Thursday, Jul. 03, 2008

Mere matter of age won't halt our heroes

What do Indiana Jones, John Rambo and Solid Snake have in common?

They all qualify for AARP membership.

Indiana Jones, played by the 65-year-old Harrison Ford, nurses his joints as he swings through South American jungles in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Earlier this year, Rambo was roused from his weary retirement in the Burmese bush at the ripe age of 61. The tagline: "Heroes never die. ... They just reload."

The latest aging entertainment icon is Solid Snake, the stealthy operative at the center of "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots," a video game that shimmered onto store shelves recently.

The game, exclusive to Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, is one of the electronic giant's best hopes for catching up in the video game console race.

Technically, Solid Snake is only 43 years old in the game, and the qualifying age for the AARP is 50. But in the final episode of this decade-old franchise, he suffers from a rapid aging disorder that wreaks havoc on his complexion and adds years to his rugged features.

There's a conspiracy behind this aging business, and Solid Snake races against time -- and a bad back -- to thwart the evildoers.

"It just seems funny to see Solid Snake running around a battlefield with his gray hairs and wrinkles," said Geoff Keighley, editor of Gameslice, a Web site with video game news and reviews. "But he seems to be as agile as ever."

Solid Snake is in good company. Mario, Nintendo's plucky mascot plumber, made his debut in 1981 in the original arcade version of Donkey Kong. Assuming he was an adult then, Mario is at least in his late 40s today.

"There's just something wonderful about looking at Mario and saying, 'I knew him when he was just 8 pixels!' " said Julian Dibbell, 45, author of "Play Money" and other books about games, culture and technology. "Video games as a medium has managed to be ours in a way that rock 'n' roll was to a slightly older generation."

The average age of gamers is 35, according to the Entertainment Software Association. That's why audiences, many of them aging video game enthusiasts and baby boomers, are tolerant of the geriatric trend in pop culture.

They reward the creators with blockbuster sales -- so long as those heroes still can crack the whip, gut terrorists and take on rogue paramilitary armies.

Solid Snake is the creation of Japanese developer Hideo Kojima, 44.

Unlike "Grand Theft Auto" and other top game franchises that rode the PlayStation train to riches, "Metal Gear Solid" hasn't messed around with the other next- generation consoles. Having sold more than 22 million copies for various versions of the PlayStation over the past decade, "Metal Gear Solid" is available only for the PS3, not Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 or Nintendo Co.'s Wii.

"If you look at the 'Metal Gear Solid' franchise, the PlayStation is where it has its roots," said Anthony Crouts, vice president of marketing of Konami Digital Entertainment Inc., the game's Japanese publisher. "Sony has always been a good strategic partner for us."

Sony is hoping the title can energize sales of the console, which is running third in the multibillion-dollar race. Consumers worldwide have bought

24 million Wiis and 19 million Xbox 360s but only 13 million PS3s.

"For Sony, this game is really its best shot at closing the gap with Xbox," Keighley said.

Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony's PlayStation business in the United States, said the title very well could give the 48 million owners of the PS2, which came out in 2000, a reason to upgrade to a PS3.

"For us, 'Metal Gear' is arguably one of the most compelling and valuable exclusive titles we have," Dille said. "It's one of those games people wait for years to play. It has never disappointed."

In "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots," Solid Snake sneaks deep into enemy territory to foil enemy plans for world domination.

Let's see if the aging hero can do the same for Sony against Microsoft and Nintendo.