[video games] Microsoft buys Gears of War, new title in the works?

Wow, I don't know where they got the idea that the title will be releasing this year. They likely JUST started full development on it. I'd expect late 2015 at the earliest. (Unless the article literally mean the title of the game, not the game itself...but that sounds silly)

I'm not really a fan of publishers/companies who keep a franchise going, despite the developers moving on to other things. I guess it can still be good, but I'd rather MS spend that ~$100M (and what dev costs go into these games) into other games. As it was, it seemed like Black Tusk was working on some new IP, but it looks like MS had them quit that project and focus on making new Gears games.

To be fair, I'm not a Gears fan. Though I generally feel that way about other IPs I like (God of War, LittleBigPlanet, R&C, etc.).I really hope Sony Santa Monica can work on something new, rather than yet another Kratos killing game for example (and I'm a big God of War fan).

 

I love Gears of War but if they want to continue the franchise they need to both come up with something better than Judgement and move in another direction. I'd love to see them do a whole series around the Pendulum Wars and focus on Adam Fenix and Helena Stroud and later bring in Marcus, Dom and Carlos. If it's just another game with Grubs then I'd probably pass.

 

Interesting.

DD

 

I hadn't played any of the Gears Of War games until recently. Played Gears 2 and really enjoyed it. I think it would be great to see it come to next gen but something tells me it won't have the same legs in terms of being a franchise as some other games would such as Halo. I get the feeling the Gears story has kinda been told already.

 

Why don't you think it was possible Black Tusk was working on Gears all along? I'm quite certain they've been working on this acquisition for some time. Also Microsoft has been trying to annualize their franchises, so this would be a good start to that if it and Halo5 came out this year. Didn't the last gears of war come out 2013?

 

I love Gears, but really, I thought it should have ended.

 

I loved 1/2...couldn't even finish part 3. Good game....just got sidetracked and I really felt like the story was tacked on basically after the first game.

 

Because this is very different than the project Black Tusk was working on last year (as it was described). Hiring for new IP, not an existing franchise, the E3 showing (which is now just being called a concept/tech demo as damage control), etc. Plus the usual "insiders." Pretty sure they were working on something else, but for whatever reason, MS has now made them switch projects. Maybe their project was just not turning out well, or MS is just a crappy publisher (or both). But yeah, I'm pretty sure Black Tusk hasn't been working on Gears this whole time (don't think they're big enough yet for 2 teams BTW). Even if they did some early work on it, I don't think you could REALLY justify going into full development of the idea without the IP deal done.

I'd have to look back at the history, but it wasn't even that long ago that the Gears team at Epic jumped ship (which would be the only time that Epic would consider selling the IP). So I'm not even sure they've been open to selling the IP for that long. As I think the PR states, they probably did only start these talks around last summer/early fall.

 

I just meant I imagine their deal was done awhile before it was announced, if not quite a bit of time. With that said, you're probably right that it won't be out this year. Who is to say Epic wasn't working on a new one and transferred assests though? I'm also guessing they have enough previously available assets that if they really wanted to kick something out quickly they could. $_$

Again, you're probably right though

 

With the timing of things, I wouldn't be surprised if this announcement came shortly after the deal being done. I agree that it isn't like Black Tusk JUST started thinking about it yesterday. But I don't think they've worked on things for too long. Maybe started some early work last summer (though probably later IMO). Depending on how the talks went, MS would have to decide who would work on it, whether Black Tusk should continue with their game, would they need to hire other people (like the new designer they brought in), etc. You can start some work, but really, until talks are pretty advanced, you probably don't want to send your whole studio into production on an IP you might not actually get (especially if it means cancelling their other project).

To be honest, I think 2015 is optimistic (this would be the first game by Black Tusk), but I think MS will push hard to get a Gears game out by then. 2014 is just ridiculous IMO. That would be such a rushed project.

 

if its anything like Gears 1 ill buy

if its anything like gears 2/3 no thanks JEFF

 

Don't know if you've read the books, but they did a really good job of fleshing out the story and the Gears universe so that 2 and 3 feel like natural extensions of 1.

3 was the best imo. Had so many powerful moments, nice level design and color palette, and the combat was challenging enough.

 

shouldve specified i was talking about multiplayer

 

Ive never been into Gears...Ive enjoyed most MS exclusives, but Gears hasnt done it for me, even though most of my friends have been into it.

Hope they come out with something that gets me into it though.

 

I think I read a couple graphic novels, but that's about it. I'm all for additional literature, (Fall of Reach was a great novel, and of course lead to Halo: Reach) but I don't feel I should have to read it for the video game's story to make sense. I feel that sort of thing should be self contained.

 

That was the big problem I had...rolling shotgun fest.

 

Pretty much the same thing here.

 

Regarding how long the team has been working on Gears<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/shinobi602">@shinobi602</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/XboxP3">@XboxP3</a> Leadership team has been involved for a month but studio has only been on Gears for a week.</p>&mdash; Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) <a href="https://twitter.com/XboxP3/statuses/428587431760121856">January 29, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Yeah, let's rule out 2014. 2015 seems optimistic as well.

 

Also, why do all of the brown dudes have to die as per usual? Surprised they didn't kill Cole. Kill Baird -- character was a dick and he suckeeeeed. Oh wait we need a tech geek, derp derp derp.
Needless to say I didn't play the most recent one. Unfortunately since it's now a MS exclusive I'm guessing I won't be playing it going forward. I do have fond memories of playing Gears co-op on PC though. Isn't quite the magic of couch co-op, but co-op on the internet can be just as fun if the company is good.

Good call.