If Gears 3 Sells Well, Cliff Bleszinski Says Another Game is Just, “Business 101″

RipTen: Recently, Microsoft gave Chad the chance to test out Gears of War 3 – what they didn’t tell him was that he’d be locked in a room with Epic Games design director, Cliff Bleszinski.

RipTen has spoken with Cliff on several occasions and we can usually be found bothering him on twitter, but this was the first time Chad had the chance to sit down and spend some quality time with the one and only Cliffy B.

[xPhearR3dx]

Good interview. Can't freaking wait for Gears 3.

[Greywulf]

Yeah, but its not like there's anything else to wait for.

[coolbeans]

Do you mean at all or just for 360? You'd be wrong in both cases.

Just 360: Gears 3, Forza 4, Halo: CE Anniversary, and Witcher 2 if you want to talk about 'console exclusives' (which I know n4g hates)

Overall: A boat-load of multiplats that look to be truly raising the bar in their genres.

vs. PS3 this fall: Suprise! It's subjective, but I'll certainly say PS3 wins with ICO/ SotC Collection.

[n4gisatroll]

Coolbeans...

Seriously? Your going to name all xbox exclusives, but then not mention playstation exclusives when your talking about games coming out? Why didn't you mention Uncharted, or Resistance?

Other than exclusives, Dead Island is coming out in September, and to me, that looks amazing.

[coolbeans]

^grzajabarkus

Unlike others on here, I don't devolve myself fully into giving a list war between the two when Greywulf is only slanting the other HD system. I can leave the research up to other posters on here, and I can post why I personally find PS3's fall lineup to be better than 360's.

If you want I can list my notables for PS3 (that I can remember atm): Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, ICO/ SotC Collection, and Journey.

[Lazy_Sunday]

Not that I want to be a dick or anything, but you're really the only one looking like a fanboy here. He's not slanted toward the PS3--though, from a defensive fanboy standpoint, you could definitely confuse yourself into thinking that he was. All he made was a statement.

I do have a list for you though.
-TES:V Skyrim
-BF3
-Minecraft
-RaGE
-Saint's Row The Third
-Assassain's Creed Revelations
-MW3
-Aliens:CM
-Sonic Generations
-Batman: Arkham City
-Rocksmith
-Dark Souls
-Darkness II
-Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
-Dead Island
-Bodycount
-Deus Ex Human Revolution
and the list goes ON...

All that I've listed are games that all have great potential, all games coming out August thru November, all THIRD PARTY GAMES.
And it's not like there's anything else to wait for.

[coolbeans]

@Lazy-Sunday

I'm not exactly aware as to how I'd come off as a fanboy if I listed reasons for the 2 HD consoles on here; however, you could say excessive would be a fitting word.

Overall, the fall of 2011 looks to be the best entertainment season of this gen imo (and I'm sure in the opinion of others). The only reason I stated "either 360 or multiplat" was to just put a cap on whatever of the two he/she was implying. I'm not exactly sure how it comes off as defensive, but to each his own.

Main theme to my first post: "Gears 3 is not the only thing to look forward to, regardless of what console you own."

[Lazy_Sunday]

What I was saying was, how could you not pick up on his sarcasm?

You did say "when Greywulf is only slanting the other HD system." He's not slanting. To assume so makes you look like the fanboy. Not saying grzajabarkus isn't (total fanboy), but ICO/SotC isn't necessarily a title you see and immediately think "strong AAA PS3 title that will make millions."
You say you try to cap an argument that needs no bounds, when you could easily bring all the platforms into it. What he says is again sarcasm, but your lack of acknowledgement would then show your low capacity for such. Which, unless you're completely oblivious, you would have seen--but your argument has been bent and skewed over the course of this debacle. If you were to have the main theme of your first post be that, it would show your lack of acknowledgement thereof. Then again, to each his own.

People don't just read your first comment, they read them all to better understand your point. I did, that's how I made my argument, and I stand by it. You are a fanboy. Acknowledge it and deal with it.

[Stevo91]

Epic need a new IP after GoW3 imo

[n4gisatroll]

Lazy Sunday:

That's funny you called me out for being a fanboy lol.
Can you explain how?

