Gears of War developer Epic Games "can't wait until they can start doing multiplatform games," thinks respected industry analyst, Michael Pachter.
Speaking in a roundtable discussion with GameTrailers, the games industry's favourite crystal ball-gazer said that platform exclusive games are "no way" worth it anymore, and that Epic are probably itching to bring Gears of War to PS3.
"I think that Microsoft has a contract to make sure that they get [Gears of War 3], but I think Epic regrets signing the contract," Pachter said.
"You're up to 11 million PS3s in the US and probably a similar number in Europe. You've got a 20 million addressable market with a game like Gears of War...that thing would easily sell three or four million on the PS3. That's a lot of profit."
Due to the increased userbase on PS3 compared to past years, the analyst said he doesn't expect to see any more third-party platform exclusives.
"The only games that I think will be exclusive after this current run of contracts expires is first-party titles," he said. We have to say - money hats aside - we think we agree with him.
The question is, would Gears of War have had the same level of success if it had launched as a multiplatform game? The Microsoft marketing budget would've been one significant loss, for a start.
There's little doubt it would have blended in with other great 3rd party titles. Behemoths like Gears and Halo are created in the marketing offices, not the games studio. Of course, it doesn't hurt they're terrific games too...
Wait a second. Didn't Epic release Unreal Tournament 3 as a timed exclusive on the PS3 and it didn't sell very well at all and was pretty damn glitchy too.
Then they make Gears an exclusive for the 360 and make an absolute killing,
If i was them i'd be regretting bothering releasing anyting for the PS3.
Who continues to pay this ass clown. surely whatever company he works for is realising he's just making s**t up.
Actually, I'd have to somewhat disagree with this.
The Gears of War games are pretty much flagship titles for the 360. Because of that, MS have marketed and heavily backed them - were they multiplatform, it's unlikely they'd have got that kind of backing from either Sony or MS.
Don't get me wrong, they're obviously good games and most likely would have sold well - but, it's certainly not as cut and dry and this ass-clown is making out.
I do agree that exclusive titles don't really make any sense anymore though.
why wouldnt they advertize the game if it was multiplatform??
thats a retarded notion.
Simple... Microsoft's money would go as much towards selling the PS3 version as its own. That's not in their nature... As a result, Microsoft would be unlikely to back the game at all.
why wouldnt they advertize the game if it was multiplatform??
thats a retarded notion.
Simple... Microsoft's money would go as much towards selling the PS3 version as its own. That's not in their nature... As a result, Microsoft would be unlikely to back the game at all.
so every other multi platform game advertized with xbox 360 at the end of it helped out sony too?!
there has been loads of adverts like that - only mentioning the 360 - where there has also been a ps3 version too.
whats the difference?
spite? sulking about what they thought was a special relationship?!
why wouldnt they advertize the game if it was multiplatform??
thats a retarded notion.
Simple... Microsoft's money would go as much towards selling the PS3 version as its own. That's not in their nature... As a result, Microsoft would be unlikely to back the game at all.
so every other multi platform game advertized with xbox 360 at the end of it helped out sony too?!
there has been loads of adverts like that - only mentioning the 360 - where there has also been a ps3 too.
whats the difference?
Essentially, if the game is Published by EA for example, on PS3 and 360, they tent to advertise both at once (usually at the bottom of the poster "Available on...". Reason is, it makes little difference to them which you buy, so long as you buy one of them.
However, if Microsoft or Sony publish something, since they OWN a console, they're only interested in what you'll but for their system. Vis a vie, they don't advertise multi-platform games; they leave that to the likes of EA and Ubisoft.
Oh, and games in magazines are bespoke. They'll post the 360 ad in 360 mags and the same for PS3. I know, because I make the ads. I guess they figure you're unlikely to care there's another platform with that game on it. Though that makes no sense, because you might have both.
well they're two of my favourite games this gen. i couldn't git a sh1t if they end up on the ps3. a good game deserves to be available to as many people as possible. don't expect a Wii version any time soon however!
saying that i don't think the ps3 could handle it plus the pad is gash anyway...
