The championship tournament is set to take place at the Tokyo Game Show in October, and is open to players from North America, Europe, Japan and Greater Asia. Those four territories will hold regional championships, and the top teams therein will get a free ride to the Tokyo finals.

The tournament kicks off at San Diego Comic-Con, where players can register and compete for prizes. Details for the regionals themselves in North America will be announced soon.

Full details after the jump. Anyone here tournament-worthy?

KONAMI ANNOUNCES THE
METAL GEAR ONLINE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

The Best Players From The North American, Europe, Japan and Greater Asia Regional Championships To Descend On Tokyo Game Show This October For the Title of Best MGOnline Team in the World

Konami Also Reveals First Details for the MGOnline™ Expansion Packs That Will Be Available
For Download Starting July 17

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is excited to share with you the first details of the Metal Gear Online World Championship 2008. Taking place at Tokyo Game Show this October, the Metal Gear Online World Championship 2008 is open to the best players in North America, Europe, Japan and Greater Asia. The top teams from Regional Championships in all four territories will receive all expenses paid trips to the MGOWC08 Finals in Tokyo, Japan. To kick off the event Konami will be hosting an exhibition tournament at this year's ComiCon in San Diego, CA. Gamers attending ComiCon can register to enter this exhibition and compete for prizes. More details on the North American Regionals will be announced at a later date.

Additionally, Konami will release MGOnline™ expansion packs - Gene Expansion and Gene Expansion Plus — available for download beginning July 17. Available at an SRP of $11.99, Gene Expansion will contain a vast amount of new content including new maps, two new special characters, the ability to play as a customizable female character, and more. Available at an SRP of $14.99, Gene Expansion Plusinc

Deer Hunter aims to be the most realistic hunting game on the market and from what I saw, they are certainly meeting their goal. The animal AI is extremely intelligent and a lot of work has gone into studying the various animals to get the most realistic response possible. Everything from sight distance to smell distance have been included so if you're downwind of a deer that catches a whiff of you, you may find your target heading for the hills. "Dangerous prey" is also present so be careful when tracking and shooting that grizzly bear or cougar. One wrong move could see you getting mauled or worse.

This realism also extends to the equipment and accouterments for the hunters themselves, giving them the ability to track footprints plant grain and even drop animal urine for use in attracting certain species. Weapon caliber and points of contact have also been taken into strong consideration so be careful what you shoot and with which weapon. Big gun + small animal = no mounted trophy head for you.

Other elements at your disposal will be various modes of transportation (horses and ATVs among them), a UI compass that tells direction and weather and a hunter character creation mode. Players will not be limited to tournament modes either. An in depth tutorial mode and a free play mode where you can invite other players to join you will also be available.

Deer Hunter Tournament is set to release with a $39.95 price point for the Xbox 360 and a much cheaper $19.95 for the PC giving you quite literally more bang for your buck. Hunting season begins this Fall.

"Deer Hunter Tournament is poised to reinforce its place as the ultimate hunting video game franchise and we anticipate an even broader audience through our expansion of the brand to Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE," said Jim Wilson, CEO, Atari, Inc. "We are confident that this new edition with its first-ever online multiplayer tournament gameplay, enhanced artwork and mechanics, exotic game and locales will provide fans with the ultimate in realistic hunting experiences."

Exciting stuff, but it isn't true multiplayer hunting unless I can "accidentally" take out the competition, Most Dangerous Game-style.

