Gears of War 3: 'The Killer App' For Xbox 360Epic Games has been a major influence on the game industry through its licensing of the Unreal Engine, which has been used for numerous games on a wide variety of platforms. Epic has shown what can be done with the Unreal Engine in their Gears of War series, the action game franchise created and owned by Epic and published by Microsoft exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Gears of War, the first game in the series, was released in November 2006 to rave reviews, earning a Metacritic score of 94. Sales were in the millions, and it became one of the best-selling games ever for the Xbox 360. The sequel, Gears of War 2, was released in November 2008 to a similar response, earning a Metacritic score of 93 and selling 2 million copies on its release weekend.
The latest installment, Gears of War 3, brought an end to the current story arc when it arrived this September. Once again the game achieved a Metacritic score in the 90s, and sold millions of copies. IndustryGamers queried Epic Games and industry analysts on the latest in the Gears of War series, how it was put together and marketed, and what this means to Microsoft and Epic.
Analysts are united in praising the Gears of War series, but have mixed views on its overall importance to Microsoft. David Cole of DFC Intelligence said, “Gears of War is a core Xbox 360 franchise that has very strong appeal to the established Xbox 360 audience. When all is said in done for 2011 we think it will have total worldwide sales of around 6 million units.” That's a good showing for less than four months on sale, and partly Cole thinks it's due to timing. “As it grabbed the traditional Halo release window it is the biggest holiday exclusive for the Xbox 360. Overall it should surpass sales of Gears of War 2 without a problem.” Cole did see a weakness in the Gears series, though. “The main issue is it is not yet an annual franchise like Call of Duty.”
Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities was more measured. “It's a great game, the biggest exclusive by far, but it is far from the best selling 360 game.” He sees it as not particularly helping move Xbox 360 sales. “It's also a hard core game, and #3 in the series, so not much of a system seller (the hard core already had 360s and bought Gears 1 and 2). So I don't buy into the argument it helps them compete.”
Billy Pidgeon, senior analyst at M2 Research, sees the series as extremely valuable. “Gears of War is an important franchise not only as an Xbox 360 exclusive for Microsoft, but also, for Epic, a showcase for its Unreal 3 engine,” noted Pidgeon. “The franchise has steadily improved with each sequel, and the game's third person perspective and cover-intensive tactics remain refreshing in a hardcore shooter landscape dominated by first person shooters. Gears of War 3's 91 Metacritic score reflects very favorable critical consensus.” The quality of the series, in Pidgeon's analysis, has helped sales. “Sales, including 3M units sold within the first week, have been very good for an console exclusive.” It's the exclusivity that really gives Gears of War 3 its importance, according to Pidgeon. “Along with the Halo franchise, Gears of War will help sell the Xbox 360 to gamers moving from other systems and to a new generation of gamers who are seeking hardcore shooters. As Gears of War 3 is a more recent game than Halo: Reach, the title will be Xbox 360's most important exclusive this holiday, and Microsoft will need strong exclusives to maintain momentum against Sony's PS3 and Nintendo Wii, which each have strong exclusives in Uncharted 3 and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, respectively.”
The picture isn't all positive for Gears, Pigeon notes, “Gears of War 3 and other console exclusives must compete with a near glut of quality cross-platform titles this quarter, and the latest titles tend to dominate as seen with Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's 3.5M units sold in two days. Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 each dominated players' time in turn.”
Microsoft Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer was unreserved in his praise for the game. “Gears of War was the first killer app for Xbox 360, and the series has continued to contribute directly to the overall success of the platform ever since. Gears of War 3 kicked off the biggest holiday in Xbox history with a bang, setting the standard for the kinds of amazing, action-packed experiences gamers should expect on Xbox 360 this year.”
IndustryGamers spoke with Dana Cowley, Senior Public Relations Manager for Epic Games, who worked hard to get us some answers about the development and marketing of Gears of War 3, roping in Rod Fergusson of Epic and Guy Welch of Microsoft to help with some of these questions.
IndustryGamers: What can you share with us regarding sales number for Gears of War 3 so far?
Dana Cowley: Gears of War 3 sold more than 1 million copies within its first week of release. It is the fastest pre-selling Xbox 360-exclusive title in the platform's history. The Gears of War series has sold more than 16 million copies, initiating it as one of the few billion-dollar video game franchises.
IG: How long did the development process take? Was it longer than Gears of War 2?
DC: Gears of War 3's development cycle was two-and-a-half years, which is longer than the two years Epic spent making Gears of War 2. When Microsoft moved our release date from April to September, it allowed us to conduct a multiplayer beta, polish the game extensively and ship the most fully featured product Epic has ever created to date.
IG: What are your plans for additional DLC for Gears of War 3?
DC: The Season Pass covers the first four paid Gears 3 add-ons for 2,400 Microsoft Points and is the way to go, as it gives players a 33% discount as opposed to buying each DLC separately. The Horde Command Pack (800 Microsoft Points) launched on Nov. 1, the Versus Booster Map Pack is free for download on Nov. 24, RAAM's Shadow (1,200 Microsoft Points) is launching on Dec. 13, and two additional game add-ons coming in the first half of 2012 soon will be announced.
"Creating the statue took several months. New samples would arrive every week where every detail would be scrutinized and refined."
IG: How has the response been to the multiplayer options? Which multiplayer mode is gathering the biggest audience? Was that what you expected? Have the multiplayer servers been keeping up with the demand, or has it been heavier than expected?
