Sony Licenses Unreal Engine 3

[bapenguin]

Today Sony Online Entertainment sent out a press release announcing the licensing of the Unreal 3 Engine for use in PC and Next-Gen console games.

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a global leader in the online games industry, today announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games to use their Unreal® Engine 3 technology for the development of content for some next-generation console and PC-based games. SOE will utilize this technology for a number of future projects, including the DC Comics-based game currently under development at SOE-Austin.

Full press release Inside.

Good news for Sony and Epic! Everything we've seen so far from the U3 engine has been gorgeous.

[bapenguin]

SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT LICENSES UNREAL® ENGINE 3

Epics Next-Gen 3D Engine to Power Several of SOEs Next-Gen Online Games

SAN DIEGO, CA July 20, 2006 Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a global leader in the online games industry, today announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games to use their Unreal® Engine 3 technology for the development of content for some next-generation console and PC-based games. SOE will utilize this technology for a number of future projects, including the DC Comics-based game currently under development at SOE-Austin.

Our development teams are very excited about harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 3, said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. The combination of a top-notch graphics engine and a robust set of design tools will enable our teams to deliver incredible and innovative game content for next-generation consoles and the PC.

This agreement allows Epic Games to include another impressive name to an already extraordinary list of licensing partners.

Sony Online Entertainment has a reputation for delivering detailed, truly engaging, interactive online worlds said Mark Rein, Vice President, Epic Games, Inc. It is a great privilege for us that theyre using Unreal Engine 3 to help create their next generation projects.

[dena miscreant]

Sounds good! I wonder what that DC game will look like.

[tombofsoldier]

So, good Sony news has been reduced to announcing that Sony has bought something that a ton of other game developers already have? Quite frankly EQ2s graphics engine was great, and Sony managed to screw that up so this is no guarantee.

[Zanzibar]

Hmm. The news here is that it's Sony's ONLINE group that is licensing this. I can't wait to see an MMO run this engine. /drool

[Lord Nerdious]

Good news for Sony? Time to pull out the old tinfoil hat and head down to the bomb shelter, just in case.

[absolut taco]

They will probably make shit-ugly X360 versions of the games, just so they can say "look how good it looks on the PS3".

[thecrazyd]

And the player bias on this site shines unabated! (not talking about you bap)

[Dabombpizza]

I think you're dealing with people who used to be sony fans who are more than a little bitter with their recent moves in the gamer world.

Hey, let's go buy a PSP and some UMDs!

[Animated X]

I am really looking forward to some non FPS games using this powerful a graphical engine...RPG's, and maybe a new generation of Fighting Games? Or are they all but dead, and its just wishfull thinking?

[CannibalKid]

Hmm... Lineage 2 used the UE2 engine, and it worked out pretty well for them. I suspect there may be issues with people hacking the clients, as people who buy UT2007 will have access to the mod tools, and there are a ton of people who are familiar with the UE scripting language.

Since i believe this DC game is now the 3rd UE liscensed MMO (and from the release, it sounds like it won't be SOEs only MMO, perhaps multiple game liscense of some sort) there will probably be more. I wonder if Epic will consider building on MMO backend technology for either a future release of UE3, or UE4.

[Mike Jones]

Originally Posted by bapenguin

Good news for Sony and Epic! Everything we've seen so far from the U3 engine has been gorgeous.

Unless you give it to Namco

[DaedalusFolly]

I could have sworn this was announced months (a year?) ago... am I thinking of Source?

[thecrazyd]

Originally Posted by Dabombpizza

I think you're dealing with people who used to be sony fans who are more than a little bitter with their recent moves in the gamer world.

Hey, let's go buy a PSP and some UMDs!

Oh, so you mean idiotic trolls. Right.

[Kamalot]

Originally Posted by thecrazyd

Oh, so you mean idiotic trolls. Right.

Are you saying that Sony fans who don't like the direction of the PS3 and PSP automatically become idiotic trolls?

I beg to differ. Any gamer that blindly follows Sony's direction AWAY from being focused on gaming is a blind, idiotic, corporate-tool.

[thecrazyd]

Originally Posted by Kamalot

Are you saying that Sony fans who don't like the direction of the PS3 and PSP automatically become idiotic trolls?

I beg to differ. Any gamer that blindly follows Sony's direction AWAY from being focused on gaming is a blind, idiotic, corporate-tool.

No, I mean that MS fanboys that don't like the direction of the PS3 and PSP and bring it up in topics that, yes, mention Sony, but have nothing to do with the direction of the PS3 or the PSP. Like this one.

[Kamalot]

Originally Posted by thecrazyd

No, I mean that MS fanboys that don't like the direction of the PS3 and PSP and bring it up in topics that, yes, mention Sony, but have nothing to do with the direction of the PS3 or the PSP. Like this one.

You must be commenting on the wrong thread. The original message you quoted said:

I think you're dealing with people who used to be sony fans who are more than a little bitter with their recent moves in the gamer world.

It sounds like you are talking about Xbox fanboys, not the disgruntled Sony fans that were actually mentioned.

[Sl1pstream]

I expect Mark Rein to call the PS3 controlller the best controller ever.

[Kamalot]

Originally Posted by bapenguin

Everything we've seen so far from the U3 engine has been gorgeous.

Fatal Inertia looks fairly assy, like an original Xbox game.

[digitalErich]

The DC game is likely the previously announced DC based MMO...and I thought that game was PC only. Even as a huge comic book fan, I'm not looking forward to this. SOE managed to squander the Star Wars lincense, I'm sure they'll do the same with DC.