News Picks: February 13, 2007
Mods for sale on PlayStation Network, maybe Live Marketplace
An interview with Mark Rein of Epic may have stolen some thunder on what Sony was hoping to announce at this year's GDC. In the interview Mark mentions mods for Unreal Tournament can be sold through the PlayStation Network. Sony has been talking about user contributed content for awhile and Mark Rein has always associated user mods with Unreal Tournament. The fact mod makers can make some money is a great way to draw attention to the platform.
Mark also mentions that he hopes the same thing will be possible through the Xbox Live Marketplace. He continues by saying that Microsoft has given him an indication it would. I would be disappointed if Microsoft didn't allow it. Microsoft is undoubtedly concerned with two things. First, security, since it means a form of executable code is running on the console. Second, is how easily Microsoft can manage getting content onto the Marketplace without it being a huge process for Live staff.
Since Sony has been talking about user content for awhile and given PlayStation games have more control over their interactions with the PlayStation Network Store, I wouldn't be surprised if Sony designed the store to make it easier for publishers and developers to get content up. It will be interesting to see if the PlayStation Network gets more user mods than the Live Marketplace.
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