June 12, 2008: Metal Gear Solid 4 was released internationally to much excitement and acclaim; Hideo Kojima, vowed it was his last title of his beloved franchise; and the PS3 trophy system was soon to be released via firmware. Expectations for the game to be trophy compatible was inevitable

August 12, 2009: Metal Gear Solid Rising and Peace Walker was announced; Kojima is currently working on the latter title; and the trophy patch for Metal Gear Solid 4 has still not arrived and is still being talked about as one of the greatest follies of gaming.

The problem? Konami itself hasn’t made any progress to address the issue. In late March 2009,  it was reported that Konami was “discussing the idea of a trophy patch”. This past weekend in August, a Kojima Production staff member, in an weekly pod cast said, “But as soon as we have something to say, we will announce it…everybody remain patient we’ll let you know”.  And both ended up with the same answer: Maybe.

Maybe? You’ve got to be kidding me. One of the most hated answers in the history of questioning is maybe. I believe even wars have started from this “simple” answer, but that’s for another column.

The problem with such answer is that it give no closure to the dilemma. Either say your giving the games trophies, or just say no. Simple as that. I, myself a PS3 owner, was hoping (and sadly still hope) for trophies in MGS4, since it felts like it gave the gaming more meaning in terms of bragging rights. The in-game badges just didn’t do it for me. Others feel differently against the trophy idea, and that’s fine. In fact, the idea of having trophies in the game is a 50/50 split down the middle, with neither side having a majority to really push the issue either way. And since there is no reasonable answer, this idiotic debate will probably live on even long after the fact. All because Konami isn’t willing make a simple decision on a minuscule request. Yes or No. Simple as that.

I’d be a little sadden if they said no and vise versa if they said yes, but at least I would be finally relieve that they made a definitive answer. Hopping around an answer, in any case, is an annoying tactic that will just rile up false hope for a (lost) cause. It’s better to be direct in getting things done and moving on to more important things. Leave the sneaky tactics to Snake.

So what have we learned today: Life’s too short for maybes, especially for the remaining days of Old Snake.

Carry on, Soldier.