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Gears dev: Hard data, human wisdom both vital to fine-tuning games
Data analysis is growing into a huge, more readily-available tool for game developers, but Epic Games Senior Designer Jim Brown delved into his studio's past struggles with data to warn GDC Europe attendees about misreading the swaths of information appearing on their screens. "You need to provide that context," Brown said, "which means that you need to have design skills, and in order to get the right answers, you need to ask the right questions."
Microsoft Studios acquires rights to Gears of War series
Microsoft Studios has purchased the rights to the Gears of War franchise from Epic Games, Microsoft announced. The publisher will take over all existing and future games in the series, and will hand development of future games over to Vancouver, BC developer Black Tusk Studios. Formerly Microsoft Vancouver, Black Tusk was said to be working on a new AAA game for Xbox One as of June 2013. Rod Fergusson, former Director of Production at Epic Games on the Gears of War franchise, is joining Microsoft and will play a "key studio leadership role" at Black Tusk. The last time we heard from Fergusson he was launching a new studio for 2K in the Bay Area; it would appear that relationship didn't work out. Each entry in the four-game Gears of War series was published by Microsoft since its introduction in November 2006. The last Epic-developed game in the series was Gears of War: Judgment, which launched in March 2013.
Pre-order Gears of War: Judgment at Walmart, get Gears 2 or 3 for free
Those who purchase Gears of War: Judgment will score a copy of the original Gears of War gratis, this much we know; however, Walmart is further sweetening the deal for those who pre-order through the retailer by offering Gears of War 2 or Gears of War 3 free as well.If you're on the fence, a public demo of the new OverRun mode will be made available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers on March 19, but that just so happens to also be the launch date for Gears of War: Judgment – so that won't be much help for your decision. If you want to score the additional two free games and included Classic Hammerburst skin from Walmart, you're going to have to pre-order before then.
Gears of War franchise surpasses 19 million sales
The Gears of War franchise has boomed to over 19 million sales, up a further million from the last figure disclosed back in July. Microsoft revealed the new milestone to us today.The publisher wouldn't confirm Gears of War 3's sales figures to us, but we know the game surpassed 3 million in its first week at retail. Back in June 2011, former Epic design director Cliff Bleszinski told IndustryGamers the Gears 3 sales target was "definitely over 6 million," with the interview noting Gears 1 & 2 combined sales being over 12 million. This is only speculation, but today's reveal suggests Gears 3 is nearing if not already over its target.
Skin Pack 2 for Minecraft delivers 45 new looks on XBLA
The XBLA version of Minecraft received a new skin pack recently, which includes 45 different skins for the game's main character. Among the pack, the second released for the XBLA game, are themed skins from a variety of games, such as Left 4 Dead 2, Castle Crashers, and Gears of War 3. Skin Pack 2 is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 160 MS points.Click past the break to see the complete list of all 45 skins. %Gallery-163359%
Epic Games gives away soundtrack retrospective for 20th anniversary
Epic Games has turned 20 years old, and to celebrate the company is giving away a free album of tunes from its games over the past two decades. You can pick up the tracks from the official blog right now. The set includes everything from the Main Theme of Unreal and the Menu Song of Jazz Jackrabbit, all the way up to tracks from Infinity Blade 2 and Gears of War 3.And what, you might ask, did they include as a bonus track? Perhaps the pinnacle of Epic Games' musical gifts to the world at large? It's the Cole Train Rap from the first Gears of War, of course. Woo baby! Bring it on sucka! Etc.
