PS3 UT3 officially pushed to '08, new MK revealed

Development issues cost Sony a major holiday console exclusive, though Epic says it is trying to finish the title by year's end; Midway announces new fighter, Blitz game.

Last month, Epic Games president Mark Rein cautioned fans that a November release for Unreal Tournament 3 on the PlayStation 3 and PC was just a target and not a certainty. Epic appears to have missed the target with the PS3 edition of the game: Publisher Midway today announced that it expects that it won't ship that version of the game until the first quarter of 2008.

The warning comes in spite of a statement from Rein late Tuesday saying that the studio is still toiling to get the PS3 UT3 completed by year's end. However, Midway president and CEO David Zucker said in an investor conference call that any delay will not affect the PC edition, which is still set to release in early November.

Zucker also said there is release window yet announced for the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3, which is set to arrive sometime next year. However, a Midway representative confirmed to GameSpot that UT3 would still see a period of console exclusivity on the PS3.

The shift in the PS3 game's release date was also listed by Midway as one of several factors contributing to the publisher reducing its quarterly and yearly revenue projections. Previously, Midway expected $50 million in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, but lowered that figure to $39 million after the PS3 edition of Stranglehold was pushed into the fourth quarter.

Events affecting the company's full-year revenue estimates include delays for the PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 as well as the PS3 edition of BlackSite: Area 51. In Europe, the game has been pushed into the first quarter of 2008, while North American Sony fans will have to wait until late November for the game, three weeks after its PC and Xbox 360 counterparts ship. Factoring in those difficulties, Midway is now projecting full-year revenues of $170 million, down from the previously expected $225 million.

In the conference call, Zucker blamed the PS3 BlackSite and Stranglehold delays on problems stemming from getting the Unreal Engine 3 up and running on Sony's console. Both will arrive before Epic Games' PS3 debut, which had been prominently promoted as being exclusive to Sony's console and the PC during the 2007 holiday shopping season.

Zucker also provided a sales performance estimate for Stranglehold, saying he expects the company to ship 1.5 million copies of the game worldwide across its three platforms. He said those numbers reflect the game underperforming expectations in North America, but overperforming them in Europe.

Regardless, Zucker said the problems with the engine and the platform have been dealt with, and Midway expects its 2008 PS3 titles to ship day and date with their Xbox 360 counterparts. However, he noted that the two games would still be shipping before Epic Games' own debut PS3 Unreal Engine 3 game.

However, it wasn't all delays and bad news from the publisher. Zucker also confirmed that a number of hit franchises will be resurfacing next year.

"Looking ahead to 2008, with our core technology platform now in place, we expect to release a number of titles, including already announced console versions of Unreal Tournament 3, a next-generation installment of our NBA Ballers franchise, Wheelman, and TNA iMPACT! the video game," Zucker said in a statement. "We also expect to release several as-yet-unannounced titles such as next-generation versions of our hit franchises Blitz and Mortal Kombat, and two exciting new ambitious open world games. We intend to give more details on our 2008 release schedule in the near future."

804 Comments

  • coolman437

    Posted Apr 17, 2008 2:59 pm PT

    whoever is a loser and would pay 2 grand for a computer by all means go right ahead, but i'll enjoy my consoles because i have real life friends and i play games with them not sit around a computer all day on WoW like Ba0ng89

  • xavier14

    Posted Feb 19, 2008 7:20 am PT

    cant wait for the 360 version and the new MK

  • 9mmSpliff

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 11:11 am PT

    Sigil....UT3 runs on a 9800pro. So its not spec hungary.

  • Sigil-otaku

    Posted Oct 24, 2007 4:10 pm PT

    I believe the PC gaming market is doing it all wrong, rather than maximize the potential of computer specs (just meaning trying to make games look as good and clean as possible with less specs) PC games are now leaning towards going highly expensive and spec hungry (Crysis, UT3 etc.) where half of the PC gaming population has to upgrade just to play the game. I know of a clan that is all upgrading there graphics cards to DX 10 ones so they can run Crysis and stuff but for a whole clan that is a lot off moolah just to be able to play Crysis.

