No. This is not some April Fool’s Joke a day early. Apparently, some folks have added a Master Chief model into the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3. The question is, “Is Microsoft okay with this?” Apparently . . . yes. In a podcast interview with Major Nelson that was published yesterday, Don McGowan, lawyer for Microsoft Game Studios, responded that Microsoft did not have a problem with this. They were discussing the Game Content Usage Rules which not only covers machinima, but this UT3 case as well. Read McGowan’s comments at his blog which actually made headlines this week because of a controversial comment he made about PlayStation games. He wrote it in jest, but a few fanboys took it the wrong way.

From Don McGowan’s blog:
Master Chief on PlayStation? Yep, we know…
When it makes it to Business Week(http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/gamesinc/archives/2008/03/will_the_real_m.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_nussbaumondesign), I think it’s time to comment. Many people are talking about the Master Chief mod for Unreal Tournament 3, that allows you to play in the character of the Master Chief on the PS3. Many people are surprised Microsoft is “allowing” this.
 
Actually it’s nothing more than the Game Content Usage Rules (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/developer/rules.htm) in action. When these were developed, people all thought they were focused on machinima. The truth is that while they do address machinima they also allow for a lot of other things. Mods like this are one of them. The developers aren’t selling the mod, they’re not monetizing Microsoft’s IP, they’re just creating something to share their love of the Master Chief on a new platform. It’s a great thing for us and a great thing for the gaming community. And much though I love my friends at Epic, Unreal Tournament isn’t Halo. This will also remind people of just how great the Halo games are and remind them that if they’re done with the user-created faux-Halo experience, the real Halo is available only on the Xbox 360. And no one is taking characters from PlayStation games (do they even have any games?) and putting them on our platform…