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UT 2007 Might Make The PS3 Launch

Posted by Zonk on from the when-it's-ready-is-good-enough dept.

Gamespot reports that despite earlier reports, Epic plans to ship UT 2007 'when it's done', and not before. Additionally, the PC version is likely to be shipped first. From the article: "'Do you know when the PS3 launch is? Neither do we,' said Epic vice president Mark Rein. 'but we know when UT2007 will be done: WHEN IT'S DONE! ... The question of whether we're a launch title or not is unanswerable because we don't know if the PS3 will be out before we're done or not. ... We won't ship the title on any platform before it's done, and it is too early to say when that will be.'"

32 comments

  1. Nice Title by JonN · · Score: 1, Insightful
    UT 2007 Might Make The PS3 Launch
    Mark Rein says game will be ready "when it's done"

    This is the same as me saying "I may fly in a racoon today" and then adding "If they produce that technology today"

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    1. Re:Nice Title by hunterx11 · · Score: 1

      Actually, SMB3 was on the NES.

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  2. THIS is the way to do it... by CliffH · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wish more companies would do this. Granted, I don't play UT (or much of anything anymore) but I may pick it up again just to see how things have progressed. I feel that shipping early with a ton of bugs is a lot worse then shipping when ou feel everything is as sorted as it's going to get. No one is going to write a complicateed piece of software and not have bugs in it, but at least they can ship and minimise any possible showstoppers they would have if they were up against the wall with a ship date. Frankly, certain companies should think about this as well when announcing release dates or leaking info. Most everyone would like to have a polished product no matter how long they have to wait and, ultimately, where investors are involved, they will see fatter wallets from a successful, bug free launch then they will from a half-assed launch where everyone gives the product a bad name in the first month.

    CliffH

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    1. Re:THIS is the way to do it... by generic-man · · Score: 1

      "Bug-free launch"? Every software product I've ever seen -- Microsoft, Apple, most open-source stuff -- has a patch or a hotfix available within a month of launch. Everyone's going to find bugs with software intended to run on thousands of different configurations. I seem to recall UT 2004 having a patch available the day I took it home from the store, and that wasn't long after it was "done."

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    2. Re:THIS is the way to do it... by theJML · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The tricky thing with patching UT 2007 for PS3 is that it would be on a console... that doesn't necessarily have access to the internet (sure the user COULD plug it in and configure it and get a patch...) So the fact that the game release should be bug free is a good idea.

      But that's a game, and if you have a bug, as long as it's not a big one that corrupts everything or freezes the game, 'eh, big deal. it's just a game.

      Now if we were all going to wait for MS to come out with a bug free version of Windows BEFORE they shipped it, we'd be running DOS 1... (well, hopefully it'd be released by now.)

      THe main issue is just getting rid of the big bugs that corrupt or hang or etc., the tiny "sometimes the window doesn't refresh" or the "sometimes this button doesn't work" bugs, oh well. patch it later. "The good of the many outweigh the good of the few." Release it so that the Many don't see the bugs, and the few will just have to update later.

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    3. Re:THIS is the way to do it... by SuperMo0 · · Score: 1

      Yes, products get bugfixes all the time, but the ones that are rushed to market have bugs in them that are so blatant and so damaging to the final product that it's obvious no one bothered to fix it. Everyone IS going to find bugs in anything. There's no way around that, there's no real way to guarantee 100% bug-free in anything. However, if a game ships with blatant errors that ruin the game (DRIV3R comes to mind), there's no excuse for that. What Epic is doing is thinking with the consumer in mind. They're being considerate and making sure that there's as few bugs as possible, which is what EVERY game company should do.

    4. Re:THIS is the way to do it... by Quarters · · Score: 1
      That is the way to do it only when iDevelopmentBudget >= (extremely large number)

      Most game developers don't have the money on hand to say "when it's done" because there's a hard date that comes before then where the company runs out of money. Publishers won't fund a company indefinately for a project because after a point they will have spent more money then they will ever make on the project, regardless of how bug-free it is.

      Only indie developers with a long and proven track record of excellent games and enough business smarts to have banked a lot of their previous earnings can stand up and say "When it's done". Epic is one of an extremely small group of developers that have that freedom.

