That's a good point. If this turns out to be the case then it will work out well in the end. We may even see Snake and Big Boss confront each other at the end of MGSV.

Kiefer is a good man, great actor and cool guy overall, but it will take some adjustment.

The only part of this news that bugs me is that the voice actor remains consistent in the Japanese version, which makes me think this isn't some clever attempt to keep Hayter as Solid Snake (cameo or otherwise) secret and Kojima really is just sick of David's performance. Which bums me out. Kiefer Sutherland is probably going to do great as Big Boss but god damn, it just won't be the same.

Don't forget about Phone Booth, bitches.

He voiced the Call of Duty World at War sergeant kind of terribly so this isn't good news in my eyes

The franchise considered one of the best ever made, especially for its storytelling and characters, has characters named Big Boss, Naked Snake, and Solid Snake?

Is this a joke? :P big boss? big? boss?

solid snake? solid? and a second snake that is naked? Two characters named snake, one is solid and one is naked?

double you tee eff.

@slashdance said:

That's pretty fucking funny.

Proper direction can help.

I'm a big Keifer Sutherland fan but this news really disappoints me. This will be like when an actor plays a real life person, it's jarring. Unless the actor is truly stellar, it's almost impossible not disrupt the immersion.

So while Hayter may not be Snake, to me growing up with that character having that voice, it's going to be like Hayden Christensen playing Sir Winston Churchill in a film.

Okay, well maybe not that extreme but my point is it's a change that is not going to add a great deal but will take a great deal away.

Really?! That's awesome!

@ollyoxenfree: Yeah, actors like Nolan North or Troy Baker will sound great in a game, and then act like a complete ham in a bad anime dub.

Isn't the Japanese VA like, super popular over there? It may be that they're just playing it the other way around, keeping the big name going in Japan then rolling in someone new as Solid Snake for MGSVI. Or maybe they just felt he could provide them with voices distinct enough to be both Solid Snake and Big Boss without it sounding hokey.

In Japan Snake is basically a dude with a deep voice. Hayter's treatment, on the other hand, is so affected that I doubt it would be possible for him to do both in a similar but different enough way to work. Making a clean break for the two characters may simply have been the better option.

everything about MGS is stoopid, including this.

I'll reserve judgement until they show some footage of Big Boss actually speaking. The GDC trailer was kinda cool and I reasonably enjoyed Guns of the Patriots, so I hope this game plays well.

I trust that Kojima knows what he's doing. It's his vision.

@jouseldelka: There's also Liquid snake and Solidus Snake I think both of them are considered the brothers of Solid Snake (well I'm sure for Liquid but I can't remember for Solidus)

They are the produce of a project called Les enfants terribles, a cloning experiment of Naked Snake which became Big Boss after killing his mentor named The Boss. And no... I'm not making this up. If you really did not know then enjoy the glorious Metal Gear lore... :)

All [famous] actors are, to some degree.

I could play the part if that's all I have to do. F'yeah.

I don't know if this has been mentioned but man does Keifer look skinny these days.

You're hired!

MGS is too amazing to be passed up. I will miss Dave and wish him the best but Metal Gear here I come!

I'm still mad. David Hayter is the voice of Snake.

Still slightly disappointed over Hayter but never mind, they'd have to cast Taylor Swift as Snake before I would reconsider my purchase.

Ground Zero?