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ElGranCabeza on 16 March 2010
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Onyxmeth said:
ElGranCabeza said:
Onyxmeth said:

I think there is some sort of control Microsoft has over Gears of War. To what degree I don't know, but seeing as how Gears 2 still hasn't had a PC release, which falls in line with Microsoft's first party lineup not having them, there does seem to be some sort of hold there. Otherwise why would Epic not put this on the PC utilizing a different publisher?

Mark Rein himself just said they own it and can do whatever they want with it. That means MS nas no sort of control over Gears of Wars. What most likely happened with Gears 2 was MS paid Epic to keep the game only on 360. That contract may or may not have expired, if it hasn't then the answer why it isn't on PC is obvious, but if it has then either Epic doesn't think it's financially worth it to release it on PC after all this time or they're waiting to make an announcement and make it a true director's cut, because they already had a GOTY edition, and honestly no one would buy a 2 year old game for full price so they would need to put something extra there.

I'm saying that this can't be worked into the argument that Gears is and has always been Epic's to do with what they want. Having a contract with MS is MS having some sort of control over the product, which was my point. Since you haven't been able to come up with any other answer as to why Epic wouldn't release it on PC other than an agreement with MS, then that shows that Gears has not been Epic's to do with what they want. Whether the next game is under these same restrictions is yet to be seen, but it's pretty easy to tell that Gears 2 was definitely not entirely in Epic's control, or if it was at some point they gave some control over to Microsoft for whatever reason. From Epic's standpoint I'm sure they would have loved to release it on the PC.

Of course if you have a contract agreement you have control of where that game goes for the duration of the contract, doesn't mean that you control the series, or even the game itself, it just means you have an exclusivity window. You do not know the terms of the contract so you don't know if MS made it worth it to Epic to release Gears 2 exclusively on 360, covering the revenue and profits they would've made it on a PC port. In the hypothetical situation of MS going to Epic and drawing out a contract which Epic accepted, that means Epic has total control of Gears and weighed their options and decided to take the contract offered by MS since that would be most advantageous for them at that time.

Onyxmeth said:
ssj12 said:
Onyxmeth said:

I think there is some sort of control Microsoft has over Gears of War. To what degree I don't know, but seeing as how Gears 2 still hasn't had a PC release, which falls in line with Microsoft's first party lineup not having them, there does seem to be some sort of hold there. Otherwise why would Epic not put this on the PC utilizing a different publisher?

Mark actually commented on this. He stated it segmented Gear's market and made 360 owners feel left out because the PC version of the first was much improved visually and had added content.

So Epic decided this, not Microsoft, they can always go back on what they said and put Gears 2 on PC at a later date with UE4 or at least UE3.5 w/DX11 support.

Mark can say what he wants. He's obviously going to rather put himself in a good light by saying it was his decision and not Microsoft's. However, those reasons don't coincide with any realistic approach Epic should care about. Those seem like the exact reasons MS doesn't want it on the PC. They don't apply to Epic at all. Epic should care about appeasing long time PC fans, building the fanbase of a franchise they created and already put on the PC once, showcasing the engine said game runs on to help sell it to developers on the PC, and maximize sales. Gears 2 didn't sell better than Gears did, and that's just the 360 versions. That doesn't count the lost sales from not releasing it on the PC at all. So if this was the plan to not segment the fanbase so it could maximize sales on the 360, it backfired heavily.

 I really don't mean to offend and if I do I apologize in advance, but you're being stubborn with your own believes and theories and conspiracies of what ifs. You seem to want to believe MS has control over Gears and that's that. I mean if the VP and co-founder of Epic Games words is not enough to tell you that you're wrong, then I'm not sure anyone here can tell you either.


This reminds me of when Bioware folks stated that the Mass Effect IP is theirs and they can do with it as they please and people were questioning it.