Lost Planet orbiting PS3 in '08

After a flurry of rumor and speculation, Capcom confirmed in March that Devil May Cry 4 would be going multiplatform. The game, originally slated as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, is also now due out on the Xbox 360.

Now the company is doing the same with its onetime Xbox 360 exclusive, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. After being ported to the PC earlier this year, the popular sci-fi shooter will also arrive on the PlayStation 3 in early 2008. According to Capcom, the rapid porting time is made possibly by the fact Lost Planet was developed with the MT framework, a proprietary in-house game engine designed to work with both the 360 and PS3.

In an embargoed announcement made at the Capcom Gamer's Day earlier this week, Capcom stated that the PS3 version of Lost Planet will feature all the content from the 360 version, plus all subsequent downloadable content from Xbox Live, along with extras included in the PC version. These include additional characters, including Frank West from Dead Rising and Mega Man.

The PS3 version will also allow gamers to battle in cooperative or versus battles with up to 16 players. These include elimination mode, where it's every man for himself, team elimination, where whichever team is wiped out first loses, and fugitive, where one player tries to achieve a series of goals within a time limit without getting killed by the other players.

Producer Jun Takeuchi commented, "We've heard a lot of opinions on the game and a lot of opinions from users who don't have an Xbox 360 [but who would like to play.] So, today, I would like to announce the PS3 version."

The PS3 Lost Planet port reflects a growing trend among developers moving away from platform exclusivity. Other companies, including Koei, have also decided to go this route, with Koei announcing last November that Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War and Fatal Inertia both becoming multiplatform, along with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed.