Mark Rein backs Blu-ray

By Games Industry.biz Published 15 August, 2007

Epic boss likes "legroom".

Epic Games boss Mark Rein has expressed his appreciation for the extra storage space Blu-ray discs offer over standard DVDs, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

He was speaking about upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 shooter Unreal Tournament 3 at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, and warned that "we may have fewer maps on the 360 version ... Blu-ray has definitely given us a lot of legroom".

He went on to add: "If you think down the road - well maybe the next UT beyond this one - on Blu-ray we might fill the whole damn disc with all the cool stuff the mod makers make."

Unreal Tournament 3 will be console exclusive to PS3 this year, with the 360 version to follow in 2008. Sony's system will also let you play using a keyboard and mouse.

Epic's other big game to date was the 360-exclusive Gears of War, which sold bucket loads and was really rather a lot of fun.

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Comments (67) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mkreku #1 5 years ago

    Yeah, the Blu-Ray is a nice piece of technology.. Too bad the rest of the PS3 seems a bit harder to handle.

  • Psychotext #2 5 years ago

    Don't care... PC version or nothing thanks. Pointless playing a twitch FPS like UT on a console because they've slowed it down.

  • Rodney #3 5 years ago

    but I bought an xbox 360 with a smaller media capacity. This has like totally undermined what I thought was a good choice.
    I may as well chuck the thing away.

    PS3 owns

    fuck.

  • Rash' #4 5 years ago

    And so begins another pointless thread into the benefits of Blu-Ray... What ingenious theory will the cynics present this time? God, why don't they just inform themselves if they want to back up their point

  • bengray66 #5 5 years ago

    Blimey a PS3 game coming out this year....... Allegedly.

    I have a 360, but i agree about the Blu Ray Disc. Why can't Microsoft just admit they got it a bit wrong and chuck a HD-DVD drive in or something to give developers more "leg" room?

  • reddevil93 #6 5 years ago

    So Gears of War 2 exclusive to PS3 then ;)

  • urban #7 5 years ago

    it's good to see them being nice to both parties. they're playing it smarties.

  • SIDEARM #8 5 years ago

    Non news - Honestly if Bioware can get the vastness of Mass Effect done comfortably on 360 without a next gen DVD solution then we can all rest easy I think.

  • Rash' #9 5 years ago

    Psychotext: I care, mate, this news isn't just about some PC FPS coming to console. In the debate over Blu-Ray I'd say you're con.

  • Steroyd #10 5 years ago

    Rein backed Blu-ray for games back in 2005 this is nothing new.

  • WickedDeeJ #11 5 years ago

    "I have a 360, but i agree about the Blu Ray Disc. Why can't Microsoft just admit they got it a bit wrong and chuck a HD-DVD drive in or something to give developers more "leg" room?"

    Well given that they just spent an obscene amount of money on the warranty I don't think they'd have the excess cash to pull it off. And come on; everyone knows what would happen if they started shipping 360s tomorrow with built-in HD-DVD drives and told the various development studios they could just use that. Everyone from here to New Delhi with an "old" Xbox 360 would be demanding that MS either replace their current console or give them the HD-DVD drive for free. And if MS refused, I think it might leave them open to lawsuits in several countries.

  • Bill_Gates_Bitch #12 5 years ago

    Mark Rein and Phil H are in a gay relationship. That's where these announcements are coming from.

  • Waldo #13 5 years ago

    It might ship with fewer maps, but I'm sure 360 owners will be able to purchase them over XBox Live.

  • The-Bodybuilder #14 5 years ago

    >"and was really rather a lot of fun."

    FLLLLLLLLLAAAAAMMMMMMMEEEEEEE bait.

  • homerramone #15 5 years ago

    "Blu-ray has definitely given us a lot of legroom".
    Legroom to be lazy if you ask me !!!


  • Curion #16 5 years ago

    Now we know why GOW was so short, standard DVD.

