Electronic Arts has confirmed that the rumors are finally true, and that the Mass Effect franchise will be coming to the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 will no longer be the exclusive console platform for the Bioware-developed title.

While the news has been circulating for a long time that Bioware had been considering going multiplatform with the Mass Effect franchise, the last release was exclusive to the Xbox 360 for the console market, but a PC version was also released.

The news has PS3 fans excited in part because Bioware has announced that the PS3 version of the game will offer hours of bonus content. While Mass Effect 2 is in the process of being ported to the PS3 with this new bonus content, the third installment is expected to be a multiplatform release when it arrives. Apparently, Bioware has no intention of porting the first installment in the trilogy to the PS3 from what we understand.

Microsoft has reacted to the news by reminding fans that the best place to play Mass Effect is still on the Xbox 360, as the first Mass Effect titles are already released for the platform with a large amount of paid downloadable content to extend the Mass Effect experience.

The news comes as little surprise, as the numbers of exclusive console titles continue to dwindle in part due to the high costs of game production and a need for developers and publishers to maximize their profits to recover development costs. The trend of fewer exclusives will continue, according to analysts that we have spoken with, as developers and publishers continue to see multiplatform support as necessary. Look for manufacturer-funded or developer titles to be the only platform exclusives in the future.