It's Official! Mass Effect 2 to PS3!

[Jason]

Yes, one of the most-rumoured moves of the past 24 months has finally been confirmed. Bioware's epic Sci-Fi RPG Mass Effect 2 is coming to PS3.

The game's expected to arrive in early 2011.

Now, not only are PS3 users rejoicing at getting an excellent game to play, there's also the fact that this represents a major coup for Sony, who had been under increasing pressure recently, with major franchises Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid making appearances on Microsoft's console.

Now, I've already played the game, so likely won't be picking this one up, but if I didn't have a 360 already, I'd be going crazy right now.

source (http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/35003/bioware-mass-effect-2-ps3)

[Jack]

Indeed not very big news for the likes of me, but I am happy for Playstation users everywhere.

[Jason]

Of course, this now raises a much more intriguing question... What about Mass Effect 3? Now the trend has been set, it's looking pretty darned likely that we'll also be seeing ME3 on Sony's machine, but when? Will there be a nearly year-long delay again, or will we be seeing a simultaneous release?

Microsoft have shown before that they have pretty deep pockets when it comes to getting one over on Sony (see the Modern Warfare 2 DLC), so I wouldn't be surprised to see the claws come out.

[Konrad]

Was Mass Effect available on PS3 in the first place? What was the reasoning behind abandoning the platform in the first place?

[Jason]

I'm assuming that the initial one was overlooked because Sony were unwilling to line BioWare's pockets enough to make it worth their while breaking an exclusivity deal with Microsoft.
Now, with Mass Effect being one of the X360's flagship franchises, Sony have suddenly and mysteriously found the money, and a lot of gamers are due to benefit because of it.

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the original Mass Effect appearing on the PSN as a downloadable purchase. I don't think there's value in a full retail release, but unless the entire game needs re-coding or something, there's mileage in making it available for digital purchase.

This story has actually made me feel quite good about the industry. It's one of the few times where the REAL winners in this battle are the actual gamers, because they're getting an excellent game to play that they otherwise wouldn't have got. Sure, we all know that this wasn't as high on the list of Sony's priorities as 'sticking one in Microsoft's eye', but at least we've got the right result.