  • Psychotext #17 5 years ago

    @Rash - I think blu-ray can be a good thing. I also happen to think that Rein is being his usual self and my point still stands on playing the slowed down version of UT on PS3 or 360... even with a keyboard it's still going to be wrong.

    Besides, if he was going to do this he could easily make it so you could download the extra maps.

  • Hangman #18 5 years ago

    Whatever, trevor.

    if blu ray is soooo fucking great, why aren't there any good games for it yet that take advantage of the storage space. Also, why do Blu Ray based games takes FOREVER to load?

    If Oblivion / BioShock / Mass Effect et al can fit on a single DVD then i can't see why UT3 can't.
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 13:54

  • Rash' #19 5 years ago

    Psychotext: that's mostly Rein ploy; to presure MS to allow mod content on live. Then of course there's the question of price...

  • Arcadiian #20 5 years ago

    @ Rodney.

    You're going to throw your 360 away because the PS3 uses Blu-ray ?

    It begs the question of why you bought your 360 in the first place then. Clearly it wasn't for the games being released on it.

  • drumbaby #21 5 years ago

    We know this already...next.

  • BadBoyBonner #22 5 years ago

    Never mind rattling on about Blu-ray

    Lets have some answers about why the frame rate in half the UE3 engine games is shite.

    Looks at Fatal Inertia and shakes head.

    Puts on Quantum Redshift through emulation - and ponders what could have been.

  • krudster #23 5 years ago

    Err, Mark, just put it on two DVDs.

  • mkreku #24 5 years ago

    I'm too fat and lazy to switch DVD's :(

  • presbyterrorion #25 5 years ago

    "Err, Mark, just put it on two DVDs."

    This man is a f***** genius!

  • Kenshin001 #26 5 years ago

    Blu-ray vindicated! Again!

  • Darren #27 5 years ago

    The extra storage capacity of Blu-ray is clearly a good thing but Xbox 360 developers will have to work around the limitations of DVD, it's as simple as that. Anyone that uses the laziness excuse against BD is just being plain ignorant though because there's only so much that can be done with compression without compromising the game the developer wants to make. Whether the 360's limited DVD format means more multi-disc games, like Blue Dragon, or more in the way of downloadable content remains to be seen but it's something we Xbox 360 owners are going to have to accept.

    The PS3's exclusive games will obviously make use of BD so I'm just glad that I own both it and the 360 so I can experience their best games regardless of what format they're on or how many discs they ship on.

  • Steroyd #28 5 years ago

    It might ship with fewer maps, but I'm sure 360 owners will be able to purchase them over XBox Live.

    Are you sure you want to purchase those maps...

    Err, Mark, just put it on two DVDs.

    /plays online.

    "you have entered a custom game that requires maps 10-20 please put in disc 2".

    Isn't Unreal Tournament just a multiplayer frag fest with "single player" basically just maps with bots in them, i don't know how a multi-disc UTIII would be viable tbh.
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 14:31

  • jack_klugman #29 5 years ago

    Single Player: Disc 1.
    Multiplayer: Disc 2.

    Problem solved. Cheque in the post please.

  • Darren #30 5 years ago

    krudster - "Err, Mark, just put it on two DVDs."

    I presume you're joking... right?

    Unreal Tournament is primarily a multiplayer game with a single player mode that uses many of the same maps so it would not be practical to split the game across two discs... unless you like swapping DVDs in order to access specific maps! Two DVDs are not a problem for PC owners though because the game has to be installed to a hard drive first so at most you only need the boot disc to actually play it.

  • back2funk #31 5 years ago

    @Hangman

    Forever to load?? Seriously? Then why are the load times quicker on Oblivion.
    My guess is that you are talking from the place that you should be sitting on.

    This news is nothing new though, we all know that extra storage space is better as we all wouldn't be striving to find ways of storing more. I can imagine when CD were first used in computing.... 'We don't need that, 1.4 megs is more than enough on my floppy disk'
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 14:38

  • jack_klugman #32 5 years ago

    I was under the impression UT3 was unlike previous iterations in that it had a fully fleshed out single player campaign.

