When Zone of the Enders was released in 2001, it wasn’t the impressive mech combat and storyline that sold it — it was the packed-in demo for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Thanks to the demo, the game had record sales and was seen on many a PS2 gamer’s shelf for years to come. Proving the power of MGS2 hype, when the superior sequel was released two years later, sales plummeted; so much so that the game quickly became an out-of-print rarity fetching high prices on eBay.

With all the time that has gone by, surely Z.O.E. has developed a following and fans look back fondly on it, right? That’s what Konami must have thought when they announced a PS3 HD collection for both games. It’s not a simple HD conversion dump; Konami has been putting marketing power behind the game, with it even making an appearance at E3.

Only a month away from release, however, the game must be tracking poorly, as Konami has announced the inclusion of the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance with the package. Eleven years later, Metal Gear is again being used to sell Z.O.E.. The irony of the situation overshadows the sad truth: ZOE never established a fan-base outside of Japan. It’s a shame that such a unique, seemingly appealing series is valued less than a (likely) 15 minute demo of another game.

This news doesn’t doesn’t bode well for a Z.O.E. 3 — wait, isn’t Metal Gear: Ground Zeroes coming out soon? Maybe there’s hope after all.