Nintendo Life: Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 Will Have Lower Frame Rates on Switch, Konami Confirms

Konami has now provided a statement to us and other outlets to clarify that it is only the Switch release that is targeting 30fps. All other platforms will target the games at 60fps.

This is brutal on several fronts. One, these games originally released in 2001 and 2004 and MGS2 ran at 60fps on that old hardware. MGS2 and 3 were rereleased as an HD collection in 2011 where they got higher resolution and better widescreen support, and they once again ran at a silky smooth 60fps. The fact that Konami is putting so little effort into this collection that these two-decade old games are unable to run as well as they did on a measly PS2.

The other issue is that these games were designed around a 60fps presentation. Obviously they can be played at lower frame rates, but frame rates are a part of the design process of creating video games, and if Konami is going to tell us that they chose to try and deliver the most authentic experience so that these games play like they did back when they were new, this is a big miss in that regard.

Also, ArsTechnica has some reporting about a content warning in the game:

[T]he upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection re-release warns players that the games in the collection contain "expressions and themes which may be considered outdated." The disclaimer notes that the games are presented "without alteration" to preserve the "historical context" and the "creator's original vision," but still urges that "player discretion is advised."

For my whole life, I’ve looked back on old media that hasn’t aged well. As I’ve gotten older, I’m more and more able to look back on media I loved one day that hasn’t aged perfectly as well. I think the thing I’m learning as I have to look back on the movies, books, and games that I loved growing up is that:

1. I have more empathy for the creators and fans of art that doesn’t live up to the standards of my standards today. Especially when it comes to humor, the same joke that played well 20 years ago may not play nearly as well today. It’s unfair to objectively judge people from long ago by the standards of today, but…
2. I have become more comfortable being malleable with my opinions on things I used to love. Maybe I loved a movie back in 2000, and I considered it one of my absolute favorite things, but parts of that film have not aged well when I rewatched that movie in 2023. I’m more comfortable today shifting my “rankings” on older art. I can still enjoy those pieces of art and recognize how much they impacted me at the time, but maybe they’re not eternally perfect.

I’m still evolving on this thinking, but that’s where I am now. As for Metal Gear Solid, yeah there are going to be bits in the game that won’t play as well today as they did in 2001. Reminding players that the games were made in a different era, but their content is being presented as it was at the time is reasonable in my opinion.