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Software Unreal Engine 3 Games on PS3 Delayed
Marcus Yam (Blog) - October 3, 2007 2:30 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 50 comment(s) - last by afkrotch.. on Oct 4 at 10:09 PM
PlayStation 3 architecture slows development of Unreal Engine 3 games

The PlayStation 3’s architecture departs far enough away from traditional development platforms to give game makers a sizeable challenge during the initial learning curve. Unreal Tournament III, one of PlayStation 3’s supposedly big time-limited exclusives for this holiday season, might not make it out to stores this year at all due to technical issues.

A financial update (hosted at Kotaku) from Midway Games revised estimates for the company’s third quarter with the news that several Unreal Engine 3 games would be delayed from their original intended ship dates. Midway now expects Unreal Tournament III to ship on PlayStation 3 sometime during the first quarter of fiscal 2008, which for the company runs from January to March next year.

The update does not affect the release of the PC version, which is still slated for a November ship date. Not only will PC gamers be assured of playing the game next month, but they will also be able to purchase a special Collector’s Edition tin.

The technical difficulties associated with the PS3 do, however, apply to Midway’s other Unreal Engine 3-powered PS3 games. Stranglehold, already available on the Xbox 360 and PC, will ship for the PS3 in the fourth quarter rather than the third quarter. BlackSite: Area 51 will also see PS3 release-lag in Europe, with it shifting into the first quarter of 2008.

“While we regret that these delays will cause us to lose some valuable holiday sales in the near term as well as shift revenue for some of these titles out of 2007 and into 2008, we remain confident that our technology strategy and product plan position us to grow both revenue and market share as we move into the heart of this console cycle,” said David F. Zucker, president and CEO of Midway Games, while also confirming next-gen updates to franchises Blitz and Mortal Kombat.

Zucker explained that technical issues were the cause for the delay, but all problems are now fixed and Midway now expects that its games for 2008 will ship day and date with other versions.

Midway now expects third quarter revenue of approximately $39 million, as compared to the company's previous estimate of approximately $50 million, and a net loss of $0.33 per basic and diluted share, compared to the previous estimate of a net loss of approximately $0.23 per basic and diluted share.

Word of an Unreal Tournament III delay first popped up in September. At the time, Epic Games’ Mark Rein said that the developer was still “working toward a November release.” Rein’s latest comments say that the “goal is still to get the PS3 version of UT3 in stores before the end of 2007,” later adding that “there is a chance it will come out in December.”

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i just hope
By Gul Westfale on 10/3/2007 3:26:51 PM , Rating: 1
i just hope that this does not in any way affect the PC version. the PS3 only has 256MB of system RAM and a 7800-derived DX9 graphics chip. i really hope that the PC version isn't developed to those specs, because otherwise UT3 will turn out to be yet another half-assed console port that doesn't take advantage of the PCs capabilities... let's hope the PC build of this game is different and separate from the PS3 version.




RE: i just hope
By illizit on 10/3/07, Rating: -1
RE: i just hope
By psychotix11 on 10/3/2007 3:40:38 PM , Rating: 5
wow, that's wrong on so many levels.

you must have stock in sony


RE: i just hope
By ani4ani on 10/4/07, Rating: -1
RE: i just hope
By theapparition on 10/4/2007 7:42:13 AM , Rating: 5
Do you really need a reply??

OK, the PS3 has 512MB of memory, but it is 256 for CPU + 256 for Graphics and they do not share. 256MB is the max available for graphics, so the OP was completely correct saying that the PS3 has 256MB of system RAM.

The PS3's GPU was basically derived the same time as the 7XXX series of graphics cards and is considered the same generation, with similar processing power.

quote:
The power of the cell has already been proven to be stronger than two 8800GTX's and thats without the GPU.

This is the funniest part. In terms of massively parallel calculations, nothing touches todays GPU's. They are highly specialized to do one thing, and one thing only. Because of that, they have incredible power. The 8800 series can process graphics calculations much faster than cell can even dream of, up to 10x faster in certain instances. The cell is faster than x86 CPU's at certain operations, namely number crunching, but falls flat for general purpose operations. The Cell has a place, but it is not the be-all end-all chip that some people think it is.
**Reality check** If cell was so powerful, why did they even need to add a GPU?

quote:
The ps3 is harder to develop for and that is the reason for the delay, nothing more nothing less.

Well, he got something right.


RE: i just hope
By StevoLincolnite on 10/4/2007 9:23:56 AM , Rating: 1
...Also you can't compare a console to PC specs anyway.
Console games are highly optimized for the system because the hardware is all the same, a console doesnt have to worry about some huge bloated operating system to handle Drivers, codecs, memory and thread allocation etc, which free's up allot of resources and processing power to gain more performance out of games, ever wondered why the Xbox 1 with its 733mhz Pentium 3/Celeron derived processor and Hybrid Geforce 3/4 as well as 64mb of memory, managed to run halo? when the System requirements were almost double that on PC?


