DC Universe Online producer will 'celebrate' moving away from PS3

DC Universe Online executive producer Larry Liberty can't wait for players to transition from PS3 to PS4, saying his team will "celebrate" once they no longer have to support Sony's aging console.

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Update: After publishing this story, SOE contacted us to clarify that PS3 support will continue, and that there are currently no plans to stop updating the PS3 version. The original story follows.

DC Universe Online executive producer Larry Liberty can't wait for players to transition from PS3 to PS4, saying his team will "celebrate" once they no longer have to support Sony's aging console.

Ultimately, the team is limited by PS3's capabilities. "People want everything you can imagine in the DC Universe, and that's a lot. There's over 4000 NPCs, there's an almost infinite amount of power combinations," Liberty told Shacknews. "I would certainly love to do more. We have to figure out continually how to fit in memory on effectively a 220MB system--that's how much system RAM we have on PS3. To make that work is going to be a challenge for us."

Unfortunately for Liberty and his team, the game's audience is largely comprised of PS3 players. The game's popularity on console is due to being "the first MMO on PS3" and "console-friendly," to boot. With most of the audience on PS3, SOE has no choice but to "keep servicing PS3 for a while."

Making a PS4 version of DCUO has some benefits for PS3 players, as there will be a slight boost in graphics even on Sony's current-gen system. "We are making some art changes that will benefit all platforms as a result of PS4 development. So, PS3 will look a bit better. But rally, it's going to benefit PS4 and PC most," Liberty said.

Of course, "it will happen at some point," Liberty said about no longer supporting the PS3 version of the game. "I do expect that eventually, PS4 to come out, and probably be more successful than PS3 was as a platform. It wouldn't surprise me if we do get a pretty quick migration, but we'll keep servicing PS3 for a while," he said.

DC Universe Online will be getting its eighth expansion pack later this year, in time for the launch of the PS4 version of the game. "The good news for PS3 players is you can move to PS4, keep your friends, play together," Liberty pointed out, hopeful that many players will switch to the next-gen.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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