Atari Bags Deer Hunter® Tournament - The Best-Selling Hunting Game Franchise of All Time Returns with a Bang in Fall 2008

Game Features Video Game Industry's First-Ever Online Multiplayer Hunting Tournament Gamplay

Renowned Franchise Makes Its Debut on Xbox 360® with Online Multiplayer on Xbox LIVE®, in Addition to Windows-based PC Release

NEW YORK, June 17 - Deer Hunter® - the biggest hunting game franchise of all time - takes dead aim at gamers once again as Atari, Inc. launches Deer Hunter Tournament for the Windows-based PC and, for the first time, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this fall. The evolution of virtual hunting has finally arrived as Deer Hunter Tournament gives players a chance to experience the most intense virtual hunting experience ever created. Deer Hunter Tournament is designed to create a massive network of Deer Hunter players by offering for the first time ever in hunting games organized, constantly updated online tournaments for both Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network and through the Windows-based PC format. Deer Hunter Tournament will be available for a suggested retail price of $39.95 for Xbox 360 and $19.95 for PC.

Gamers and hunting fans alike will venture to most of the world's most prestigious hunting locations in pursuit of the most exotic and sought after big-game trophy animals. Virtual hunters can now enter different modes, such as stealth or adrenaline, or employ an array of master hunting strategies, including building stands and blinds, to track and shoot their targets. Deer Hunter Tournament provides numerous levels of gameplay, allowing hunters to embark on scouting missions designed to explore maps and equipment while studying animal habits. Hunters can also take part in hunting tutorials, compete in open hunting sessions and participate in either solo gameplay or the intense multi-player tournaments.

Employing some of the recent advancements in gaming technology, Deer Hunter Tournament features true-to-life animal behavior through advanced animal AI designed to mimic animal sight, hearing, sense of smell and behavioral patterns. Additional features include an arsenal of new weapons with bullet time slow motion replay and thermal scopes. Realistic effects in the game capture awe inspiring wildlife moments like hawks swooping down to snatch fish from lakes - but hunters must also be wary of bears, moose, mountain lions and other dangerous predators who will stalk and attack.

"Deer Hunter Tournament is poised to reinforce its place as the ultimate hunting video game franchise and we anticipate an even broader audience through our expansion of the brand to Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE," said Jim Wilson, CEO, Atari, Inc. "We are confident that this new edition with its first-ever online multiplayer tournament gameplay, enhanced artwork and mechanics, exotic game and locales will provide fans with the ultimate in realistic hunting experiences."

The content exclusive to the Xbox 360 version is comprised of five maps, two new characters and the previously-released DLC. It's also got splitscreen. Full announcement after the jump!

Midway and Epic Games Announce Unreal Tournament 3 to Ship July 7, 2008

Xbox 360 Version of Highly Anticipated and Award-Winning Franchise has New Features, Exclusive Content and Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Video.

CHICAGO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer, and world renowned developer Epic Games, today announced Unreal Tournament 3, for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, is scheduled to ship globally on July 7, 2008, with several new features including split screen, five exclusive maps and two all-new characters, as well as all previously released downloadable content. Unreal Tournament 3, the award-winning first-person-shooter, is currently available for the PC and PLAYSTATION®3 system.

In addition, the game will feature an exclusive video preview of Gears of War 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.7-million-unit selling blockbuster third-person action game. The exclusive video content will include never-before-seen footage of the game’s multiplayer modes featuring new maps, new modes, new weapons and new gameplay elements. The video is narrated by design director, Cliff Bleszinski, and producer, Rod Fergusson.

“Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 will deliver fans the award-winning gameplay of UT3, complete with exciting exclusive content that will make it a must-have title for the Xbox 360,” said Mona Hamilton, vice president of marketing, Midway Home Entertainment.

”We’re very excited to be shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for Xbox 360,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, Inc. “This is a great title and, with two-player split screen support and some very cool new content, Xbox 360 players should be thrilled with this fantastic version of the game.”

About Unreal Tournament 3

Unreal Tournament 3, the world’s premier PC first-person shooter, will make its debut on the Xbox 360®. Unreal Tournament 3 unleashes the full power of Unreal Engine 3, taking graphics, gameplay and challenge to a whole new level. Players engage in intense battles with other human players online, or against Unreal artificial intelligence that sets the industry standard. With the most powerful futuristic weapons and vehicles available, this is FPS action at its best!

Unreal Tournament 3 is rated “M” for mature by the ESRB.

