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Sony Japan shows off Metal Gear Solid hi-res Walkmen

Sony shows off Metal Gear Solid hi-res Walkmen in Japan

sony japan debuts metal gear solid hi res walkman gallery zx2 a16 mgs 1

If you happen to live in Japan, you can now show off your love for high-res audio and Metal Gear Solid at the same time with the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Sony NW-ZX2 portable audio player.

The device features the game’s title on its front, and comes with a leather case featuring the Outer Heaven mercenaries’ logo, as well as a themed box. True fans will also be able to jam out to songs from Metal Gear, too, as the device comes pre-installed with 10 hi-res songs including Sins of the Father, Quiet’s Theme, and Heavens Divide. The price will definitely hit your wallet, however: The player will set buyers back ¥140,000 (around $1145).

The price is about what you’ll pay for the original ZX2 in the U.S., which debuted in January at CES, and does provide a premium listening experience as DT’s Ryan Waniata notes in his preview from the show floor. The Android-based device features 60 hours of battery life, 128GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi support, and a variety of apps. In addition, the player features some of Sony’s newest DSP technology including DSEE HX Sound Enhancement to upscale lower files to higher resolution, and Sony’s LDAC coding technology which claims to provide four times higher audio resolution streaming than regular Bluetooth transmission.

In case you’d rather opt for the more reasonably priced Phantom Pain-branded music player, Sony is also offering the NW-A16 Walkman for ¥28,000 ($226). It also features the game’s logo on the front, comes with the same Outer Heaven leather case, along with two hi-res songs from the Metal Gear Solid soundtrack (Sins of the Father and Quiet’s Theme). 

Sony will also be offering The Phantom Pain-branded Xperia Z4 and Z3 Compact tablets and J1 Compact smartphone.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain drops Sept. 1 in the U.S. The video game-branded Sony hi-res MP3 players (and other devices) will be released in Japan in September, though there’s no word yet if and when they’ll make it stateside.

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
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