MS seem to have a bottomless pit of money so I would think that they throw a hell of a dollars towards exclusives. With that theory, the Gears developers may not miss out by just releasing a game on the 360. Pure speculation by me though
why wouldnt they advertize the game if it was multiplatform??
thats a retarded notion.
Simple... Microsoft's money would go as much towards selling the PS3 version as its own. That's not in their nature... As a result, Microsoft would be unlikely to back the game at all.
so every other multi platform game advertized with xbox 360 at the end of it helped out sony too?!
there has been loads of adverts like that - only mentioning the 360 - where there has also been a ps3 too.
whats the difference?
Essentially, if the game is Published by EA for example, on PS3 and 360, they tent to advertise both at once (usually at the bottom of the poster "Available on...". Reason is, it makes little difference to them which you buy, so long as you buy one of them.
However, if Microsoft or Sony publish something, since they OWN a console, they're only interested in what you'll but for their system. Vis a vie, they don't advertise multi-platform games; they leave that to the likes of EA and Ubisoft.
Oh, and games in magazines are bespoke. They'll post the 360 ad in 360 mags and the same for PS3. I know, because I make the ads. I guess they figure you're unlikely to care there's another platform with that game on it. Though that makes no sense, because you might have both.
not talking about magazines. there has been loads of adverts on telly for games available on both 360 and ps3, that have only mentioned the 360.
has their stupid rotating green xbox icon at the end, and says available on xbox 360.
There are multiplatform games out there that are as good or if not better that Gears of War, which haven't sold nearly as much across all platforms, due to various marketing reasons.
The problem for multiplatform games, unless they come from hugh publishing houses with huge marketing budgets they can get lost in all the hype of other games (particularly platform exclusive games). This will be especially true for new titles.
As well all know from pretty much everything in our daily lives, just because something sells a lot, does make it any good.
Its a calculated risk no doubt, but I'm sure Epic thought it through, as do Valve.
Very dissapointed this never came to ps3 after watching a preview of that game engine at developers conference and seeing elements that evolved into gears of war, they really let us down !
Well its true that Epic would of got extra sales, really thats a no brainer but to say that Epic themselves regret sticking with one format is a bit much, even for him.
He could say the same for ND and Drakes, of course it would mean they would sell more if it was multi. As to whether or not they regret to sticking to one platform, I highly doubt it.
why wouldnt they advertize the game if it was multiplatform??
thats a retarded notion.
Simple... Microsoft's money would go as much towards selling the PS3 version as its own. That's not in their nature... As a result, Microsoft would be unlikely to back the game at all.
so every other multi platform game advertized with xbox 360 at the end of it helped out sony too?!
there has been loads of adverts like that - only mentioning the 360 - where there has also been a ps3 too.
whats the difference?
Essentially, if the game is Published by EA for example, on PS3 and 360, they tent to advertise both at once (usually at the bottom of the poster "Available on...". Reason is, it makes little difference to them which you buy, so long as you buy one of them.
However, if Microsoft or Sony publish something, since they OWN a console, they're only interested in what you'll but for their system. Vis a vie, they don't advertise multi-platform games; they leave that to the likes of EA and Ubisoft.
Oh, and games in magazines are bespoke. They'll post the 360 ad in 360 mags and the same for PS3. I know, because I make the ads. I guess they figure you're unlikely to care there's another platform with that game on it. Though that makes no sense, because you might have both.
not talking about magazines. there has been loads of adverts on telly for games available on both 360 and ps3, that have only mentioned the 360.
has their stupid rotating green xbox icon at the end, and says available on xbox 360.
so it is no different to that.
He's right, the majority of multiplatform game adverts have the spinning xbox logo or the actual machine at the end saying "available on 360" whilst there's never any mention of the game being out on PS3 as well. Infact i think the Bayonetta ad is the only one i've seen recently that even mentions anything PS3 related with a quote from PSM magazine (which is a bit ironic seeing how much better the xbox version of this game is). Whether this is MS chucking a wad of cash about or just Sony doing f'all about marketing i don't know but there really is a severe lack of advertising on Sony's part.
Being a PS3 owner I have to admit Gears of War and its sequeal are impressive games and I know for a fact if it were to be released on the PS3 it would sell by the bucket loads.