    5. Re:THIS is the way to do it... by obeythefist · · Score: 1

      Back in the DOS days, you just hasd to know about bugs so you could work around them. Your next "patch" was the next OS version. And we liked it!

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    6. Re:THIS is the way to do it... by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      Of course, back then, you had 1MB of OS data rather than 2.5GB, so it was just a tad easier to go bug-free.

  3. Take your time Epic... by Chaffar · · Score: 3, Informative
    You can see why Sony would want UT2007 to be available on launch day. With all the attention Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360) is getting, they also want a high-profile FPS shooter to promote the machine's capability.

    Looking at this list, Final Fantasy PS3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Tekken PS3, (and maybe maybe Devil May Cry 4) are the only heavyweights... I know there are sh*tloads of other games to come (Gran Turismo PS3... raaahhh), but IMHO they do need a little more than this.

    1. Re:Take your time Epic... by game+kid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Looking at this list, Final Fantasy PS3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Tekken PS3, (and maybe maybe Devil May Cry 4) are the only heavyweights...

      I know some people who'd call the first three games the only heavyweights they need. If EVA and Asuka were any indication, those middle two games are all I would need... ;)

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    2. Re:Take your time Epic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Boo! Look at all those sequels! Non-innovative poo! I want exciting new games at launch! Waa! I bet the Revolution will be way better.

      -- Anonymous Nintendo fan

    3. Re:Take your time Epic... by vasqzr · · Score: 1


      Quake 4 is on XBox and isn't getting much press outside of PC-centric sources. I doubt UT will have the success as a console as it did on PC. Which is a shame really.

    4. Re:Take your time Epic... by Kaldaien · · Score: 1

      Indeed, the only reason I own my PS2 is because of Final Fantasy X and Gran Turismo 3/4. Granted there have been hosts of other good games since, but the only thing that set the PS2 apart from my XBOX was its plethora of Japanese import RPGs to chose from. The other genres don't matter to me; and I prefer to purchase the XBOX / XBOX 360 version of a multi-console title because of the in-game 5.1 and 720p / 1080i (that doesn't look like crap, (sorry, GT4)). I'm not a fan of Metal Gar Solid, Tekken, Devil May Cry, etc... My decision to buy a PS3 will probably be based on its support for Blu-Ray playback and the inevitible release of a Final Fantasy and Gran Turismo title (perhaps GT4 @ 1080i won't look so crappy when played in the PS3's backward compatibility mode - like the texture filtering (smoothing) for PS1 games played on a PS2?). I personally believe that the Unreal Tournament series is played best with a keyboard and mouse, but it might be successful in selling _some_ people on the PS3. I would rather bite the bullet and upgrade my PC to play Ut2k7, however.

    5. Re:Take your time Epic... by shoptroll · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How much weight is S-E even throwing behind Sony these days? They've got several titles in development for the DS and only one for the PSP.

      They haven't even stated concretely that they're doing anything serious for the PS3. All that's been shown is a tech demo of FFVII on the PS3.

      On the original topic, I have no clue why this is even newsworthy. Someone got their facts screwed up. Epic has been stating since this game started development that they were hoping to keep the game in testing for a long time (like up to a year) to make sure a repeat of UT2003 doesn't occur. And I'm not just talking bug squashing, I'm talking for map flow and gameplay tweaks.

      And I hate to say it, but if I was a Sony or XBox fan, I'd be very wary of this port-wise. Sure it's gonna look good, but UT has always been about PC gamers, and I don't think it's gonna translate well to console without serious adjustments (you'd think they'd have learned after Unreal Championship [aka UT2003 Xbox])

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    6. Re:Take your time Epic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They haven't even stated concretely that they're doing anything serious for the PS3

      Uhhh false. They said they were working on FF13 for the PS3 all the way back at E3.

    7. Re:Take your time Epic... by Sux2BU · · Score: 1

      Well put. I've grown tired of the PS/PS2/PSP game lineup. The PS3 looks like it's going to be the same. Granted, I love some of those games, but I've played too many sequels already. I'm much more excited about the 360 and the Revolution than I am about the PS3 at this point.

