I have been expanded. Playing with my GENEs.

Thanks Konami, I hope the next expansion is easier on us.

I have been trying to download the Metal Gear Online GENE Expansion for the past 4 days. I log on every so often to see if my server is currently being accepted/allowed to enter the MGO Shop. Sometimes I get access, but each time I have been quickly kicked out. Other times I get to the point where a purchase is being made then I get errors.

What was the reasoning for not putting the expansion on the Playstation Store?

It is difficult to accept that Konami would allow this kind of slip to happen. I understand the overwhelming demand for this online content, so I will keep trying. Once the expansion is finally in my collection I won't care much, but the execution of this first expansion was not what I would have expected.

Thanks for the expansion Konami, when I can get it.

:cry:

Ryan is with Ken again. Has a copy of the 900th issue of Famitsu. 900, now that is a famous magazine, and it's 300 pages. Famitsu is the number 1 weekly mag in Japan. Ryan and Ken point out that the 900th issue does not contain much MG content (obviously there are other games in the world, but we all love MG).

Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel is announced as the official title of the soon to be released PSP software.

MGS3 receives high remarks from multiple reviewers. Acid scores a solid 8.5. MG Saga DVD is finally in stores, but at limited supply. Ryan sounds genuinely excited about the DVD. He should be, as this is his first DVD project at Kojima Productions.

Grasshopper (Killer7) interview recording will be played later.

Mailbox. Q: Kojima's favorite game to play? A: Super Mario Bros (for life). Also wants to play Phoenix Wright for DS. Ken is playing Bite Hell (collection of purposefully crappy made games & Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP). Fan won't buy extended editions of MG games, why should he? Because the content is increased, and it's basically for fans. Ryan proceeds to list many of the [Subsistence] contents.

Suda, director of Grasshopper, interview recording begins.

Ryan actually does the original interview in Japanese, then returns later after the recording to do an English translation

Suda met Kojima 28 Dec, 2005. Kojima offered to work with Suda. Grasshopper is popular in Japan, and Suda wants to be popular in US. Killer 7 reactions are good, love and hate for the game has a fine line. Suda acknowledges that gamers have their opinions. How is Suda preparing for the next generation? Suda asks if the users are ready for this high spec generation of hardware. Suda is planning on making a game for the Revolution (Wii, and that game is No More Heros).

KP #6

Continuation of KP #5

Imaizumi and Ryan are answering questions from listeners. Perhaps I'll get mine answered during session 87+. Q: Status of MGS4 production. A: Cannot share everything, but some bits - motion capture sessions being overseen. The KP team is taking business trips to Norway and Africa. These locations may be used to research data for the MGS4 game. Thanks, Ryan. Something is better than nothing.

Q: How much freedom is given to Yoji Shinkawa (art) when creating MG characters. A: Yoji picks up on cues from team meetings and his inspirations come from there while working within the space given by Kojima. Yoji has been interviewed as saying his art comes quickly and he tries different styles often to remain fresh.

Q: Ryan asks if Meryl will be hot in MGS4, saying she was not attractive in MGS1 A: Ken says yes, but not for Ryan to be too attracted to 2D characters. Ryan says he only like 3D characters. Ken says it's the same thing. Meryl has always been well rounded in any dimension.

Second part of session #5 starts.

Best is yet to Come starts playing. During its development, Gaelic Irish music is presented to Kojima for MGS. Muranaka says French and Spanish music is common, among others. Muranaka travels to Ireland to find a good Gaelic singer. Met engineer for Riverdance and Metallica, who helped her find singer. Muranaka finds a recording studio in the most unlikely places to record singer. Groups of artists drive 6 hours to record. Muranaka talks about waiting for farm animals to quiet down before recording. The gaelic singers have not recorded original music. Muranaka's work is hard as she alters her writings to accommodate the different styles of the gaelic singers, by finding local recorders and drums to rewrite in her room. Muranaka enjoys different lingual musicians. Chicago influenced Muranaka's style. As the only Japanese student in a group of 3600, Muranaka had her share of prejudice placed upon her by class mates. Teachers were curious as to why she would want to become a Jazz musician.

Another of Muranaka's songs plays well after the session wraps.

Music composers. 2 part podcast.

Ryan answers fan questions with Imaizumi. MG Saga DVD is region free. Too much and/or not enough external talk about non-MG? Ryan acknowledges the questions and agrees to talk more about the staff's life in Japan and elsewhere. There's always a balance.

Music composers Rika Muranaka and Tola sit down with Ryan to talk about MG music. Muranaka comes in from LA. UnJazz is Muranaka's studio which she arrives at only after working out at the gym. She edits movies too! "Blunts and Stunts". Her English is excellent. "Best is yet to Come" track playing in the background is great. Muranaka also worked on Castlevania and Silent Hill.

The interview references the 9/11 attacks and New Orleans. Ryan talks on how the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed the development of MGS2. MGS2 development took the team to New York, and Muranaka talks about recording New York talent for MGS2. After 9/11 Kojima changed some of MGS2's presentation.

5 minutes after the interview wraps up, "Best is yet to Come" continues to play to its end. Nice touch!

Tola doesn't talk much! Maybe during KP Report #6.

Ken Imaizumi returns.

Answering questions.