  • zuljin #33 5 years ago

    lol Back2funk
    Reminds me of this quote:

    "640K ( of RAM ) ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981

    :)

  • dr_shambles #34 5 years ago

    @BadBoyBonner

    Completely agree. Fatal Intertia demo is atrocious, with really bad pop-up and sluggish frame rate.

    Stranglehold looks and plays great but the frame rate is choppy and isn't as smooth as it should be.
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 14:43

  • Darren #35 5 years ago

    jack_klugman - "I was under the impression UT3 was unlike previous iterations in that it had a fully fleshed out single player campaign."

    That's right but Unreal Tournament isn't a story-based game so I'd imagine any single player game will follow the structure of the previous one but be more "fleshed out" and rewarding. I'd also expect it to use the same maps as the multiplayer just like the earlier versions. I'm sure if UT3 was possible on multiple discs then the devs would have made use of it... they aren't stupid, you know! LOL

  • Darren #36 5 years ago

    BadBoyBonner - "Never mind rattling on about Blu-ray

    Lets have some answers about why the frame rate in half the UE3 engine games is shite."

    I'd say it's down to lazy/poor developers myself, otherwise all UE3 games would have framerate issues and that's certainly not the case as proven by Rainbow Six Vegas, Stranglehold, Gears of War and BioShock.

  • dom6918 #37 5 years ago

    ............Bioshock however plays stunning, looks stunning, will come on 1 dvd and uses the same UE3 engine. Has 20 hours of gameplay including cutscenes and hours of scripted audio!!!

    Must really hurt Rein that 2k Games Boston (Irrational) can make a better game than epic..with epic's own f****** engine.

  • Darren #38 5 years ago

    BioShock is admittedly excellent (judging by the superb demo) but, who knows, it might have been a 30+ hour game if had been made for Blu-ray? ;)

  • Apostle #39 5 years ago

    PS3 kicks 360's ass. That's what Rein is saying.

  • Arcadiian #40 5 years ago

    @ Apostle.

    Can you play BioShock on PS3 ?

    @ Rodney.

    I had hoped it was sarcasm. o_O
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 15:00

  • Rodney #41 5 years ago

    @ Arcadiian

    Dont worry, Im loving my 360. And I'll love my Ps3 equally when I get round to buying one (probably next year in time for GT5).

    I was just being sarcasting about these types of discussions.

    EG baits the trolls with "news" items like this and the resulting disccusions quickly descends to mindless fanboism.

  • Darren #42 5 years ago

    Apostle - "PS3 kicks 360's ass. That's what Rein is saying."

    Only as far as storage formats go but that's obvious... I don't see him praising the machine's graphics or CPU. So far the PS3 has proven a bit problematic when it comes to the Unreal Engine 3 and that's why so many of its games that use the engine have been delayed. Those that are out now are generally considered inferior to the 360 versions, i.e. Rainbow Six Vegas. ;)

  • Steroyd #43 5 years ago

    Must really hurt Rein that 2k Games Boston (Irrational) can make a better game than epic..with epic's own f****** engine.

    Making a game has nothing to do with the engine that's down with every individual dev house, however if you said Irrational can make a better looking game than Epic that post would make so much more sense.

  • Bonus #44 5 years ago

    @back2funk

    Oblivion loads faster on the PS3 because it installs nearly 5Gb of data onto the hard drive so it doesn't have to go near the Blu-ray again.

  • Steroyd #45 5 years ago

    Then wouldn't that come down to Standard HDD = Good idea.

  • corzair #46 5 years ago

    The blu ray is a is a lazy argument

    Have the core game and core game maps one DVD1
    Have Maps that you can optionionally store to the 360's HDD on DVD2or3 etc

    Get those bigger 120gbHDD from MS would be good too
    And it would be nice is MS could patch/update the 360's sys so that we could store game saves or pehaps just game content on usb hdds or ickle 2gb/4gb flash drives or bigger flash drives

  • SBfistfun #47 5 years ago

    BOOM!

