Hideo Kojima, creator of MGS franchise announced at E3 2005 Press Conference that he has been authorized to form a development house within the greater whole of Konami. The new production Studio, aptly called Kojima Productions, will continue work on the Metal Gear Gear franchise with MGS4 on PlayStation 3, a game Kojima himself will write, direct and produce, as it was "demanded by fans and staff."

While the trailer being demonstrated was built off the PS2 Snake Eater engine, which Kojima says is not at all indicative of planned MGS4 quality, it still gave us a good sneak peak at what the game will eventually be.

MGS4 will take place several years after the conclusion of MGS2 and will feature an online battle mode. Conceptually, the game follows the idea of "nowhere to hide." What this means for gameplay, we do not yet know, but it could spell a more action-oriented, run to survive type of experience.

"You can run, but you can't hide." You dig?

We also know that a few favorites from the series will make return appearances, including Meryl, Otacon and Revolver Ocelot. Thankfully, Solid Snake will this time be the main character, though Kojima hinted that Raiden might still make an appearance.

Interestingly, Metal Gear Solid 4 will include Metal Gear Ac!d 2 connectivity. What this entails, we don not yet know, but plugging our PSPs into our PS3s is certainly an exciting prospect.

Source : IGN PS3