PSA: Gears of War 3 'Forces of Nature' maps out today
A quick note for all the Gears of War 3 players out there: The "Forces of Nature" map pack is now available on Xbox Live. The pack contains the three new maps Aftermath, Artillery and Cover, as well as the return of Raven Down and Jacinto. It also tosses in several new multiplayer characters.Forces of Nature is free to season pass holders. For everyone else, it's 800 MS Points ($10). See a ludicrous number of map videos after the break.%Gallery-151540%
New Gears of War 3 title update emerges tomorrow
The fourth major title update for Gears of War 3 is set to drop tomorrow, offering players yet another round of tweaks and bug fixes. For one, Savage Grenadiers and Savage Drones can now perform SWAT turns in Beast Mode.King of the Hill is also tended to -- ring locations are now visibile in spectator mode, and on some levels the ring locations have been moved. Other multiplayer tweaks include balancing the pistol fire rate between hosts and non-host players. And one particular glitch involving the elevator area on the map Hotel has been fixed.The minor maintenance, which goes live at 2AM PT tomorrow, precedes the launch of the Forces of Nature DLC pack next week. For the full update notes, check the source link below.
Gears of War 3 'Forces of Nature' DLC emerges March 27
Here we were thinking the battle for humanity was wrapped up in the Gears of War universe and Epic Games goes and ruins our celebration with new downloadable content! Revealed on GTTV tonight [via Side Mission], the "Forces of Nature" DLC will add three new maps to Gears of War 3 dubbed Aftermath, Artillery, and Cove along with two returning locales, Jacinto and Raven Down.Revealed by Epic executive produce Rod Fergusson, each map is described as taking place in the middle of or in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Gears of War 3 'Season Pass' holders will get the content free when it launches on March 27. No price was established for the DLC, but previous multiplayer DLC was made available for 800MS Points ($10).In addition to the maps, the DLC includes four character models, three of which were previously available as a pre-order bonus (seen after the break); five new weapon skins for immediate use; and two skins only unlockable via the Forces of Nature content. It's a good thing we didn't bronze our Lancers, because it looks like more grubs need killing.
Gears of War 3 toys bring the carnage down to a child's level
Gears of War 3 the video game may be targeted at mature adults, but Gears of War 3 the toy? Ages 8 and up. Sure, the kids pretending to shove chainsaw bayonets into Locust chest cavities may get the hands-on enjoyment of alien mutilation, but at least they're not watching it on a screen.A series of Gears of War 3 toys were spotted at the Toy Fair in New York, produced by Meccano and including the Armadillo APC (£24.99), the Centaur Tank (£34.99) and the King Raven helicopter (£39.99). The toys are still being approved by Epic Games, with plans to hit stores in August.
Four videos from GoW3 DLC Fenix Rising show maps, Locusts, booms
Fenix Rising, the third DLC installment of four in the Gears of War 3 $30 Season Pass, is available now for 800 MS Points ($10). Fenix Rising adds five new maps, three of which you can fly through in the videos below. The above video just shows some exploding Locusts and stuff.
PSA: Gears of War 3 title update 3 drops today
Sick and tired of people hiding in that one spot on Mercy and, well, mercilessly gunning you down? Well, Epic's finally fixed that (among other things) in its third title update for Gears of War 3. You'll be prompted to download the update upon booting up your game today. It also addresses ghost camera issues and allows players to prime a revive for a DBNO (down but not out) teammate by holding in the Y button before they approach. It's basically the same thing as holding in the X button before approaching a weapon pickup. Random Quickmatch playlist map order is another addition, as is non-Versus mode weapon swaps in Horde mode. Now, players will find the default weapons on each map that were available when the game initially shipped, as opposed to the current weapon assignments found in online versus multiplayer matches. [Thanks, Steve D.]
Joystiq Top 10 of 2011: Gears of War 3
If my life were a book, the chapter covering the last quarter of 2011 would be one page long and contain one phrase, in bold: Gears of War 3. In reality, lots of things happened to me over the last couple months, but aside from a brief affair with Skyrim, most of my time was spent going to farmers markets and crafts fairs with Gears of War 3. You know, committed relationship couple-type stuff.
