Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is set to release in just under one month with what Naughty Dog is touting as a much deeper, larger multiplayer component. Now the developer claims that its online content is so large that if it wasn’t for Sony’s PSN Pass, the mode would have to be released as a separate game entirely.
“We give literally thousands of hours of content in our online stuff and on top of that we give you not just competitive, but an entire co-op experience as well,” said Game Director Justin Richmond in an interview with TheSixthAxis. “There’s basically a whole alternate history, alternate version story in our co-op, and in this game they’re actually all tied together. All the co-op missions, of which there are even more, are all actually one continuous story, if you play them in the right order.”
Richmond, along with fellow Naughty Dog interviewee Arne Meyer, claimed that server and bandwidth costs for all of this content is what led to the studio’s decision to go with the pass.
“It’s either that or we offer online completely in its entirety also, so we have a complete offline package as well, so if you want to play the co-op with a friend, you can do that offline,” stated Richmond.
The use of a multiplayer or online content access pass for games has become a steady trend among game creators over the past year, with developers and publishers such as EA, THQ, Ubisoft, and others forcing gamers to either buy a game new or purchase the pass separately with used copies. Naughty Dog and Uncharted 3 are just the first of what will be a constant use of Sony’s new PSN Pass, as the console maker announced earlier this month it will be featured in all of the company’s first-party titles.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is set for a November 1 release exclusively for the PlayStation 3.
