BlackSite online support limited on PS3

BlackSite: Area 51, Midway's upcoming Unreal Engine-powered shooter, is going to have a fairly robust online mode. According to IGN: "With the Xbox 360 version of the game, players will be able to play ranked and unranked matches, and voice support will have constant chatter for teammates while everyone will be able to hear each other if they're close enough, regardless of which team they're on."

Wait, but that's not the case for PS3. Most of these features are being cut for Sony's version. According to a Midway representative: "Basically, the PS3 supports the ability to host, search, and join - that's it. All of the other functionality did not make it to PS3: ranked / leader boards, match making, voice chat, private slots, etc." Essentially, expect a fairly bare-bones online mode for the PS3 version of BlackSite. This seems like a strange omission from Midway, especially considering the robust online features their upcoming Unreal Tournament will have.

[Tommie]

Free online network service rocks -_-'

[sonarus]

lol i would still rather not pay for online and way to go midway. Midway's best game this yr is gonna be on the ps3 unreal tourney black site will suck jst like stranglehold so i honestly could care less. This is undoubtedly due to ps3 unreal engine issues but there are far too many games coming out to even consider black site

[Tommie]

UT III on PS3 is delayed to Q1 2008 as well, PC version this year.

[BloodySinner]

Unreal Tournament III isn't even a Midway game title. It belongs to Epic Games. :-/

[FirstknighT]

Yup, PSN shows his ugly lil face. This is what you get when you have cheap online service. While a prime online service like Xbox Live gives you top notch online gaming.

Virtual Fighter anyone??? :)

[masterg]

What is it you guys don't get.
This has nothing to do with PSN.
This is a company that desperately want to release their game and choose to use the most time on the console with the most users. Simple as that.

[the worst]

xboxlag service suck
anyway

[jackdoe]

It's basically open platform, like PC gaming(though games for windows is an exception), so it is up to the developers to decide whether they want to deliver the experience or not. It has nothing to do with PSN so don't give me that sh!t.

[Proxy]

Computer games have long had the best online features, and for the most part PC's use free online service. :)

[Delive]

When my 360 is not overheating and lagging out of matches. I'll now add Midway to the list with EA and Capcom.

[Game Crazy]

I think that any of us who has tried both Xbox Live and PSN will agree that Xbox Live is superior. As the saying goes. You get what you pay for. As for this game not supporting PSN as much as it does Live. I figure hosting your own server and having such a wide open service would make things expensive and unattractive for a 3rd party developer wanting to enable online play for a PS3 game.

[Bathyj]

Why are you trolling FirstKnight.

Shouldn't you be jerkin off to Lago 3 with the rest of your class.

I dont know how people who put up with Lag and pay for it can knock a service with decicated servers thats free.

You're not allowed to complain about a free lunch you dumb fuk.

[peksi]

Makes you wonder why the hell they even bothered to make the PS3 version? So much wasted work thrown outta window there.

Making a crippled version to a system just sounds like bad business to me.

[marinelife9]

Enjoy paying $250 over the next five years so you can talk to your friends online in one game.

[marinelife9]

I don't understand why Midway did this. Most 360 fans are still going to be playing Halo they're not going to stop playing it to start playing what looks to be an average game at best.

[Watkins]

Oh, so you get what you pay for, as you say? Well then the xbox360 is far inferior to the PS3 as well, right? Sigh ..

[wageslave]

@sonarus.

No, this would have nothing to do with the rendering and physics engine.

What this probably has to do is the underlying PSN and memory issues in the PS3.

in order to have cross-game chat, or matchmaking, you have to load libraries into the game. Those libraries take up memory.

The Sony libraries are massive compared to the Xbox 360 version. After they loaded all the supporting-libraries into memory, perhaps the ran out of memory resources?

See these articles, talk all about it:
http://www.innerbits.com/bl...
http://ozymandias.com/archi...
http://www.innerbits.com/bl...

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Just a flame post. This isn't a system seller anyway.

