It was a pretty big announcement when CCP revealed their EVE Online-tied first-person shooter MMO, DUST 514, would in fact become a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Especially given the game is actively connected to the EVE Online PC-persistent universe.

New details regarding the game have emerged through the PlayStation Blog, including just why the developer chose the PlayStation 3 as DUST's home, especially given it's an MMO.

"Obviously, we were attracted to the power and the feature set of PlayStation 3, but it really came down to Sony’s willingness to work with us in bringing an MMO to the platform," said Brandon Laurino, Executive Producer at CCP on the blog.

"There have been attempts to bring MMO games to consoles in the past but we believe we’re now in a position to do it properly, using existing features on PS3 and the PlayStation Network, and collaboratively developing new features to support our vision.

"We’re breaking so much ground with DUST 514: we’re not only building a full console MMO; we’re building one that feeds into another MMO on a completely different platform [PC]," he added. "We’re breaking more ground by bringing the microtransaction business model to a console shooter for the first time. All of this was inconceivable not too long ago, and it’s the partnership between CCP and Sony that’s finally making it happen."

It's arguably the most ambitious undertaking for a relatively popular series, especially a persistent online one, but a step in the right direction for cross-platform co-existence, which Sony continue to appear a leader in, in terms of consoles.

"We have some rules of engagement that ensure nothing drastic happens without some kind of fair warning and time to prepare," Laurino explained when asked about the PC to console interaction between players of each game, respectively. "This is basically carried over and expanded upon from large scale player-driven warfare in EVE Online, where sometimes users are coordinating battles involving tens of thousands of players at once."

It's a lengthy but worthwhile read for anyone interested in this game, or just to see the kind of philosophy a developer applies to a project of this nature. Hopefully the game supports mouse and keyboard controls on the PS3 for a more authentic experience.