Rein: Epic "owns" Gears IP, "can do what we want with it"

VG247: Epic's Mark Rein has said that the developer owns the Gears of War IP, and can do with it what it pleases.

Speaking with VG247 at GDC last week, we asked Rein to clarify for some of the more paranoid out there, whether or not Microsoft had some nefarious hand in the developer's cookie jar.

[qface64]

oh boy i can already see the speculation this is going to cause

[movements]

That's why:

http://n4g.com/xbox360/News...

It'd be a great move if they want to keep said title exclusive.

[captain-obvious]

i don’t think this game going multiplat anytime soon

but if it did it would be great since more PPL can enjoy it
because you know this is what gaming is about ??
enjoyment and fun ??

it seems fanboys dont know what those words means

[qface64]

uh no dude it would be a very dumb move for EPIC they can make more money in the long run by staying independent as well as having creative freedom to do what they want or work with whoever they want

your pretty much saying its a good move for them to pay billions of dollars just so they can keep gears of war exclusive

[dangert12]

MS and Epic have an outstanding relationship through gears and shadow complex MS promoted the games like they were there own
for them to take it multiplat would really get under MS Skin...
They'd probz buy a few more studio's so they can actually keep there titles

[ReBurn]

Good to know that's cleared up. Now everyone's free to make up whatever rumors they wish. Gives us all something to argue over in the future.

[Jinxstar]

Movements.

With crystal tools, Cryengine and plenty of other multi plat engines running on both systems now it would not be worth it... The company is WAY to expensive for what they have right now... Potentially half a billion or more to keep gears IP....

@ Others

I mean Epic not bringing it to the PS3 at some point is kinda... I dunno. I say wait for E3. There is so much money to be had in the end and MS would have to beat that potential in order for it to stay exclusive... I feel Epic may stay exclusive similar to Insomniac or Valve but at the same time thats a lot of money for any company to simply pass up. Especially with a name like Gears.

[morganfell]

MS only owns the publishing rights to the 360 version. The PC version rights do in fact belong to Epic. As regards the PC version, U3 developers were actually given 5 levels of Gears 2 on the PC. It was downloadable from the U3 Developers Network. All first 5 levels with cutscenes were available and could be run on the PC with either KB/M or with a controller.

[sikbeta]

Duh...Obviously, they can do whatever they want with it, so?

[MurderMyDoll]

As much as i'd like to be able to play Gears on my PS3 the 360 is it's rightful home and should stay there

[HolyOrangeCows]

"we asked Rein to clarify for some of the more paranoid out there, whether or not Microsoft had some nefarious hand in the developer’s cookie jar"

They funded a multi-million dollar advertisement campaign and wouldn't have if it were on the PS3 as well. Don't try telling us that money had nothing to do with it.

[iFLOWLIKEWATER]

@Morganfell...

And I hate the fact that they tried to shoe horn the pc maps from Gears 1 onto the 360 in Gears 2...they looked terrible. Jacinto is from the ground up on 360 and it shows that the UE3 works well with the 360...

[vhero]

They can release Gears 3 multiplatform and rake in double the cash in fact they could probably rival the latest call of duty this Christmas as we know there will be one just wait for E3.. They own the IP they can do what they want nuff said really..

[mal_tez92]

I liked the first game but can't play the second.

Even a PS3 version would be good.

[himdeel]

...MS won't let that happen, regardless of what Rein says.

[bioshock1221]

I think he is just saying that he can bring it to the PS3 or any other platform if they wanted to but they wont since they have a great relationship with MS and they made it the huge success it is today.

[WildArmed]

I think Gears is great where it's at.

Ofc, I wouldn't mind giving me back my PC gears 2.. they left many PC games hanging after the first.

Either way, where ever Epic takes gears, its bound to be good.

[NateNater]

Thank you captain obvious!

Pun intended

[pixelsword]

The people at Epic aren't dummies. I'm sure Epic's leaning this out for some reason; maybe to get Microsoft's attention, but who knows.

Besides, without a MAJOR upgrade, who's going to buy it who didn't already buy a 360 for it?

[SonySoldiers]

..AM COMING !!1!!11

[Def Warrant]

Que the asumptions in 3...2...1... /jk

On topic:

I seriously wouldn't mind playing Gears 3 on the ps3 if i could. I played Gears 1 and 2 when i had a 360 early last year. Hopefully Epic will do the unthinkable and make it a "CONSOLE" multiplat title. There's just too much money to make when you go multi.

[maxcer]

like UT3? i swear most people here don't realize epic has made unreal games for the last 11 years, and all they have ever done is gears.

[WildArmed]

UT3 was pretty bad... other then the awesome DLC support and Mod support they gave.

The previous (PC) iterations were alot better.. just my opinion though.

[AXAXAX]

I couldn't care less. There is way too much goodness coming out on ps already

[GR8 1]

You really think that Microsoft will let PS3 have one of there biggest games on 360. NO

[Marty8370]

Diference is Tool, that Epic own the Ip. Microsoft couldn't stop it.

Jump Out Play B3yond

MOVE over LAGTAL

[awesomeperson]

Did you read the article?

[drtanuyn]

hey gr8 1,
erm werent you on here the other day
trolling around saying that halo:reach was thee next best thing from water

may I, drink some of your lovely, sparkerling, gears of war magic juice please?

oh yes! this GeOW juice is clearly better than your halo-water
delicious!!

[EvilBlackCat]

"You really think that Microsoft will let PS3 have one of there biggest games on 360. NO"

soooo??

what if?

are you afraid of dying because of that??

come on wake up and be a gamer

“We own Gears of War. We can do what we want with it,” Rein told us. “We have a great relationship with Microsoft, and they helped turn the game into a huge success for us, and we are pretty happy with the way things are going”

[xg-ei8ht]

Make more money being exclusive. Nah.

Even if MW2 was exclusive to PS3, OR 360. it wouldn't have made more money.

As HHG says.

Thats crazy!!!

[3sq]

Good, keep that ugly glitched game on the sh!tty last gen hardware. Don't let it near my PS3, thank you. :P

[PandaJenkins]

I think he made it sound pretty clear they have no plans to release it on the PS3. I think he just wants to make the point that it is their series and that Microsoft don't actually own it since there is silly debates about it. Gears 3 must be coming though, and I only expect it to be released on 360 and PC.

[Viper7]

Didnt they have a 3 game exclusivity deal with Microsoft, I tough I read it from somewhere. Microsoft is at least publishing the games, so that would at least support that deal.

[crck]

I think it has more to do with Rein's trying to get leverage on MS then making a point to fanboys. Let's face it 3rd party devs know MS is the money tree this generation. Have a multimillion selling game? Go to MS for money to make it multiplat, timed exclusive or exclusive and you'll get a fat paycheck. Can't really blame Reins, since its the environment MS has created.

[corneliuscrust]

They'd probably have released gears 2 by now....dont you think?

[Disccordia]

It was a two game deal

[RememberThe357]

Look on the back of your Gears of War case, it says it right there.

[XDF]

Gears of War 2 didn't even make it out on PC...why willthe series be on PS3?

All Microsoft did was published the series and threw in a hefty Multi-million dollar marketing behind it.

EPIC would be bought out by Microsoft before that happens.

[lzim]

PS3 people will pay for it. And they'd be happy for a proper online shooter.

[raztad]

Who cares for the port of such an old game when PS3 owners have UC2 to play? Gears 2 on PS3 would sink faster than the titanic, like happened with Bioshock.

It would be interesting if a third iteration is released on the PS3, I highly doubt it though, Gears is very rooted in xbox land. ME2 coming to PS3 is a lot more likely.

[corneliuscrust]

is still VERY unlikely, no matter how many rumours come out

[emk2004]

you do release that epic dont have to sell themselfs to ms right? if they wanted to go multiplat there is nothing ms can do other than b@tch and moan. anyways its staying exclusive to xbox360, gears2 asnt even come out for pc yet. but if it ever gose multiplate its gona be gears 1/2 on a single blue ray combo deal.

[spinbot_lv1]

multiplat confirmed. I'll wait for a E3 announcement.all the 3 episodes "gears of war collection edition" on a single blu-ray

[Omega4]

Well MS own the publishing rights so it wont be going anywhere but the 360/PC. Plus Epic and MS relationship is too good for them to bring it over to the PS3.

[Pennywise]

Really? I know its early, but it is that had to know what Mark Rein just said?

I know you love to troll, but... REALLY?

You are like a kid arguing the balloon is red when it is clearly BLUE.

[AssassinHD]

Correction: Microsoft has the publishing rights [on the PC and Xbox 360]. See how sentences can have completely different meanings when you leave a few words out?

Epic could publish the game on the PS3 if they wanted to. I doubt they will, as they state they have a good relationship with Microsoft, but let's not start with the selective reading here.

[PirateThom]

Publishing means NOTHING when the IP is owned by another party.

See also, Ninja Gaiden 2, published by Microsoft.

Difference? Microsoft are known to have a two game exclusivity deal.

[-MD-]

Gears of War 3 on PS3 confirmed.

[Sitris]

And the Ps3 fans are super confident that Insomniac isn't going multiplat, but neither side has any real proof for multiplatform. And yet the rumors exist, either everyone believes everything on the internet or people are just gulible. just my 2 cents

Edit: I personally don't care either way, played GeOW 1 didn't really like it, but would still love for it to come to my console (PS3) and would also love for a great developer in Insomniac make games for everyone to enjoy, not just the PS3 owner as i believe they deserve way more sales then they are getting on PS3

[Neurotoxin]

Maybe its a trade lol.

[AssassinHD]

Actually it is not quite the same. Xbox 360 owners are super confident that the Gears of War series will not go to the PS3, and PS3 owners are super confident that the Resistance and Ratchet & Clank series will not go to the Xbox 360. There is nothing stopping Insomniac from producing a multiplatform title, but Sony owns the Resistance and Ratchet IPs. Microsoft does not own the Gears of War IP.

Edit: I would like to go on record as stating that I do not believe the Gears of War games will ever be released on the PS3. I am just saying that the possibility is there.

[GR8 1]

NO im saying that Micrsoft will end up buying EPIC sooner or later anyway, oohhh sorry PS3 fanboys i know you guys want Gears 3 on ps3 but you CANT!!!

[THC CELL]

Epic wont sell up
They are trying to tell us all the long way round they want something on the ps3 to prove they can do better than xbox

Do u think developers like been limited by xbox with the same crap NO

Now they have seen uncharted 2 i bet they clicked and said to each other
wow Gears of war would be amazing on ps3

Like bungie they love there independence
and nothing can stop them developing for ps3
that is something you will have to be afraid of in the future
then again
Who says they can ever make a game as good as halo
the rest of there games my be rubbish
as i am not a fan of halo..i am glad reach is the last one

Oh and just think xbox 720 wont sell due to no new halos hahahaha lol

Ps4 would only have to release metal gear 5 or 6 for ps4 and it would sell big time
off topic sorry i am in that moment

Gr8 1 listen to this and i no ya blood will Boil but its true
Socom 4 was shown last week in alpha stages and It LOOKS! miles better than Gears of war in gfx gameplay and the rest lol

God of war 50% of ps3 power
Face it ps3 is the most powerful console you will see for years
and not even the next xbox can top it at this moment

i can dream of ps4 just ending other consoles on the market for a good 20 years

[young juice]

epic has as much a relationship with microsoft as kojima had with sony, now look at your avatar....yeah the truth is that epic is an independant company. and microsoft doesnt have the resources or money to aqcuire their huge company.

[clintos59]

But imagine gears of war 3 using the uncharted 2 engine or better yet god of war 3 engine & taking advantage of bluray, man this game would be pure awesomeness. I can only DREAM lol.

[-MD-]

Am I the only one that thinks Uncharted 2's visuals blows God of War's out of the water?

[Antan]

"Am I the only one that thinks Uncharted 2's visuals blows God of War's out of the water?"

I`ll let you know this friday.

[THC CELL]

u should goto specsavers

Btw god of war 50% of ps3 power Lol

No ps4 is needed at this moment
no developer can unlock the full power of ps3

[emk2004]

@ Murderdolls

i still think kz2 looks better than uc2 when it comes to sheer polygons, but man uc2 detailed environments blow me away.

[Hidden Star]

PS3 Version confirmed.

[dragonelite]

I dont man.

Does epic want to loose microsoft marketing machine for 1 million extra copies sold. Because they will porbably loose so many fans and dont get the exposure to the public if they stay with microsoft.

[THC CELL]

i like how some of the xbox fans become sweet again

To be honest i dont want gears or any epic game

i want More uncharted and more killzone and mag 2 and socom 4 what makes Gears look bad in alpha stages lol

[Majors]

I purchased a 360 several months ago just to see what all the fuss was about with gears of war and several other "exclusives" MS have on their system. I came to the conclusion the GEOW 1&2 are utter rubbish, big hefty characters, bad controls, VERY Linear, too many loading areas and basically a rough unfinished game. After 4 weeks of testing and playing my 360 went the journey and i sold it for £50 with 20gb hdd 12 games 2 controllers,6 months live & all leads and spare batteries etc (I didnt want to rip anyone else off and I thought £50 was a high price for what it was)
So all in all which PS3 owner actually wants this game when we have much better games to play and coming soon.

p.s. Dont take this as fanboyism is just exactly what i experienced from this machine and its online capabilities. I will not make the same mistake again..

[The real killer]

Gears of war series still a 360 exclusive, Mark Rein told only that IP belong to them and can do any day what they want nothing more, so there is no Gears of War coming to de PS3.

Microsoft will also give EPIC lots of money to prevent for the PS3, that's the way how Microsoft play in the game industry.

[foxxy]

We dont want to control marcus or don wrost characters in video game history.

[palaeomerus]

Rico...

[PimpHandHappy]

MS has bought old PS exclusives and its been a big hit with websites and fanboys around the web... it would be nice to see Sony get some pay back and steal the show like ppl have said MS has over the last 2...

btw
last year i thought Sony showed more at E3... If it wasnt for The Wizard of Natal everyone would have said so

[derek]

You can tell buy some of the comments in this thread, that if Gears was ever to make its way over to the ps3 it would cause alot of heartache to some n4g's members. I say let it go multi-platform it may force Microsoft to finally start investing in new original ips, which would be good for the industry as a whole.

[REDHULKSMASH]

They don't own the ip. Who in their right mind would alienate two major gaming demographics Sony, nintendo, and partially the pc. Millions of dollars. Part 2 never came to pc which makes one wonder. Maybe Microsoft doesn't want all those Sony and nintendo people who happen to have a pc to get there hands on gears 2 without buying 2 or 3 of their red ring plagued consoles to play it. I said it before and I'll say it again had 5 Xbox 360s and 4 of them broke and I ain't no doormat. Syonara Xbox better luck next generation, sadlyfor me, gears,and people like me Microsoft won't let that ip go. If they did there would be no reason to own an Xbox causing Sony to win and start getting lazy and making sloppy games. So it is good for the whole industry to have there exclusives creating competition and not monopolies. If gears came to ps3 I'd be the first one to get it but I won't pay another $300 for another shoddy piece of equipment, and $50 live, to play one game. Hopefully Xbox 720 will have a better reputation than the 360 because I'm definately not buying it at launch. Here's something for you fellow gearheads uncharted 1&2. (no multiplayer in 1) plays like gears but better and less clunky. Also better graphics.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

I don't think that's something Mark Rein would lie about that.

I don't think it's going anywhere, but I'm sure he's not lying. That's a dumb thing to lie about if you ask me. Plus, he would have already been proven wrong by now if he were wouldn't he?

[Lucreto]

It is too late for Gears on the PS3. Even if they do a PS3 version the sales will be low as the people who want to play it have played it.

[palaeomerus]

Nobody has played Gears of War 3 yet though. C'mon.

[PimpHandHappy]

i agree
Gears 1 & 2 would not sell millions on PS3 if they came out now... I have never played those games accept in small portions when i would visit a friend who had a 360. I thought the online gameplay was lame TBH
Gears 3 would sell well on PS3... 360 would sell more of course
but
its not about game sales
its about taking System sellers... Its why MS paid 50 million for GTA and has since paid for MGS and FF. Its because those games would have sold PS3's

[Lucreto]

I expect it would be more like Bioshock 2 sales. It will be far more on the 360. My Guess would be 85% 360 and 15% PS3 that if is they released Gears 1 and 2 on PS3.

[PirateThom]

See, I might buy them again, solely for the reason, I like their co-op and hoard modes. I just don't want to pay for Live.

[LittleBigSackBoy]

Don't really care if it comes to the PS3 tbh...I only ever enjoyed gears when playing co-op. It was really boring playing SP imo.

[drtanuyn]

gears of wars 3 is coming to xbox360 somewhere between this fall and the new year

but

GEARS OF WAR 4 is coming to PLAYSTATION 4

BOOO'YA !!
YEAH I SAID IT !!
(running away from xbox fans)
lol

[drtanuyn]

i cant believe that iv been restricted from use the gamerzone
all i did was call the guy who wrote the stupid article about fanboys

A DOUCHE BAG!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
DDDDDDDOOUCCHHHHHEEE
BBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGG
whoops iv done it again

OOOOOOH i get it coz im in the open zone its ok to slag people off...
well,... yeah,.... SCREW YOU MODs!... lol
(just kidding)

[Brklynty1]

The statement wasn't meant to cause speculation of Gears coming to PS3. Mostly it was his way of saying, "When it comes to Gears, we run things, not Microsoft." Though of course it may be a smart move to make gears go multi if Epic wanted more revenue, but seeing as they made a lot for it just being exclusive, I don't think we'll see gears on PS3. Its like the same with ME, to be I think the series is to far in to get a port. But hey you never know, Epic could do a Gears 1&2 pack like the GoW collection, but I doubt it. Gears has like a 38% chance of going multi.

[Akagi]

Bring it to PS3 then it can be a good game with no restrictions.

[SKGamer]

It's a good game already with no restrictions. I don't know why being on PS3 would make any difference.

In fact, the whole reason he made this statement is to point out that they already have no restrictions now. They can do what they want, make it how they want, finish it when they want. They're an indie, and unlike most indies they actually OWN their IP, which puts them in a great place that most indies only dream of. Even newly-independent Bungie doesn't own Halo, so they can't do a Halo project without Microsoft's approval.

He's pointing out that they have freedom, and they can make great games without pressure, and how good that is for the industry and for consumers. And its still only on 360 because they obviously like developing for that the most, or think the sales return is best there.

[jy_mrnd]

If it comes out for PC i'll buy it.The pc is the only platform i want to play all my games on.No pc version no sale.

[ivant]

I only got a 360 because of Halo3 and Gears.

Let us dream the unlikely, just a little bit longer.

[Krew_92]

I don't care if it will come to the PS3, I don't care if it does. I don't care if it doesn't. All I care about is God of War 3 tomorrow.

[dkgshiz]

No thanks. That series is an over hyped trash dumpster.

[TooTall19]

If onlive takes off by winter Epic could easily port the pc version.

[palaeomerus]

Is there a PC version of Gears 2?

[TooTall19]

so you think IF Gears 3 goes multiplat it won't be on pc?

[REDHULKSMASH]

So even if it is epics ip now, and it's not, Microsoft is buying epic anyways making gears of war their ip but it already is, nice try mark rein. Sucks for the people who can't afford having more than one console. I had both it's just my 5th 360 broke and I refuse to buy another for 1 game. With gears never coming to ps3 I'll manage but will miss it. Luckily there's plenty of multiplat form games and alot of exclusives making my ps3 scrumptralecent (couldn't find a word powerful enough to describe my ps3 so I made one up)...my ps3 is scrumptralecent. (awesome)

[Dance]

[We own Gears of War.] We can do what we want with it,We have a great relationship with Microsoft, and they helped turn the game into a huge success for us, and we are pretty happy with the way things are going

[REDHULKSMASH]

Not that many companies would do that when not bound by contract...epic seems like stand up guys. Do wish gears would hit ps3 can't afford 360 right now but got $60. Or gears 1&2 on a blueray I'm down. I'd rebuy all the mappacks for them. Got em on 360 would buy on ps3 too. I'm a dlc hog I buy everything...even maps for stuff I don't play. Know about 37 -38 people at my job in my situation broken xbox won't buy another but miss gears.

[kevin360uk]

Gears 3 will need working from scratch. Still loving Gears 1 today, but got rid of 2 time ago, actually found it boring in comparison to playing through the first story, and multiplayer was, well not all that interesting. PS3 gamers arent missing much really

[Karum]

I highly doubt we'll see any Gears of War games anywhere other than 360 or PC.

Personally I'd like it to be only on 360 simply because Epic can concentrate on one platform and make the best game possible.

I'm a huge lover of exclusive games as they are usually the best games available. Looking forward to a Gears 3 some time soon.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

Exclusive games, in my opinion at least, are the best games. PS3, 360 and Wii's exclusive games are all its best, if you ask me. Plus, I think it's important for each platform to have its exclusives to set it apart from the competition.

I mean, if you could just get any game on any console, what would the point in having multiple consoles be? Exclusives are a platforms' greatest weapon.

[ATi_Elite]

How about Epic Lames.....

Epic games teaming up with Microsoft was their best move. Their games fit the console better than the PC. So I suggest instead of playing the Xbox360 rebel Epic games should just continue to kiss Microsoft's A$$ and play second fiddle to Bungie.

Epic games you made your bed now lay in it.

Sony doesn't want you and the PC doesn't need you but the 360 loves you...right after Bungie.

[LiViNgLeGaCY]

I'm sure Gears will stay 360 exclusive. I think this is just Epic's response to all the speculation about Gears 3(that of it staying exclusive or going multiplat) that they own the IP and no one can tell them where they can put it.

[Enigma_2099]

You "say" this, but until you "do" anything to prove it, you're just "talking..."

... while spending your Microsoft bucks.