[AP] [Pic]

UTIII Box [GAME via CVG]

The Star Soldier R "Shoot Now, Win Prizes Later" kicks off today and runs through June 24th, when players with certain scores in five-minute mode being awarded prizes. The reason I say certain scores, is that Hudson, attempting to be crafty, is awarding prizes to 1st, 10th, and 16th place, with ten users chosen at random out of the remaining players who register to win random prizes.

Up for grabs? The grand prize is 16,000 Wii points and "Hudson's Top 5 Wii Games", which pretty much equates to 16,000 Wii points, give or take a few bucks. Head over to Hudson's web page to sign up for the festivities, and don't be afraid to use the death blossom maneuver if you find yourself in a pinch.

Star Soldier R Tournament and Sweepstakes Announced
Sign Up Today on Hudson's Website

“SHOOT NOW, WIN PRIZES LATER”
TOURNAMENT & SWEEPSTAKES FOR STAR SOLDIER R ANNOUNCED

Players Can Sign Up on Hudson’s Website Beginning May 27

REDWOOD CITY, CA – May 27, 2008 - Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm of Hudson Soft, today announced that registration for both a tournament and a sweepstakes for the recently launched galactic shooter, Star Soldier R for WiiWare™ on Wii™ begins May 27, 2008 and will go through June 24, 2008, concurrent with the contests.

For players who want to see if they can achieve the highest score in Star Soldier R in the nation, Hudson Entertainment is hosting the 'Star Soldier R "Shoot Now, Win Prizes Later" Tournament & Sweepstakes', beginning at 12 a.m. May 27, 2008 and runs through 7 p.m. on June 24, 2008. Gamers will have one month to vie for the high score in Star Soldier R’s “5-Minute Mode” where the top players on the ranking leaderboards have the chance to win prizes. Two rounds of tournament prizes will be awarded based on players' scores. To sign up, players must register on the tournament registration page, located at (http://hudsonentertainment.com/tournament_register.php?tournament_id=2).

The first place winners will receive Hudson's Top 5 Wii Games along with 16,000 Wii Points™, 10th place winners will receive 10,000 Wii Points, and the players in 16th place will win 4,000 Wii Points. For the sweepstakes, 10 users will be picked in one random drawing to win prizes. For more information about the contests please visit the registration page.

"Pokémon strives to create fun products and events for players of all skill levels and interests," said J.C. Smith, director of marketing for Pokémon USA, Inc. "The Pokémon Video Game Showdown provides the most skilled Pokémon players an opportunity to determine who is truly the best."

POKÉMON ANNOUNCES VIDEO GAME SHOWDOWN BETWEEN U.S. AND JAPAN

The Most Talented Pokémon Players Will Compete in Los Angeles and New York for a Chance to Battle the Best Players from Japan

Bellevue, WA - May 15, 2008 - Pokémon USA, Inc., has announced the first-ever Video Game Showdown, pitting the most skilled Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl players from the United States and Japan in a battle to determine the ultimate champion. The Pokémon Video Game Showdown will take place August 16 in Orlando, Florida and will feature 32 of the most talented players from each nation.

To win a seat in the Pokémon Video Game Showdown, players must compete and win at one of two Qualifier Tournaments taking place in Los Angeles and New York on July 12 and July 19, respectively. A total of 256 players in each city will battle for sixteen paid trips for two to Orlando to compete in the Pokémon Video Game Showdown. To enter for a chance to play in the Qualifier Tournaments, players must register and complete a Pokémon online quiz at http://showdown.pokemon.com.

"Pokémon strives to create fun products and events for players of all skill levels and interests," said J.C. Smith, director of marketing for Pokémon USA, Inc. "The Pokémon Video Game Showdown provides the most skilled Pokémon players an opportunity to determine who is truly the best."

More information, including prizes, tournament locations, times, and rules, can be found by visiting http://showdown.pokemon.com.

