Fallout 3 DLC Not So Exclusive After All

In another edition of corporate lies, Bethesda Softworks announced today that the previously announced Xbox 360 and PC exclusive downloadable content for the extremely-popular-and-extremely-broken RPG, Fallout 3, is actually not exclusive at all, and will be also going to PlayStation 3.

Surprise!

According to the publisher, Operation: Anchorage, which released in late January on PC and 360, will be available for PS3 late this June. The Pitt and Broken Steel will be available 4-6 apart from that.

In addition, two new expansion packs were announced titled Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta. Both will be available for 360 and PC in late June and late July respectively, while they are scheduled for "sometime after Broken Steel" for PS3.

If you don't have your console/computer hooked up to the internet, Bethesda will be offering the DLC via regular old retail. Operation: Anchorage and The Pitt will be bundled together for $9.99 on May 26, 2009, while a second disc containing Broken Steel and Point Lookout will be available sometime in August for the same price.

Bethesda claims that these discs will only be available for Xbox 360 and PC, as disc expansions for PS3 are not possible. Right. Like I should believe anything you claim, Bethesda. (eye roll)

Finally, Bethesda has announced that a Game of the Year edition will be available for all three systems this upcoming October. It will be priced at $59.99 for 360 and PS3, and $49.99 for PC, and will contain all 5 expansions. Meaning that, yes, you have now officially paid way too much for this crap.

Let's get one thing out of the way right off the bat. I don't mind the fact that PS3 owners will get this content. I personally don't even like this game, and never planned on purchasing any of the DLC anyway (I'm actually thinking seriously about selling my copy back). For gamers who only own a PS3 and really really wanted the DLC, this is nothing but good news.

What really irks me is that Bethesda lied about it.

As a consumer who, y'know, pays for things, I like to be treated honestly. If DLC, extra content, or even an entire game is exclusive, timed exclusive, or multiplatform, I just want the developers/publishers to say that right from the start.

Gamers complain that game companies treat them poorly, but do absolutely nothing when companies like Bethesda do this sort of stuff. In fact, they even give them money to do it!

Just saying.

[Destructoid]

Remaining Fallout 3 DLC Delayed

Bethesda Softworks has recently dropped information that the final two PC and 360 exclusive DLC packs for their popular RPG Fallout 3 have been delayed by roughly a month each.

The fist DLC pack, Operation Anchorage, was released a couple of weeks ago, though it came under fire for having a lot of bugs (I don't think that this should be much of a surprise considering the full game's copious bugs, but I'm not everyone). The reason for the delays has not been made public, but it is speculated that the extra time is being used to polish up the remaining two packs.

The Pitt, originally due this month, has been pushed back to March, while Broken Steel will be available sometime in April, though concrete dates have yet to be established.

RPGs Dominate the Xbox 360 Charts in Japan

In news that should surprise roughly no one, 2008's biggest 3 Xbox 360 titles in Japan were all RPGs. And I bet you could name them all without even looking!

They are, in order, Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia, Square Enix's The Last Remnant, and tri-Ace and Square Enix's Infinite Undiscovery. Shocking stuff, right?

In addition to these obvious titles, other RPGs also managed to rank in decently. Bethesda's Fallout 3 ranked in at number 8, Lionhead and Microsoft's Fable II pulls the number 12 spot, and Mistwalker and Microsoft's Lost Odyssey shuffles in at number 26 (not bad for a 2007 title).

Check out the full list scanned from Famitsu Xbox 360 below.

Giant Fallout 3 Patch Appears. Command?

People seem to like Fallout 3. It's got this sandbox thing going on that North American gamers just can't get enough of. But it's also got a metric tonne of bugs in it, and people have been pissing and moaning about them for a while.

Well, Bethesda Softworks, apparently tired of your complaints, has released a mega-patch for all three versions (PC, 360, PS3) today, and is totally free for your downloadable pleasure. Console users can get it automatically from Xbox Live or PlayStation Network, while PC users can either get it through Games for Windows LIVE or directly from Bethesda.

