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New Gears of War 2 Details, No PC Version

Posted by Soulskill on from the so-many-platforms,-so-little-time dept.

IGN has an interview with Cliff Bleszinski, design director for Epic Games, in which he discusses the achievements and unlockable content in Gears of War 2. He mentions that the game won't be getting a PC version as its predecessor did. Gamasutra has a related interview with Epic's Rod Fergusson, who talks at length about developing the new game after experiencing the popularity of the old one, and how he manages the franchise's growth into other forms of media. He also explains the decision-making process behind issuing Title Updates.

17 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. No PC version? by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He mentions that the game won't be getting a PC version as its predecessor did.

    Yeah, right. They said Gears 1 wasn't going to have a PC version, either. Bungie said that their next project after Halo 2 wouldn't be Halo 3. Game companies lie about their future plans all the time. Gears of War 2 will have a PC version, it'll just be after they've wrung all they reasonably can out of the 360 version. Mark my words.

    --
    "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    1. Re:No PC version? by Cathoderoytube · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes I see your point. It's completely logical to pay to have a game that's no longer making any money ported to another platform where piracy is commonplace. It's not like game developers are beginning to focus on consoles because of higher sales and no piracy.

      --
      I have nothing compelling to say
    2. Re:No PC version? by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      From what I understand, it takes relatively little effort to port from the 360 to the PC. So, it really boils down to: "small" chance of making money > zero chance of making money.

      And plenty of developers are still making games for the PC. The market isn't going to die just because some doom and gloom prophets say so, they've been saying that for a while now.

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    3. Re:No PC version? by Walter+Carver · · Score: 2, Informative

      You said "no piracy", aren't there mod-chips for Xbox360?

      And you speak of the common misconception that there is no profit on the PC because people can pirate games.

    4. Re:No PC version? by Mex · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "The market isn't going to die just because some doom and gloom prophets say so, they've been saying that for a while now."
      Yeah, at least 10 years. I remember Evil Avatar saying "PC games are dead! Dying soon! " a few years ago...

  2. Three game press releases in a row? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Three game press releases in a row? C'mon editors - got anything for the dozen or so real geeks still reading this site every other day?

    1. Re:Three game press releases in a row? by HappySmileMan · · Score: 2, Informative

      All from the same guy (SoulSkill) too. (Yes I went and checked who posted them all when i noticed it.

    2. Re:Three game press releases in a row? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Is that because 'real geeks' don't play games now? Or because 'real geeks' can only like things that aren't 'mainstream'? Help me out here. This geek is 46 now and I'm unsure what kind of uncool you think I need to be to be cool now.

  3. No PC version by RichPowers · · Score: 3, Funny

    And nothing of value was lost.

  4. Not coming to PC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh no, a 2-hour long generic GRITTY bloomfest of a rail shooter isn't coming to the PC? EVERYONE PANIC

  5. Gears of War? More like Gears of Snore. by AbRASiON · · Score: 4, Informative

    My opinion FWIW

    I was under the impresion that Gears is an awesome game, I heard it on podcasts, I heard it on shacknews, I heard it EVERYWHERE, this game is more awesome than god of war, this game is 9/10'ths as good as GTA, this game is just fun, dumb, kickass bullshit - it's the predator of video games!
    Unlike my normal skeptical self, I went with the flow "Fuck yeah gears is awesome" - I think I've even recommended a few people to check it out, since I try to stay on top of the news in the gaming scene and what's hot, despite me not seeing it myself.

    Any time someone critisized Gears, you would see a response saying 'you've gotta try co-op dude' well,....I did.
    I actually purchased it about 5 months ago but left it on the shelf, saving it for when a friend would come over so I could play it co-op, I just let it age like a fine wine, after all it was a foregone conclusion that it's a wicked game, right?

    So a pal came over and I popped in gears - we played co-op for about 90 minutes.
    I was forcing myself to like it, infact I was forcing my pal to like it, he was bored shitless and I felt the same but I kept saying stuff like oh sweet and hey look out and all that shit - but in the end I could convince neither of us it was good.
    So I figured my friend was busted, or maybe out mood was wrong.
    I tried the same thing with another pal a week later, we played for about 60 minutes, I did the same thing, tried to like it and... no - it just didn't click, it wasn't really fun to be honest.
    I've since tried a 3'rd friend - again about 90 minutes and guess what - it felt boring, un-inspired and meh. :( I was crushed, I got this awesome awesome game which couldn't possibly be bad and it was well boring, like really boring - the only exciting thing was that cool camera angle / cinematic feel when running.
    I have to wonder if half the hype for the game is the graphics? At the time they rocked but I missed out on them. I'd seen Crysis, GTA4, Heavenly Sword, Mass Effect, Quake 4 all before I saw gears - maybe that's why it didn't impress.

    Definitely a very very over rated game and yes I love my dumb action crap like God of War etc.

    1. Re:Gears of War? More like Gears of Snore. by dunezone · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You got caught up in being spoiled by the hype. Its a great game but when you hear nothing but people saying its amazing, and awesome, you kind of psyche yourself out. You expect every part of the game to be the best of the best. And instead of actually enjoying the game, you are forcing yourself to enjoy the game cause everyone else did.