[Twizlex]

Agree with Stevo91. Epic makes some sweet games, but having Gears as pretty much the only one this gen (Bulletstorm doesn't count) makes me wish they'd make something new.

[dabri5]

@Stevo91

Look at the latest tech for direct x 11 they gave.You can't NOT expect them to do something with that.

[pixelsword]

@ greywulf:

c'mon, the 360's list may be somewhat shorter but it's a flat out farce to say that we have nothing else to look out for in 2011. I've said this when the PS3 had a few exclusive games and I'll say it now:

Quality trumps quantity every time.

We don't know which games will be great and which games will be not so great, so sometimes less is more.

That being said, I can't wait for Gears 3, it's a day one purchase, and I hope the best for Epic.

[Hayabusa 117]

Unlike fanboys like you, normal gamers buy a wide variety of first party and third party games. So to say 360 owners have nothing else to look forward to is flat out stupidity.

The games I will be getting between now and the end of the year is Deus Ex 3, Gears 3, maybe BF3, maybe MW3, Skyrim and Halo CEA. 2 exclusives and the rest are 3rd party. Why? Because they are games I like. I'm not going to buy Forza 2 because I have no interest, even though it's an exclusive...

...I don't game on my PS3 but if I did the only PS3 exclusives I'd get is Uncharted 3, maybe ICO/Colossus revamp and Journey. Likewise, I wouldn't buy Resistance 3 because it's I think the Resistance games are a pile of wank. Don't know any other PS3 exclusives coming out this year and if I don't know them then I probably won't care about them.

PS3 might have more exclusives, it might even have BETTER exclusives, but the 360 certainly has games to look forward to this year, and even if most of them are on PS3/PC as well, they are still games people are going to buy and enjoy :)

[Peppino7]

Considering he said its the most pre ordered game on 360 in history, that means another gears, or spinoff is def coming. no need to wait for an announcement

[The Matrix]

What does he mean "if" it sells well? Isn't it already the most preordered Xbox 360 game ever? And Microsoft proclaimed it "the biggest entertainment launch of 2011". Even though that is BS it is still going to sell a TON.

[Peaceful_Jelly]

lol at the disagrees.

[otherZinc]

Cliff Bleszinski; READ THIS!

Yes, this is a Business, Big Business!

If Gears 3 sells & it will, dont make the mistake Bungie made. Bungie listened to forums that weren't their fans, saying; "thats all Bungie can do is make Halo- Bungie is a 1 trick Pony": not knowing Bungie has a 20 year history of making games. Now, Bungie has left the Halo Juggernaut.

Listen, I want Air Jordan playing Basketball, not Hockey. People can call Jordan a 1 trick pony all they want (he can only play Basketball), Jordan as a Chicago Bull was the best Basketball player ever imo.

You have a great product (Gears Of War). I'm buying 2 copies to play co-op with my son. Keep the fire burning in the Gears Of War Universe, I'm glad 343 Industries in keeping the fire burning for the Halo Universe.

Let the haters hate, while your fans (like myself & millions of others) buy & play the s*** out of Horde Mode! AND! That 4 player True Campaign Co-op: not that new side mission bs that other games have!

[lategamer]

Bungie left Halo because they wanted to move on to other projects. Developers don't want to keep making the same game, they move on, create new IP's, etc.

[Kos-Mos]

Shame on people trying to do something different.

[showtimefolks]

which consoles will it be on since epic" 3 game deal with ms is done with gears 3

[dabri5]

Gears will always be with MS. Doesn't mean they won't work on other projects and release them for both systems.

[Active Reload]

Can't wait, but alas, I must...

[chaos-lockheart]

me to,but I havent play this series yet, just bought the first 2, those can keep me company before this one comes out.

[BlmThug]

GeOW 3 Looks Epic. Thats Good News. There Has Only Been 3 GeOW Games. Thats Like Killzone Or Uncharted Saying No More Of Those Games.

[jaredhart]

Exactly right. Everyone assumes a trilogy. This aint movies.

They could always go back to the Pendulum Wars.