Unreal Tournamenet 3 was badly timed, I bought the game but as it came out after the first modern warfare it just did not really stand out and hence suffered in sales.
why wouldnt they advertize the game if it was multiplatform??
thats a retarded notion.
Simple... Microsoft's money would go as much towards selling the PS3 version as its own. That's not in their nature... As a result, Microsoft would be unlikely to back the game at all.
OK so when we see MW2 or whatever on TV and billboards we dont see only the 360 logo? That game being multiplat doesnt stop MS pouring money into ads. Oh wait no you're right they didnt bother...
I think everyone here has misunderstood the whole thing though with the problem being with the multiple game exclusivity. If they just signed 1 or 2 games then they would get all the press they needed from those while 3 and beyond would not have to be as heavily marketed as a brand new game.
Dunno about the second one but GOW 1 is rubbish, shallow and repetitive game in terms of gameplay, and environment.
So PS3 owners, consider yourselves lucky its not on the PS3
well I thought the 1st one was probably just average at best, the 2nd one though was an absolute shipwreck so stay away from that one.
It is different, by three simple words ‘exclusive to Xbox’ for those words Microsoft would put all their PR and marketing teams behind it, the whole PR spin at the moment that’s started for Reach, that would not be happening if it was multiplatform.
The only reason Microsoft put their logo (and Sony for that matter) is to allow consumers to know that the product is available on that platform, the advert itself is made, produced, and most importantly, marketed by the company who publishes/makes it. The company with the logo at the end will pay a small fee but its peanuts comparative to the amount of drive for an exclusive title. And for any IP support like that can be crucial.
I really don't understand why this guy still has a job. Almost every 'prediction' he makes turns out to be wildly, painfully, embarassingly innacurate. His most recent gaffe was stating that Borderlands had been "sent out to die".
Pretty much anyone on any game forum could make far better predictions than this clown.
not talking about magazines. there has been loads of adverts on telly for games available on both 360 and ps3, that have only mentioned the 360.
has their stupid rotating green xbox icon at the end, and says available on xbox 360.
so it is no different to that.
Everyone remembers the 'Mad World' adverts, but it's highly unlikely that MS would have done that if the game was also available on PS3.
Quite simply, if it was a multiplatform release, you could argue that there wouldn't be an awful lot of advertising for it and it wouldn't have been the big-selling title that it is today. Therefore, they might not have even sold as many copies on both the PS3 and 360 as they did on the 360 alone.
Obviously, this is purely speculation on my part, but I don't get paid for it. Pachter does.
Well its true that Epic would of got extra sales, really thats a no brainer but to say that Epic themselves regret sticking with one format is a bit much, even for him.
He could say the same for ND and Drakes, of course it would mean they would sell more if it was multi. As to whether or not they regret to sticking to one platform, I highly doubt it.
well ND are part of sony so that's not a great comparison dude.
Unless you're absolute tossers like Valve, 3rd-party exclusives are definitely a thing of the past.
Epic signed the deal with MS at the time, PS3 had basically 0 momentum so what reason would they have to make the games for that platform? Now the tale is different yes, but Pachter should stfu because Epic dont regret being paid a fat wad by MS for being exclusive to that console.
I've got both Gears games and they are great games, there's no doubt about it, PS3 would benefit from having them becuase they ARE system sellers for sure. They may not be quite as high profile as some consider a FP-exclusive but if you're a 3rd-party dev making exclusively for one system you're gonna get the tech support from those teams too.
thanks conkers, i was about to say that. the funny thing is that despite doing that half the time it doesn't really effect sales one way or another. In fact i think assassins creed one got the sony logo at the end of it and ended up seeling more on the 360 anyway.
But exclusives are incredibly profitable for the 2nd third parties that make them, well so long as they sell. But thats a given. Certain games MS and Sony will pay the company to make sure its an exclusive. which will give them money back from development before its even shipped and then a lot of help and funds for extra marketing.
Its a good way of getting your game a lot of extra attention and possible sales.