We're eventually going to get to the point where someone recreates the Old Testament as Klingon musical theater in Unreal Tournament 3, but until then, we'll have to settle for custom characters and UT2D gameplay mods and user-generated content like this Super Mario Bros. style map. If only we could add mods to cancer research or something. The cure would be on the internet with a Creative Commons license by the weekend.

UT2D-SuperMario_Beta [PC/PS3] [Epic Forums - thanks, Samuraidino!]

We're still trying. We're working with Microsoft to try to figure out how to support it, but regardless of what happens, mods will play a part somewhere along the line. We'll make sure we get a fair share of mods working. We'll figure that out.

Now the user-based developers behind Tactical Ops (a classic UT mod similar to CounterStrike) are talking about bringing Tactical Ops 3 to consoles. While the team doesn't think that the first release of TO3 will support the PS3 or Xbox 360 (due to issues like button mapping), they're confident in the possibility for future releases. And when console mods become the size of full games, we can't stand behind a waist-height object fast enough.

Huge Unreal Tournament III mod whets PS3 appetites [CVG]

The seven titles we owe it to: Doom, Quake, Tribes, Battlezone, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike and Battlefield.

If nothing else, at least the past two or three years of FPSes, multi- and single-player, have combined to give us standardized controls, which makes picking up a new title infinitely easier to play — especially when it comes to free looking. It's now pretty much left stick = movement, right stick = head, with no fruity switching of camera angles or other unnecessary twists. Also, Y or triangle is use, B or circle is jump, etc. If you think that's a minor gamer assist, ask yourself the last time you used two different copiers or fax machines with the same set of commands.

Ed also argues that single-player FPSes are constantly delivering great new titles, but multiplayers have been "the same old for quite a few years now." I just can't see it that way. Maybe structurally they are the same, but characters, missions, game story, that's what gets me into an FPS now. True, a new gameplay innovation that's widely adopted will beat the best written game for sales, but I ask you, what else could a multiplayer FPS be doing right now?

How 7 Games Created the Modern Team Multiplayer FPS

We may be jumping the gun a bit here, as the modder currently slaving away on Old Snake is still, well, slaving away. But the attempt by modder "genZ" is already looking solid. Pun unfortunately intended. Who out there with some Zbrush or 3D Studio Max skills is willing to whip up a very threatening Mega Man?

MGS4 Old Snake [UT3 Forums - thanks, Esq!]

As Microsoft explained before, there's nothing illegal about creating or downloading such mods. But that doesn't mean Epic will pay you $1,000,000 for one. Their Make Something Unreal Contest bans the use of "third party intellectual property, including, but not limited to software, images, characters, logos, names and trademarks." Still, some pranks are so good, they're worth the free work.

Character - Samus Aran [UT3Mod via PS3Fanboy]

I remember loading Facing Worlds from the original UT on my first bohemeth 19-inch monitor and feeling dizzy as I looked to the Earth below, making my stomach churn. A few years of innovation later, my 46-inch HDTV should force an alien baby through my shirt.

Free DLC Now Available for Unreal Tournament III [Gaming Today]

US ONLY
- Made compatible with Euro version (both are patched to the same level)
- Fixed reversed ping sorting in server browser
- Fixed some rare crashes (shutting down, saving with low HD space, AI, etc)
- Fixed a client crash while connecting to server while server it switching maps
- Minor rewordings of various messages
- Fixed mutator mods to not be always loaded, only load mutators when needed
- Added mod import verification for inter-mod package name conflicts
- Fixed weapon/effect sorting in DM-Gateway snow
- Fixed extraneous "Player" entries in campaign scoreboard
- Fixed some getting stuck and outside the world bugs
- No longer display "Player is on red/blue" messages in campaign
- Fixed a Torlan bot pathing bug
- Fix for too many custom characters causing texture corruption
- Keyboard jump now does Smart Jump
- Fix for tilt controlling player sometimes
- Removed Warfare Score Limit of 0 in UI
- Disabled 3d sound positioning on mission briefing sounds
- Fixed exploits with ViewNextPlayer in rare cases
- Fixed some HUD positioning bugs
- Fixed a Darkwalker AI bug
- Fixed some teleporter timing bugs
- Fixed low-bandwidth, large player count connectivity

