Though both Konami and Sony have on numerous occasions asserted that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be exclusive to Sony's PlayStation 3, rumors have repeatedly surfaced that the final chapter in the Solid Snake saga will eventually make its way to the Xbox 360. Among other reasons, this belief is maintained by the reasoning that, like other publishers, Konami will need to reach as wide an audience as possible to turn a decent profit in this day and age of high-budget development.

　　Konami spokesperson and assistant producer Ryan Payton believes MGS4 will need to hit the ground running in sixth gear when it lands for the PS3 in Q2 2008. Speaking to Reuters, Payton said that the game will need to sell 1 million copies on the first day due to high production costs. While the game is one of the most anticipated for many PS3 owners, Payton notes that the figure may be hard to reach due to the PS3's relatively low installed base, which stood at approximately 2 million in the US and 1.3 million in Japan, according to recent estimates by stat-tracking bodies the NPD Group and MediaCreate.

　　However, Payton also reaffirmed Konami's position on MGS4 as a PS3 exclusive. "We're telling our fans that if you want to play Metal Gear Solid 4, you have to buy a PS3," said Payton. "The PlayStation brand has always been good to us, and we're pretty bullish on the PS3."

　　For Sony's part, the Japanese giant appears to sympathize with the risk third-party publishers take in releasing a game for a single platform. "We understand publishers are needing to recoup their investment," said Sony senior VP of marketing Peter Dille in the report. "From our perspective, as long as the games aren't going exclusive to other platforms, PS3 gamers are not actually losing anything."

　　Dille went on to say that Sony is offsetting the dearth of third-party-developed PS3 exclusives by ramping up production at its internal studios. The exec noted that Sony currently has 15 in-house studios, more than Microsoft and Nintendo combined.