RE: i just hope
By Sazar on 10/3/2007 3:58:16 PM , Rating: 3
Roffle cakes :)

How can you possibly call someone else an idiot after posting such inaccurate information? And you happened to say they post "without thinking" as well :D Beautiful.

Well amigo, your post is all kinds of special and has little to do with thought or fact.

One thing you did hit on the head though, the PS3 IS harder to develop for. This is a SONY design choice issue.


RE: i just hope
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/07, Rating: -1
RE: i just hope
By webdawg77 on 10/3/2007 4:09:02 PM , Rating: 3
Kind of like that grand idea of moving all software to 64-bit? Just how long has that taken to become mainstream ... oh wait, it hasn't.

Ideas are great in concept, but a little more care should be taken before betting that it will payoff in the lifespan of a certain piece of hardware.

In addition, how silly will Sony look if Blu-ray goes the way of the Betamax?


RE: i just hope
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 4:41:41 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Kind of like that grand idea of moving all software to 64-bit? Just how long has that taken to become mainstream ... oh wait, it hasn't.


Couldn't have put it better myself.


RE: i just hope
By Flunk on 10/4/07, Rating: 0
RE: i just hope
By afkrotch on 10/4/2007 10:09:38 PM , Rating: 2
There's the fact that ppl are given the choice between 32 bit and 64 bit, while on a console you get what you get.


RE: i just hope
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/4/07, Rating: -1
RE: i just hope
By Aikouka on 10/4/2007 10:14:27 AM , Rating: 1
That's because if you post, you can no longer vote and all of your votes are removed. This keeps people that are actually in the discussion from making biased ratings, but it also keeps people that help rate down bad posts from posting in general. A catch 22 you could say!

Also, I can tell you why you were rated down. Your post was in response to a poster that commented on someone labeled as a fanboy. Now, you took the only remark that the poster made that agreed with said fanboy and blabbed on about Cell superiority or something. Essentially, your post wasn't necessary.

Also, your post tried to compare the PS3 to the PS2. Sorry, these are not comparable other than that both were not like programming "Hello World" in BASIC. Properly programming a multi-core environment is harder than programming on the PS2's emotion engine (which is only a single core). It takes a lot of thought and coordination to properly program in a multi-core environment with a program that isn't necessarily tailored for multi-core (such as number crunching, etc).


RE: i just hope
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/4/07, Rating: 0
RE: i just hope
By meson2000 on 10/3/2007 3:58:49 PM , Rating: 2
Please say that this was a joke. Saying its "stronger than two 8800GTX's" is so wrong its funny.....


RE: i just hope
By MonkeyPaw on 10/3/2007 4:34:37 PM , Rating: 5
Actually, I've heard that Cell can bench-press a larger HSF, but that could be more Sony marketing fluff.


RE: i just hope
By Rage187 on 10/3/2007 4:13:51 PM , Rating: 2
That is absolutely the funniest thing I have ever read. Do you work for the Sony Defense Force?


RE: i just hope
By splint on 10/3/2007 4:14:38 PM , Rating: 1
Okay ultra fanboy +1, let me state that the PS3 does only have a minutely tweaked 7800. Estimates of its power put it under that of the 360’s GPU. Consequently, some functionality present on the 360’s GPU, such as hardware tessellation, is actually moved to the cells in order to compensate in some circumstances.


RE: i just hope
By dwo on 10/3/2007 4:29:03 PM , Rating: 2
This has got to be a joke right? This was illizit's first post too. I hope he didn't register just to enlighten us with his knowledge of PS3 hardware.

quote:
The power of the cell has already been proven to be stronger than two 8800GTX's and thats without the GPU.


I want to start a little poll as to what age everyone thinks this kid is. I am going to say he is 14. I would say younger but his grammer was pretty good and he did spell everything right.


RE: i just hope
By shabby on 10/3/2007 5:45:44 PM , Rating: 2
The ps3 has 256mb system memory and 256mb video memory that cant be shared between each other.
I honestly dont know how developers can squeeze today's games into 256mb of system memory.


RE: i just hope
By psyph3r on 10/3/2007 11:34:16 PM , Rating: 2
They don't have nearly as much overhead as a real computer and it is dedicated hardware designed to play games. When all you do is play games, then you can get away with a lot more. windows probably provides most of the overhead in pc games. Kinda how linux is so much more efficient than windows. it's not wasting resources on stupid code.


RE: i just hope
By ani4ani on 10/4/2007 2:56:54 AM , Rating: 2
and yet strangely they do! Its not strange that don't know how though!