EURO AND US
- Mods now on root of memory device, can download easier from PS3 web browser
- Fixed VOIP quality issues
- Fixed some headset connection issues
- Added support for full character mods (heads/premade whole characters)
- No longer need to reboot after importing a character mod to see it in menus
- DLC no longer acts like a user mod (being listed in MyContent and causing disable mod crash dialog)
- Fix for bootup and import slowdown with many mods installed
- Add a VOIP icon when VOIP is active (button held down)
- Fixes for corrupted the auto-mod-download cache
- Fix for flickering auto-download text
- Fix for getting stuck in multiplayer menu if you get in before gamespy connects
- Fixed a mod problem with switching between mod and shipping maps with clients teleporting randomly
- Fixed a mod problem with multiple gametype mods installed, only first one imported would work
- Fixed Leviathan deploy icon
- Bots now respect players feigning death (depending on bot skill level)
- Bots now respect sandstorm "blindness"
- Fix for bots picking linkgun mode

The full release is below, with guest quotes from Gabe Newell and Jay Wilbur.

EPIC GAMES NOW ON STEAM

Award-Winning Library Available Via Leading Online Platform for PC Games

March 17, 2008 - Epic Games, Inc. and Valve, two of the PC industry's leading technology and content development studios, have inked an agreement to bring Epic's award-winning titles to Steam, a leading platform for PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.

The Epic hits now available on Steam include Epic's debut classic, Unreal Gold, as well as Unreal II: The Awakening and the Unreal Tournament series of games, including the recently released Unreal Tournament 3, which has shipped over one million copies to date.

All of Epic's titles available on Steam are offered in the Unreal Deal Pack, an incredible value for just $59.95. And, to celebrate the launch, all of Epic's games on Steam are available for 10% off their regular price.

"Epic is a leading developer of game engine technology and has produced some of my favorite games of all time," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "It's an honor to be working with them and offering their current and classic titles to the millions of Steam gamers around the world."

"Steam is a revolutionary technology that opens up an entirely new way to put our games into the hands of millions of PC gamers around the world," said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic. "Valve has changed the face of digital distribution for game developers, publishers and consumers, and we are thrilled to be a part of the Steam community."

For more information or to purchase Epic's games via Steam, please visit www.steamgames.com

About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, North Carolina and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and PlayStation 3. Epic's breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold over 4.5 million copies and was awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Game Developers Choice Awards, GameSpot, GamePro and many others. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including the Game Critics Awards' Best Console Game and Spike TV's 2007 RPG of the Year Mass Effect by BioWare and the 2007 BAFTA Best Game and Spike TV Game of the Year BioShock by 2K Games. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic was also recognized as 2006 Studio of the Year by Spike TV, 2006 Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine and 2007 Large Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.

About Steam
The leading online platform for PC games and digital entertainment, Steam delivers new releases and online services to over 15 million PC users around the world. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com

Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Of course, Epic still has Gears of War and the oft-licensed Unreal Engine. So they're not going hungry or anything.

UT3 and Stranglehold hit 1m sales [MCV]

Lucky for us, we weren't the only ones permanently scarred by the sight of a singlet-wearing, gold-dipped high school wrestler. The assistant manager of a EB Games said he and his fellow employees broke into gales of laughter when they unboxed the trophy at their story. Fortunately, they figured out a way to make the trophy more SSBB "appropriate."

I like it!

[Thanks Brett]

UPDATE - PRGuitarman failed to tell us that the picture was taken by Travisto and submitted originally to GoNintendo. If you're going to send us a picture from another site, just send us the link. Thanks!