Its why capcom have let nintendo market monster hunter 3 in the west.
the latest ravin rabbids didn't sell very well. Strangly enough the casual market works more through word of mouth than anything else too. There's never actually been an advert for wii sports itself.
Pretty much anyone who posts on this (or any other) site could come to most of the obvious conclusion he arrives at. I would be quite happy if i never saw his opinions again, he is beginning to irritate me almost as much as that mental American lawyer (Jack Thompson) used to.
i think having a good game out on both systems, with no advertising will sell more than being out for just one system and loads of adversting.
... unless its a cheesy game like wii sports or raymonds rampant rabbits. they benefit greatly from advertising.
most of the people buying gears of war knew about its release well beforehand.
What people on gaming forums and the like across the internet need to realise is that the majority of people who own these machines do not visit sites like this. The vocal minority may seem like a lot when you come to them day in day out to argue to same points over and over, but most owners of these machines will only know of a game when they are advertised elsewhere than the gaming press.
A game will not sell on its own merit, it needs to be advertised, especially when a large proportion of your available sales base is unaware of the product available to you. Marketing is crucial and king when it comes to driving sales, there is no argument against this.
I'd like to see the evidence behind his claims. Epic seem to be doing fine with G.O.W the way it is, and if they wanted to go multiplatform I'm sure they could make another IP.
many games have sold millions without any tv space whatsoever.
do you think the causals sit in front of their tellys and wait for it to tell them what to buy?!
word of worthy purchases will be passed down the chain from more knowledgable mates.
this will be far more effective.
advertising ropes in kids who's eyes light up at the flashy sequences.
So, that would be your marketing strategy, would it? - you'd just rely on word of mouth?....Jeez, where were you when Sega were releasing Shenmue and really needed your input?
Also, you'll probably be surprised to find that not that many games have actually sold millions. Most of those that have, have always had a big advertising strategy behind them.
Epic Games will soon when the Microsoft deal expire will make Gears of War Series available and upgraded to PS3 qualities. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Team-PlayStation/259060802822?ref=mf Join this new Facebook PS3 group.
Well its true that Epic would of got extra sales, really thats a no brainer but to say that Epic themselves regret sticking with one format is a bit much, even for him.
He could say the same for ND and Drakes, of course it would mean they would sell more if it was multi. As to whether or not they regret to sticking to one platform, I highly doubt it.
well ND are part of sony so that's not a great comparison dude.
Ok Insomniac games then and the Resistance series.
many games have sold millions without any tv space whatsoever.
do you think the causals sit in front of their tellys and wait for it to tell them what to buy?!
word of worthy purchases will be passed down the chain from more knowledgable mates.
this will be far more effective.
advertising ropes in kids who's eyes light up at the flashy sequences.
You think that word of mouth is the biggest driver of sales? It accounts for a very small percentage, and a lot of that will be driven via the advertising itself. What games do you think have sold well without any advertising at all?
The marketing I am talking about is not just on TV, I’m talking all bases covered. TV, print, radio, internet and outdoor. As for the ‘casuals’, yes, that’s exactly what happens, though it’s not quite telling them to by it, it’s giving them a 30 second piece that explains why they can’t possibly live without it. As for the ‘casuals’ that’s what the advertiser want, not you, they want those who would not usually buy their products, specifically 16-34 ABC1’s, the most elusive of all demographics and that the advertisers crave the most.
You (and I) are in the minority, we are knowledgeable about the marketplace, most consumers are not as well informed and will rely on the more traditional sources of information, that being TV, magazines outside of the gaming sphere (a la FHM et al) and this is the only way they will base their money spending decisions on. That’s the way it works!
Anyway, enough of this jive, I’m off home to finish Mass Effect again.
Considering ms own the rights to gears of war, paid for it to be made and then pumped up cash for marketing, i say the chance of this appearing on PS3 is nil.
It was the demo that made ms put 512mb of ram in the box. Its sales for both games are around about 10 million units, not too shabby.
Gears of War 3 to be announced at e3 this year, it has to be.
Epic Games will soon when the Microsoft deal expire will make Gears of War Series available and upgraded to PS3 qualities. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Team-PlayStation/259060802822?ref=mf Join this new Facebook PS3 group.