Gears of War 3 'Season Pass,' props on sale today
Today's Xbox Live Marketplace holiday promotion covers Gears of War 3, with discounts on in-game content and at least one soon-to-be-discontinued Avatar prop. The highlight of today's deals is the Gears of War 3 "Season Pass," which grants access to four DLC packs (two already available, two upcoming) for 1800 MSP ($22.50), which is 25 percent off the regular price. There's also a 50 percent discount on the "Gears 3 Skins Launch Collection," also priced today for 1800 MSP. Microsoft will discontinue "gun-like Avatar items" from the Xbox Marketplace on January 1, 2012. This means here's your last chance to get the Gears of War Gold Lancer prop -- not only at a 50 percent discount of 160 MSP ($2) -- but, like, ever. The Gears Boomshield prop appears to be safe from delisting, and is also available for 160 MSP.
Scratch one Gears of War 3 demo
A demo of the "Shipwreck" mission in Gears of War 3 is now available for download on Xbox Live, exclusive to all Gold subscribers. The mission takes place during the first chapter of the second act on Gumdrop mountain, as Delta squad defends the butterscotch fountain from the evil armies of -- okay, you got us. The mission takes place after a shipwreck.
PSA: 'Gun-like' Avatar items disappearing from XBLM on Jan. 1
An official post on the Epic Games forums states that the Lancer and Hammerbust items for Xbox Avatars will not be available starting January 1, 2012. Those who have purchased the items prior to the new year are in the clear and can keep them. The post notes that the removal of the Lancer and Hammerburst are part of a new policy going into effect for "gun-like avatar items" on the Marketplace. It would appear that this is just the latest addition to the list of things Avatars can't have or do. We've contacted Microsoft to receive a comprehensive list of "gun-like" items being removed. [Thanks, Steven]
Gears of War 3 adds 'Fenix Rising' map pack on Jan. 17
The "Fenix Rising" map pack for Gears of War 3 will decorate players who are already well-versed in rolling shotguns. The new add-on, due on January 17, 2012, for 800 MSP ($10), adds five new maps, four character skins and "Re-up," the Gears version of Call of Duty's "Prestige." Here, it allows players to rank through level 100 multiple times for "exclusive emblems and weapon skins." The Re-up can be done three times to unlock the following weapon skins: Re-Up Plasma – Animated flowing plasma in gold. Re-Up Omen – Shiny, red Omen. Re-Up Electric – Animated, golden electric shocks. "Fenix Rising" is the third of four packs bundled with the $30 Gears Season Pass. The "underdeveloped" campaign DLC, RAAM's Shadow, was the most recent release, coming after the co-op focused "Horde Command Pack."%Gallery-142269%
Gears of War 3: RAAM's Shadow DLC Review
Gears of War 3 warranted some pretty enthusiastic adjective usage: "polished," "well-paced," "fantastic," even. I'd go so far as to call it the most refined, well-put-together shooter of 2011. So when the first piece of add-on campaign DLC, RAAM's Shadow, was announced, I was excited for it. More Gears 3, but set before the first game? It sounded great. Unfortunately, RAAM's Shadow elicits some different adjectives: "sloppy," and "underdeveloped."%Gallery-141261%
Gears of War 3 celebrates the holidays with 12 Days of Gearsmas
They just aren't the holidays without an active-reloaded Gnasher. Epic is ringing in the festive season with twelve days of custom playlists in Gears of War 3 and prizes, kicking off tomorrow at 5AM Eastern. Sorry, guys, the party's BYOEN (Bring Your Own Egg Nog). Hit the source link below for the list of what's happening in Gears of War 3, though we should point out the list may change at Epic's discretion. As for prizes, Epic's not talking yet.
Raam's Shadow DLC showcased in latest Gears of War 3 screens
Surprisingly, the Raam's Shadow DLC for Gears of War 3 is about more than just a solemn Locust brooding in the darkness. It's also about shooting lots of stuff with enormous future guns, as portrayed in the latest screens.
