January 16, 2009 - Today, EA announced that Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box is only available on PC in North America and is not being released in the U.S. on PS3 or Xbox 360. PC gamers can experience the Ultimate Box, which includes the original game, the previously released Cagney and Bikes downloadable packs, and the new Party Pack, on February 5. That same day, the Party Pack will be released, for free, on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store.
The Party Pack includes a new multiplayer mode designed for offline hot-potato play with up to eight players. A few fixes are also included that should have longtime Paradise players cheering. A restart option is finally being added so players that fail a race have the option to skip back to the starting line and give it another go. Criterion has long defended its decision to exclude the common restart function, but acquiesced to the demands of its fanbase. PS3 owners gain access to the Burnout Paradise Network, a live feed where players can keep track of friends and read up on the latest Burnout news from Criterion.