Gears Of War 3 tops Nordic chart
Microsoft’s thirdperson shooter secures the number one spot in its second week of availability.
Microsoft’s thirdperson shooter secures the number one spot in its second week of availability.
Playing live - Thom Dinsdale looks at Microsoft's novel TV campaign for Gears Of War 3.
2We go in-depth with Epic's creative director on Gears Of War 3's story, themes and design.
8Gears Of War 3 sold more than three million copies worldwide in its first week on sale, publisher Microsoft has announced. The game has already grossed more than any other release this year, and the series has become the first Xbox 360 exclusive franchise to gross more than a billion dollars. More >
3Final part of Epic's Unreal-powered trilogy enjoys the best launch of the year so far.
1Epic's personality-rich shooter delivers the definitive Unreal experience.
11Gears Of War 3 producer Rod Fergusson has revealed that the game will be playable in stereoscopic 3D. "It felt like something we wanted to have," he told Eurogamer. "It was a feature we didn’t want to be deficient in. It's still fledgling technology, it's still a niche feature, but it was something we could support. I love the qualities it provides, the window into a world…It's a different experience but it's a really good one."
1In an extensive interview published on the site today, executive producer Rod Fergusson admits the premature leak earlier this month of a development build of Gears Of War 3 was "saddening" and "frustrating," but saves his harshest words for those who sought out story spoilers. "It's people choosing to ruin their own experience," he tells us. "I get people going, 'oh no, I just watched this thing on YouTube and it's totally given away something'. And I go, 'well, why did you go looking and why did you watch it?'" He also hints at repercussions for those that shared video footage of the game, saying: "We're extremely diligent about getting that stuff taken down and issued a call to fans to not perpetuate it…and just keeping track of those who do. I don't think everybody's aware of the potential repercussions of those types of actions."
2The series' executive producer tells us why chainsaw guns could be “limiting the franchise”.
Microsoft looks set to publish a Gears of War game in Germany for the first time after regional classification body the BPJM cleared the 18-rated, third entry in Epic’s shooter series for release without any cuts. Microsoft opted not to publish the first two games in the country due to its strict anti-violent game stance. Imported PEGI-rated versions of Gears 1 and 2 were subject to regulations which forbid all press coverage and marketing, although retailers were theoretically still able to sell them to consumers who asked.
A development build of Epic Games's shooter, set for release in September, appeared on torrent sites over the weekend. Said to contain the full singleplayer campaign, the leaked version only runs on debug Xbox 360s or those fitted with modchips. In a statement to IGN, Microsoft said: "We have seen the reports of Gears Of War 3 content being propped on the web and are working closely with our security teams and law enforcement to address the situation. This content is not from a final build and is not representative of what fans will enjoy when the game launches." The spoiler-averse should take extra care on YouTube: campaign footage has already appeared on the video-sharing site.
"If we had put it into Gears 3, considering the development timetable, it would have been a tacked-on feature," said Epic Games' Cliff Bleszinski during a behind-closed-doors session at E3 yesterday. He's a fan, though: "I had an interesting conversation where one of the PR people pulled me aside and was like, 'It has come to our attention that you might not like Kinect.' I went to the fucking launch of it in New York. I love it. This is so strange."
An overwhelming amount of motion dominates Microsoft's E3, much of it going backwards.
13Executive producer Rod Fergusson discusses the importance of open betas and the tech behind the Samaritan demo.
Microsoft confirms four maps, two of which chosen by fans, and three multiplayer game modes.
We get reaquainted with Epic Games' visceral multiplayer experience ahead of the series' first beta release.
Final part of the thirdperson shooter trilogy coming in September.