Anachronisms in the Metal Gear series

This article lists the anachronisms in the. An anachronism describes chronological inconsistancies in a fictional story. In the Metal Gear series, anachronisms mainly occur in the form of technology being used prior to its development in reality, or in some cases, referencing events that haven't actually occurred at the time period it happened yet. It is worth noting that the Metal Gear series, despite containing great amounts of background information, features very few anachronisms due to Hideo Kojima's very dedicated attention to detail.

Anachronisms in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (set in 2007 / 2009)

 * During his speech on the roof of Federal Hall, Solidus Snake states that George Washington became the first U.S. President exactly 200 years ago. In The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2, the timespan mentioned is 223 years. Both are incorrect, as Washington took office on April 30, 1789, making the correct timespan 220 years.

Anachronisms in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (set in 1964)

 * The energy bar CalorieMate was not manufactured until 1983.
 * The Mil Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) was not produced until 1969. The game implies that the early development was the result of the use of the Philosophers' Legacy.
 * In Snake Eater 3D, during an optional radio conversation between Para-Medic and Naked Snake about Yoshi, she tells Snake that "[Yoshi] must be getting popular in the Soviet Union." In reality, Yoshi debuted in Super Mario World, which was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. This was around the time the Soviet Union started to collapse.
 * Major Zero's love of James Bond movies shows the opinions of a modern fan of the series; at the time there had only been one "gadget," a briefcase with a variety of equipment in it seen in From Russia With Love, and their status as a series staple (along with Q's as a recurring character) would not be cemented until Goldfinger, which came out on September 17th of 1964; Operation Snake Eater is dated as August 30th.

Anachronisms in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (set in 1970 / 1971)

 * Sigint and Naked Snake once talk about the Metabolic Dominance project during an optional radio conversation, should the former be recruited. The project in question actually occurred in 2004, about 34 years after the events of the game.

Anachronisms in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (set in 1974)

 * A briefing file for Grenada has Kazuhira Miller referencing Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy of Grenada requesting a facility to study the occurances of aliens thanks to tabloid magazines with the implication that Chico's Chrysalis photo was responsible for his request. In reality, Gairy does not make the request until 1977, three years after the events of Peace Walker.
 * In Peace Walker, the Walkman is featured in the game, and claimed to be a prototype. In real life, the Walkman wasn't introduced until 1979. Later Walkmans are progressively more anachronistic, with the final one a modern MP3 player.
 * In the original PlayStation Portable version of Peace Walker, Metal Gear ZEKE, along with the Pupa, Chrysalis, Peace Walker, utilized the VOCALOID software for their dialogue called "Vocaloid-Flex." In real life, VOCALOID wasn't introduced until 2004.
 * In the Japanese version of Peace Walker, Pepsi NEX is featured in the game. In real life, Pepsi NEX wouldn't be released in Japan until 2006.
 * In the Japanese version of Peace Walker, AXE Body Spray is featured in the game. In real life, AXE didn't exist until 1983.
 * In the Japanese version of Peace Walker, DLC related to the manga Arakawa Under the Bridge was released. The DLC included six T-shirts and two magazine items. In real life, Arakawa Under the Bridge was first serialized on December 3, 2004.
 * Although Doritos were technically in existence during the time of Peace Walker, the specific version of Doritos used attributed it to the Japanese release, which didn't occur until three decades later.
 * Several of the guns and equipment that are developed in Peace Walker either were not developed until a couple of months after the events of the game, or were well after the events of the game.

Anachronisms in Metal Gear Solid V (set in 1974 / 1975 / 1984)

 * Should Ishmael die during the Hospital Escape, this will create a "Time Paradox", but if Venom Snake dies throughout the game, the game over screen only reads "Mission Failed", despite Venom's death also being a Time Paradox.
 * Around three hours pass between the start of the hospital escape and Big Boss riding away on his motorcycle. Big Boss's beard is fully grown, yet when disguised as Ishmael, it is clearly visible that he is well-shaved.
 * In the same ending, it also featured as part of Big Boss's new identity a passport that was issued on 1980 and expires in 1986. In real life, passports issued during the 1980s actually had a five-year lifeline, not a six-year one.
 * The Walkman featured in Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain is the WM-R55 which in reality was released on July 1, 1985. A Walkman of the same model is given to Chico by Skull Face in the opening cutscene of Ground Zeroes.
 * Some of the licensed songs featured in The Phantom Pain are anachronisms. In real life, they either didn't exist in 1984 or they were released later in the year. They are: Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" which was released in November 1984, a-ha's "Take on Me" which was released in 1985, Europe's "The Final Countdown" which was released in 1986, and The Cure's "Friday I'm in Love" which was released in 1992. In addition, many of the songs featured are remastered versions of the originals, which were released sometime after 1984.
 * Metal Gear's name itself was an anachronism, as it was named after the Sahelanthropus, a perceived ancestor of the human race, but the first skull was not found until the 2000s, at least two decades after the events of the game's setting. A cassette tape from Huey implies that it was only publicly discovered two decades later, and that its true discovery was kept hidden by Cipher. This is at least partly in-keeping with real history, as it is known the Sahelanthropus skull had been reburied.