      Ill bring up a recent experience I had. The Dark Knight. I was told by many people this movie was amazing, that this would be "The Empire Strikes Back" of my generation. I didn't see the movie till about three weeks after its opening. By the time I saw it, my head was filled with so many people saying how great it is, how amazing, and the fact that a few people were comparing it to one of the best sequels ever made, that I psyched myself out. I was now sitting in a seat in a movie theater trying to enjoy movie instead of actually enjoying the movie. I expected every scene to be amazing. I felt as if the movie was spoiled because everyone said it was amazing and instead of judging it myself, I let others judge it for me. And instead I was criticizing the movie all the way through.

      The other issue is aging a game. Some games just don't age properly. Some last years and years, some only a few years. Goldeneye was amazing back in 1997/1998. But try getting someone new to play it now for the first time and they wont get it. Try getting someone to play Half-life now for the first time, they wont get it(and I am talking original build not the Source stuff). Now yes, Goldeneye is from 1997 and Gears of War is from 2006. Its only been two years, but there are so many games that carried mechanics (gameplay, graphics, etc) from it since then, its nothing special anymore. The reason gamers go back to old games is not to play them for the first time, its to play them again. Its tough to go back in time and attempt to play a game with graphics that are considered laughable today. With AI that is simple look and shoot. For a lot of games, there's a window of opportunity to play them, and if you miss that window, you've screwed yourself.

    2. Re:Gears of War? More like Gears of Snore. by johannesg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, major hype is part of the market isn't it? I had the same reaction with Halo: "it's ok". Not a bad game by any means, but not a revolution either. The level design was pretty crappy with its endlessly repeating identical corridors and floors. The two-weapon system was in my opinion just a workaround for not having a lot of keyboard keys to easily select weapons, rather than a wicked strategic choice. The enemy AI didn't really seem all that much smarter than that in other contemporary games.

      So, not a bad game, but just one of a great many similar games, with no particular outstanding features. The thing I enjoyed most was driving the warthogs. But it is way, way overhyped...

    3. Re:Gears of War? More like Gears of Snore. by AbRASiON · · Score: 2

      I am a single player gamer, we still exist believe it or not.
      MP DM does very very little for me, I want to be sucked into a deep and rich story with a start and a finish.
      That being said co-op can be fun, I don't really like Halo but I've played that co-op, it was ok.
      Left 4 Dead looks good in co-op, even Quake 1 and Doom 1/2 (which I played not more than 3 months ago at a lan) in co-op are substantially more fun than Gears.

      The formula is just broken to me and MP is the last thing I care about.

  6. It was the same at release as it was in testing by dmhorus · · Score: 2, Informative

    I play-tested Gears 1 for Microsoft as I live in the area and I have to say I had the same "meh" conclusion even then. Ive been an Unreal Tournament junkie since the original unreal and before them, Doom and Quake. I assumed that since Id be testing a project made by the same guys that gave me my cherished UT, I would be in for a treat of combat-science. Sadly this was not the case. I tested a portion of the campaign and then a map that was essentially a circular arena with short walls about the size of freeway dividers sprinkled around the perimeter to provide cover. The object was to test the cover system, which at that time was very buggy. The combat seemed fairly nailed down so I assume not much changed because I was so put off by the simplistic combat that I was never interested in purchasing it. The campaign amounts to running down a hallway shooting whatever comes at you. I felt like an extra in a revolutionary war battle re-enactment. Stand at attention in the open and simply unload on the things marching toward you. There was no point in taking cover since the enemy would always find you or simply throw grenades, so taking cover only limited your rate of fire and accuracy - no point in wasting the effort. At the time the gfx were sleek and this was the only attractive part of it. Combat is weak and unexciting, even if the bad guys are hard to kill it doesnt make it thrilling.

  7. Thats moronic. Please stop and think by Werthless5 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You are wrong on so many levels.

    1) Piracy is commonplace on consoles, too, you just don't hear about it as much

    2) Very few game developers have completely abandoned PC - these developers were gemerally butt-hurt from poor sales after producing a few shitty titles. See Valve, Blizzard, and Stardock, for a few big names

    3) If porting the game generates some profit, it will be done. Since porting the game costs effectively nothing, doing so will churn an enormous profit.

    Yes, it is completely logical to have a game that's no longer making any money ported to another platform where it can generate additional profit.

    It is completely ILLOGICAL to not port the game.

    As we've seen time and time again, 360 exclusive games are eventually ported to PC 90% of the time

  8. Re:Thats moronic. Please stop and think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A PC port of GoW2 would generate some profit, but I think spending their resources on a different, console project would generate even more profits. Gears of War PC didn't sell well. That and the PC port had many bugs. Not so easy and cheap to port, is it? Half-assed ports and games tend to piss off your buyers and would decrease future sales. For example: EA.

    All in all, a PC port is not as logical as you make it out to be.

    PS: Did you even buy the PC port of GoW? I'd venture no. You just seem to be "butt-hurt" over developers abandoning the PC.