Apparently, Solid Snake isn't the only one well-versed in the art of stealth. There have already been previous reports of Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots title slipping the noose and breaking its official June 12 street date.

However, Konami general manager Pete Stone confidently explained to everyone that this wasn't possible. Speaking to trade magazine MCV, Stone mentioned that the publisher has very solid written agreements with retailers which safeguard against the early release of the much awaited PS3 title.

Here's a quote taken directly from Stone as he explains Konami's stand regarding the matter:

We pride ourselves on working closely with retailers and have a continuation of the singed agreement system we used so successfully before. All major retailers are supplying written agreements that they will honour the street date no matter what, making it a level playing field across the board. We all want the game to be a huge success, and for everyone to benefit from this release.

In addition, Stone mentioned that there will be enough stock of the highly anticipated PS3 game to meet the gamers' demand. Unfortunately, despite all these claims, it doesn't exactly explain how various images of MGS4 copies were already able to land themselves outside of the appointed release date.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is scheduled for release this June 12 and will exclusive to the PlayStation 3. While we're all awaiting the day until the game finally hits retail stores, why not count down with us through QJ.NET's MGS4 Character Countdown feature.