PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 gets free DLC – enough to buy the game?
DLC, or downloadable content, can come in all different shapes and sizes. Some is free, some has to be paid for. Some will extend the longevity of the game, while some will simply add five minutes of entertainment. Some even has the capacity to turn a game from a maybe to a must buy. Which is what the new Titan Pack on its way to Unreal Tournament 3 could do.
I’m generally quite wary of DLC, having overriding concerns as to why the content wasn’t in the retail version of the game to begin with. If it’s free then fair enough, you can give it a go and not worry if it turns out to be pointless. But when a company is asking you to shell out your hard-earned, it’s a different matter.
The release of Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned last week saw the stakes raised. Here is a whole new chapter of a game which offers many hours of play, which connects with the original game, and is available for a fraction of the price of a full game. This is despite it offering more game time than many full-priced releases. Mirror’s Edge anyone?
March 5, 2009, will see the release of the Titan Pack for Unreal Tournament 3 on PS3 and PC. This free DLC not only has added content, to my mind, it has the capacity to drive sales of the retail version of the game. UT3 is a game that looked good on paper but that received some less than stellar reviews which could have hindered its sales.
According to Stick Skills, the Titan Pack will add 11 new multiplayer maps, eight popular maps from the bonus pack, and two new game modes. There are also new units included, as well as two new playable characters. It will also add awards in the form of PS3 Trophies and PC Steam Achievements.
First thing’s first, why won’t the Titan Pack be coming to the Xbox 360? Epic Games told Destructoid that the main reason is the file size of the download is too large to be contained within Microsoft’s patch size limit. There’s also the fact that some of the content is already included in the main game, and other new features aren’t supported.
But now he main thrust of this article – the fact that the Titan Pack is probably enough to prompt me to go and buy the full game. In the same way that the free DLC has turned Burnout Paradise into a much more attractive proposition since it was first released, so the Titan Pack is making me think Unreal Tournament 3 may finally be worth opening my wallet for.
This shows the power of good, free DLC. It may cost the developers money to produce, but if it sees sales of the retail version of the game increase, it can be well worth the trouble. There’s also the good press and good feeling it generates amongst those impressed by the add-on. Everyone’s a winner.
Thanks to Royzy for sparking the Twitter conversation which led to this article.
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29 Responses to “PS3 Unreal Tournament 3 gets free DLC – enough to buy the game?”
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February 21st, 2009
Looking forward to this massive update, just wanted to also mention that the Titan Pack will add:
- the highly requested Split screen mode
- Client demo recording
- In-game browser support for downloading MODs directly off EPIC’s site
- Massive Titan *game* (Titan can upgrade to 30ft Behemoth after certain number of kills)
- X-ray field (see everyone through walls), Bioshock-esqe level
Its definitely one of the largest expansions released clocking in at 800mb, and its all for free.
I will try to get you guys an impression of it before it drops.
February 21st, 2009
thats great Dave… no recognition for me for the hundreds of mature conversation… this is fucked up!!
BIAS!!! I CALL BIAS!!!
but… the DLC is enough for me to rent the game… FOR THE TROPHIES!!! har har…
February 21st, 2009
SPLIT SCREEN – ABOUT BLOODY TIME. That in itself is worth it !!!!!!!
The other upgrades sound UNREAL. No pun intended.
February 21st, 2009
No worries Dave!
I am actually quite excited about this, UT3 was one of those oh-so-close purchases for me. Time to check out the bargain sites online.
I think I’ll be buying Burnout:Ultimate Galactic Amazing Edition too.
It is going to be trophies galore.
February 21st, 2009
NOoooooooooooooooooooooo
damn you… but… um.. if you want easy trophies… well.. wait till I pass you in trophies then Ill give you the list…
February 21st, 2009
I bought Noby Noby Boy today just for the trophies really. Only has like 12. Got one left to do, and it is luck one.
February 21st, 2009
remember when kev said the PS3 hardware was crappier than the 360s because it didnt have split screen in Unreal Tournament 3??
the same way he claimed GTA 4 on the PS3 would look worse…
yeah… the good old days…
February 21st, 2009
Remember when kev actually made some sense?
No I don’t either.
February 22nd, 2009
I think the really huge news on this is that it opens split-screen and all kinds of other options up for KZ2. See how it takes for free on a not so well-rated title and then fully support it on a possibly best selling title.
February 22nd, 2009
“overriding concerns as to why the content wasn’t in the retail version of the game to begin with”
while some will try to exploit and take stuff out of original titles, there are just as many others who did as the author here when he states, “…just wanted to also mention…”, meaning they came up with the idea/thought for the extra content after the game was released/complete.
I believe this was the case here, in that the 360 version was released six months after the PS3 version and seven months after the PC version, as the Titan pack includes:
“split-screen support (which 360 already has), maps that are already in the 360 version…”
GTAIV LatD has “more game time than many full-priced releases (10 hrs).”
Uncharted(8 hours), Dead Space (8 hours), Stranglehold (7hours) anyone? So basically more game time than every other game in the action adventure genre (except Saint’s Row) this gen. Not bad.
February 22nd, 2009
umm.. wow your comment is all over the place… har har…
lets not get to caught up with UT 3 DLC… I highly doubt that many people even play it… I dont see it on the top charts of LIVE…
also… doesnt Killzone 2 have split screen online multiplayer?? well it does suck a little… specially if I want to play it with my fwends… but its worth it for no installation… I like me free space…
February 22nd, 2009
I still play it. Great game. It’s biggest proplem is lack of people playing. If I create a server it stays full until i sign it off.
