#703
After the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) (VG), Hideo Kojima said that he would not direct this game. He wanted a member of his team at Konami to replace him, but none of them wanted to, so he was forced to change his mind and direct after all.
In an interview, Harry Gregson-Williams jokingly said that he might return to compose this game's music "if it's set in the Amazon". At the time, Hideo Kojima actually was planning to set it in the jungle. Gregson-Williams was quite surprised when he learned of the setting.
The codename of the character "Major Tom" is a reference to the 1969 song "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, which is about an astronaut called Major Tom. In the game, Major Tom is even asked "Can you hear me, Major Tom?" This phrase is part of the song's lyrics.
The date of the "Virtuous Mission," August 24, 1964, was Hideo Kojima's first birthday. It was originally August 24, 1963 (his exact bith date), but was moved up a year because he wanted the November 22, 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy to factor into the story
#703