Rod Fergusson (Director of Production for Epic Games): The response has been great! The biggest competitive multiplayer mode for us now is our new Team Deathmatch, by a wide margin. In Gears 2, it was Execution, so there was a lot of internal debate, and a few side bets, on whether TDM would become the default way to play. It seems players are really enjoying the intense action and the quick respawns that get them back into the fight. And, of course, Horde mode continues to dominate as well.
IG: Do you feel you've wrung all the performance you can out of the Xbox 360, or is there more graphics power you can unleash?
DC: Every time someone asks us this, we can safely say that just when you think you’ve stretched the hardware as far as it will go, ingenious programmers will come up with new tricks and pull off something you thought was never possible. So Epic’s answer to this is always glass-half-full.
IG: Cliff Bleszinski was annoyed at some of the initial critical reception. What's his response now?
DC: Everyone at Epic, and especially Cliff, are very grateful for the critical praise Gears of War 3 has received!
Collector's Editions Aren't Easy
Guy Welch, Global Product Manager, Xbox Marketing for Microsoft, answered more of IndustryGamer's questions about the marketing of Gears of War 3 and especially about the collector's editions.
IndustryGamers: How was the response to the Limited Edition? To the Epic Edition?
Guy Welch: Both the Limited Edition and Epic Edition were very well received. By E3 2011, we’d exceeded 1M pre-orders worldwide with the Limited Editions proving very popular. Major chains such as GameStop sold out of their Limited Edition allotments by mid-summer.
IG: How difficult were those editions to put together?
GW: Limited Editions are a challenge: safety and materials testing takes weeks. A manufacturing mistake can cost millions. And a logistical error can result in a missed street date. On top of that, our consumer is extraordinarily discerning, especially in this economy. But for Gears 3 it was important for us to make a big statement and to reward the fans who have been with us since the beginning. It was a risk, but the team felt passionate about the direction, and the final product is something of which we’re very proud.
The ideas for the Limited Editions came very quickly. In fact, I remember one dinner meeting at Comic-Con with Epic Games where we sketched out many of the core ideas right there at the table. However, it would take more than a year of planning and production by teams working around the world to bring them to life.
The Epic Edition statue was based on one of the first renderings that Epic’s art director, Chris Perna, created for Gears of War 3. Not only was the pose resonant and iconic, but the shape, size and materials would make for a heavy and substantial sculpture.
Creating the statue took several months. New samples would arrive every week where every detail would be scrutinized and refined, many of us working late into the evenings after we were finished with our ‘day jobs.’ Just getting paint right was a challenge. Ultimately a combination of airbrush, hand painting, dry brush, and pad printing techniques were used to get his skin to look just right. A custom phosphorescent paint color was developed to exactly match the glow of his power armor.
The COG keepsake was another simple idea that proved challenging in execution. We were inspired by the custom COG tags that we created for the Gears of War 2 team ship gift. But while those were individually machined in small quantities, we had to find a factory that could forge more than a hundred thousand metal COGS, each individually engraved with a unique Xbox LIVE token. Like with the statue, we explored dozens of different materials and finishes to get the color just right before ordering several box cars worth of metal alloy.
IG: Based on the response, do you plan to do more collector's editions of games in the future?
GW: Xbox has a history of turning out special products for our most loyal fans. Halo 2 (2004) was the first major console game to offer a Limited Edition version, complete with a bonus DVD and collectible metal case. We’ve built on that tradition over the years, pushing the envelope for physical items as with the Halo and Kinectimals franchise and increasingly with digital extras too, as with Gears of War 3 and Forza Motorsport. You can count on us to continue exploring new directions in the future, pushing things forward.
IG: Can you give sales numbers for the collector's editions?
GW: We can’t confirm exact numbers, however Gears of War 3 limited editions represented fewer than 10% of the total Gears 3 units shipped to retail. It was important to keep the limited editions truly limited.
IG: What were the key elements of the marketing campaign? What surprised you, good or bad, about the response to some of the marketing? What marketing efforts are continuing through the holidays?
GW: With Gears of War 3 we’d reached a point where the franchise had become well-known in popular culture, and a really intense fan base had grown up around the game. So, in addition to the traditional approaches with advertising and retail and so on, we looked for unique opportunities to amplify what was already happening around our brand. This began on day one with Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski revealing the game to the world on Jimmy Fallon’s late night stage.
Our American Chopper integration is another good example; Paul Jr. Designs was just as excited to work with us on the custom Gears chopper as we were to work with them, and through our partnership, we were able really shine a spotlight on our passionate fans. It was a blast seeing PJD visit Epic to kick of the planning process and then watch Discovery Channel film a Gears of War event at Comic-Con for all the world to see the trike’s unveiling. The giveaway of the Gears consumer bike in NYC during the Times Square launch event was also quite a fantastic display. [See the promo for the Gears bike here. – Ed.]
IG: What marketing efforts are continuing through the holidays?
GW: Word of mouth is the most critical post-launch factor in any product’s success. In addition to a great product, we’ve invested heavily in keeping our users happy and engaged with fast and fair dedicated servers and regular community events. In addition, we’ll be keeping our market presence high through the holiday season; whether you’re on LIVE or at retail the Gears brand is pretty hard to miss.
IG: Can you comment on the level of marketing spending? Was it greater than the marketing budget for Gears of War 2?
GW: This was the biggest marketing commitment yet.
