MGS3 gets Japanese release date
Two versions of Snake to eat.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is set to ship in Japan on December 16th according to games mag Famitsu Weekly, and Japanese fans of the series will once again be invited to choose between normal (6,980 yen / €51) and limited edition (12,800 / €94) versions of the game.
Konami has yet to announce US or European release dates for the game, although US retailers are taking pre-orders for a mid-November date. We know because we're among their customers. Traditionally, MGS has hit the US before Japan, so the mid-November US launch isn't entirely unlikely. Europe is a more difficult question, but it seems highly likely that an early 2005 launch is on the cards.
As for the Japanese release - you may recall that the limited edition version features a pair of booklets, a DVD of some sort of special footage and a painted model. Japanese pre-orders will also receive a bonus DVD featuring soundtrack music and extra camouflage designs that can be downloaded into the final game when it ships. You can find more details on that here.
And of course you can read our vast impressions of Snake Eater here.