While that's true, the PS3 is getting hammered in sales anyway. So It's not like I can defend that. Just hope it does better with the price cuts.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

System seller or not ps3 needs every game it can get. Especially, third-party games.

[blusoops]

most of those functions I can get with Warhawk...so midway isn't making any sense!

[actionjackson]

Exactly. Someone send these people the code to Resistance:Fall of Man and Warhawk. They seriously left this stuff out? I'm baffled.

[SmokeyMcBear]

well whats the point if everyone is playing halo3?

[FirstknighT]

The point is that this is just ANOTHER mutliplatform game better on the 360.

[THC CELL]

keep it i will enjoy haze and better games like mgs online etc

and a better service Home

[darx]

So far from what I've seen, haven't played of course, looks L-A-M-E!

[WilliamRLBaker]

wait home? its better? lol you mean that crap for 2nd life clone? lol

Haze you mean the game that will get mediocre scores and sales on ps3 and will thus be released on 360 in a better form?

[wwwkilla]

I will not be buying this game because not being able to talk that just sucks after i bought fear and it was not headset use on online play i told my self that i will not go thur that because i have a clan and when we don't take the game seems boring

[Proxy]

Another title for my must-pass list.

[happygamer]

whats up with the lame system seller comments lately not one system sells systems. a game will help the choice for the system but other games also matter.

yeah multi plat games are better on 360 so far. imo exclusives are just a little bit better on ps3 JUST A LITTLE imo

[wageslave]

"imo exclusives are just a little bit better on ps3 JUST A LITTLE imo "

If "IMO" doesnt mean you are entitled to your own set of facts. Even a cursory glance at metacritic you learn that is total BS.

Will you Sony fans say _ANYTHING_ to apologize for the drivel being shipped onto the PS3?

Goto Metacritic and look at the scores for exclusive Xbox 360 games -- and then look at the exclusive PS3 games.

You're opinion is wrong.

[wwwkilla]

WARHAwk i can get all these things with this game

warhawk there is an update soon to so look out for it

[Awesomeo3000]

too bad nobody will really play this game cause there are so many other shooters this game had its chance over the summer to sell some but yea this game will be gay

[wwwkilla]

we have the best multi player game right now is on the ps3 that is warhawk

[TheExecutive]

and anyone with a ps3 knows this... there really is nothing to match Warhawk. This game looks pretty generic anyway, it was already on my must-pass list.

[Kleptic]

agreed...only upcoming game that has a chance of competing with Warhawk for best online is UT3...only because of its crazy mod support...

Blacksite has always looked like a poorly done version of CoD 4...while I agree with some that this officially makes the PS3 version much weaker than the 360...it doesn't appear that anyone should have any reason whatsoever to care...

more is not always better...the people making a big deal out of news like this are the people making a big deal out of VF5 for the 360...the PS3 already had a better fighting game anyway (T5 DR)...and Tekken 6 will utterly wreck VF5 completely...

[wageslave]

Well the gameing industry disagrees with you three PS3-circle-jerkers.

Both Gears of War and Halo 3 have better metacritic scores, have vastly greater sales, and piles more people play.

So, gamers think you are wrong, and the game journalists think you are wrong.

You three are living in a dream world.

[Meus Renaissance]

Shame for them that Assassins Creed, UT3, Resistance, Ratchet, Uncharted, Halo, Mass Effect and Call Of Duty 4 and Haze will be higher on the list for gamers than this game.

So I dont think many PS3 owners will be having a hard time sleeping tonight over this news. I mean, does anyone predict a "OMG, BLACKSITE..NOOO" threads on PlayStation forums?

Nope

[RelloC]

demo was cool and all, but what the hell were they thinking with this release window??? How are you going to put this FPS up against the likes of CoD4 and Halo???? Who the hell decided that was a good thing?

[harpua]

so all the lame multi-plat games are better on the 360?

