They also say that the composition, part of a choral concerto called 'Pushkin's Garland' written in 1979 - over a full decade before the first Metal Gear game debuted. The men shown in the video then explain to an apparently perplexed Kojima that the tune they're playing is actually a classical composition described as a 'soundtrack to Pushkin's verses' by Russian composer Georgy Sviridov.

Kojima initially smiles, as if he believes he's being offered a cover rendition. 'The truth is, Konami Russian composers who said we stole their music,' Hibino told EGM.Ī video on YouTube appears to show some Russian-speaking men presenting Hideo Kojima with a music recording whose melody bears a noticeable likeness to the Metal Gear Solid series theme. In an interview with print magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, longtime series composer Norihiko Hibino explains why the familiar tune was left out of series creator Hideo Kojima's grand finale for Solid Snake:

The classic Metal Gear theme song has stayed fairly thematically consistent throughout each iteration of the Konami franchise - and fans noticed its absence from the latest installment, Metal Gear Solid 4.