GameStop's Brawl trophy is...well... [GoNintendo]

GameStop to Host Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournaments and Launch Events Nationwide

Players Prepare to "Duke It Out" in the Largest In-Store Tournament Event to Date

GRAPEVINE, Texas, March 6, 2008 - GameStop, Corp. (NYSE:GME), the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today announced that it will host Super Smash Bros. Brawl video game tournaments at 2,500 of its U.S. GameStop and EB Games locations on Saturday, March 8, 2008. The tiered tournament program, which represents the largest in-store tournament event to date, is one of several events that GameStop will host surrounding the launch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl by Nintendo, available March 9, 2008.

Each round one tournament will provide players with an opportunity to "duke it out" one-on-one with other contestants in a single-elimination tournament to determine the 2,500 store winners. Many of the participating GameStop and EB Games locations will begin their tournaments at 10:00 p.m., local time; however, customers are encouraged to contact their local store to confirm the exact time of the tournament. All contestants must check-in at least thirty minutes prior to the start of play.

Store winners will advance to a series of District tournaments on March 15; winners of these competitions will advance to Regional tournaments, which will take place on March 29 (visit www.gamestop.com/smash for District and Regional tournament location details). The top eight scoring Regional winners will be declared the Semifinalists for that region and will advance to the Finals event, to be held on April 12, 2008, at the GameStop tournament store in San Jose, CA. Semifinalists will "brawl" against one another in a series of matches until one player with the best of three rounds score is declared the Grand Prize Winner.

The Grand Prize winner will receive one Vizio 37" LCD-TV, an entire Nintendo Wii Software Library, one Nintendo Wii console and selected accessories, and $5,000 in cash. Prize packages in the form of GameStop gift Cards will be awarded to the second and third place players.

For additional tournament details and to obtain a list of official rules, visit a local GameStop or EB Games retail location or www.gamestop.com/smash.

Midnight Brawl Events

To continue the Super Smash Bros. Brawl celebration that all fans can enjoy, GameStop will also host Midnight Launch Events on Saturday, March 8, 2008, at more than 2,500 locations. Most participating GameStop and EB Games locations will begin their countdown to launch at 10:00 p.m., local time; however, customers are encouraged to contact their local store to confirm the exact time of the event. Fans can also check out GameStop's inventory of special Super Smash Bros Brawl add-ons including extra controllers, charge kits, and skins.

"eSports is one of the most exciting facets of online gaming today," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're pleased to expand World of Warcraft's tournament options for players who want to focus mainly on the competitive aspect of the game."

Blizzard Entertainment® Announces New Global World Of Warcraft® Arena Tournament Format

2008 World of Warcraft Arena Tournaments to feature competition on dedicated regional tournament realms and more than $200,000 in cash prizes

PARIS, France. - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced plans to launch a new type of tournament competition using the Arena System in World of Warcraft®, its popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The tournaments will take place on special realms that allow competitors to instantly create level-70 characters with epic equipment, placing the focus on tactics and execution rather than normal adventuring.

"eSports is one of the most exciting facets of online gaming today," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're pleased to expand World of Warcraft's tournament options for players who want to focus mainly on the competitive aspect of the game."

The tournaments are scheduled to start in April with two rounds of online qualifiers in Europe, South Korea, North America, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Each qualifier round will have a per-competitor entry fee - 15€/£12 in Europe; 20,000 won in South Korea; $20 in North America; and NT$450 in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau - and will run for six weeks. During this time, teams will play 3-vs.-3 matches on the tournament realm in their region, with the top four teams from each round advancing to the regional finals to compete for more than $27,000 in cash prizes. Winners from each region will then be invited to a global championship event to compete for $120,000 in cash prizes, including a $75,000 grand prize.

...we're hopeful. Microsoft hasn't said "no" yet, but then they haven't said "yes" either. We need them to say "yes," and we need them to do it soon.