[dragon82]

Gears 4 should be a launch title for the next Xbox. It would give Epic a small break form the IP and also build more anticipation among the fans.

[jetlian]

a trilogy! this story ends here. Next game isn't suppose to have any characters from this line

[Fishy Fingers]

Still like to see them break it up a bit. Throw something new out next, then fall back to Gears. I'd even take a new Unreal.

Edit: That FPS map is funny! And a little soul destroying.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

QFT.

[greeneggsnsam]

I agree, a new Unreal would be great, even on the same engine.

[lazertroy]

It's gonna sell about the same as Gears 2 if not alittle more. If that what he means by sell well.

[Louis_Guzman]

So based on that philosophy, no Bulletstorm 2 then?

[coolbeans]

Bulletstorm sold over 1 million copies across all platforms.

[Peaceful_Jelly]

kinda crappy compared to the 6m sales of GeoW2, specially for a multiplat release. Even the first GeoW did better as a new IP...

[xPhearR3dx]

@Peaceful Jelly

To be fair, there wasn't shit out when the first Gears of War came out. That and the graphics blew people away, which easily brought in a few sales just based on that. Bulletstorm released this year, where now there's tons and tons of games to purchase, not to mention it's a FPS.

[coolbeans]

@xPhearR3dx

Imo Condemned: CO, Kameo, PDZ, Dead Rising, GRAW, and Rockstar Table Tennis (2nd fav. sports game behind Wii Sports Resort) would like a word with you.

Don't mean to go on with a list but I found these games to be very enjoyable.

[likedamaster]

@xPhearR3dx

Wow, you are DEAD wrong. All of these came out in 2006...

Elder Scrolls:Oblivion
Fight Night Round 3
Rainbow Six Vegas
Dead Rising
Viva Piñata
Hitman Blood Money
Fear
Test Drive Unlimited
Lost Planet
Condemned
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Mostly all heavy hitters and all sold over a million. Not just Gears.

Bulletstorm while fun, simply wasn't that great. My 2 cents.

[MoreRPG]

nice pic

[MoreRPG]

Cant wait for GOW3 and yeah if the game if a success (and i think it will) why not have a 4

[khan_saab]

GOW3 already came out march 16 2010 on the ps3. you don't need to wait

[MoreRPG]

you know what i mean

[etowntwo]

Google GOW3 and you'll see what comes up.

Only the very small minority of ps fans have to huff and puff over GOW3, while the majority of the gaming community and world recognize GOW3 = Gears of War 3

[vyke3]

@etowntwo
well thats funny. i googled GOW3 on google images, and the first thing i saw was god of war 3.

[Lyr1c]

Even though it's petty, God of War did come out first. So it naturally holds the GOW title.

Have to side with khan_saab.

[MoreRPG]

i call it HOW I WANTED TO CALL IT end of discussion

[Shackdaddy836]

GoW can mean Gears of War or God of War. It just depends how you use the acronym. Obviously MoreRPG means Gears of War. Using GeoW is just a stupid waste of time unless you're talking about both games in the same comment.

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

sorry your wrong.

We will reserve the abbreviation GoW for the more popular series. And since that is Gears of War, we will all assume that GoW stands for gears of war as that is more popular than god of war.

[gustave154]

God of war is more popular than gears imo. And it is beating gears of war in sales at the moment. Both god of war 1 and 2 sold 6 million each which is comparable to gears of war 1 and 2 which also sold 6 millon each. And i haven't counted the sales of the psp games and god of war 3 yet....

[DeeZee]

Of course it'll sell, but I'm not a fan of making sequels until no one is interested anymore. I say go out on top, at this point "almost" anything they make will sell, they don't need to cling to Gears.

[thebudgetgamer]

put me down for one copy.

[Funky Town_TX]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Lots of good looking shooters dropping this year. MW3, BF3, and Resistance3 look to be good if not great games.

[Raven_Nomad]

They probably are already working on the prequel. Gears Of War Exile on the Xbox 720. Look for it! Probably a release date game with Halo 4 and that rumored new Crytek game. Microsoft and Crytek are getting awfully chummy.

