In news that has sparked mini-riots and postings of "bail out!" animated gifs across the Internet, Capcom Co. Ltd. has confirmed that its gorgeous Devil May Cry sequel is leaving PS3 exclusivity behind for a multi-platform release on Xbox 360 and PC.

The fourth installment, in case you missed it, has the two main heroes Dante and Nero facing off in the city of Fortuna. Playing as Nero you can use your "Devil Bringer" ability to grapple and re-arrange enemies, and chain-up potentially endless combos.

An Xbox 360 release for the action stunner has been rumored for some time now, but the PC version comes as a real surprise. Will we see a decent port, rather than a sloppy conversion ala Ubisoft's DMC3?

"Capcom is committed to making its titles available to as wide an audience as possible, and has been building its technology base to meet that goal," said Mark Beaumont, Capcom's exec VP of consumer software publishing in the Americas and Europe. "This announcement means that PS3, Xbox 360 and PC owners worldwide will be able to experience the latest installment of one of Capcom’s pillar franchises.

"Capcom will continue to produce titles that appeal to users while pursuing a multi-platform strategy to help enhance profits," the statement continues, leading us to believe that 360 exclusives Lost Planet and Dead Rising might be next to jump the platform gap.

We've contacted Capcom for a statement and we'll let you know what they come up with. The Xbox 360 and PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 will ship simultaneously, hopefully later this year.

March 20, 2007