  • rts11220

    Posted Oct 17, 2007 3:16 pm PT

    A PC for 2 grand! that's a lot for some people

    dont it usally have like a payment option like 50 buck a month?

  • LittleYoshi

    Posted Oct 15, 2007 6:42 am PT

    Ba0ng89: "Dude...Dan2002sk8er check ur facts...i could get a PC 4times faster stronger than a freaking PS3 for like 2grands...." PC systems don't count for me as a true gaming system. A true gaming system is a system that mainly for playing games.

    A PC for 2 grand! that's a lot for some people. (and made in China...lol)
    The PS3 is not trying to compare itself with a powerfull super computer.
    Its comparing with all the gaming consloses.....duh!

  • Thatsmypunk

    Posted Oct 14, 2007 12:35 am PT

    How about a new NHL Hitz game?

  • Ba0ng89

    Posted Oct 13, 2007 10:26 pm PT

    Dude...Dan2002sk8er check ur facts...i could get a PC 4times faster stronger than a freaking PS3 for like 2grands....

  • king258

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 5:15 pm PT

    Dan2002sk8er :"so we should all gang up on the PC gamers for having inferior technology for 28 times the price, instead of trying to say my console is better
    yea dude like blade said check ur facts a cheap aileanware desktop(at 1199USD)is better than ps3

  • predator1006

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 4:08 pm PT

    im really looking forward to getting unreal tournament 3, and mortal kombat, especially mortal kombat, i can't wait to see what that's going to look like on the ps3 with awesome graphics, and real looking fatalities.

  • Leandrovalle

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 3:07 pm PT

    Uau! to doido para que chegue o Mortal Kombat!!!

  • jaredrichards3

    Posted Oct 12, 2007 5:23 am PT

    I hope this game lives up to the hype and expectations of , unlike halo 3 which was just hype and disappointing to most

  • Cirus2

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 7:20 pm PT

    November gonna be a crazy month, prob another reason they delayed it.. ...... Mass effect, COD4, Assasin creed, Blacksite: Area 51, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Need For Speed: ProStreet, Army Of Two, Ace Combat 6: Fires Of Liberation, Dark Sector, FIFA Street 3, Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock and PES2008 :O anyone got like £2000 to donate to me plz?

  • bozoblade

    Posted Oct 11, 2007 12:55 pm PT

    Dan2002sk8er :"so we should all gang up on the PC gamers for having inferior technology for 28 times the price, instead of trying to say my console is better"

    That's a pretty pathetic statement and so untrue. Check your facts man. Just bought a computer probably around twice ( not 28 ) the price of a PS3 and I'm 100% sure it will slaughter the PS3 when it comes both to resoultion, fps , control and visual madness. UTseries=Top priority PC.

  • BlakkSteel

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 7:49 pm PT

    I'm actually more interested in the new Blitz title. MK Armageddon was somewhat of a letdown from the previous 2 titles. & The way that most developers have been skimpin' on the "next gen" titles, I'm not too sure how that 1 will turn out. I'll need to read & see more on the MK. Stranglehold needs to hurry, before I change my mind. & UT3 is moot to me. LOL

  • Samiiii

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 11:20 am PT

    UT3 won't be gracing my PS3 anymore. Cause in 08' I've got LittlebigPlanet and GTA4 as well as games out later this year
    Assassins creed, Haze and Uncharted.

  • aquamah

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 8:15 am PT

    PLEEEEEEEZ gamespot... go MIDWAY and DIG for mortal kombat... we need news.

  • shortster1

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 5:03 am PT

    i cant wait for the new mortal kombat!!!!!!!

  • epousard

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 10:27 pm PT

    PC gamers deserve UT3 before everyone else, Cliffy B keeping it real.

  • RoC1909

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 6:12 pm PT

    Did people HONESTLY believe that UT3 would REALLY come out when it was originally stated?!?!? Do people HONESTLY believe that ANY game will release on it's SUPPOSED release date?!?!? If you believe that, then you are a lost cause.....