[Urrakia34]

Rumored new Crytek game? What exactly are you talking about?

[BioDemon-]

New Timesplitters.

[Urrakia34]

@biodemon - Seriously? I never saw any rumors on that. Can you provide a link or source please?

[BioDemon-]

Here you go bro.

http://www.vg247.com/2011/0...

[kingdoms]

It will sell really well It's a popular series and the only 3rd person game with popular multiplayer and co-op gameplay on a much bigger fanbase compared to past gears games. The boost from the upcoming 2nd wave of kinect games and new xbox live features plus the 360 becoming a set top box will sell many more millions of consoles than normal resulting in a abnormal amount of software sales all around especially AAA titles exclusive and multiplatform mega blockbuster games.

People talk hardcore and I must say hardcore gamers will enjoy the most crammed hardcore period in the history of this generation not to mention the casuals have an overloaded window as well on 360.

Believe it or not those kinect hybrid games will bring in a new audience, the proof is in the polling from E3 with the 360 winning the vote according to many sources and the hybrids did it.

[FlashXIII]

Microsoft won E3? Don't think these supposed voters were watching the same E3 I was because Microsoft's E3 was pretty bad.

Who knows maybe I'll end up eating my words but I for one don't think the kinect only titles are going to sell well.

[killerhog]

i wish, that developers go back to telling a story; and once that story was over, they went and worked on a new IP, and not milk their current game over-and-over.

[Rashonality]

Honest answer, we respect that.

[chasedagreat]

gears of war is of out date just like that unreal engine

[omi25p]

I'm guessing u didn't play the beta or see any in game graphics...

[chasedagreat]

gears 3 was trash
everybody using shotguns
it takes way too many bullets to kill somebody.

[air1]

@chase

well, you have cod, go play that.

[omi25p]

So what your saying is you want the players to use the guns you want them to use and you want those players to die quicker?

Im pretty certain its not the games fault that you suck.

[chasedagreat]

@air1 i dont play campers on duty

[Jac5al]

Like it's not going to sell well..

[Neko_Mega]

If??? Why if?? Lets I check Gears did pretty good like Halo.

Or is their something we are missing?

[ATiElite]

Gears 4 on PC PS4 Xbox 720

[GoldPS3]

So Gears 4 in 2013. Then another Halo. Then Gears again. The pattern continues over and over again.

[REALgamer]

Totally!

I'm so sick of Resistance, then Killzone, then another Resistance, then another Killzone...

No wonder people don't buy Halo, Gears, Killzone or Resistance anymore...

/sarcasm

[Just_The_Truth]

the difference between the ps3 games though is there are a lot more then just KZ3,R3,U3 etc. Sony invest in a ton of new IPs such as HR, HS, Lair, Demon Souls, 3D dot heros, Legend of the guardian, LBP, etc

[sickbird]

Gears of War 4 confirmed.

[Sizzon]

Gears of War is an amazing franchise, huge popularity, Gears 3 will sell some millions, why wouldn't they be making Gears 4? :)

[STARS]

It's a solid franchise, yeah. It's visceral gameplay is second to none, I think that's a huge reason why it's so well-received among gamers and critics alike. If gamers demand more, why halt the franchise at three games? Of course there will be more to follow.

[Excalibur]

Why does EVERY article here have to turn into a PS3/XBox 360 fanboi pissing match??? Ughh.

[CrzyFooL]

Prequel!!!!

[Chewy33]

Herp derp, my game is better then your game.

Nope.

[vyke3]

gears 4 would be multiplatform. microsoft signed a contract with Epic to make them 3 GeOW games.

[Micro_Sony]

So you really think that MS is just going to let go Gears after 3 games. EPIC will find it hard to say no to MS $$$$$$$$$

[vyke3]

the only way GeOW 4 would be an xbox exclusive is if M$ buys the franchise like what they did with Halo. you're right, M$ would be stupid if they don't do it. btw im pretty sure Epic wants to make GeOW multi so that they could get more money. but its up to M$.

[SpaceSquirrel]

I guess gears 4 is a formality then

[Ace_Man_6]

Going by the title, GREEDY!