As an important note, owners of either the 360 or PC versions will be required to download this patch in order to pick up the game's additional DLC, the first round of which is Operation: Anchorage on January 27, 2009 for 800 MSP.

You can find out exactly what the patch fixes here.

Fallout 3 DLC Detailed

E3, in internet time, was 500 years ago, so most gamers likely forgot that Microsoft and Bethesda announced way back in July that Fallout 3 would be receiving exclusive DLC on Xbox 360 and PC.

At the time I didn't particularly give a second thought to that. I mean, the game was, at the time, 500 years away. But with the game out and about in both Europe and North America (and soon in Japan), additional content becomes a little bit more relevant.

Bethesda has recently announced what the first of this additional content is:

The Fallout 3 editor, G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit), will be free to download for the PC version next month, and will allow users to generate their own content (as one would expect from an editor).

Additionally, 3 downloadable content packs will be available for Xbox 360 and PC starting early next year. Shamelessly copy and pasted from the official press release:

-Operation Anchorage
Enter a military simulation and fight in one of the greatest battles of the Fallout universe – the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from its Chinese Communist invaders. An action-packed battle scheduled for release in January.

-The Pitt
Journey to the industrial raider town called The Pitt, located in the remains of Pittsburgh. Choose your side. Scheduled for release in February.

-Broken Steel
Join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave remnants once and for all. Continues the adventure past the main quest. Scheduled for release in March.

Pricing for these DLC packs has yet to be set.

I haven't gotten around to Fallout 3 yet, but from what I understand, the main game is already loaded to brim with content. But hey, for those looking to get just that much more gameplay out of their $60, DLC seems like a good way to go.

No Nuke in Fallout 3 for Japan

If you live in Japan you might want to know that Bethesda's Fallout 3 is receiving some rather significant omissions for the region. According to Bethesda, the following will be edited:

-Classification of certain groups of people (notably humans and ghouls) have been removed, though most of the nomenclature remains.

-The quest "The Power of Atom" has been edited so that the player will no longer be able to detonate the nuclear bomb.

-The name of a certain weapon has been changed due to CERO's stance on a "prohibited phrase" (people seem to believe the affected weapon is the Fat Man).

Though most internet-savvy Japanese gamers seem disappointed by these changes, the average customer is unlikely to notice the difference. At least the changes in that region haven't affected other regions (like a certain Australian incident that readily comes to mind).

Fallout 3 will be available in Japan on Xbox 360 on December 04, 2008, and on PlayStation 3 on January 15, 2009. It is already available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in North America and Europe.

What are your thoughts on censoring this kind of material?

Fallout 3 Just in Time for Halloween

Do you have extensive plans for Halloween this year? If so, you may want to consider canceling them. Especially if you like post-apocalyptic Western-style RPGs.

Bethesda Softworks just announced that their upcoming multiplatform RPG, Fallout 3, will be available on October 28, 2008 in North America, and 3 days later on October 31, 2008 in Europe on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

So, are you canceling that costume party or no?

Xbox Japan's RPG Site Updated and Sexy

So, remember back during E3 when Xbox Japan got their very own RPG-themed site? Well, as of today (most likely timed with the release of Tales of Vesperia), the site is up and running with a slick Flash interface, and showing off details for several of its upcoming games.

Cruise on over via the link here to check out art, screens, and videos for Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. There are also less detailed sections for Fable II, Mass Effect (still not released in Japan yet), and Fallout 3. There are also details and a critical acclaim section for ToV for those among you with Japanese-reading powers.

There is still one spot left open on the site. This section could be for another Western RPG, like Rise of the Argonauts or Dungeon Hero, or it could be for something else (Cry On? Blue Dragon 2? Final Fantasy XIII?) Whatever its for, we are eagerly anticipating its arrival on the site, and will let you know as soon as we do.

E3 2008: Fallout 3 to Receive DLC for 360 and PC

Potentially the biggest hyped Western RPG of this generation, Bethesda announced today at the Microsoft press conference that Fallout 3 will receive "substantial" additional downloadable content exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Fallout 3 is due sometime later this year for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

UPDATE: Added the newest trailer from GameTrailers. ...Looks like a shooter to me, but what do I know?