RE: i just hope
By DeSade on 10/4/2007 1:43:54 PM , Rating: 2
Well, as long as it's not running Vista OS I think they'd be ok. 8^ D


RE: i just hope
By ttnuagadam on 10/3/2007 7:32:51 PM , Rating: 1
im sorry but are you retarded? the cell being more powerful than 2 8800 gtx's? LOL.

if the cell is really that powerful then how come x1900 series ATI cards wipe the floor with the cell in Folding@home?

and yes the GPU in the ps3 is 7800 derrived.


RE: i just hope
By PrinceGaz on 10/4/2007 2:05:23 PM , Rating: 1
Thanks for that post. Reading it was the funniest thing I've seen today.


RE: i just hope
By Slaimus on 10/3/2007 5:48:44 PM , Rating: 2
I think the recently leaked "Recommended" specs for UT3 was a 7800GTX.


Collector Edition Tin
By andrewsdw on 10/3/2007 3:30:38 PM , Rating: 2
Uh Oh...another collector edition tin. I would stay away! J/K




RE: Collector Edition Tin
By webdawg77 on 10/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Collector Edition Tin
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 3:53:19 PM , Rating: 3
Better then getting a game that is scratched beyond all hopes of playing or having your system scratch while your playing. Choose your own poison though.


RE: Collector Edition Tin
By webdawg77 on 10/3/2007 4:00:56 PM , Rating: 3
I got the LE of Halo 3 without the disc being scratched. I did, however, have one of the 360s that scratched discs. I did get them (360 and game) replaced for free. I guess that I got a nice CSR regarding the game replacement.

But, the major point is that the 360 has games to play (and scratch) that are worth playing. I am so so excited about the $399 PS3 to replace my ailing PS2. Yet, that will only be true once a few decent PS3 games also come out.

What's the point of buying a great "gaming" machine if there aren't any good "games" to play?


RE: Collector Edition Tin
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 4:17:39 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
What's the point of buying a great "gaming" machine if there aren't any good "games" to play?


Absolutely none. But as far as game librarys go, the 360 has been out a year longer then the PS3 has. So in terms of volume, the PS3 will never catch up because games don't stop being made on either end. However, in time, hopefully the library will have more substance to it, but only time will tell.


RE: Collector Edition Tin
By webdawg77 on 10/3/2007 4:20:05 PM , Rating: 2
I completely agree. I cannot wait for the next FF installment to hit. That will be "the game" for me to pick up a PS3.


RE: Collector Edition Tin
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 4:24:28 PM , Rating: 3
I own a PS3, given to me as a gift from my parents for graduating college, but I could have used something else. Anyway, I am looking forward to MGS4, GT5, and the new FF. Anyone remember the 5 minute long cut scenes when you used <forgot the name of the actual item> in FF7. Bahamut, Knights of the Round, man those were the days.


RE: Collector Edition Tin
By webdawg77 on 10/3/2007 4:47:22 PM , Rating: 3
materia ... and the hours you spent "raising" chocobos in order to get a golden one to get you to the KOTR materia


RE: Collector Edition Tin
By slunkius on 10/4/2007 2:02:58 AM , Rating: 2
...and the hours spent watching same GF summoning scenes in FF8. after some time playing i got used to check out whats on tv while summoning scene was shown for 9999th time. incidentally, that was last FF game i played


Hmmmm...
By enlil242 on 10/3/2007 7:01:49 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The PlayStation 3’s architecture departs far enough away from traditional development platforms to give game makers a sizeable challenge


If they say that putting blu-ray in the PS3 was the best decision they ever made, I have to say the above is probably the WORST decision they ever made. On paper the PS3 may be a kick-ass machine. But programmers are human and not very cheap... MS had it right enlisting gamers AND programmers in the development process, not marketing execs and engineers...




RE: Hmmmm...
By Makaveli on 10/3/2007 7:17:31 PM , Rating: 2
I agree, but what do you expect.

Its typical Sony arrogance!


RE: Hmmmm...
By ani4ani on 10/4/2007 2:59:51 AM , Rating: 2
and this is another childish fanboy post


RE: Hmmmm...
By omnicronx on 10/4/2007 9:50:33 AM , Rating: 2
I disagree, the bd player could end up being one of the good decisions. Sure a DVD is enough space now, but what about the end of the product cycle for the ps3 and 360, will 9GB be enough? I have a feeling the ps3 will start to get an edge closer to the end of the life cycle.

The article also wasn't talking about the BD player when they say its hard to code for, they were talking about the cell processor. BD is no different than a DVD to implement except for the space.


Silicon Knights rejoice???
By pnyffeler on 10/3/2007 4:13:08 PM , Rating: 3
So is this related to the claims by Silicon Knights in a lawsuit against Epic that the Unreal 3 Engine is full of problems that Epic has refused or is unable to fix?

