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Gimme that! First copy of New Zealand GoW
Over at the geek pulp, Geek posed a great question ... what on Earth do you get a xbox fanboy (who has a large disposable income and has pretty much everything ever created for the Xbox) for his birthday? Well, it looks like Geek came through and found the perfect solution, the first copy of Gears of War that was released in New Zealand. Mounted, signed, and polished all pretty too! Start drooling and wishing that you had such a Gears of War masterpiece ... or simply wishing you had a large disposable income.[Thanks, Glen]
Viral marketing infects GoW downloadable content [update 1]
It's that time of year when everyone gets to put on their speculation cap and their analytical pants to decode some viral marketing goodness. 2old2play found the site the above domain. The site is titled "RE-Emergence Day" and depicts the COG repelling down underground to take on the Locusts and a date 12-24-06 (that's Christmas Eve, FYI) plastered across the bottom. Not only is that exciting, but the website is registered to a JS Mining Corporation located on North Sera Road, Sera with administrative contacts of Baird, Cole. Getting that viral marketing feeling yet? All of this is speculated to be leading up to the release of downloadable content available Christmas Eve on the XBLM. But, the pessimistic side of me cries out hoax. This could easily be a fan of Gears messing with our heads, preying on our emotions, and ultimately making everyone depressed when the 24th rolls around and we get nothing. Anyone up for a little viral marketing?Update 1: Looks like this is fake. Mr. Rein, we just want some answers to what you're offering and when. Any info would be nice.[Via, 2old2play]
Gears of War to have free downloadable content
Speaking backstage at the Spike TV VGA awards, Epic Games President Mike Capps decreed that they will be providing downloadable supplements to Gears of War, free of charge. "We always take care of our customers," he said. "We always give them stuff for free and we're going to keep doing that forever."Capps' statement doesn't rule out the possibility that Epic will also release premium content, but this is a sign that the fans have more goodies -- likely maps, à la Halo 2 -- coming up. Rare, whose Viva Pinata seems intended for Gears' antithetical demographic, has gone on record stating hesitance at downloadable content, especially when money MS points are involved.Now that we have new downloads to look forward to, how about Epic gets that patch out before Christmas so we can put it behind us?
GOW kids: 2 million strong ... and growing
The unstoppable force that is Gears of War just keeps on being unstoppable. Microsoft announced today that the game has now topped worldwide sales of 2 million units. Keep in mind, this is 2 million copies sold in only six weeks of availability. Damn. Microsoft, naturally, is very happy with the development, and is quick to point out some more impressive numbers. Gears of War has seen over 1 million unique users on Live, playing a combined 10 million online games, and unlocking 7 million achievements. Okay, it's official: if the 360 has a killer app, Gears of War is it.
USA Today: Gaming's best and worst of 2006
USA Today published their critique of the best and worst 2006 had to offer in the video game industry. Not that these kinds of articles aren't a dime a dozen now a days, but it's an interesting read no matter. A few interesting highlights would be awards for Best First-Person Shooter going to Gears of War (shouldn't that be best second person shooter?), Best Game going to Oblivion, and the Playstation 3 taking home the Worst Console Launch of 2006 award (stiff competition). We're also intrigued by the Worst Industry Trend award going to micro-payments, which I'm sure most people would agree with. Although, micro-payments aren't that big of a deal as long as they are of value and aren't overpriced ... damn horse.[Via Digg]
Gears is unreadable and we want answers!
Alan over at 1UP brought up a very interesting topic a while back when Gears of War launched, stating he had issues with disc read errors when playing Gears of War. The funny thing is a select few of us in Fanboy Towers are also suffering from this evil Gears disc epidemic still today! Though, we too passed it off as a fluke, or a rare case, but even this week our Xbox 360 had to be reset due to this disc read error when playing Gears. Anyone else having issues with Gears acting up and causing you troubles? If so, complain below and release all of your anger ... on second thought, hold it in for months on end and use it to your advantage when playing Gears on Xbox Live. Genius!
Audio inspiration for GoW Wretches
After playing through Gears of War, have you ever wondered where that screaming sound those Wretches make comes from? Fear not, because the detectives over at joystickwidow have found the actual video that inspired that horrible Wretch scream. Now remember, this video is not for the faint of heart, this is extremely graphic content that we're labeling as ESRB Mature. Video is after the break ... if you're up for the ear piercing screech.