  • colbster posted Oct 9, 2007 4:17 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    colbster

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 4:17 pm PT (hide)

    who cares? the game will suck. UT is dead.

  • FlaminUmpalumpa

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 3:05 pm PT

    i'm going to play this game on the pc, so the delay doesn't effect me at all.

  • Cono_2007

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 2:35 pm PT

    Mercenary-X, i think it it because of the Blu-Ray, i saw it somewhere that developers have problems with the Blu-Ray because of the power it had. I might be wrong though....

  • u_poop

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 12:47 pm PT

    I wish it was only on ps3/pc note:i dont hate 360(ps3 deserves a chance)
    and i wish they would stop delaying all its games

  • Mercenary-X

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 9:41 am PT

    Yea, Rizer. It's been stated by several developers that the PS3 is harder to develop for (I'm assuming because of the Cell processor, but I could be wrong). I don't own a PS3, but that's not to say I'm not waiting for that one game to come out that takes complete advantage of all the processors and knocks my socks off.

  • Rizer

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 8:51 am PT

    I know that there's probably some technical reason for it that I'm not aware of, but I've always find it odd when a game that has already been created for one consule has so much trouble just simply being refitted for another.

  • Slackar

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 6:56 am PT

    I'm not a ps3 fanboy since I own both ps3 and xbox (plus wii) but look at the facts and I'd recomend to look at killzone demo. It states that the single stage where theyre playing the demo holds 3gb of content, alone. This content can be repeated but still, the core alone plus graphics and 3d models with such quality will take more than 8gb. About mgs4, look at the damn demo for christ sake man, a lot of content in one single small stage (as stated in the same demo). Nobody said it will hold 50 gb of content but im sure it will be big. Anyone remember the PC version of mgs2? the game alone needed like 12 gb free space. In consoles its a different story but again Konami will encounter serious issues (modeling the xbox controller as some little example, that can be done like san andreas case) trying to port to xbox 360 and I think its possible. I do think that konami will release the online version for all consoles. I think its more profitable to release multiplayer games on xbox. Actually I think (despite the fact that xbox life aint free) is more reliable and secure, since you pay for a service, ms must offer no lag at all.

    These all are assumptions, believe what you want, be fan of some piece of expensive hardware. I dont care, I'm just giving my opinion and I believe nobody can predict the future. The upcoming games for this last quarter are great enough to even bother anyways

  • NandoSupes

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 5:38 am PT

    is amazing how many of you are calling each other fanboys and this and that over a game, grow up!! lol.UT3 is coming out next year,in the meantime theres plenty of other great games to play anyways

  • RageSet

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 4:23 am PT

    When did Kojima and/or Konami started that MGS4 would be using up to 50GBs of space? It really seems that is the last argument point that PS3 fanboys can bring up, but what tell me what PS3 game uses more than 10GBs? If Konami does decide to bring MGS4 to the Xbox 360, I wouldn't be surprised since they are a BUSINESS. Get that?! They are a freaking COMPANY and they want the maximum payout for any endeavor. Some loyalty may exist, but in the long run, Konami wants to get as much profits from MGS4 as they can, especially if MGS4 is Kojima's last MGS game. Even if they don't release MGS4 for the Xbox 360, that isn't the end of the world. Sony still has a lot to do to gain market share, because MGS4 won't sell 6 million PS3s.

  • LuminosityBlaze

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 1:31 am PT

    Blitz better be cool, this could be so crazy now in the next-gen! But really now, please forget ballers and bring back NBA Jam. I think it would really help bring back the fun times, before the NBA went into the hole; now its Ballers with all the bling, but those aren't nearly as fun.

  • jaredrichards3

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 12:50 am PT

    I'm the biggest MK fan ever but i think they have to go back to the magic of MK2 and MK3, the sound effects and storyline were awesome as soon as it went 3d i lost a lot of interest. all those new characters were just too much

  • DanTHE420man

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 6:11 pm PT

    hell yeah MORTAL KOMBAT !!!! mofo and UT3 hell yeah looking good midway looking good

  • wars45

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 4:37 pm PT

    dame it as long as haze is out in nov but unreal 3t will be ace lol

  • compaq345682

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 3:41 pm PT

    MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!