  • JediMasterMalik #48 5 years ago

    Just face it guys, no matter how many games use up more space, or how many devs like it, you will never be convinced.

  • SeesThroughAll #49 5 years ago

    Get those bigger 120gbHDD from MS would be good too
    And it would be nice is MS could patch/update the 360's sys so that we could store game saves or pehaps just game content on usb hdds or ickle 2gb/4gb flash drives or bigger flash drives

    In the meantime, anybody is free to upgrade their PS3 HDD up to 250Gb. Free here means that they can do so without losing the warranty.

  • dom6918 #50 5 years ago

    @Steroyd

    No..Bioshock is a better game..im comparing to Gears Of War and UE3..Graphically, in the audio department etc etc..

    Epic are complaining about the lack of space on a DVD9..im pointing out the fact that 2k Boston dont need bluray and can make the UE3 look better for their game then Epic, who created UE3.

    one more thing..20 hours for a singleplayer FPS game is very long...especially when Half Life 2 was 12 - 14 hours.

    I will be buying a PS3..not for games..but for Bluray, i want to watch The Rock in HD!!

  • Hangman #51 5 years ago

    @ back2funk

    then why does Rainbow Six Vegas have to load at every checkpoint, and Fight Night 3 have lengthy between menu-loads?

    let me guess? 'lazy developers'

    must be a lot of lazy developers out there then...ubisoft, midway and koei i'm lookin' at you!

  • Darren #52 5 years ago

    @dom6918 - According to the OXM360 review, BioShock can be completed in as little as 8 hours but if you take your time with it it'll last upwards of 20. In that respect it isn't any longer than most other FPSs. For all we know, that may well be due to a limitation of the DVD as I said earlier.

    P.S. The Rock on BD looks fantastic! :)
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 16:21

  • dom6918 #53 5 years ago

    Yeah...that and Black hawk Down...

    My argument is..why argue...buy both consoles..people who argue the case in these console wars are doing it to make them feel better about buying a particular console..

    Those who arn't arguing are too busy playing the bloody games to care about which console is better!!

    For me..ill be buying a PS3 to sit alongside my Xbox..i want the best! Ill be buying a new PC next yr too!

    Reason i didnt hold out for a PS3 in the first place..
    1.No Games!
    2.No Rumble!
    3.Too bloody expensive!

    Ill buy one when all 3 of those reasons are exempt..
    I will prob still use the Xbox for most games...and use the PS3 for Singstar (for my gf ;)) and GT5..im not into Japaneese cartoony games..

  • JediMasterMalik #54 5 years ago

    It has games though... all consoles do...

  • Darren #55 5 years ago

    Well due to the fact that I'm buying most multiformat titles for the 360 ('cos they're better!), I'm tending to use my PS3 mostly for playing old PS2 games, Super Stardust HD and watching BD and DVD movies on. I don't regret buying it though, I think it's a great machine, it's just a shame that the games are taking so long to arrive (it's the same on the Wii though). The Xbox 360 is definitely the console to own at the moment though, even more so come next Friday! :)
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 16:25

  • smoothn00dle #56 5 years ago

    The question now is when not if Xbox360 upgrade to next gen disc player. This is tricky with 5 different SKU core(hdmi), Pre(hdmi) and elite. When HD-DVD version hit all 5 different current SKU, their will be 10 different SKU. How do Game Developers program that? HD require? HD-DVD require? What about those 10 million 360 sold last two years? Questions... Qs

  • DanWhitehead #57 5 years ago

    I'd rather play a 10 hour game that's tightly plotted and impeccably paced than play a 30 hour game that's padded out with waffle just because the developers had more space to fill. We don't judge the entertainment value of a book by how many pages it has, or decide a movie is better because it's twice as long as another.