If it doesn't work out with Xbox 360, depending on sales of the game on that platform, I imagine we'll find a few of the best mods and get them on Xbox Live Marketplace. I don't think 360 users are going to suffer drastically - they're just going to miss out on a lot of crazy, cool fun stuff and the ability to exchange it among themselves. They may also end up paying for content that is free on other systems because Microsoft now has to host it and certify it.

We love making shooters, and I'm certain there are still countless ways we can improve in that genre. We look at Gears of War and we see the pimples, we look at UT3 and think 'we should also do this, we should also try that, if only we had more time and more people, we could have done...' so I think we're continually looking at our own games and thinking there are lots of unfinished puzzles left to solve before we move on to something else... There's still a lot of low hanging fruit in this genre — we need to pick some more of that.

It is amazing how people can look at two weeks of sales (in our case) in one single territory in the busiest Xmas sales season the industry has ever seen and come to the conclusion these titles are doing "badly". I don't think either title is doing so badly.

Crysis probably has 3-4x the marketing budget of UT3 and more mindshare because it is a PC-only, high-end, single-player oriented game. This isn't the fastest selling UT title ever but it's doing pretty well and we're going to support it with some pretty cool things to help it keep selling over time.

Mark Rein answers your questions! [via cvg][image: gettyimages]

The guys over at Epileptic Gaming have put together a couple of quick videos to show off just how easy it is to import Unreal Tournament 3 mods from your computer to your Playstation 3. Hit the jump for a video that shows you how you can add mouse and keyboard support for the PS3 version of the game.

Epileptic Gaming

Epic's Mark Rein dropped into the Epic forums last night to let people know that the PS3 cooker for the Unreal Engine 3 editor is in the final stages of testing and could be out as early as next week.

Folks,

I just wanted to give you an update:

We're very close to releasing an update to the Unreal Engine 3 editor, that comes with the PC version of UT3, that will allow UT3 mod-makers to cook their mods into the required PS3 format. We've been doing some internal testing and we're hoping to expand to a wider group tomorrow or Friday. If all goes well then we should see the update released next week which is what I expect will happen. Obviously the process works, as we put out a few mods before Christmas and people seem to be playing them, but it is the update to the editor that we're testing.

Happy New Year!

I can't wait until the mods start flooding the PS3, I'm hoping it could convince a lot of companies build in their own truly user-created content into console games.

PS3 mod cooking update [Unreal Forums, via Evil Avatar]

Who out there has been playing a lot of UT3? And is anyone eagerly awaiting the 360 version? Do you still care about the franchise?

Mark Rein: We don't have a solid release date for UT 3 on Xbox 360 [maxconsole]

First User Created Content for UT3 PS3 is released! [Epic Games]

FileFront has the download and installation instructions, which, curiously, point out that removable storage of some sort is required for import. Whether it be compact flash, Memory Stick or simply a USB thumb drive, it seems one can't simply download to the PS3's built-in mass storage via the internet browser. What's up with that?

FileFront Exclusive: First Ever PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 Map [FileFront]

"MacSoft couldn't be happier to bring Unreal Tournament 3's insane fast-paced action and brutal weaponry to the Mac," said Peter Tamte, president of MacSoft parent company Destineer. "We have a long history of bringing the Unreal series to Mac gamers, and with its expanded campaign mode and killer vehicles, Unreal Tournament 3 is the biggest, best and bloodiest game in the series yet."

The Deadliest Tournament in the Universe Comes to the Mac.

Announcing "Unreal Tournament 3" For Macintosh

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - December 18, 2007 - MacSoft, a leading publisher of Macintosh games, is proud to announce the Macintosh version of Unreal Tournament 3. Licensed by Midway Home Entertainment and developed by Epic Games, one of the world's most acclaimed video game developers, Unreal Tournament 3 delivers the most frantic gameplay and stunning visuals yet in the award-winning Unreal series, as well as new vehicles, new weapons and the deepest single-player campaign in the series to date, all developed on the industry's leading engine, the Unreal Engine 3. Best of all, it is scheduled to be available in early 2008.