    8. Re:Take your time Epic... by bigman2003 · · Score: 1

      UT has been on a console.

      Or, more correctly, UT turned into 'Unreal Championship' on the Xbox. It was met with a decent response. It even spawned a sequel, which scored in the 90% range at most gaming journals.

      Personally, I avoided it because Halo 2 was still (is still) pretty popular, and I didn't need another on-line FPS to play. (Since graduated to Call of Duty 2 on the 360)

      Even if Halo 2 wasn't out, I probably would have avoided Unreal Championship 2 because the ultra-fast gameplay either doesn't suit the Xbox controller, or I am just too damn slow to figure it out.

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    9. Re:Take your time Epic... by shoptroll · · Score: 1

      Point is? FFVII was original under development for the N64. At this point in the game, nothing is concrete until screenshots and movies.

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  4. Re:Easy Solution by vertinox · · Score: 1

    No one is going to write a complicateed piece of software and not have bugs in it,

    First define complicated.

    Second... Define bugs.

    And lastly have your marketing department replace the word complicated with "user friendly" adn replace bugs with "intended features".

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  5. Epic could learn from Duke by ClamIAm · · Score: 3, Funny

    So they're going to release a game with a year in its title "when it's done"? Perhaps they should change the name to UT Forever.

    1. Re:Epic could learn from Duke by ozTravman · · Score: 1

      This is sounding more and more like Duke Nukem Forever. Its release date is also "When its done". I believe they are changing the name to Duke Nukem Whenever.

    2. Re:Epic could learn from Duke by Zaplocked · · Score: 1

      its the exact same response they gave for their release date of ut2004.
      though of course there was also the "two weeks" fiasco for the ut2004 demo (god that was ridiculous). hopefully that won't be making a return.

    3. Re:Epic could learn from Duke by ClamIAm · · Score: 1

      I guess I'm not familiar with this title's development, but I think Doom 3 was also going to be released "when it's done", and that did make it out. But hey, DNF + delays == teh funney =P

    4. Re:Epic could learn from Duke by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      ID, Epic and 3D Realms are all from the days of shareware PC gaming and all three issue "When it's done" release dates. Coincidence?

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  6. Slashdot acronym cheat sheet by British · · Score: 1

    UT = Unreal Tournament.

  7. Rife for comment by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

    "'Do you know when the PS3 launch is? Neither do we,' said Epic vice president Mark Rein. 'but we know when UT2007 will be done: WHEN IT'S DONE!'"

    Then we can't assume that the PS3 will not ship "when it's done?" I know Sony is famous for shipping "about two weeks before it's done," but really...

  8. Cop Out by derrickh · · Score: 1

    That 'When its done' crap was ok 10 years ago when it meant something, but now it's just a cop out meaning they don't want to announce a release date because they're falling behind. They know the release date because they had to tell Sony. Do you believe for a second that when the money guys from Sony were about to sign the check and asked when they could expect to see a game , Epic looked them in the eyes and said 'When it's done'? Hell no. Mark Reign said 'We'll be ready to ship on XXX,XX,2006...and dont forget to dot the 'i' in Epic.'

    When it's done my ass.

    D

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    1. Re:Cop Out by Somatic · · Score: 1
      I have to disagree. Setting a date and missing it makes people lose faith in your company.

      Of course they gave Sony a time table. This is big business. They're just not giving us a time table, and I think it's a wise move.

      We make fun of the companies that miss their deadlines. We get pissed off, and flame them. It's annoying to look forward to something on a certain date and have it not arrive. We get more cautious about following their next project.

      Not to use a Bradism, but managing expectations is a good thing. In any case, it makes the company look more respectable than missing deadlines does.

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    2. Re:Cop Out by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Midway gets those dates, Sony isn't the publisher. If any money changed hands it's at best for the promise that UT2007 will get a port to the PS3.

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  9. Not a cop out. Just a law. by Song+for+the+Deaf · · Score: 1

    I think this should be a law akin to Moore's. Every worthwhile dev in the industry at least tries to adhere to it.

    A good game shipped late is still good. A bad game shipped on time sucks forever.

    Currently playing Half Life 2, which illustrates the former part of the law quite nicely.