^very true

I wouldn't say it means he's necessarily going to make anything.  I'm pretty sure Cory Barlog is by and large owned by Sony.  However, it's interesting that he pointed how how much cheaper it is and even more interesting that he pointed out big budget development limits creativity.

 Brilliant.

 To those who are trying to figure out how many copies MGS4 will have to sell to break even, there are a couple things to keep in mind:

1. This guy is making an off-the-cuff remark which seems to be based on hearsay. He's clearly in a position to get some interesting rumours on this subject, but still...

2. Isn't MGS4's development being heavily subsidized by Sony to secure exclusivity, or at least timed exclusivity? Who knows how much of that $70 Million is already paid for.

Indeed. When I saw that statement, I thought it was pretty strange, but this puts it in a new light. MGS3 sold 3.96 million, which means MGS4 has to sell as much as its predecessor just to break even.

I do in fact remember that. I remember some people were saying that you had no idea of how much a developer costs in Japan, even though we all know it's a very expensive country to live in. It's now proven that you were spot-on with your calculations.

 Doesnt matter much if Sony is paying for most of the development costs. 

Translation: I like Monies!

Financially it should matter actually, because it is essential now for not one, but two companies that thje game sells well enough to recoup the losses, for Sony being the laid out money for MGS 4 exclusivity and for Konami to cover developement and gain a healthy profit. Konami is in a better position because it gets more out of the money but what about Sony? How many times will it pay up to keep exclusives? MS is in a better position in these terms from my standpoint.

Indeed. But what about the next game? (not a next MGS, another 50+ million $ game) What if this happens to FFXIII as well? Will Sony be able to fund all those projects? Will they want to? Will the 3rd parties think it's worth it or they'll switch to cheaper games / platforms?

It does if Sony's gaming division is looking to get out of the red any time soon.

If MGS4 cost 70 million and Wii games are a billion times cheaper then that would mean you can expect a lot of 7 cents games for the Wii. If cheaper games is where games are heading then no need to worry about the next generation of consoles.