[Chewy33]

How are they being greedy. There giving there fans every thing there asking for and a three year development time to make sure it's polished and Epic (no pun intended).

[Deadman_Senji]

In other words: If gears 3 does well, I'm going to milk the franchise.

[Micro_Sony]

Yeah god forbid we get a killzone 4 and uncharted 4 and Resistance 4 and god of war 4 and Rachet n clank 8

[Deadman_Senji]

It's Cliff B we're talking about.

[AngryTypingGuy]

IF? LOL. Can't wait for Gears of War 4 through 10!

[bfenty]

Lol yea

[StarWolf]

cant wait for Resistance 1-10 , Uncharted 1-10 , Killzone 1-10 , cmon man. This website makes me sick with all the fanboys. I got both systems and PS3 is clearly having the better years but its pathetic how people fight on "which game is better" "which system has more games!"

This is a Gears of war 4 article not some "list ps3 exclusives and laugh at xbox" forum.

[SwiftShot]

Yet u come with the "ps3 is clearly having the better years"

[AngryTypingGuy]

Hey StarWolf, I love my PS3 too, in fact it's all I've been playing for the most part since I got it a few months ago. But that being said, Gears 3 will sell a ton, and more than anything the PS3 puts out this year.

[ufo8mycat]

* Blows the dust off he's 360 *

Looks like I'll have to use my 360. Will this be for the last time?

[vicious6983]

I think Gears will live on for a long time as long as people buy it and keep asking for it. It's an awesome series, so no probs here.

[Batmau5]

At least he's honest about it.

[candybeans]

This is half-duh, half-me being disappointed that no one in this industry seems to understand the idea of leaving when you're on top.

[Kos-Mos]

Nintendo is always on top. Should they leave?

[candybeans]

Not always. Talk to some Operation Rainfall folks about how they feel.

[Kos-Mos]

They always have a überhigh rated Mario game each generation, don`t they?

[BlackjackCF]

Well, what can you do? This is the entertainment industry. You have to milk things for what they're worth. I'm surprised a,t his candidness.

[artdafoo]

I see he went to the Bobby Kotick school of business.

[Invadersims]

This isn't exactly rocket science. Of course if it sells well, we'll see another Gears of War.

[Sandwich Bender]

It's nice to see such honesty.

[ZFGokuSSJ1]

Come back to PC.

[DeathStrikeVirus]

Great interview. Cliff knows levels, some of my favorites are his Unreal 1 levels. It's nice to see he recognizes the lame line levels as being lame. I just wish it was for a PC game for once.

[Mr Sadistic]

gears 3 is going to have me sleep deprived.

[acemonkey]

lol no more gears of war or bulletstorm just cliff stick to...counting the money u made off them games...stay away trust me ur fans will miss u i will not miss them games or you

[earbus]

Nothing will really come close this year 4 player co op woo hoooo.

[GrumpyVeteran]

Don't buy GOW3 guys otherwise you're gonna have another COD

[Chewy33]

Look what happens to Halo after three. Bungie even tried to make a decent game *Cough* Reach *Cough* but failed due to the curse of... COD?

[MasterCornholio]

I thought it was ODST that came after Halo 3 and that game failed miserably. Halo Reach sold extremely well though.

[fullmetal297]

Gears 3 already reached 1 million preorders so it wouldn't as surprise if the game sells over Gears 2.

[MasterCornholio]

If? It will sell well no matter what happens to it. I am predicting a sale of about 4 million in the first month alone. With sales at the end of the year reaching 6 or 7 million.

[ChickeyCantor]

Really?
wow...what a surprise, let me cut my wrist now.

[MelonieMac]

I need Gears of War 3 in my life!

[Kingscorpion1981]

The story mode in Gears Sucks though!

[Toman85]

It will sell 5 million within 5 months
360 gamers like me are hungry for some exclusives, not arcade, DLC and multiplattform!

[MasterD919]

Well we certainly don't need another Bulletstorm...I'd rather see that time and development go into another Gears than a Gears clone.

[pennywhyz]

any1 else sick of cliff he just seems like a douch bag he can shove gears up his ass its the only good title they will ever have