GOW glitch of the day: chainsaw yourself
We love Gears of War glitches. Sure, there are plenty of people out there that love to just play Gears of War, but there is another group, a group that lives to glitch. We salute you. Last week, it was the break dancing glitch, and now we bring you the self-chainsaw glitch. Embedded after the break is a video of Locusts and COG soldiers eviscerating themselves and feeling no pain. Enjoy.
Possible Christmas present: a Gears patch
In an interview with Planet Gears of War, Mark Rein revealed that the first patch for Gears of War would be for "housekeeping" purposes and will make only small adjustments to the game itself -- including the announced fix for squished aspect ratios. Many had hoped that the patch would add the much discussed party system to the game, but it looks like that will have to wait for next year. And, according to Rein, the first patch might not make it out this year either. Apparently, Microsoft's certification department closes fairly early in December, and Epic is toiling to get the patch in as soon as possible. The interview also contains a few questions about the game's success and where it will move in future iterations, so Gears fans may want to give it a read. By far, the best answer in the interview was the last one made by CliffyB. When thanked for answering "stupid questions," Cliffy replies, "There are no stupid questions, only PR approved answers." Priceless.[Via DCEmu. Image via Planet Gears of War.]
Don't have Gears yet? Get it for only $44.99
Haven't picked up Gears of War yet due to insufficient funds? Don't sweat it, we still like you even though you don't have the killer app for the Xbox 360 (you loser!). But now you have no excuse, because in this Sunday's ad Circuit City is offering a sweet $15 discount on Gears making it available for purchase at a very reasonable $44.99. You can choose to pick it up online and have it shipped to your doorstep or just head down to your local Circuit City to get it now. So, don't be the only kid on the block without Gears, because you'll just be ridiculed and have absolutely zero friends if you don't get this game ... oh yeah, I'm laying the peer pressure on pretty thick.
Break dancing GoW style
What do you get when you mix Gears of War, techno music, and some glitchy multiplayer? No ... not Cliffy B dancing on tabletops acting all crazy due to an acid trip silly. You get break dancing Gears of War style! Fellow fanboy reader Harrison was playing some Gears with his friends and suddenly found himself floating above the ground due to a little bug. Check out the YouTube video after the break and see him do some levitating break dancing, you have to supply your own techno music though. Now only if I could figure out how to make this break dancing glitch benefit me in multiplayer, then we'd have an exploit worthy of the cheater's hall of fame.[Thanks, Harrison]
Rock it dude, GoW music downloads
After reading the interview with the mastermind Kevin Riepl, who's behind the music of Gears of War, are you dying to get your hands on the video game soundtrack? Fear not fanboys, because you can download a sample of the main theme song and Locust battle tracks for free. Damn does this music sound badass, it's very edgy and just makes me want to play some Gears right now. Who's loving the sounds and music Kevin Riepl has put together for this game? After hearing these sample tracks I'm definitely picking up a copy of the soundtrack, how about you?[Via, Digg]
Gears composer interviewed
IGN has an interesting article where they interviewed the composer of all those pretty sounds you hear in Gears of War Kevin Riepl. In the interview, Kevin discusses how he came up with the feel of the music, what inspired him and how much interaction there was between him and the devlopment team. It's actually kind of interesting to get to see this side of the development process, one a lot of people don't think about. Head on over to IGN and hear (get it, hear him ... yeah) what Kevin has to say about his experience working on Gears of War.
GOW VGA bug fix is done, but not available
Epic head honcho, Mark Rein, dropped into the Gears of War forums to let players know that a fix for a VGA aspect ration problem has been developed. Normally, this would be great news. Unfortunately, the fix still has to go through certification before it can be rolled into the next update -- which should also include some other new features (ranked friends?). For those who don't know, the VGA bug created a problem for players without widescreen TV sets, resulting in a squished picture. Rein intimates that the reason for this error was actually because Epic only tested Gears on widescreen monitors. He assures us that Epic now owns a regular 4:3 monitor for future testing. We're glad for the correction, but it seems like more than a few developers aren't testing all the media configurations out there. Maybe Microsoft needs more specific testing guidelines.Have any of you been affected by this problem?[Via Joystiq]
Gears of War enhancements incoming, trilogy unconfirmed
"Why stop at three?" Epic's Mark Rein writes in response to Microsoft's Jeff Bell implying that Gears of War will become a trilogy. While no doubt a success, we're not ready to put Gears in the same league as Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, or Metal Gear Solid. Nevertheless, Rein points to these franchises' abilities to continue to deliver popular entertainment (beyond the trilogy mark) and suggests, similarly, the Gears universe still has plenty of content to offer fans. Sounds like plot might factor into the sequel -- and here we thought sawdomy* was the only thing this series had going for it.Rein did add that Epic's focus is still on the original Gears of War, promising to deliver "some great enhancements you'll hopefully see before too long." Perhaps ranked matches will be tweaked to support team-play after all.*Use of the chainsaw attachment to defeat your enemy; coined by Penny Arcade.
