Crysis coming to next-gen consoles?

What we heard: Of all the games at the 2006 Game Developers Conference, few caused as much of a stir as Crysis. Visitors to the ATI booth on the floor were wowed by a trailer of the CryEngine 2, the basis of the forthcoming PC game from Electronic Arts and developer Crytek. Sporting volumetric clouds, real-time ambient maps, soft shadows, and visuals with cinematic depth of field and motion blur, the trailer looked even better than Far Cry, Crytek's debut.

Crysis was first announced as an unnamed "exciting new game franchise for the PC based on original intellectual property" by EA and Crytek in July 2004. The game was given its title in January 2006, and every subsequent press release has mentioned it solely as a PC title.

So it was with some excitement, then, that gamers without the several thousand dollars it takes to get a high-end PC setup heard that Crysis will also be coming to next-generation consoles. The rumors stem from a Game Informer preview of the game that outlines its storyline--one that concerns North Korea fighting the US at the beginning of an alien invasion. Right above the title of the game, next to "PC" are the words "PlayStation 3" and "Xbox 360."

Mention of the next-generation consoles is clear evidence Crysis will not just be for the PC, right? Well, not exactly. When contacted by GameSpot, an EA rep said that "Crysis is currently being developed solely as a PC product." Those words were echoed by Crytek president and CEO Cevat Yerli, who said that his company is only working on the PC version.

But just because CryTek isn’t working on a console version of Crysis doesn't mean that Crysis won't make it to console in one form or another. Far Cry publisher Ubisoft developed its console spin-off, Far Cry Instincts, and its sequel, Far Cry Instincts Evolution, internally--meaning EA could be doing the same. And if Crysis is half as good as Far Cry was, EA will almost certainly bring the IP to as many platforms as possible, in one form or another.

As for the question of quality, neither Far Cry Instincts nor its Xbox 360 port, Far Cry Instincts Predator, compare visually to Crysis. But graphics-intensive games that have been developed simultaneously for next-gen consoles and PC--like Unreal Tournament 2007 (PS3) and Elder Scrolls IV (360)--are playing and looking almost identical. Given than the next-gen version of Crysis would come out after the PC game--and after designers have had more experience with next-gen software-developer kits--it could stack up pretty favorably to the original.

Bogus or not bogus?: Officially bogus, but eventually likely.