OK, there have been rumors circling for a while that the Mass Effect franchise may be making some sort of appearing on the PS3 in the future. Bioware has done their best to silence them, but the rumors don't seem to show much sign of stopping any time soon. You've got Michael Patcher calling it "inevitable," retailers like Amazon, Gamestop and Game listing Mass Effect 2 on their websites, only to be pulled down, and then EA's own website in Russia having a product listing for it, again, taken down once upper management caught wind.
Well now with E3 around the corner, the rumor mill is once again turning. What's coming off the press this time?
An allegedly leaked list stating what will be presented at many of the big guns' booths. Amongst a semi-predictable tide of sequels (though welcome ones, for the most part), there are a few curiosities (Ninja Solid? Project Xfree? Call of Duty MMO?) and one major bombshell: Mass Effect 3. Except there's one odd thing about it-- if the list is to be believed it will be announced at Sony's booth!
Microsoft and Bioware have insisted persistently that Mass Effect is an exclusive to the Xbox 360 and PC-- however, what they will not say, is how long for. Bioware has made little effort to rule out the possibility of the franchise appearing on PS3 in the future. The big question on my mind, though, in addition to "will it actually happen?" and all the legal red tape, is whether EA will start at the beginning with a proper two-pack port of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, or expect PS3 rookies to jump right into the story without having played the first two or crafted game saves to carry over. I guess we'll see. It's possible that ME will not come to the PS3 at all, but it would certainly be a pleasant surprise if it did.