If you forgot the lawsuit, it's covered here:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=8117




RE: Silicon Knights rejoice???
By DingieM on 10/4/2007 4:35:54 AM , Rating: 2
This reeks to Epic having generally quality problems with their UT3 engine code base for the consoles.
As a software engineer I do think they have multiple code bases that differ much from eachother, basically meaning fixes and/or improvements can almost not be applied to other code bases.

I do believe Epic is focussing on the PC UT3 code base.
PC gamers will soon be able to enjoy Gears Of War and UT3. And I can tell you Gears Of War is simply AWESOME, well, if played on the couche with a 32" HDTV and good surround system with at least 6x 100watts hehe.


Here comes another fans flamebait.
By mWMA on 10/3/2007 6:39:39 PM , Rating: 3
I never understood these annoying fans of either or all console system or fans of PC title. I have owned every one of them and sold 3 (xbox360, Wii, PS3) of them back as I see no use of them. PS3 was sold because I could not make network streaming media solution without needing a video conversion. Xbox360 got the boot once it broke down the second time with RROD. Wii was only getting used when I was home with friends who want to play it. The only thing still working just fine for me every day is my Desktop and new laptop.

I can play all the games at the same resolution 720p or 1080p with same level of details that most people got running on these console on my pc and some I can even push 4xAA on. I didn't even pay much for it (680 for self build desktop and 1450 for DIY Asus C90). A ps3 when it arrived cost 499/599. xbox360 cost 299/399. Add the cost of additional thing you got buy for these things and they easy reach 650+. You can upgrade a computer every 3 years for the less amount of money. Just don't run out and buy the best & most expensive stuff. Get 2nd revision mainstream stuff. Lower cost and high performance.

Every time there is news of one game is gonna be late for this console or that and suddenly the fan boys get their pitchforks and start jabbing anyone that isn't on their side. Hopefully someone of them will talk about taking your time and give a well build product/game especially if you gonna charge 60/70/80/130 bucks a title.




By omnicronx on 10/4/2007 9:55:37 AM , Rating: 2
You are joking yourself if you think you can upgrade your PC hardware every 3 years for the price of a 360/ps3. A good video card these days will cost you more or as much as a 360 in the first place. Unless you don't buy any PC games and pirate them all, (in which you can't play online) it's nowhere near as cheap, except thats its usually $10 less per title.

I love the PC for games, i used to be a PC only user, but i just can't afford the 2 year upgrade cycle anymore.


...
By Cheapshot on 10/4/2007 12:00:44 AM , Rating: 2
The PC is Epics Main Audience in the Unreal series... as it should be. UT began that way... it improved on everything a first person shooter should be when it arrived.

I dropped quake almost instantly in 99, and never looked back.

Epic realizes who thier customers are. Mark Reins made that clear in interviews. The fact that UT III is out on the console is great... I'm glad that people who can't do Keyboard & mouse have a chance to see it/play it.

The problem of course is... it becomes limited on the console... there just isn't enough controls as on the PC version. PS3 has KB & M option, but I doubt many will use it. They just don't know any better, or think they do.




RE: ...
By ani4ani on 10/4/2007 3:01:07 AM , Rating: 2
The PS3 version of these games can use a KB + Mouse - that was announced by Epic a long time ago.


Funny
By FITCamaro on 10/3/2007 3:39:03 PM , Rating: 2
Wasn't it the PS3 fanboys who were knocking Microsoft when Epic announced that UT3 wouldn't make it out the door for the 360 in 2007?

Maybe next time they won't be so quick to speak.




RE: Funny
By Bioniccrackmonk on 10/3/2007 4:00:39 PM , Rating: 1
My MS Fanboy radar just received a large ping from your general direction.

I say screw both the systems. Until the PS3 programmers have it figured out and when MS doesn't have a 33% failure rate, only then will either be worth it. The only thing Nintendo has going for it is you get to play the older games on it, but they still havent released anything that would make me buy it. Chrono Trigger FTW.


I just want to say...
By BigToque on 10/3/2007 4:02:34 PM , Rating: 2
I don't own any next gen consoles, and I typically do not like FPS (I generally like to play Hockey games and the Zelda games), but the Unreal Tournament games have ALWAYS been favorites of mine, even though I've never had a computer that could play them without turning everything all the way down :D

Anyway, it's always unfortunate to hear about delays. Hopefully you guys will still get the game in time for christmas :)




what about the underdogs?
By inperfectdarkness on 10/4/2007 9:31:47 AM , Rating: 2
with all the buzz over epic fumbling the ball...why aren't the "jupiter ex" engine and the "serious 2.0" engine getting licensed?

heck, wasn't there some correlation between serious 2.0 and HL2 originally?




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