  • themaskcabana

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 9:29 am PT

    It's so gay that theres constantly arguments about XBOX 360 vs. PS3, what are we children? If your dead set on PS3 or the XBOX 360 then be happy you got it and keep the rest to yourself. The point is UT3 is going to be a bad a$$ game. That's the point...

  • Xaovagon

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 3:55 am PT

    @gurjinder11

    Sorryz to havez myz ownz opionionz about da gamez

  • Hector_01

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 11:55 pm PT

    @Taegre Why would you say that lol. I was just stating my opinion. I dont really care about what happens in the end cause i am a pc user and the main reason why i posted something was when some guy said pc hardware is inferior to consoles which we all know is a load of crap. I just cant see any justification as to why mgs 4 would take up nearly 50 gb. Thats alot lol. I have finished all the mgs games and i loved every one of them. So its not as though i dont like the games. But i think people are overeacting about the size problem of xbox 360 dvds. I honestly dont think its gonna be that big of a deal.

  • sidious

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 9:07 pm PT

    @Slakar

    You have some valid points about the size of the game, but if they chose to do it, it could be done. As for why they did not port MGS3 to the X-Box, that was clearly because the X-Box was so far behind the PS2 in terms of market share. And the first Metal Gear port to the X-Box didn't sell as well as hoped, mostly because most Metal Gear fans had already played the game on the PS2, again because of the market share lead Sony had in the last generation. Microsoft also suffered last generation with a lack of support from Japanese 3rd party developers/publishers. That problem is quickly becoming a non issue for the X-Box 360. Due to it's success in the current marketplace and the ease of developing for the system, Microsoft has been able to make huge strides in it's relationships with Japanese developers. Capcom, Square-Enix (to a limited but growing degree) and Konami, some of the biggest publishers in Japan, have made several commitments to the X-Box 360, including some exclusives, which didn't happen much in the last generation. And Hideo Kojima himself in an interview stated that he has a few projects in mind for the 360 that are not Metal Gear related. Does that mean his publisher will not chose to port MGS4 to the 360? Nope. But it states that Kojima himself has plans and a desire to work on games for the 360 as well as the PS3.

    And to the market share issue I mentioned above, what was a problem for Microsoft in the last generation is not a problem with the X-Box 360, which has built a strong market share this time around, a share that will only increase thru the holiday season as most journalist and critics seem to agree that the X-Box 360 has the strongest lineup of games for this holiday shopping season. And while the PS3 will only be helped by the release of games like Metal Gear Solid 4, they still are behind in sales to both the Wii and the X-Box 360. And Konami will want to make as much money off of MGS4 as possible. The best way to do this is to port the game to a system with a higher market share.

    And again, please understand me. I'm not saying that it is a fact that MGS4 will come to the X-Box 360. I'm only saying there are signs that say it is a possibility. I don't see why I get attacked for suggesting that something like this could happen. I'm not claiming it as fact. I'm saying it may happen and in some ways it makes sense for it to happen. But Konami, who has the final say, may decide not to go that route, or Sony would throw a ton of money at them to keep them from doing it. But despite those things happening, all I've said is it may happen, and I personally would like to see it happen. That is all.

    @ @ Dan2002sk8er

    As I stated above, Kojima does not hate the X-Box 360. As the other posted pointed out, he did say in an interview that he likes working on the newest hardware, and that is the PS3. But as I stated, in a later interview, he made it clear he has projects on his table that he plans to work on for the X-Box 360. If he hates the X-Box 360, why would he say he wants to and plans to develop/produce games for it???

