PlayStation 3 players that paid full price for a new version of DiRT 3 can’t play the game online. Because the game comes bundled with a code that allows you to access the online features of the game which requires the use of the PlayStation Store, those that bought the game for the PS3 get short-changed again. The pass which is included with every new copy of DiRT 3 is very similar to the online pass that EA uses in many of its titles.
Andy Gray of Codemasters called the situation “unfortunate”. It really is unfortunate, considering that DiRT 3 is a very good game, and those that purchased it on the PS3 are now going to have a very bad taste in their mouths. So when will PS3 players be allowed to get online with DiRT 3? Whenever the PlayStation Store returns is the best guess.
Mortal Kombat, which features a similar online pass, recently allowed players to bypass the code so that they could play online until the PlayStation Store resumed service. However, a Codemasters employee noted that there was no way to do this for their game, and gamers would just have to wait it out. We took DiRT 3 for a spin earlier in the week, read our review of the game here.