GoW 'BIG' Annoucement coming up, Viral marketing in progress

[Deepak]

Make that 6,999,999 fans. I own both Halos, but I'm not a Master Chief fan, I just like FPS's.

He said fans.

 

[Titanio]

Release date

Looks like this was the 'big' announcement:

Emergence Day Revealed: Critically Acclaimed Xbox 360 Title “Gears of Warâ€￾ to Surface Nov. 12, 2006

Countdown begins for the most anticipated game of 2006 as gamers eagerly await the flagship title from Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games.

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 3, 2006 — Since the first frightening images appeared a little over a year ago, gamers worldwide have felt the ominous rumblings of something approaching that defies all convention. Sightings as recent as at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2006 have confirmed its existence, leaving gamers breathless. Microsoft Corp. today announced what anxious players have been eagerly awaiting: Emergence Day 2006. Available exclusively for the Xbox 360â„¢ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the highly anticipated title “Gears of Warâ€￾ will be available in North America on Nov. 12, 2006.

Developed by Epic Games Inc. and published by Microsoft Game Studios, “Gears of Warâ€￾ tells the harrowing story of mankind’s struggle against the monstrous Locust Horde through stunning high-definition graphics and an intense storyline on the scale of a blockbuster movie.

One of the most anticipated next-generation console titles of 2006 and the critic’s choice winner for the E3 2006 Best Console Game, “Gears of Warâ€￾ will explode onto store shelves with a standard edition available for $59.99* and a limited collector’s edition available for $69.99. The limited edition will offer an even deeper look into the graphically stunning and frightening world of “Gears of War,â€￾ providing an official “Destroyed Beautyâ€￾ art book and a bonus DVD featuring an inside look at the making of the game — all enclosed in a highly collectible metal box.

“‘Gears of War’ represents the emergence of a thrilling new franchise for Xbox 360 and is the must-have game of 2006,â€￾ said Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios. “Combining the best in innovative gameplay, next-generation graphics and interactive storytelling, Epic has harnessed the extraordinary power of Xbox 360 to create an extremely powerful and immersive entertainment experience.â€￾

“Our vision is to deliver a one-two punch of cinematic action paired with a thrilling and compelling interactive experience,â€￾ said Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer at Epic. “With ‘Gears of War’ we’ve created a title that will place gamers directly in the shadows of a ravaged world, surrounded by the beautiful remnants of a destroyed city and the horrific dangers that hide in the rubble.â€￾

“Gears of Warâ€￾ thrusts gamers into humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. Blending the best of tactical action games with the best of survival horror titles, “Gears of Warâ€￾ features cinematic, beautifully rendered interactive environments with high-definition visuals.

Demand for the game is high as retailers anticipate the one-two punch of “Gears of Warâ€￾ and Xbox 360 appearing in quantity on store shelves this holiday season. “The interest and buzz on this game has been intense,â€￾ said Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising at GameStop Corp. “Certainly gamers are counting the days until Emergence Day arrives, as pre-orders have been very strong.â€￾

From BlimBlim at neogaf.

 

[pipo]

...the highly anticipated title “Gears of War” will be available in North America on Nov. 12, 2006.

How about the rest of the world?

 

[expletive]

Thanks Titanio for the post.

Another 'ho-hum' big announcement goes by the boards (points for Shifty on calling it). Anyone who didnt think this game would ship right before the PS3 launch was just not paying much attention.

 

[Bad_Boy]

Anyone who didnt think this game would ship right before the PS3 launch was just not paying much attention.

Well technically it's after PS3 launch, november 11th in Japan. But yeah, before NA launch, november 17th.

edit:

How about the rest of the world?

http://www.jeux-france.com/news16836_gears-of-war-pour-le-17-novembre-.html
November 17th. Definately strategically placed.

 

[pipo]

Thanks! I wonder if they'll do a bundle...

 

[Inane_Dork]

Looks like this was the 'big' announcement:

Stupidest "big" announcement in a good long time. Way to go, MS. I never would have guessed you'd launch Gears for the holiday rush. What a shocker!

Actually, the "big" announcement is that MS is dropping the $50 price point for games. Sure, they'll say they're taking a game-by-game, strategic approach to it. But I think it's obvious where they want to go. Why sell out at $50 when you can sell out at $60?

 

[Arwin]

Why sell out at $50 when you can sell out at $60?

Also, games only adjust their prices at the generation gap. So part of that is inflation, in fact (and for some reason there has been a rather lot of inflation in the U.S. the last five years).

 

[Qroach]

Actually, the "big" announcement is that MS is dropping the $50 price point for games. Sure, they'll say they're taking a game-by-game, strategic approach to it. But I think it's obvious where they want to go. Why sell out at $50 when you can sell out at $60?

isn't that the sony approach on pricing?

 

[lentoPastel]

is Epic Megagames in MS side?

Castlevania in in MS live? wow, really good news to xb360. But more on topic, after all the screenshots and praise to GoW, and now a november release date... is Epic camping at MS side? I remeber E3 2005, where Epic said that they got UE3 running in PS3 hardware in just a few months, and that UE3 was going to be "very afordable" to develop for PS3.. and after that, NOTHING, just GoW talk. And now a very strategic release date. It could be that november is just a good time to release a game, but it seems that epic has taken a side in the forthcoming next gen wars.

 

[a688]

Castlevania in in MS live? wow, really good news to xb360. But more on topic, after all the screenshots and praise to GoW, and now a november release date... is Epic camping at MS side? I remeber E3 2005, where Epic said that they got UE3 running in PS3 hardware in just a few months, and that UE3 was going to be "very afordable" to develop for PS3.. and after that, NOTHING, just GoW talk. And now a very strategic release date. It could be that november is just a good time to release a game, but it seems that epic has taken a side in the forthcoming next gen wars.

