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The massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) game Dust 514, which is slated to be available exclusively on PS3, will be a completely free-to-play affair. Game maker CCP had originally planned to charge a nominal price for gamers to download the title from the PlayStation Store, but that plan has been scrapped because, CCP says, it didn’t want to confuse gamers. The experience inside the game itself will not change at all. Dust 514 was built on the freemium model, which means that players can download and play the game for free, but as they progress and want new items or expanded feature sets, that’s the point at which they’ll need to start forking over some cash. The price that would have been charged, around $10 to $20, would have been immediately converted into in-game currency, so gamers weren’t actually paying for the download but were forced into investing at least some money in the experience. In an interview with Eurogamer, CCP executive producer Brandon Laurin

Console gaming enthusiasts are starting to get restless. With the Xbox 360 launching six and a half years ago, and the PS3 just one year later, gamers are starting to dream more and more about their current devices’ successors. But Microsoft says to hold on, because even though the console is getting old, this could be its biggest and most exciting year yet. Of course, that’s partially because the installed base is bigger than it’s ever been, but Microsoft is also shrugging off the idea that it’s hitting the saturation point. Microsoft director of global marketing first party games Steve Beinner was recently quoted as saying, “2011 was our biggest year — the biggest year in Xbox history. So we’re feeling fantastic. We want to continue to build on that momentum. Without a doubt, I can tell you that 2012 can be a bigger year, and will be a bigger year, than 2011.” The Xbox 360 and PS3 exemplify how console gaming is unequivically different in this generation. Because of widespread Intern