"MacSoft couldn't be happier to bring Unreal Tournament 3's insane fast-paced action and brutal weaponry to the Mac," said Peter Tamte, president of MacSoft parent company Destineer. "We have a long history of bringing the Unreal series to Mac gamers, and with its expanded campaign mode and killer vehicles, Unreal Tournament 3 is the biggest, best and bloodiest game in the series yet."

Created with the groundbreaking Unreal Engine 3, Unreal Tournament 3 brings unparalleled visual fidelity to the Macintosh, and new gameplay additions including an enhanced single-player mode with a branching mission structure and wickedly intelligent enemy AI make this the deepest, richest entry in the franchise. Also featuring new gameplay modes like Unreal Warfare, two distinct vehicle rosters including devastating machines like the Necris DarkWalker and all new gadgets like the hoverboard and grappling beam, Unreal Tournament 3 is poised to take the Mac gaming community by storm!

While both of these games are likely to have followings for years to come, we can't help but to wonder if Crysis' "this game will melt your antiquated Earth computer" philosophy hurt its initial sales. As for UT3, not that many buyers could have been holding out for the PS3 version...so it's shocking to see the game have such a mediocre launch.

Crysis and UT3 show disappointing November sales volume [opposablethumbs]

PSExtreme
The most important thing about Unreal Tournament III is its speed. Where as UT2004 felt heavy and a little on the clunky side, Unreal Tournament III feels lean, and mean, and frenetic. Even though the speed of the game was slightly slowed down for the PlayStation 3 version (meaning, the players run a little slower), the intensity is still chaotic

1UP
Playing with the Sixaxis controller quickly erased any concerns about whether the game would struggle without the traditional PC mouse-and-keyboard setup. The default stick response errs on the little-too-slow side to keep from being spastic for the average user, but it can be dialed up to as twitchy as you like.

GameDaily
If it is multiplayer action you crave, then Unreal Tournament has it in spades. Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch and Capture the Flag are obvious favorites, but the new Duel and Warpath modes are real attention getters. With Duel, you face off against an opponent on a smaller map, resulting in a more intimate battle. Warpath involves some strategy, as you must capture and shut down enemy nodes in order to make their energy core vulnerable. Although the multiplayer support is only half of what the PC version handles (ten to sixteen in comparison to thirty-two), the PS3 edition is still lots of fun.

GameZone
The biggest change, and the one that affected me the most [from UT2004], was the removal of the adrenaline counter. I didn't know prior to playing UT3 that Epic had removed it, so it came as a big surprise not to have it included in UT3. In the past, the adrenaline counter permitted players to build up the meter through the means of kills or picking up items on the map to gain access to abilities such as invisibility, but with it removed, it felt like a little part of my soul died. [Ed note: having hated that adrenaline meter, we're thrilled.]

The Orange Box
IGN
Even in Portal, a short title that often requires a little trial and error, this problem is massive. The 360 version takes about three seconds to load your last checkpoint if you die. The PS3 version takes seventeen. It hurts.

GameSpy
Voice chat, especially over Bluetooth, has problems...Although EA has implemented some fine options for testing out your headset in-game (negating the archaic practice of exiting to the XMB to make adjustments), it's a bit of a moot point. We tested out three different Bluetooth headsets (including the Jabra packaged with Warhawk and a USB headset) and nothing seemed to work.

Kotaku
There are some other unusual hitches [in TF2], such as a brief pause as your character goes underwater and a visible delay in the launching of the Demoman's grenades. Game-killing bugs these are not, but serious players will most likely find themselves cursing their PS3s when one of these idiosyncrasies leads to their death...

GameDaily
Valve blends its older games with newer content, delivering an essential bundle only a fool would ignore, unless said fool demands the best version.

I'll be picking up UT3 this week. What about you?

While the real meat of this game on the PS3 is going to be all of the user-created content, I'm totally down with some of these weapons.