  • wired009 #58 5 years ago

    This reminds me of the debate over the need for a high definition video signal. It boils down to what kind of hardware people own. People without HD televisions will say that HD is not important. Similarly, people who don't own PS3 will say that Blu-Ray is not important. Right now there isn't a big difference in the cross platform games for 360 and PS3 because devs are still getting used to programming for PS3. From what I've heard, it's common for third parties to develop on 360 and port to PS3. In a year or so we will probably start to see bigger differences in the quality and quantity of content that can be provided on Blu-Ray. Another reason I think people aren't so interested in Blu-Ray yet is that as the majority of people have been playing 360 and Wii, they've gotten used to games that are short in length.

  • MarkRein #59 5 years ago

    Folks,

    I posted the following thread on our forum:
    [link url=http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=575669
    ]http://ge arsforums.epicgames.com/showthr...[/link]

    Here's what is said:

    I continue to be disappointed that folks on the internet treat any positive thing we say about one platform as some sort of critique of another platform. We're a multi-platform company folks please come to grips with that. We like the PC. We like the 360. We like the PS3. We like the Macintosh. We like Linux. We will deliver UT3 for all of these platforms and it will rock on every one.

    The simple facts state that the optical disc on the PS3 holds more data than the optical disc on the 360. If we exceed size of the 360s optical disc then we'll have to find alternative ways to get the content to 360 users such as making it downloadable. Adding a second DVD to a game like UT3 would be a challenge because when playing online you might not know exactly what map you're going to be playing next and we have to be able to accommodate users of the core system. So does that mean the disc on the 360 might have a map or two less? Possibly although it is too early to tell for sure. People love Unreal Tournament because we always ship it with tons of great content but that also makes it a bit of a disc hog - in a good way

    Obviously, and as is true with most major games on 360 and PS3, you're going to be putting your hard drive to good use if you want to experience the full richness of content that UT3 will have to offer over the lifetime of the game. the fact that you can do this is a good thing.

    I don't know the exact numbers but I suspect the version of Gears of War that most of our customers play today on their 360s, when you combine the downloadable content with the content on the disc, is larger than what we could fit on the 360's optical disc alone. So clearly there are perfectly good strategies to cope with this situation. We're all very used to downloading extra content for console games and with UT3 there will be lots of it for all supported platforms. In fact the cool thing about our engine is that when you make content for one platform it can run on all of them. If history is any indication, the vast majority of UT3 content won't even come from Epic - it will come from some very brilliant end users with lots of cool and innovative ideas.

    When it comes to user created mods on the 360 - we will work with Microsoft to find a way to support them. We just don't have all the answers today and it isn't our chief priority at this very moment because we already have our hands completely full shipping UT3 on PC and PS3 as well as shipping Gears of War on PC. When we get those out of the way, and get a little time to spend with our friends and families, then we'll get back on this issue and figure it out.

  • Rash' #60 5 years ago

    This interpretation that more space will only equal more quantity in future games is alittle short sighted. Whatever happened to the notion of richer, more vivid worlds?
    Edited by 2 at 15/08/07 @ 17:06

  • Darren #61 5 years ago

    Well that's cleared things up nicely... the Xbox 360 is brilliant and so is the PS3! :)

  • Rash' #62 5 years ago

    What about the wii!

  • Decap #63 5 years ago

    " What about the wii!"

    Well, I normally flush it out.

  • konniehuqfan #64 5 years ago

    more storage space is always good. anyone arguing against this is a muppet.

  • G3org3 #65 5 years ago

    i wonder what its more fanboyish


    supporting a company that puts something that you dont need yet
    or supporting a company that doesnt care what you ll need later

    because disk space will be an issue and if people like xbox fans ruled the world
    we would still play games on cds

    please enter disk NO12 to continue

    Edited by 1 at 16/08/07 @ 15:53

  • Fernando #66 5 years ago

    didnt know markrein read EG, despite the hateful comments towards him,lol

    keep up the good work mark:)

  • Les #67 5 years ago

    "please enter disk NO12 to continue"

    /sigh. I miss you, Monkey Island 2...