i think everyone is missing the big picture here.
a 90 minute cutscene is not a damper on the party.
I read Payton saying that they wanted this stuff to be a surprise....
to me it's a great surprise. One that i wish remained unknown.
a lot of things have already been given away, and konami actually had to come out and say something happens during one of the later installs when they were trying to avoid that but in order to discredit the accusation they had to say "something" about it.
I lost another surprise. How many will i lose until the media finishes with their, 90 minute or not controversy.

Well, at least some of the reasons seem legitimate enough. The install times between chapters is kind of gay, but its more of a minor inconvenience than anything. I am curious to see what they are talking about that is supposed to be GOOD about the install times.

I remember someone saying this argument about "....with Konami's restrictions about the reviews some people wouldn't know if they have enough space in their HDD."

They certainly didn't say any restrictions about the install size though so I guess mentioning it is fine.

Required HD space is mentionned on the box, what more do people need ?

Welcome to the world of NDA and prelease to the press.

It's not dishonest at all and it's a practice every product ( hardware, software, it could be a car or a new cooking recipe, it doesn't matter) does..

Is everyone posting on this site really that naive ?

If you want want a reviewof any product that isn't affected in any way by the product maker, you have to wait for the product to be released....

 You know what, I was on the other side of this argument but after reading the letter and then your response I realize that this isn't my fight.  Everyone who cares enough about MGS4 enough to GENUINELY care about spoilers is already buying the game and would agree.  Nothing that any reviewer is going to say is going to get them to not buy it or someone who want to get in on it to buy it. 

They know that MGS4 is an involved game which you don't play in 5 minute bursts.  I feel like everyone who is on the other side of the argument doesn't really care anyway and they are just trying to make internet noise.  It has been my commitment to not be another angry nerd who hates on everything.  (Except Spyborgs, I really am not feeling that game... but I might be wrong)

Konima's NDA is fine ...

I don't understand why reviews can't briefly mention their critisims instead of going into detail. I don't care how long exactly cutscenes a+b+c+d are -- id rather be told "some cutscenes are long". And why both with the mandatory install is x gb and takes x minutes + x minutes between acts. When i can be told - their is a mandatory install, its done over the course of the game...

People need to realise this for what it is -- the media trying to use MGS4 for additional stories. And besides atleast Konima hasn't requested all non-AAA or AAAA reviews be held off till 12th June ... like most games have been doing lately *cough* GTA4/Assassin's Creed/etc*cough*

Is anyone really going to be suprised at a long cut scene in MGS4? I borrowed MGS2 from my neighbor the other day to get reacquainted with the series for this game and the cut scenes there were incredibly long as well. I did the quick skip thing (hit triangle twice) and it scrolled through dialog for 10 seconds before going to another cut scene, which I then skipped, just to skip through 10 more seconds of dialog, just to skip through some dialog with Snake who wanted to talk about what I just talked about with the Colonel.

And as for the installs between chapters, I remember hearing a rumor or a quote that there will be a cut scene showing at it installs. So shorten the install time at the beginning to do it while you watching a movie, a good trade to for me. I remember some game coming out recently that showed a movie during install, maybe was it GTA4, can't really remember. So it can be done.

One last thing, if reviewers don't want to follow this, they can just not publish their review early.  Simple as that.  Wait a few more days, don't get the early exclusive, say what you want about the game.  For people that are going to say a bunch of good stuff about the game anyways, they won't care about these "restrictions."  They will get the early scoop, they will sell some magazines or get some hits to their site and the world goes on.

i wonder if they'll have a fast forward option (watch the movies in fast speed, with fast sound, so you still know whats going on in the story without having to waste as much time)

For the most part, this debate is over. Still, while I was working last night, I had a thought.

In MGS2, the game was divided into two parts: The Tanker and the Big Shell. Suppose MGS4 followed suit. Suppose the first half of the game was so long, that after you finished it, you thought you had beaten the game. When you're sitting there watching the 90 minute "ending", you think "WAIT A MINUTE! Mainstream media said there are TWO 90 minute cut scenes! This isn't the end!"

Guess what? You're now the victim of a spoiler. And your only clue was that there were TWO 90-minute cut scenes.

Scenario 2: MGS games are full of easter eggs. In MGS3, if you saved your game while fighting The End, and came back a week later, he will have died of old age. If you're planting C4 on the Shagohod, and it's a holiday, the guards will have taken the day off! In MGS1, Psycho Mantis tells you to put your controller on the floor, so he can move it with his mind. Revolver blatantly tells you that "you haven't saved your game in a while. If you die, do you really want to play through all of that bull-shit again?" Kenneth Baker says that he "Forgot the frequency for Meryl's codec. Look on the back of the game's case."

MGS games remind you that they're games. I wouldn't be suprised if Snake looked at you, mid battle and said "What the hell? Who's idea was it to do an install NOW?" or better yet, one install may be a fake/ mind controll trick (like Eternal Darkness), and the bad guys use it as some kind of advantage. It sounds far fetched, but this is the kind of sneaky crap Hideo likes to pull. And by mentioning the later installs, we are potential victims of yet another spoiler.

Think about that, the next time you see a monitor with Hideo written in green on an black screen. Did I say "Hideo"? I meant "Video"! ;)