It’s no secret that developing on the PS3 is difficult, or in other words “more challenging” than the Xbox 360, but it’s always news when a developer publicly admits it.

The latest one comes from Massive Entertainment, the studio behind the console port of World in Conflict. Originally released for PC last year, the game is now being reworked for PS3 and Xbox 360; the developer has gone on record to say that the PS3 version has been the more challenging platform of the two, but they still plan on offering the same content on either consoles, noting that there might still be some minor graphical differences, but that gamers are going to have “virtually identical experiences.”

The console version of the game is expected to be released sometime later this year.

Publisher Sierra sent out word that the Xbox 360 version of World in Conflict won’t be seen until sometime in 2008. Already released for the PC, the Massive Entertainment strategy was originally scheduled to hit the console this Fall.

An update for Carriers at War, a WWII naval strategy game, is now available, upgrading it to v1.01. Grab it from Matrix Games. Manual editions of the v1.07 update for Command & Conquer 3 have also been released, which can be found on this page.

The promised World in Conflict demo was released on Friday. It’s a huge 1.2GB download that can be found on 3D Downloads, AusGamers, FanGaming, Fileaholic, FileFront, FileShack, Gameguru Mania, Gamespot, Gamer’s Hell and Internode Games Network.

A new World in Conflict DirectX10 trailer has been released by Sierra, showing off the advanced graphics in the upcoming World War III strategy game. The video can be downloaded from ActionTrip, FileShack and FileFront. There’s a nice high-quality streaming version on Shacknews, too.

Sierra Entertainment has officially announced World in Conflict which was revealed in the latest issue of PC Zone Magazine. Developed by Massive Entertainment, the game features completely destructible 3D battlefields, team-based multiplayer action and “hard-hitting” battles.

World in Conflict presents a chillingly authentic Cold War scenario where the Berlin Wall never fell. Created by Cold War authority and best-selling author Larry Bond, the story begins in 1989 as the Soviets, fearing certain collapse, boldly advance into Europe. NATO responds in force only to be met on a second front — a full-fledged invasion of the American homeland. Players take on the role of field commander, leading the era’s most powerful military machines in the campaign to retake America’s cities and suburbs.

Features in World in Conflict include:

• Super-Powered Warfare: Unleash the arsenals of the great military superpowers in the gripping single-player story created by Larry Bond
  
• Bleeding-Edge Graphics - The latest version of Massive’s proprietary Masstech engine allows for a full 360° range of camera control and features advanced lighting and physics effects
  
• Complete Destructibility - As the battle rages, the world environment pays the price — every object in the game will crumble under the force of war, including cars, buildings and forests
  
• Deep Multiplayer Modes: Using Massive’s proprietary Massgate multiplayer server system, World in Conflict will support up to 16 players for head-to-head, team-based battles
  
• Real World Units: Players will take control of the most devastating arsenal of military weaponry ever created, including Soviet, American and NATO tanks, planes, trucks, troops and helicopters as well as nuclear weapons
  
• Player Roles - Players will choose to play as Infantry, Armor, Support Forces, or Aerial specialists; multiplayer teams will need to master each role for maximum effectiveness.

The game is scheduled for release this Spring. Below are the first eight high-resolution screenshots from the title.

Revealed in the latest issue of PC Zone magazine, CVG carries some details on World in Conflict, Massive’s upcoming multiplayer-focused RTS. Scoop:

The developer is eschewing the sci-fi theme of the Ground Control series for its new project and presenting us with a setting a little more contemporary - the late 1980s and the Cold War. But Massive has opted to pen a fictional scenario for the new title, according to which the Soviet Union has remained intact and staged an invasion of US soil. Massive apparently decided on the setting partly because it “felt the Cold War era really hadn’t been explored in strategy games before”, according to Walfisz, and that it wanted to ensure the setting is “really accessible and understandable from the beginning - basically, World in Conflict is something that people recognise right away”.

Elaborating on the core multiplayer gameplay, current info on World in Conflict has revealed that the plan is to support up to 8-player versus 8-player battles, players selecting to fly the combat flag for one of two teams in a hot zone and then assuming a specific role within that team. You might, for example, choose to command infantry, and once that’s been decided, you buy units, deploy them in a designated deployment zone in a map and then command them in the ensuing fight.

Further information can be found in the CVG article, which points out that you’ll need to read PC Zone for further details.