If you have been holding your breath, waiting for news from Microsoft that mods for the upcoming Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III were still a possibility --- well, you might want to start breathing again, lest you perish. According to Microsoft's Chris Satchell, it opens up security holes that are just asking for trouble:
"There's a lot of people out there that just want to prove they can screw things up... Any platform that lets you do that, and doesn't have the right security measures in place -- whether it's Sony, whether it's Nintendo, whether it's Apple, whether it's anyone -- you're inviting trouble, because sooner or later someone will want to prove they can do it."
Now if you read the interview in its
entirety, you will notice that he is cautious not to mention
UT3 specifically -- but we all know that has been a big point of contention for those with an Xbox 360 looking for an experience equal to what "
the other guys" have to offer. As WIRED pointed out, we too wonder how the XNA Creator's Club is going to figure into all of this. Not to fan the flames of valid paranoia, but Microsoft does have a tendency to be a hacker's paradise. Still, it would be nice to see Xbox 360 owners enjoy one of the best parts of games such as
UT3 ... the mods. I think
Mystikal said it best.
[Via WIRED -- Thanks, Jonathan!]
Contest:
2:01 PM on 04.11.2008
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I honestly think it's about DLC and money.
In the long run, I think this sort of attitude is going to hurt MS and the 360. If good user created content becomes a trend on the PS3, guess which version of multiplatform games I'll buy in the future?
Shake that ass? Yeah, sounds like it works.
I would hate if too much freedom allowed for malicious code to destroy systems or open other vulnerabilities. I know in the past Unreal and other games would simply download any maps etc automatically(I think the PS3 does this on UT3) and I could actually see this being an issue on the console. Even if there is no way to use malicious code what about maps and models that are offensive Racially,Pornographically, etc(I sure as hell don't want to see a level with Gotse textured on all the walls and tubgirl playing on virtual screens).
This may already be in place but there definitely needs to be a system for these games so you can limit downloads at least on a personal level. Maybe to only downloading from friends or not at all so you have to manually install all of them. Maybe some community site could be set up to rate content and maybe that rating could be tied into options in the game as trusted content verifying filename, byte size, etc.
Resident Evil Outbreak MOD
Stargate SG-1 MOD
Skateboard MOD
And they will all be free :)