Is the PC taking another bullet to the chest as a feature that was unique to the platform is now spreading to console?
Epic Games vice president Mark Rein dropped an interesting little bombshell the other day concerning Unreal Tournament 3 and modifications, game reworks - and often labours of love - developed by third-parties and bedroom coders that have kept PC titles alive for years after release.
In an interview with Team Xbox, the ever ebullient developer revealed that third-party UT modifications are not only now possible on console, but that Epic is going to take mods formerly only available on PC versions of Unreal Tournament "and bring them over to PlayStation 3, and help their developers polish them up."
The plan won't be unique to PS3 either, Rein saying on Xbox 360 in connection with UT mods that "we'll be able to do something like that there as well". Mods are the lifeblood of this game, and part of the reason we delayed announcing the 360 is because UT without mods is half a UT.
"The big thing we're excited about bringing to console are mods", he revealed.
It's a unclear at this stage whether mod developers would eventually be able to release console projects direct to download - it's more likely they would have to be passed through Epic first, in the case of a UT mod - but where Epic is treading, others are sure to follow.
There are many developers and games we could pick out the hat as examples, but let's take Valve Software and Half-Life 2, which has a huge, huge PC mod community surrounding it. And we'd be surprised if the developer wasn't looking at some way to get modifications on to Xbox 360 and PS3 to support its sequel.
But should the mod scene launch in earnest on console, would it really have any ramifications for the same on PC?
We can only speculate, but one thing that could well tip the balance is cold, hard cash. While mods for PC games have traditionally been free downloads, potentially third-party coders could suddenly be presented with the opportunity of selling their wares on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. We can't believe the lure would prove anything but irresistible.
It's an interesting development for consoles certainly but on the PC side of the coin it raises concerns for a videogame element that has always been exclusive to the platform.
Would mod developers make the switch? Doomsayers may even declare it's a new nail in the coffin of PC gaming, however it's far too early to even guess which way the wind may blow. Post your thoughts below.
More likely It'll have to pass through Epic screening first. which will spell death for 99% of the mods.
For example, a bunch of people begin making ahigh quality mod, and present it to epic. Epic says they don't like it for Reason X, and the mod makers, no longer able to make money of it, stop making the mod.
And it will never work. if it costs money to download a mod, there will be less people playing them. Why download all the mods for free and play them all when you can only pay for one?. Less people playing = less people on a server. Which means that people will tell everyone it sucks because no one plays it.
And lets not forget most mods add more stuff ot the game that needs more keys. Look at some of the Half life mods. you need like 10 other keys for quite important stuff, and controllers will not be able to handle all these new keys...
Console attempts to copy PC shocker!!! Oh please, they've been doing that for years yet still refuse to have mouse and keyboard support.
As soon as a console ships with a mouse, keyboard and a joypad then PC users can start s**tting themselves, except they won't need to. The xbox360 works nicely with my PC (thanks the Microsoft obviously) and the day they release a console with mouse & keyboard, it will more than likely be a PC in it's future guise anyway. Hell, they my PC and 360 share the same monitor so I can play games at HDTV resolutions.
Consoles though will always have control over anything created by the public via licensing, something that the PC community doesn't need to worry about.
Seriously, some of the stories you get on this (and related sites) are on the same level as 'Freddy Star ate my Hamster' except the standards of journalism are higher in the Sunday Spurt...
What was the last one, something about a kick in the nuts for the PC as ET:QW was going to appear on consoles? Surely that's a story that deserves a positive headline as it allows more people to play, what could be, the greatest game of this year?
Now, as for nails in coffins, you should be concentrating more on your credibility as a source of news and reviews in the video gaming world as the standards of most Future Publishing publications has been on a downward spiral for quite a while now.
If you could use a browser on your console and search for mods and stuff...well, it would be sort of becoming a gaming PC anyway, except its a PC with a s**tty controller as the previous post says.
The PC is so far ahead in terms of mods and maps and stuff. It would take donkeys years for the consoles to get close and be a threat to the PC platform.
This is hardly a doomsday for PC gamers. First of all, where are the mods coming from? That's right, a PC. Secondly, you can't make a mod with out the game, so you need a PC version of the game.
