29th August 2009 - The Gears of War series has been a huge success for the Xbox 360. However, some were left a little disappointed with Gears of War 2, in particular with the multiplayer mode. The impact that the original Gears of War had on this generation is was huge as it was the first game that truly showed off just what could be done with the new hardware and set the standard in graphics for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It also introduced a well implemented cover system which other shooters have tried to replicate. The original was also a massive boost for Microsoft’s Xbox Live service as it was the number one played game on Xbox Live for quite some time and still gets played regularly today.
With the Xbox 360 still selling well and with so many good games planned for the next 6-12 months, can Microsoft afford the luxury of holding off on releasing Gears of War 3 till the launch of the new Xbox?
If Microsoft did this, it would surely upset a lot of Xbox 360 owners, especially the Gears of War fans who would be looking forward to playing Gears of War 3 on the Xbox 360’s. However, with a new console surely to be released in the not too distant future, giving Epic the extra development time would hopefully enable them to create something truly special which would be a great launching pad for Microsoft’s next console release.
You just have to imagine the excitement if Microsoft announced at E3 2010 that a new Xbox is in full development (as if it isn’t already!) and will be released in the fall of 2011 with none other than Gears of War 3 heading up the launch titles! This could well be the announcement that gives Microsoft the edge in the next line of consoles. Would this happen? Maybe, maybe not. Would this be a clever decision by Microsoft or the decision that leads to Sony being number one again? Only time will tell.
Article by Craig Cirillo