GoW is king on XBL for 2nd straight week
For the second straight week Gears of War has maintained its position as the most played Xbox/Xbox 360 game on Xbox Live. Since last week Gears has claimed the number one spot, kicking Halo 2 from its number one seat that it has held for a few years. I'm thinking that Gears will be at the top spot for a long time to come, only seeing competition months down the road. Who's been obsessed with Gears multiplayer choosing to play it over Halo 2 recently?[Thanks, un1qu3 n3wy0rk]
Gears sells 1 million in two weeks [update 1]
Excuse us while we wipe the mock surprise from our faces, but Microsoft announced yesterday that Gears of War has officially broken the 1 million copies sold mark. Sure, it's no surprise that GOW would sell a million, but it is very impressive that it has managed to do so in only two weeks. In fact, Gears of War has now become the fastest selling Xbox game evar. What is more, the game's popularity has driven more subscribers to Xbox Live Gold. According to Microsoft, paying subscriptions have jumped by %50. Of course, this achievement isn't quite as grand when you factor in the number of trial subscriptions that were boxed with Gears of War. Still, just like drugs, the first taste is free, and many trial subscribers will probably convert after two blissful months days of Gears. MS is also quick to point out that Gears has quickly become one of the highest rated games of all time (according to GameRankings.com), earning an average review score of 95% -- right now it's sandwiched between Wind Waker and San Andreas. Love it or hate it, if the 360 has a killer app, Gears of War is it. Did any of you pick up a 360 just for Gears?Update: Trial subscriptions are 2 days not two months.
Dear Epic: fix our GoW multiplayer
None other than Gamer Andy has posted a letter to Epic games on behalf of all Gears fans. In his lengthy post Andy writes his and what he feels is most of the community's opinion, trying to get the point across that everyone wants changes in the current multiplayer system, to fix the implementation, or at the least acknowledge the problems with multiplayer. This has been a hot issue since before Emergence Day and really hasn't been brought to the lime light on such a large scale. Gamer Andy is trying to get fans backing his post by Digging his article and get Epic's attention. I wrote a post a couple weeks ago comparing Halo 2's multiplayer to Gears of War and I totally agree with what Andy has to say. Let's help Gamer Andy get some attention and get answers to this annoying multiplayer fiasco ... Epic we just want answers.
Aussies to get free Live this weekend
Emergence Day is fast approaching the land down under*, and according to Australian gaming site, PALGN, Microsoft is giving Aussies a free weekend of Xbox Live Gold to celebrate. Starting this Friday at 3PM EST and ending Sunday at 10PM EST, the free weekend will give Australians a chance to play some Gears of War the way it was meant to be played. Additionally, David McLean of Microsoft Australia believes that Gears of War is on its way to becoming the 360's fastest million seller, outdoing all original Xbox titles. We have to ask the same question as PALGN, though: does that include Halo 2?How many of our Australian readers are picking up Gears this Friday (or possibly nicked it already)? If GOW isn't your thing, we suggest you wile away the weekend with Small Arms instead.*It was really, really hard not to make a Men at Work joke here.[Via QJ]
Microsoft lets it slip: Gears is a trilogy
CliffyB can deny it all he wants, but Gears of War is getting a sequel, two sequels in fact. In a recent interview with GameDaily, Jeff Bell, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for Interactive Entertainment Business (say that three times fast), confirmed that GOW is a planned trilogy. To wit:"The goal of this ad is to establish Marcus Fenix as the hero of the Gears of War trilogy."Bell was of course referring to the now infamous "Mad World" ad for Gears of War. For those interested, the interview also discusses Microsoft's strategy in the burgeoning console wars, but really, who cares about that, right? Gears of War is a trilogy, just like that other game we could mention. And trilogies, as we all know, are the new hotness.[Via You NEWB. Thanks, KilgoreTrout XL]