GoW is Epic's next game out the door. Why would they not hype up their next game? Do you expect Epic to play favoriates even if it hurts one of their games? I'm sure Epic will sing the praises of the PS3 (or maybe not (as much) if the rumors are true) about UT2007 on the PS3.

 

[Acert93]

Castlevania in in MS live? wow, really good news to xb360. But more on topic, after all the screenshots and praise to GoW, and now a november release date... is Epic camping at MS side? I remeber E3 2005, where Epic said that they got UE3 running in PS3 hardware in just a few months, and that UE3 was going to be "very afordable" to develop for PS3.. and after that, NOTHING,

Actually for quite a while Epic talked quite a bit about the PS3 and were hyping it after E3 2005, especially Cell. They went as far as putting it in the same class as Ageia's PhysX I believe. They talked quite a bit about the PS3 and UT2007 in the Summer of 2005.

just GoW talk.

It is their only significant 2006 title. General industry rule: You talk about the game that is coming out soonest--talking a lot about future projects can detract from your projects that will be available sooner. Why create a situation where people ignore title X for title Y that wont be out for a year?

Further, how well Gears of War does could have substantial impact on not only UE3 sales but UE3.5/UE4 sales. Epic needs to pull of a KILLER hit to demonstrate to the industry that their middleware is great and can make great games. If Epic cannot make a great game with their own tools, then why should anyone else expect to?

Importantly much of the Gears of War talk stems from the fact MS, the publisher, is pushing the game very hard. This MS's "the game" of 2006. MS not only gave them valuable airtime in 2005 (MTV show, E3 2005, X05) but made Gears of War the highlight of E3 2006.

When one of the 4 biggest gaming companies in the world puts their marketing muscle behind your game you tend to get a lot of exposure. This has been great for Gears of War, but equally so for Epic the company and for UE3. Common sense: MS pumps up Gears of War, and in 2007 you can say, "UT2007, by the makers of 2006 game of the year Gears of War".

And now a very strategic release date.

MS is the publisher, meaning they have a significant amount of influence on the release date. Of course it is going to be strategic!

It could be that november is just a good time to release a game,

Of course it is. Like 75% of all retail sales are done during this time of year and almost all massively successful games ship during this time period. This dovetails with the "highlight game of 2006" from MS. Peak exposure/advertising/sales and all. It doesn't hurt that Gears of War could get MS some much needed PR during the Sony tsunami.

but it seems that epic has taken a side in the forthcoming next gen wars.

Yes, that is why Epic has taken the position of some form of PS3 exclusivity for UT2007, praised the PS3 extensively in 2005, held a key position at the PS3 unveiling, have supported the PS3 with key middleware, etc. One could equally point out that UE3 is a late 2006/early 2007 product (missed the 360 launch) and doesn't appear to be designed with the 360's GPU in mind (which makes sense for a PC centric middleware, especially when the forcasted biggest console will have a pretty standard flagship GPU).

Epic has chosen a side: MONEY! Currently MS and Sony are both throwing a lot there way.

On UT2007, you are not hearing much from it because it looks like it won't come out until 2007. Further, MS has been actively giving Epic airtime and consumer focus for Gears of War, which makes sense as MS is the publisher. A better question is why isn't Sony giving Epic the same sort of push for UT2007?

Your complaint, I believe, should be less about "Epic is siding with MS" but instead "Why isn't Sony pushing Epic/UT2007 as much as MS is pushing Gears of War?" Because as far as I can see the only real difference in Epic "attitude" has less to do with Epic and more to do with the role MS and Sony have envisioned for Epic's games within their software lineup.

 

[Tap In]

ahhh Acert93, please quit making so much sense, I can't keep up.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Your complaint, I believe, should be less about "Epic is siding with MS" but instead "Why isn't Sony pushing Epic/UT2007 as much as MS is pushing Gears of War?" Because as far as I can see the only real difference in Epic "attitude" has less to do with Epic and more to do with the role MS and Sony have envisioned for Epic's games within their software lineup.

Because UT2k7 is not a pS3 exclusive, so it would make no sense to spend money advertising for a cross platform game.

Recently Epic gave a very strong hint for a 360 version.

When asked if the mention of multiple next-gen editions meant UT 2007 might be coming to the Xbox 360, the rep demurred, saying, "Nothing is yet confirmed ... [but] I would say that your assumption is relatively plausible." At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006, Midway CEO David Zucker said the game was being released for "for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3," but the company has subsequently refused to confirm the game is coming to Microsoft's platform.

 

[Tap In]

Because UT2k7 is not a pS3 exclusive, so it would make no sense to spend money advertising for a cross platform game.

that's true... the other posters argument should not be with Epic as all they did was sign an exclusivity deal and were promised and have been given (according to Cliffy B) unprecedented support from a Publisher from MS due to that deal.

That's just common sense, not picking sides.

 

[lentoPastel]

Yeah Acert93, you make a lot of sense. Maybe it is this waiting, i Just want to know about the PS3 and RSX (somehow Cell is very pulic domain) and all I get is CliffyB talking about GoW. That is not a problem, the problem is that they were very open in their PS3 development a year ago, and then an iron courtain drop off for PS3. I wish to know about their developments in both platforms, not only XB360.

About Castlevania in Live... it is one of my favourites games. If they get Ehinhander in live also I would consider camping at MS side too

 

[scooby_dooby]

What has epic really said lately about the xbox360 development and technology? Not much besides "it's going good" or "we should be running on 3 cores soon", seems they don't really get down to any details about either system.