Remember when buying a console game meant living with whatever bugs and gameplay glitches got inadvertently shipped with the game? Well, the folks at Epic want you to forget all about those days with a patch for the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament coming down the PSN pike on March 27.

The fixes included in the free, downloadable patch include support for character mods, an easier method for downloading mods from the web browser, and basically a lot of other stuff related to mods (in addition to some other incidental tech fixes). The patch will also bring the European and U.S. editions of the game into alignment, allowing for online matches across the Atlantic. A nice feature, but we hope all that data going across the transatlantic cables doesn't cause too much lag.

Check out the full list of bug fixes after the break.

Having tired of rubbing actual elbows with fellow teammates, Epic Games' always verbose VP Mark Rein has confessed that he and his squad of developers have "pretty much run out of space" in the company's North Carolina base of operations, and that plans are well underway for an expansion to "at least" double the facility's current size. According to a report by North Carolina's News Observer, the devs coughed up a cool $1.57 million for the new office space, which will be positioned on a five-acre lot adjacent to Epic's current 31,000-square foot HQ.

Headcount at Epic currently stands at 94, with current growth of around one new employee a month expected to continue for the next couple of years. So with all of this added space, will the developers get to spread out, and maybe quit knocking over each others' Mt. Dew as they reach for their mouse? Unlikely, as the report notes that the new facility will instead be largely used to house the numerous play testers that visit Epic, rather than have to rent out space down the street. We understand the need completely, though until the devs get additional space of their own we'd suggest judicious application of lids.

Though the distinct lack of dynastically-inclined warriors may convince you otherwise, futuristic racer Fatal Inertia is indeed a product of Koei. The first game from the company's Toronto-based studio has now been assigned a release date on half of its originally intended platforms, with the Xbox 360 version arriving on 11 September 2007. The PS3 version, unfortunately, received no such date and has been "delayed indefinitely."

The game's unfortunate status, as conveyed to Joystiq by a Koei representative, is as a result of developers awaiting completion of the game engine for the PS3 platform specifically. Fatal Inertia is built using Epic's Unreal 3.0 engine, which debuted on Xbox 360 last year in testosterone vs. chainsaw epic, Gears of War, and was more recently seen on PS3 with Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. Koei explained that the game had not been canceled outright, but offered that progress on the PS3 engine was "out of our hands."

We next talked to Epic's VP Mark Rein, who thought that the Unreal 3.0 engine was incomplete only in the sense that it's constantly being upgraded. "Unreal Engine 3.0 is running quite well on PS3 and people will have the chance to see that when we show Unreal Tournament 3 next week."

It seems that Epic's Mark Rein is finally being affected by the unrelenting repetition of being asked about a PC version of Gears of War every time he agrees to be interviewed. Having given up on traditional non-denials, an interview with Team Xbox has Mr. Rein taking one step forward and admitting that the testosterone epic will "eventually" be ported to PC.

"Yeah, eventually...I don't think that's any great secret that we would like to do it on PC, but for now it's a 360 game. Eventually we'll get around to a PC version. I just don't know when." Mark explains that the "when" will be largely dependent on how long it takes for the market to have enough PCs capable of playing the reconfigured game and thus be economically viable. However, with Unreal Tournament 3 scheduled for release this year, aren't we at that point already?

Perhaps we should stick to our current strategy -- ask Mark about Gears of War on PC until he screams in agony and orders a team to just port the game already.

[Thanks, Jonah]

Speaking with CVG, Unreal Tournament 3 producer Jeff Morris detailed Epic's goal to ship its forthcoming shooter with 30 to 40 multiplayer maps. "[That's] substantially more than other games in the genre," observed Morris; indeed, but not necessarily enough to make UT3 a genre standout. The franchise has yet to take hold on console platforms.

Perhaps, as Morris suggests, Epic would boost UT3's console presence by offering exclusive content for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 through post-release updates. While certainly a bonus, offering platform-exclusive content is becoming standard practice. Where UT3 could really shine is through user mod support. If epic could coerce Sony and particularly Microsoft into opening their consoles up to user-created content it would put UT3 into a unique class of console FPS unto itself.

An erroneous Midway fact sheet has stirred up confusion over Unreal Tournament 3's release, listing the shooter's arrival on Xbox 360 and PC as Q4 2007, and on PlayStation 3 as 2008. CVG has since confirmed with Midway that UT3 is tentatively scheduled for Q4 2007 on all platforms, quickly deading rumor of a PS3 delay.

Last week, in an interview with Game Informer, Rein called UT3 the developer's "showcase title" and "poster child for PS3," concluding "we just want to focus on UT3 on PS3 to start." Today Rein chimed in on the Epic forums about UT3's release date:

"Epic (who makes this decision, NOT Midway) have absolutely NOT decided whether the SKUs for this product will be released simultaneously or in staggered order and we have absolutely NOT decided (because we don't know yet) when any of them will be released. If our publisher [distributed] information contrary to this they did so in error."

See also:

• Unreal Tournament 2007 renamed, confirmed for 360
• Epic aims for Unreal Tournament user mods on PS3, 360

Unreal Tournament 3 producer Jeff Morris joked about the fate of his colleagues at Epic in an interview, saying that "the shoe has turned" when it comes to their current development cycle. The house that Unreal built has been hammering away at their foundation, cranking out Unreal titles since the series' conception in 1998, up until the release of Gears of War this past year. Could Marcus and company squeeze blood from stone the same way Mega Man has all these years?

"It's funny because I think Gears started after a lot of people were a little fatigued working on UT, and now they're all probably making Gears for the rest of their lives," said Morris, reflecting on the massive success of Gears.

He goes on to state that once again, no sequel has officially been announced, though we'd bet our precious thumbs that we'll be hearing of one down the road. We'll also be sure to put our acting chops to the test and look surprised when Gears turns into a trilogy.

Speaking to Game Informer, Epic's Mark Rein sounded confident that user-created content would be distributed to Unreal Tournament 3 console players via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Rein explained that the reason for delaying confirmation of UT3 on 360 was tied to this issue, as Epic was unsure that Microsoft's strict certification process would allow for user mods on the console. Rein admitted that "it's still a bit of an open issue," but added that "we've had some pretty clear indications that we'll be able to [bring mods to Xbox 360]."

It's unclear how mods would be created and distributed for console use. On Xbox 360, given potential leverage earned by Gears of War's success, perhaps Epic could smuggle mods through XNA. More likely, Epic would convert select user-created mods for the PC version and distribute them via Xbox Live Marketplace (as a courtesy, we would hope). On PS3, there seem to be more "open" possibilities, but the process could be equally simplified.

[Via 1UP]

Ludicrous gibs news now, with Midway announcing that Unreal Tournament 2007 will be arriving on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 (Gasp!) in the second half of 2007. The furious first-person fragger will also see its name changed to Unreal Tournament 3, no doubt in reference to Unreal Engine 3 powering the lusciously rendered proceedings. Of course, this requires you to erase one of the previous titles from your memory, lest Unreal Tournament 3 becomes the fourth game in the series.

Epic Games promises to tweak online modes to best suit each platform and will include a substantial single-player component to match the multiplayer mayhem. In addition, owners of the PC version will be able to design their own levels and game modes, thanks to the accompanying Unreal Engine Toolset. Best get upgrading then, creative types!

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

See also: Square Enix licenses Unreal Engine 3