This is more of an opportunity for modders to share their work with a broader audience and nothing more really. If a player on Xbox 360 has an idea for a mod, he has to go out and buy a PC that will run UT3 to make the mod. It might actually end up increasing PC game sales in the long run.
And lets not forget that it's going to be really difficult for the actual console owners themselves to make mods. Instead of being able to whip up a quick 5 minute mutator to make the Striders fire nukes, you have to wait for someone with the PC version to do it for you.
So, this article was really about the risk of the PC losing another foothold? If you're going to initiate a (necessary) discussion on mods on consoles, try to keep a stronger focus on your subject matter.
I'll try to revert it from becoming another BORING PC vs. console bitch-fest though, with this: I'm all for consoles using mods. Sell 'em to me for points over Live Marketplace, given the time that's been expended, and the knowhow applied - this also creates a realistic incentive for creators to take the time to deliver a quality product, for the game and community they support, and enjoy playing amongst.
It also establishes a valuable guage. You can ask others if they bought that mod, and how they found it. So, the bar would raise to a satisfactory degree by people, yes, voting with their wallets. I hope that Microsoft do implement some form of feedback guage for their Marketplace content.
I'm in favour of a situation where we support games, not platforms, and developers can concentrate on delivering their titles to the very widest audience possible and everybody can enjoy the highest possible quality of experience.
Make no mistake, though. I'm not going anywhere near an Xbox 360 UT3 without mod support, available and ready on DAY ONE. Even better, having the tools available early to the dedicated, to give them a head-start and reduce the wait...Introducing a sign-up program would be the best mechanic, with a nomional fee to keep the tools to those, initialy, that could make best use of them - Just $20-30 or something as you just know it'd launch in the US first. But it would provide that quality control, while not detracting interest. The game would then ship with a set of tools for the "enthusiasts" to get stuck in.
If anything its PCs that are taking over consoles, not the other way round, soon enough we'll have "conoles" which are basically just user friendly PCs which sit under the telly.
I wish consoles would start taking over the pc. I've never owned a console, and I just paid almost $2000 for a new pc, but if I tell anyone that I could've bought an xbox, a ps3 (both with the larger drives) AND a wii for that money they'd flip. I just hope that someday us pc gamers will decide that gaming pcs just aren't worth the price and decide to get a console instead. That's the only way I imagine gaming pc prices will go down.
I agree with other comments. Mods making their way to consoles can only help PC gaming. For the mods to be made the game will have to be on the PC also.
Therefore more games for PCs!
And if console gamers are prepared to pay the magnificent modding community, then superb!
I just wonder what percent of this price will make it to the modders after Sony/Microsoft and the likes of Epic have taken a big share?
Interimus"]I wish consoles would start taking over the pc.
Why wish for any platform to overtake the other? If you want PC titles you suck it up and try to make the most of your buck by carefully chosing components and sellers. If you want console games and options (which are more often than not vastly different to PC offerings in one way or another) then you go for that.
If you are so depressed about PCs then move to consoles, but saying you want either to dominate the market is silly, especially when consoles already dominate it really.
That will only give us less choice, I don't want the titles I get to be dictated by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, I like developers having more freedom. Sure the big titles are often released on all platforms but big titles is not the only thing I enjoy playing.
Agreeing with most here, I am far from concerned that consoles are ready to watter down PC gaming.
What does concern me, is that game developers will become increasingly lazy by putting out a half-assed product(as if they don't already, ESIV Oblivion anyone? Splinter Cell DA?) and rely on the mod community to essentially fix it.
I think this is quite inevitable, given that we can draw parallels with things like the sites that host these mods and gaming files. Fileplanet, filefront, IGN etc all used to be basically free, and now...well it's somewhat free, if you like restrictions.
I can see it now, load up your ps3 or 360 to find this new awesome mod for UT available for download! As you froth at the mouth and fumble at the buttons to proceed you hit this lovely brick wall "Please login to Fileplanet to continue your download." "Only subscribing members can have access to our fast, unlimited servers." BLAH BLAH BLAH
The bit of changing from a PC to a console that I knew I would miss is creating mods. If the mechanism for creating and publishing those mods is fairly simple then it will catch on.
Until we get the chance there is little more we can say.
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But it would provide that quality control, while not detracting interest. The game would then ship with a set of tools for the "enthusiasts" to get stuck in. 