[Premonition]

Wow and sony was the first people to even try to introduce this game when they posted a teaser for this back in like early summer, Im pretty sure these guys are getting e-mails left and right, I dont undestand how other games on PS3 1st and 3rd party can have ranked unranked and voice but this game cant, either this is fake news or Midway is a bunch of idiots just trying to stir trouble up.

[wageslave]

"either this is fake news or Midway is a bunch of idiots just trying to stir trouble up"

How can someone say something so monumentally stupid and get 5 Agrees and 0 Disagrees?

What is wrong with you people? Did you RTFA? It is *Midway* confirming this. So, no, its not "fake news".

And, why on the fcuking earth would Midway spend money making a game only to PURPOSELY try and "stir up trouble"?

For some reason, implementing these features were seen as a budget issue (everything is a budget issue).

Clearly, Midway ran into the same PS3 development issues as the dozen other studios saying the same thing; That the PS3 is designed poorly and the development environment sucks.

Are you people going to blame this on being "LAZY or STUPID" *AGAIN*?!

Of all the website forums I've ever encountered, Ive never seen a collection of more intellectually dishonest fools.

You people must all be 11 years old and/or retarded. BlackSite: Area 51 shipping half-assed to the PS3 is *NOT* a unique experience, what do you think the problem is? EVERY developer studio on earth or the PS3?

Use your heads.

[sheng long]

the question is, just how good is the MP here? The darkness offered fun single player but the MP was just plain bad! this game might be worthy of a rental. I can't see myself putting alot of time into the MP for this game when i could be playing Gears, warhawk, COD4,HALO3, HAZE, Resistance, Team Fortress, ETC..

[jackdoe]

That is a lame move. Why make an unappealing game even more unappealing to PS3 owners? I hope this game sells like crap on the PS3 because of the lack of features, and sells like crap on the 360 because of their dumbass comments like Halo 3 will actually make our game sell better.

[Danman35]

Please STFU idiot.

[Ri0tSquad]

which will equal poor sales with the 360 version and even worse with PS3 one because of the limited online support.

[marcindpol]

fcuk that game!!!
will not ever buy any multiformat game except PES2008!

[RelloC]

you are saying you will not buy Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty 4, GTA IV, or any of the tons of other multiformat games?? You f'n tool.

[achira]

there are enough other games to play.

[antoinetm]

... And thats how you shoot yourself in the foot.

GG see u on Ps3... NOT

[Zhuk]

Only Xbox 360 gives developers the power they need to create AAA online experiences with Xbox Live the worlds best online console gaming service.

The PSN will always be garbage in comparison to LIVE which provides gamers with the superior online experience that gamers want. Sony only shortchanges gamers with a bare bones online service that is in inferior in quality and content. It really shows you have to pay for quality when you compare these two services.

[jackdoe]

Doesn't really give them power, more like force feed it down their throats and make it a requirement in order to release it on the 360.

[stevenhiggster]

I'm realy startin to hate al you console gamers, (especially Xbox fanboys). You go on like xbox live is the best thing since sliced bread, trust me, its not. I've been a pc gamer for years and we've been playing online games since you were wearin nappies, and guess what, i've never paid for any stupid service, so straight away xbox live loses to psn, but they both lose to the mighty PC, anyway both your consoles will be overshadowed by pc's both are pretty much outdated tech by pc terms already!

[wageslave]

"xbox live is the best thing since sliced bread, trust me, its not."

Yes, it is. Do you have cross-game friends? Game invites? messaging, gamerscore, truranking?

"and I never paid for it"

Who do you think was paying for those dedicated servers? If the studio paid for them, you werent gauranteed they'd stay running. If a game sold poorly, the server support disappears. Further, Private Parties -- clans -- were paying for the machines, just because you didnt pay for it, doesnt mean its free.

Further, have you ever paid for a MMO? Xbox LIVE costs ~$3.30 a month. Thats less than virtually any MMO online. But in this case, you get online service (and all the Community Services) for every single game on your machine.

