometry and textures to suit the larger screen. There's no need for bells and whistled like fancy lighting and fully animated cutscenes, either - most PS3 owners are sophisticated to know that this is a PSP port. They just want a chance to play the game cooperatively with friends.

So, should we expect a PS3 release of Peace Walker soon? One thing we've learned from years in video game journalism is that whenever there is a profit to be made, developers and publishers are more than happy to oblige.

Peace Walker already looks so good that minimal effort would be needed to port it to the PS3.