Venom Snake’s prosthetic arm from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is now a real thing thanks to Konami, a very cool prosthetics company, and a Metal Gear super fan. Venom Snake came to gamers attention in 2015 as the protagonist in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain; after being in a coma for 9 long years, Venom Snake (also known as Punished Snake) awakens to discover that he has lost his left arm in battle. Even the game’s subtitle is a direct reference to his newfound disability and its literal and metaphorical implications for his daily life.
Metal Gear Solid V was released 5 years ago and went on to be nominated for Game of the Year at the 2015 game awards. Despite not winning this coveted accolade, it received wide praise for its awesome soundtrack, which is still incredibly popular for game and music fans today. Along with music, gamers often enjoy other aspects and collectibles that come with following a beloved franchise. But generally, when fans think of merch for a series, they tend to think more along the lines of branded clothing or figurines. It is not often that a replicated limb comes up in store catalogs – until now.
One gaming fan has received the ultimate Metal Gear Solid 5 homage, in the form of Venom Snake’s prosthetic arm. Daniel Melville is an avid gamer and Metal Gear Solid fan from the UK. Daniel was born without his right hand and has used a prosthetic for many years. For the last three years, Daniel has worn Open Bionics’ “Hero Arm” design, which is available for anyone over the age of 8 with a below elbow amputation. Now thanks to the awesome work at Open Bionics, Daniel’s prosthetic Hero Arm has levelled up, as the company has joined forces with Konami Digital Entertainment to create skins that replicate that of Venom Snake’s Metal Gear Solid 5 prosthetic. While Daniel’s version of Venom Snake’s prosthetic arm does not come equipped with a range of military grade weapons, it is incredibly slick in its iconic red and black design. Konami Digital Design’s president, Takayuki Kubo is delighted with the results of this collaboration, commenting that the “dynamic fusion of technology and design is changing the lives of upper limb amputees all over the world”.
It is not just Venom Snake’s prosthetic that can be purchased in the Hero Arm design. Open Bionics also have skins available in a range of fashions which includes a Disney range for children. Iron Man, BB8 and Frozen have all been rendered in the skins of the Hero Arm prosthetic, much to the delight of its young recipients.
The work that Open Bionics does is truly incredible and makes a difference for many people. Seeing Metal Gear Solid 5 transcending being just a video game and becoming the inspiration to make a real-world change is truly amazing.
Metal Gear Solid 5 is available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: Open Bionics, Open Bionics/ YouTube
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