It's an established brand, regardless of advertising, it would sell more if they released it on the PS3 aswell. It probably wouldn't do quite as well on the xbox as it had in previous years, but it'd still do more than alright for itself!
Would I be right in thinking MS only 'own' Gears for 3 games? I can't see why Epic wouldn't go mutli - platform after that, unless MS paid them a s**tload of cash, although they might not be quite so prepared to do that after the GTA DLC didn't go quite as well as they may have hoped.
@Conkers, that's usually the case, but look at COD. COD4 in particular, I believe word of mouth was a massive drive for that game. Any game that's of a very good quality, word of mouth is going to help push it along a lot.
I personally don't remember COD4 being advertised much at all, infact, I had no interest in it until I saw a review. I was the olny guy with COD4 in my year for a good couple of months, I BEGGED people to buy it, but they didn't understand. Then a couple bought it and slowly, withing a few months almost everyone who owned a console had it. I think ads only accounted for maybe 10 percent of those. (I do realise my 1 year in 1 school isn't a very broad survey).
the latest ravin rabbids didn't sell very well. Strangly enough the casual market works more through word of mouth than anything else too. There's never actually been an advert for wii sports itself.
omg i cant stop laughing ivan_psp you f**king nerd go get laid you sado elite playstation get a f**king grip the only people joining that are hitman bazza, ps3-f***yboy, slickloose, and iwill actually your all probally the same person rofl :L
iwill again you troll dont you know that xbox 360 games outsell ps3 games, gears would sell more on 360 most ps3 games gather dust on shelves
I told you it's Lwill.
Oh christ, you're not bringing your resentment for me in this thread to5? It's f**king pathetic. I made a perfectly good point, regardless of your ignorance for . . EVERYTHING in life, Gears would almost certainly sell more if it was on the PS3 aswell. Christ, I even said it'd probably sell less on the 360 as a multi - format game than a 360 exclusive, but I still think they'd benefit from going multi - platform.
i thought i heard my ears burning. well if it isn't dorian the biggest ps3 hating sad act ever! go on, give yourself a pat on the back cos thats quite the honour. When you hit puberty, let me know oh and don't say ur a bloke cos if are you are or not, your gonna embarrass yourself either way.
i dont think ive ever said a bad word bout the 360, just that i PREFER the ps3.
On topic, i have played these and i didnt think much of them. BUT i'm sure IF they came, they would sell well.
Somehow Epic managed to make Gears look pretty slick on the 360 - I often wonder if that's why the characters walk so slow, to keep a stable framerate!
However, I think the Halo series would really benefit from the power of Playstation - Halo 3 looked a little washed-out IMHO even if it did play pretty well...
as microsoft are the publisher of the gears games does that still make it a 3rd party series of games?
surely the same question applies to all of insomniac's games as they are independent but Sony publishes their games. resistance 1 and 2 would definitely have sold well on the 360.
if the games were published by EA or activision perhaps the advertising and marketing budgets would still be very large if the game was multi platform. the only thing is the game would cost more to make due to needing more staff to do it.
Wait a second. Didn't Epic release Unreal Tournament 3 as a timed exclusive on the PS3 and it didn't sell very well at all and was pretty damn glitchy too.
Unreal sold more on the PS3 than the 360. Not by much though, only around 100,000 copies.
i HAD gears2;first off the game lagged always;and everything they did to fix it made it worse;so i say let them go;for you ps3 players you would have to be a moron to buy gears of war;they still have not fixed gow2 for the xbox;then they put out map packs;then come off with hidden fronts where you get all packs at a lower price plus a new deleted single player for less then the packs were to start with;and if you didn't get hidden fronts some optoins in the game were turned off keeping you from playing on snowblind packs;when it first came out nothing in game play was really wrong;fix the glitching and bridgehosting and lag issue;no,no change the chainsaw;change the smoke(first time on smoke change you got blown off the map FROM SMOKE(STUN))but after ruining the org. set-up of the game and all the patching;it still is the most laggiest(spelling or it isn't a real word) game out.
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. Reason is, it makes little difference to them which you buy, so long as you buy one of them.