What is Kojima's personality like? He is methodical; his character is based on the level of quality he expects out of his team and the team's product. Girls are not good MGS fans? Not at all, just not many of them exist. KP report should not be a PR marketing tool, because fans can get release info from other internet sites, right? Ryan...no, KP is not a PR outlet like those "other" sites. Instead, KP is an "official" site to report on KP products.

Ken wears a patch over his left eye as it heals from an infection. Looks like Big Boss. Ken thinks Big Boss, with his right eye patch, is very talented. Being able to fight and shoot weapons with an eye patch is amazing, considering that Ken can barely pick up objects in front of him.

Ryan and Ken love the new DS Lite design. I would agree. The intial design of the DS, compared to the Lite is awkward. Functional, but awkward.

Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month, the KP team is allowed to leave work at 5pm. Normally the team stays much later. As a rule, this early day is not for the team to go home at 5pm, but to go watch a movie at a theater, or go to the park, or play games (not at home). Ryan admits that he's broken this rule and gone home.

Gochiso(samon)? Tastes like $@!#

Ken is surprisingly good at the XBOX360 version of Call of Duty 2. Ryan likes playing "No One Lives Forever"

I downloaded the PS3 2.4 Firmware update at about 12:30am today. I have not had any problems running software or activating the XMB in game. GS reports that Sony has acknowledged reports of PS3s locking up with the new 2.4 update, but my system luckily seems to be working normally.

The XMB is a nice addition. I do hope that Konami releases a patch for MGS4 for trophies. I would love to have recognition for taking a photo of every ghost in the game, or obtaining the Big Boss Emblem to earn a gold trophy.

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune had offline in game medals, which is a great addition that all developers could have considered for pre Trophy achievement games. Now with Uncharted getting a trophy patch, I would assume the Konami would hook MGS fans up with a trophy patch.

I like gathering the MGS4 emblems, but it is hard to track my progress. Please Konami, give us trophies for MGS4. or Give us a follow up to MGS4 like Integral, Substance, and Subsistence were for MGS1,2,3 respectively that includes trophies, among many other additions to MGS4. But that's another blog.

The interview here was much longer, actually lasting through the entire show. After only 2 shows, Ryan is becoming much more comfortable with his interaction with the audience.

Kenichiro Imaizumi talks about MGS4. Killer 7 Grasshopper party is full of girls. Awesome! Ryan points out that adventure games are more popular with female gamers. Ryan jokingly suggests to Imaizumi that MGS could be a point and click game to bring in more female gamers to MGS.

Ryan answers fan letters. Fans ask: Q: MGS Saga disc release date. A: mid FEB. Q: MGS3: Subsistence 3rd disc coming to US...A: Yes. Q: # of MGS Saga volume A: TBA. Q: Release of MGS3: Subsistence Limited Edition? A: coming in March 2006. No...Ryan will not give out Kojima's home address.

Imaizumi loves Dr. Pepper, but Japanese think it tastes like medicine?

Starts talking about MGS4. Imaizumi spent 10 years in America. While there he stayed with a host family in an undisclosed stated. Imaizumi studied media art. Host family lives in a house on wheels. Apparently host family father was fired and Imaizumi watched him shoot a cow. Imaizumi assumed this was normal action on the part of angry Americans. What!? Ryan reassures that Americans are not cookie cutter copies. Imaizumi is not Chinese, as most Americans can't distinguish Chinese and Japanese.

Ryan asks what kind of pressure Imaizumi is under during the production of MGS4? Imaizumi loves the work, but knows that the production of MGS4 is a hard job that is made fun through organization.

Hideo Kojima stops in with a serious look during the interview, but moves on.

Imaizumi joined the team during Snake Eater. Rumor is that Imaizumi saved Snake Eater, Imaizumi acknowledges the work being done on the Shagohad, and helps the team get done on time.

Ryan talks about his own interview. Imaizumi says Ryan's passion for MG and his own background skills helped during the job interview, and talked in length about David Jaffe's God of War. Ryan wishes that Jaffe would visit the show.

Imaizumi has to go, the interview wraps up.

Podcast is every Friday.

Always stop and rest for 15 minutes for every hour of gameplay...

...What?! What kind of advice is that? Shouldn't I maintain the tradition of actual marathon gaming?

Well, now that I think about it, 15 minutes of rest...I could knock out my Tortoise, Lobster, and Gecko emblems with that many intermissions during a MGS4 playthrough.

Thanks KP!

KP report #2 already up 2 days after the first.

PSM Kaiser Hwang, and Shinta Nojiri (MGA). Message from Kojima on old Rumor.

Rayns talks about MG Acid with Shinta Nojiri, Nojiri has been nervous about the forthcoming reviews of MGA. Shinta wants perfect scores. The interview is somewhat short.

Ryan plays a recording of PSM editor Kaiser Hwang at Konami's Gamer's Day. Talking about MGS: Digital Graphic Novel and its superb gathering of MG data within a comic book on PSP. It's a bible of MG. Talks about MGA and its relationship to the MG history.

Ryan reads a comment from Hideo Kojima in regards to stomping out a rumor that Uwe Boll would be directing the MGS Movie. Uwe Boll claimed to be directing the film, but Kojima is quoted as saying he would never consider Uwe Boll as director of the MGS Movie.