E3 2011: DUST 514 is a PS3 exclusive, to be released spring 2012 [Updated]

@Skyydragonn

It's been known since the game was announced that it would be console-only. What pisses me off is the PS3 exclusivity. Not for my sake - I have every console - but a good friend of mine has been looking forward to this game since 2009 and just recently bought a 360, partly justifying the expense to herself because she knew Dust was still in the works.

Hard to say who's to blame though. It might've been CCP's call from the get-go but even if it wasn't Microsoft doesn't exactly have a track record for letting MMOs be released on 360.

@Eamil

That, and the differences between online structure.
Xbox 360: You have to pay monthly to access any online features for the most part, only some basic things are available to silver members.
PS3: Free online completely.

If they are thinking about having some monthly pricing attached to Dust 514, they'd want to avoid going with Microsoft because then players would have to pay for gold to play online, while paying them to play the game.

@DevilSei

Not to be argumentative but two things to point out:

1. FF11, the only exception to Microsoft's MMO embargo as far as I'm aware, can be played without a gold subscription.

2. Dust is going to be a microtransaction-supported game. (I would say "free-to-play" but I don't remember hearing whether there would be an initial purchase or not.)

@Eamil Final Fantasy XI was an experiment for Xbox Live, made when the service was young and before the policies were ironed out (and when Microsoft was trying to smoother SE to bring the FF franchise to the 360), and that's why it will remain an unique exception.

The current microsoft policies are simple (despite what some quite ignorant fanboys like sortious say down under) and completely iron clad:

1: The network's structure is closed. Everything is handled by microsoft
2: No cross-platform play is allowed
3: All billing and patching is handled by microsoft or trough microsoft

The result is that besides the Final fantasy XI exception no MMORPG will ever be on Xbox 360 unless it's specific for the platform and published by Microsoft themselves or unless the policies change radically. The rules are simply too draconian for any third party company to handle aprofitable MMO business on the platform and keep a decent efficence and patching pace.

That's why every single MMORPG project on the 360 fell through and disappeared.

I find it absolutely laughable that some people would think that so many MMORPG developers, so starved to grab every audience they could (since population is always the biggest problems), would decide on their own accord to randomly give up a fanbase as big as the 360 one, with such an ease of porting from PC.
All those MMORPGs don't reach the 360 simply because they can't.

And microsoft doesn't really care, their conference was a pretty clear signal that MMORPGs aren't even near their focus, kinect is their focus, and that's a sad reality.

@Abriael

I'm pretty sure there is cross platform play on the Xbox 360. Microsoft just wants to force GFWL on everything on the PC in order to use it.

@drunkenpandaren nope. There's no cross platform with GFWL. Only achievements are cross platform.
Gameplay was considered at the beginning of the platform, but the idea was discarded.

@HokieKC Microsoft and Sony aren't going to let people play together on their networks.

@oddshrub

They can with Final Fantasy 11 though, don't they?

@Vorender Agreed. I'm not sure i'll ever understand why developers keep insisting on something being "exclusive" on a single platform, especially one that is completely different from your current projects.

@PrimeSynergy oops. my way OR the highway

@PrimeSynergy

Agree 100%. I don't even think you can have > 24 players on 360.

@PrimeSynergy

This is 100% right.

Microsofts pipeline, post ship for development policies on patches and updates are rife with limitations and big FU's to developers. Even worse, some of the challenges pose really specific problems towards unreal games which CCP is using to make Dust (you can't change the exe at all, all the changes and fixes then have to be done through script changes only, and involve lots of hacky types of dirty things if you want to actually change or fix things after you ship).

Sony, while still dificult to do, is much easier than Microsoft, and you can patch and change anything similar to the way you would a PC game.

CCP, unfortunately doesn't have the clout in the console world to swing microsoft policies to take any risk, and give them any big waivers on some of these key policies they have in place. So i'm sure CCP had very few choices but to make it a PS3 only deal.

The good news is, if its console specific only, the development team can take advantage of the PS3's architecture a whole lot more with unreal than they could if they had to develop it for both. I'm at least excited about it for that. Besides, I suspect after 6 months to a year, Dust will ship on the PC as well, and thats were the game will grow and eventually become what CCP envisions it to be. For now, they want to ship a console game, and i'm excited their going for a new market and are trying something new.

Your point on cross platform is right as well. Theirs no way a game will ever be cross platform the same way Pepsi and Coke are not going to get in bed together and make a super cola.