Metal Gear Solid V delivery delay not caused by customs

MANILA, Philippines – Several games, including the hotly anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (MGSV) from Konami, were delayed this week following “unforeseen circumstances,” as noted by a number of major game stores in the Philippines.

MGSV was slated to release on Tuesday, September 1. Also included in the retail delay were Mad Max and One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3.

While the reasons for the delay were initially unclear, the Bureau of Customs clarified that it could not verify claims that a customs problem was the cause of the delay.

Two video game retail stores, DataBlitz and iTECH, posted an apology for the delay on their respective Facebook pages.

Another store, Gameline, wrote on a now-deleted Facebook post, “Due to some custom problem, there will be a slight delay on the following titles: One Piece, Phantom Pain and Mad Max. we will keep you posted.“

Gameline did not comment on the specifics of the custom problem.

The Bureau of Customs said they checked with the Port of Manila, the Manila International Container Port, and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, adding that no shipments containing DVD games and consoles were placed on hold, unless they were declared wrongly as computer parts of compact discs.

The BOC added it was difficult to validate the information posted by Gameline as the port of entry was not mentioned in their Facebook post.

DataBlitz, meanwhile instructed store employees to explain the main reason for the delay as being “due to the long holiday.” However, the store’s customer care department cited “logistical issues” as the reason for delay.

According to Orpha Ambas, external operations manager for DataBlitz, the said delay had nothing to do with a customs problem as stated by Gameline, but was instead an internal issue with DataBlitz’s supplier.

DataBlitz, however, refused to give the name of the their supplier. – with reports from Jaemi de Guzman/Rappler.com