PS3 News
Unreal Tournament 3 dated for PAL regions
By Stevie Smith
Feb 20, 2008, 10:37 GMT

Itchy PlayStation 3 fans pacing back and forth across Europe while awaiting the arrival of Epic Games’ first-person shooter Unreal Tournament 3 can finally mark a regional release date on their retail calendars.

More specifically, third-party publisher Midway Games (Stranglehold, Blacksite: Area 51), has today confirmed that Epic’s highly acclaimed multiplayer shooter will blast its way onto European PlayStation 3s on February 22.

Unleashed more than two months after the initial North American release of Unreal Tournament 3, the PAL arrival is expected to further boost the game’s retail performance -- it has thus far shipped more than 1.2 million units since its initial console launch on December 11 of 2007.

“The separated format releases have worked well, effectively giving each SKU its own space. Epic has delivered a game of impeccable quality and superb playability, and sales figures clearly show the timing was also spot on.” commented Martin Spiess, European MD of Midway Games. “It’s impossible to overstate the strategic value we place on the Unreal franchise, which is why we’re investing considerably in bespoke launches for each of the games’ formats.”

And, beyond the reputations of Epic Games (Gears of War) and the ongoing Unreal franchise, a comprehensive multi-million Euro marketing campaign, an enormous TV presence, and more than a billion online page impressions look set to reinforce the drawn-out PAL unveiling.

Oft-ignored PAL gamers probably won’t agree with Midway’s fondness for staggered regional launches, but, regardless of repeat frustrations, ‘late’ still remains a far better penalty than ‘never.’