Stop blowing smoke, LIVE service is the best Social Gaming network ever built -- and their is no honest observer who could even approach an argument otherwise.

I'm more than happy to pay less than a fcuking starbucks coffee to use it per every month.

[Bazookajoe_83]

It´s not like it´s a problem adding those features. Wierd.. But this game doesnt look like it´s worth getting, atleast not from the demo..

[jackdoe]

I played the demo on the 360. Didn't really like it. If I want to kill aliens, I want to do it in style with a bright green, bright orange, or dark brown power suit. Not in camo.

[THC CELL]

if i want to kill aliens i will by a better game half life or Halo 3

Dont say this game will top them

Better yet i will wait for unreal

this game blows

[Chris_GTR1]

i think this game has been under everyones radar. it looks good

[games4fun]

you have one of the worst taste in games hell you though uncharted looks worse lol

[ThisIsWaiting]

on XBL, and I liked the 'original' Area51's multiplayer on the Xbox.

It was fast paced, similiar to UC.

I'll be picking this one up for my 360.

[nevelo07]

i probely would care if it wasent for all those other games that are coming out thats gone be better than this anyway, and for the record xbots its not because psn has issues or cause its free the devs did this so lets not act like its from a console point of view

[THC CELL]

its a game that is not going to be used for MP

Least we have haze and unreal and metal ger to play
and a better quality of Call of duty

this game is no where near my wish list

keep it xbox

[DeZimatoR]

Man is midway on crack?

They come out to say it like its the most antural thing in the world! No voice chat?!

Come on now, wtf?!

I wasn't gonna buy this anyways, but I think they just shaftedt heir PS3 sales altogether with this statements.

[jackdoe]

Midway is on crack. They thought Stranglehold would be one of the biggest selling games this fall. Look at how that turned out...

[AnalFace]

The first game sucked, i couldnt give a sh*t about the second :))))

[Chris_GTR1]

soo true., just like killzone 2 huh.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well that sucks for PS3 owners. I am definitely curious why they have chose no to include these features. My first thought is... Midway just didnt want to pony up the cash for developing up the service to the full extent on PS3. Remember...they need to pay for the servers, etc. when it comes to PS3 games. It's the only thing that makes sense...given we all know the PS3 can do these things.

I also have to laugh at the amount of haters now on this site. Suddenly a game that everyone was saying looked really good and promising is now a "crappy compared to others" and a "I never wanted to play it anyway" game for the PS3.

Anyway...this is a shame for PS3 owners I have a feeling you will be missing out on a good game if you choose to pass just off of this.

[Premonition]

I agree with you on some parts but dont force people to believe this game will be a great game to pass up or that it will make PS3 owners feel like we will miss out on something great, when fact is and many will agree minus the haters, know that there are better games worth spending 60 dollars on.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Oh with out a doubt I think there are better games from what I can tell. I mean who really knows how good this game will be. It could be really good...it could blow completely. But from what I recall the first one was an average shooter..not great but not bad. I played the demo on this and I liked it quite a bit. Is it a Halo3 killer or a COD4 killer. No. Could it be better than Haze? Maybe...don't really know how either game really is going to be until they launch.

I just found it funny how so many suddenly were saying they were "never" interested, etc. I have no problem with someone saying "I am not getting this game now because it doesn't have online or it doesn't interest me know that the online is gimped". Those are legit reasons...but months back ....MANY, MANY people on this board sang its praises when the demo came out and all the screenshots,etc. were starting to hit.

[Bazookajoe_83]

You know it´s not worth getting, u cant deny that there´s nothing special about this game. Or am i wrong?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Yeah I played the demo, and I personally liked it...it was too short imo to get a really good feel for the game but it wasnt bad by any stretch. Graphics were really good, sounds were great...honestly the demo was solid enough.

BUT... as you said...and I did too...this game so far doesnt really standout. I do think there are other games on the horrizon that have my attention more than this game but its not at the bottom of my list either. This is more of a "wait and read reviews and/or rent it first" kind of game.