PS3 CoD4 DLC three weeks after 360

The upcoming Call of Duty 4 downloadable map pack will arrive on PS3 around "three weeks" after the Xbox 360 version, Infinity Ward programmer Jon Shiring told us.

We knew the maps were coming to Xbox first, but programmer Jon Shiring, who primarily works on the multiplayer aspect of CoD 4, shone a little light on when we should look out for the PS3 downloadable content.

"The maps are coming to PS3 - they'll be around three weeks later." When pressed further for the developer's reasoning behind the decision to lead on Xbox (especially when CoD4 has made a name for itself as the FPS of choice on PS3) Shiring said, "It's just the way it worked out. We're working as hard as we can to try to get it out there."

Could it be part of Infinity Ward's efforts to maintain its lead over Halo 3 on the Xbox Live 'most played' list?

Ian Dean, editor of PSW magazine, speculates that without the threat of Halo 3, IW has a firm grip on the PS3 shooting market, and may have choose to focus its attention on the 360 DLC first to maintain its momentum over Bungie's flagship shooter.

"With the exception of Rainbow Six Vegas 2, there's nothing to compete with Infinity Ward on PS3, so they probably lead on Xbox 360 because they need to compete with Halo 3," Dean told us, pointing to Resistance 2 as IW's only upcoming threat on Sony's console.

An earlier report suggested that the 360 DLC, which was unofficially expected out on April 3, has been pushed back to April 10. Activision has still to actually confirm a specific date for either batch of DLC. But it's safe to say that it's massively anticipated on both platforms.

Look out for our full hands-on report of the Variety Map Pack soon and further insight from Shiring, who claims to be able to outrun a domestic house cat.

Courtesy of CVG

Apr 1, 2008