  • Taegre

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 9:04 pm PT

    hector_01 seems like kind of a f a g g o t

  • gurjinder11

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 8:44 pm PT

    xaogoven ur da biggiest idiot i eva met mgs4 is goin 2 b da greatiest game out 4 this generation n if u dun like it y do u wan it 2 com out 4 xbox 360 n da graphicz r very detaild n konami admitd that he makez da graphicz in high res den reducez them 4 faster loadin tymez if u read through the articles that gamespot posts and metal gear solid has one of the most amazing storylinez ever made next time u wanna trash talk bout a game learn bout it 1st

  • khalid_b

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 3:30 pm PT

    UT3. MGS4, FF 13, KZ 2, White knight Story and a slew of other good games are coming out for the PS3 next year not to mention the ones for this christmas. Face it 360 is the system of NOW, PS3 is the system of the future, ie near futre ie next year. 360 hit its peak with halo 3...sry guys but PS3 for the long term.

  • NibbleZ_Killa

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 1:37 pm PT

    oh will mybe 2008 will be a sick year 4 ps3
    and not 360 wat games r coming 4 that in 2008

  • Xaovagon posted Oct 7, 2007 9:54 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Xaovagon

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 9:54 am PT (hide)

    i hope MGS4 goes to the 360, the PS3 is losing so badly i can't imagine why a big corporation like Konami would want to seriously make it a exclusive, with barely any PS3's even being sold. and it is impossible that MGS4 is gonna take up more than 40 gig IMPOSSIBLE!!!!! the graphics are unbelievably bland, and all the videos PSN released so far didn't impress me one bit, especially the MGS online one. snakes movements are all clunky and i counted 4 soldiers that were shooting their AK's through a wall, MGS4 is stuck in the PS1 and PS2 era's and if it manages to stay a exclusive to the PS3, i would doubt it would even make a 7 out of 10 on any review site.

  • Xaovagon

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 9:32 am PT

    another nail in the PS3's coffin

  • Hector_01

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 6:27 am PT

    Look i wasnt saying that they will deffinetly fit it onto 2 discs but come on lets be realistic. You really think a single game is gonna take up over 40 gig. I find that very unrealistic. No game is that big ffs. Crysis is gonna be huge due to the massivley realistic textures and what not but that is gonna be about 16 gig i heard so i doubt mgs 4 is gonna be 50 gig. Unless mgs 4 will take 400 hours to complete i doubt it will be that big but i have no idea cause i aint making the game its just my opinion.

  • Worsley_ngw

    Posted Oct 7, 2007 2:13 am PT

    Hector you should really read into why they are having problems with some of the games that the 360 has number one they can fit it but it will be compressed so you have to download a majority to the hard drive so it can even run let alone surpass the Blu ray disc storage come on now 50 gigs versus the max of 9 gigs sorry man I don't care how much you compress it you won't be able to fit it on the two discs. One other thing How much did MS lose to there gaming industry because of faulty hardware. Let me give you an estimate 1 billion dollars. Thats alot of money if you ask me. Especially for something that they are going to have to continue to fix. Why do you think they extended the warranty. they were losing customers. This isn't new to them either.

  • Hector_01

    Posted Oct 6, 2007 10:47 pm PT

    Um wtf Dan2002sk8er

    You said that you should gang up on pc users cause pc users have inferior hardware and pay 28 times the price of consoles. You realise that the only reason crysis is on pc is cause no console can run its advanced graphics. The ps3 is like a pc system with a 7800 gtx and average cpu. Which isnt that expensive now. I am gettin so sick and tired of ps3 fanboys sayin how powerful there console is and how much potential it has when the fact is it doesnt.

    8800 gtx destroys the ps3!!!!!!!! Atleast the xbox 360 has a decent graphics chip. And i very much doubt that mgs4 will only just fit on blue ray disc. Unless it has a crap load of pre rendered videos which it wont i am sure they will be able to fit it onto about 2 xbox dvds. And i think the 360 will run mgs4 just as good if not better.

  • j5r5myk

    Posted Oct 6, 2007 8:25 pm PT

    @ Dan2002sk8er

    That's because Gears and Halo are published by MS when Konami publishes MGS4. And I don't think its going fill the entire Blu Ray disc. The can just change the controls and get rid of the six axis, I doubt it'll be that important. Also, when did Kojima ever say he hates MS? He's talked about how he wants it to be on PS3 first because it's the newest hardware, but never that he hates MS.

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