I’m also not sure what Dave or Carl is talking about with bad (low ratings) The game was reviewed very well. It has a 86% metacritic rating (better than Halo Wars), and it’s lowest ratings were from two of the “Official” magazines. Everything other than that was 80% or better.
This is the second free map pack for UT3. The other one came out shortly after the game released.
That’s one thing I can praise about Epic. They know how to support their game!
February 22nd, 2009
I personaly think that the reason it’s not coming to the 360 is because Microsoft wants to charge for it. Another reason could be that Gears trumps this game and they don’t want to mess with that.
February 22nd, 2009
No dwh, KZ2 does not have split screen coop, and from this link it looks like regardless of how popular UT3’s DLC coop becomes on PS3, it will not come to KZ2:
psxextreme.com/ps3-news/4443.html
“not sure what Dave or Carl is talking about with bad (low ratings)”
“Not so well-rated” and “less than stellar” does not equate to “bad” or “low” phranc. KZ2 is likely to edge it out and be a little more popular on PS3.
February 22nd, 2009
CAD, if that was the case then they would have kept the 360 version the same as the PS3 version and charged for the extra content included in a separate download.
February 22nd, 2009
I do remember UT3 getting scores around the 8/10 mark, I don’t know what put me off in the end, it may even of been because I heard not many people play it online. But the modding option is what grabbed my interest in the beginning. Great opportunity for me to try and do some stuff.
February 22nd, 2009
I think CAD’s comment was very sensible actually ..!!
February 22nd, 2009
I agree, it doesn’t make much sense to invest any more resources if it isn’t going to be utilized.
February 22nd, 2009
8 of the 19 maps are already on the 360 version. The 8 extra maps were considered a bonus because they had to wait longer to get their version. IGN gave this game a 9/10. The game is not without it’s issues. There’s no match making so you could end up playing people significantly better than you, but the server list is good so you can make sure your in a low pinged server. Onslaught for ut2004 was more “new user friendly” than warfare.
@CAD
Epic had mentioned the issues they have MS with the charging for content for Gears. Epic believes is should be free but MS wanted to charge. Not sure if this is the case with UT3 though. I was under the impression that it was MS business model to have to release it for free if the competition did so.
February 22nd, 2009
THERES NO REASON TO CHARGE FOR IT!!!
no one plays UT 3 as much as the other games on the consoles… even Gears 2 couldnt dethrone Halo 3 and WaW… UT 3 ISNT EVEN ON THE LIST!!!
on the PS3… lemme see… Killzone 2 coming soon… Resistance 2… LBP… WaW…
see… no need for UT 3… cept for trophies… this game has the same “Quake Enemy Territories” syndrome…
also the single player has no story… just a game with bots… still… TROPHIES!!!
February 22nd, 2009
I think it is safe to say the PC model is slightly different than the home game console model (any company) when it comes to developer/publisher liberties with free dlc ( e.g. PSN Bioshock DLC ). It makes sense that there are more maps and content now that it has been 8 months since the 360 release (considering that release added about the same amount of new content relative to release time delay). The 11 maps and other content here would be considered a bonus because PS3 owners had to wait longer to get a lot of the same content released earlier on 360.
I believe it is the MS business model to release DLC and charge for it if there is a market (or to find out if there is a market), it is a business after all. They also have let a fair amount of DLC out free of charge for varying reasons. I’m not sure, but I believe it costs Microsoft money to distribute DLC over XBL regardless, because they are more vested into it and XBL has more standards. It would probably cost Sony less to do the same, because it is less standardized.
Bottom line, if it is worth it people will pay for it, and both companies have their fair share of free and charged DLC, though one has much more experience in the online arena.
February 22nd, 2009
Sony has a very good reason to release as much free DLC on their console as they can (not to mention do anything else they can): to attract more customers in order to catch up to the competition.
February 22nd, 2009
also if you release too much DLC for free… then later on people wont want to pay for any DLC… which kind of makes sense for MS to charge money for stuff… but I say… give a buncha stuff away for free… so the next time when you charge for it… I dont feel like Im getting ripped off…
February 23rd, 2009
Which is part of the reason why Microsoft still has free DLC and Sony still has DLC you have to pay for.
February 23rd, 2009
what dlc is free on the 360 where you have to pay for on The PS3?
February 23rd, 2009
“Gears trumps this game and they don’t want to mess with that.”…. UT III never had any issues with functioning online.
February 24th, 2009
phranc, the 360 has plenty of free DLC that isn’t even on the PS3 and vice versa, which if you thoroughly enjoy Home and that’s your thing I guess you’re golden. As far as I know (and I’m sure Sony has gained ground since I last went on Live) 360 usually trumps PS3 on game demos on a regular basis, also has free live games (loved Undertow, there was also Carcassonne, I still love Hexic HD -but it was already on the hard drive- I play it on my Zune now, they give different games out at different times), free music videos (used to be Artist of the Month- not sure if it is still around), exclusive DLC game related material (LatD, Fallout 3, etc.), free map packs etc. I’m sure PS3 also has quite a bit of free stuff, but probably still in proportion to the amount of games it has in comparison to the 360.
Here is a list from about the same time I left to come out here (demos, music, videos are not included on this list):
xbox360rally.com/complete-list-of-free-xbox-live-downloads/
February 25th, 2009
I’m sorry, I was lead to believe that the 360 had the exact same thing for free where Sony made you purchase it.
February 25th, 2009
I’ve played both UT3 and Gears online, and in absolutely no way is gears better. In every respect UT3 is a better online game than Gears. Learn some respect. If it wasn’t for the UT franchise, Halo and Gears would not exist.