Epic on the Impending Brimming of DVD

How much Unreal Tournament will the developer be able to squeeze out for the Xbox 360? Mark Rein weighs in.

Two generations ago it was the Nintendo 64 that was caught flatfooted after Nintendo eschewed CDs for cartridges for its then-new machine. This time it's Microsoft that finds itself with a lower-specced storage format, and some are starting to wonder whether the Xbox 360 is going to feel the squeeze.

Evidence that this may be the case came out of Scotland this week where Epic boss Mark Rein hinted that DVD - and by extension the Xbox 360 - might not have what it takes to bring home the full experience of future iterations of Unreal Tournament - the company's breakneck first-person shooter series coming soon to PC and consoles.

Responding to a post-session question from the audience at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, Rein said that "we may have fewer maps on the 360" version of Unreal Tournament 3, according to a report at Xboxer.tv.

"Blu-ray has definitely given us a lot of legroom," he said. "And what's really cool is if you think forward and think about what we've done in the past with UT.

"We had UT 2003 and then we had UT 2004, which was everything in UT 2003 plus a whole bunch of great mod stuff that we went out and purchased from mod makers. If you think down the road, well maybe the next UT beyond this one [Unreal Tournament 3], on Blu-ray disc, we might fill the whole damn disc with all the cool stuff the mod makers make."

This apparent favouritism for the PlayStation 3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 would be in keeping with the way development of the game has gone until now.

Despite Epic reaping massive rewards on Xbox 360 with Microsoft-exclusive shooter Gears of War, Unreal Tournament 3 was first unveiled on Sony's system, and it has recently been confirmed as a timed exclusive on the platform in 2007.

Epic has also spoken favourably about the PlayStation 3 as a vehicle for bringing into the living room the hard work of mod makers who tinker with Unreal Tournament to create new experiences.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo