Midway: PS3 Area 51 online features limited

[cliffbo]

Midway: PS3 Area 51 online features limited
Posted on October 23rd, 2007 at 06:29 EDT

Midway has let slip that the online features included in the PlayStation 3 version of Blacksite: Area 51 will be somewhat limited compared to its Xbox 360 counterpart.

As reported by IGN, the Xbox 360 version allows users to compete in both ranked and unranked matches, and features full voice support for quick and instant communication between each player.

However, the company this week announced that the PS3 version would not include all of the above. "Basically, the PS3 supports the ability to host, search, and join - that's it. All of the other functionality did not make it to PS3: ranked / leader boards, match making, voice chat, private slots, etc.", a Midway representative stated.

Blacksite: Area 51 will be released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in North America on November 5, with a European release arriving slightly earlier on October 26.

Source: PS3fanboy


http://www.psu.com/Midway--PS3-Area-51-online-features-limited-News--a0001622-p0.php

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Booooooooooo.
Hey midway! That's reaaal gay my nigga! Cut that out!

[\m/]

Not that I particularly care about this game, but how can they not include all of those features?!

[GTAce]

Bye bye Blacksite.
Im NOT going to buy something half-assed programmed.....

[cliffbo]

i'll tell you what's been happening with these games, some without features and some put back. devs never had faith in Sony so they followed the money with the 360, developing those games first. they have suddenly realized that the PS3 is starting to sell better and so have fallen behind with the development of those games. some have put them back (the better but frustrating answer) some have decided to release them as is (the cop out) perhaps we should pray for delays in the future until devs begin developing on the PS3 first

[Red_Eyes]

Good for them. Now, no PS3 owners will buy their half ass game.

[\m/]

The thing that sucks about that is that Midway will be thinking, "well, nobody buys our PS3 games, so we may as well just stick with the other consoles".

Although that may not be a bad thing, the last Midway game I had was Mortal Kombat 2 on the Mega Drive!

[Jay Gee]

Fuck them and their game. I think that's inexcusable in this day and age, but I'm no developer, so I'll leave it at that.

[cliffbo]

the question is: what's the single player like? if it''s an half assed attempt and plays for less than 12 hours, then they are screwed as far as sales on the PS3 go

[Old_Timer!]

Most 3rd party devs have said it over and over again, that they didn't know about sony's online capabilities. It seems that sony didn't give out the online specs to them and they just assumed it would be a similar approach to the PS2 online offering.

Ken Kutaragi's statement comes to mind, most of the games on the 360 with an online component have had the devs commenting that the 360 online infrastructure is a known factor.

Now that the system(PS3) has been out almost a year, I can't believe that some devs are still releasing games with limited online capabilities such as this. I have to give it up to Epic(UT3) for delaying and adding features.

We need our resident dev Cpi to enlighten us what his company has faced when it comes to PS3 online implementation.

[Nameless]

Does anyone plan to purchase this title... :whogives:

Too many great games being released to spend money on a gimped mediocre FPS.

[Jay Gee]

I honestly wasn't. Was underwhelmed by the trailer they had for it on PSN.

[OG_Monkey]

Booooooooooo.
Hey midway! That's reaaal gay my nigga! Cut that out!

lol, sounds familiar...got it, boondocks

But yea anyway, i was THINKING on getting this game, the demo wasnt all that bad...

[drakkar]

Weak.

That is all.

[gibmonster]

Of all features that can be dropped from a game they can't include these? That's just rubbish. I'm no software engineer but I suppose pros can probably implement these in a month at tops??

I tip my hat to the UT3 team.

[PUNK em 733]

Thanks midway, you've made my choice that much easier.

:thumbl:

[Jay Gee]

Haze is gonna rock the shit out of it anyway.

[PUNK em 733]

Haze is gonna rock the shit out of it anyway.

But of course, my good man.:thumbl:

[gibmonster]

^Damn straight it will.

I mean.. They're not even gonna offer a patch or anything? Retarded it is.

[Chris Metal]

Well thats poor, very poor. Resistance offered all three of those features at launch (ranked/unranked matches and voice chat)... Why is it so difficult to include?

Well Haze was my favourite choice anyway, always trust in Free Rad.

[cliffbo]

PS3 Blacksite plagued with development trouble, says insider

By Frank Caron | Published: October 24, 2007 - 10:58AM CT

Yesterday, we talked a bit about Blacksite: Area 51 and the missing online features in the PlayStation 3 version. Since that story ran, an insider contacted us to say the PS3 version's problems may run deeper than a lack of voice chat.

"The PS3 version is experiencing issues and missed deadlines," he tells us. The insider also notes Midway's unhappiness with these issues; the PS3 demo and launch will likely end up being delayed as a result.

"Midway isn't happy at all about the progress, and it's a story I've heard over and over this year across the industry when it comes to the PS3 and cross-platform titles," the insider states.

The Unreal Engine powers Blacksite, which presents the possibility that the engine itself is leading to development problems. Midway's other big PS3 releases of Stranglehold and Unreal Tournament 3 have also seen long delays.

Sadly, the problems with Blacksite: Area 51 only further the growing list of problematic multiplatform releases on the PS3, and could reinforce the qualms about working with the Unreal Engine among multiplatform developers.


http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/10/24/industry-insider-blacksite-area-51

[GTAce]

Ridiculous.

[chartwel]

i see epic losing its lawsuite. from the sounds of it, they need to. unacceptable to sell people an engine that cannot deliver what it is suppose to.

[jako]

Anyway there seems to be several versions if the UE3.
I've tried Stranglehold on my PS3 (the demo) and it doesn't look good at all. It's far away from Gears of War visualy.

And from what I've seen, Area51 seems to be in the middle of these two titles (graphically)

[SleazyBig slim]

This game runs on the UE3 engine, that engine is garbage and a pain in the rear for PS3 devs. I'd be surprised to here anyone starting a new game with that engine from here on out.

[Red_Eyes]

Or... Area 51 developers just plain sucks.