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  •  This is just a test (none / 0)

    Epic is only doing this to see what happens....actually the entire game UT3 is just a test for there engine for gears 2. If it works out then they will put it in gears 2.

    by HurricanE 184 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 06:00:27 PM EDT

    •  lol (none / 0)

      i don't think so

      I'm a pretty normal guy. I do one weird thing. I like to go in woman's room for number 2.

      by Wangler1316 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 06:50:06 PM EDT

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    •  lol, (none / 0)

      I honestly thought this was a joke. UT is the series that MADE EPIC. They would never use it as a test for their new baby.

      by MacheteMan7 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 01:57:09 PM EDT

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      •  they got a lot (none / 0)

        more ridding on gears 2 then UT 3 for the 360 though. Not saying its a test or anything though.

        by amato18 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:57:21 PM EDT

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        •  Very true, amato. (none / 0)

          Epic is really banking on the Gears franchise in a huge way.  The IP's success can only bolster their negotiations with MS or anyone else on the follow-up iterations.  MS will do anything they possibly can to make sure that Gears doesn't so up on the competitors' machines.  

          Imo, Halo's pretty much peaked.  MS has got to put that in deep sleep for at least two years & awaken the sleeping giant when gamers once again call for it.  Halo fans need to actually "miss" Master Chief & the usual suspects.  I think that milking that franchise is the wrong way to go.  It does more harm than good & over saturates the IP.  

          MS has to lean on Epic & their second-party relationship to keep them going.  Gears is the immediate future for the 360.  

          As far as UT3 having dedicated servers, Epic can do that because the amount of 360 gamers for that game is projected to be a mere fraction of what the population will be for Gears 2.  Cliff has already stated that they are intending for all intents & purposes to stick with peer-to-peer; not even offer an option for a gamer to serve as a dedicated server.

          Friends don't let friends two-piece.

          by Blankman on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 05:34:43 PM EDT

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          •  Yeah, aside from middleware, I really think (none / 0)

            that Epic is all about Gears now, and maybe some new IP they might invent in the future.  Even Epic is surprised by the lousy PC reception they got for UT3.  UT Engine all the way baby, but Unreal Tournament gaming for the masses? It just doesn't cut it like Gears - they are going to push more units of Gears (360 exclusive) than they do for all the other platforms of UT3.

            Also, the argument that dedicated servers can't be done easily for Gears because of the huge gamer participation is the only argument against them not offering servers, that I find convincing.  Yeah, I thought for a while that maybe dedicated servers would make their way to Gears, but there are going to be millions of gamers from Day 1 playing Gears 2. They don't want to have to host 'em, and they don't want to be bothered offering us the opportunity to host with extra 360s.

            I believe Cliff now.  It won't be happening.

            by 3Suns on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 06:40:27 PM EDT

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            •  Yeppers. I don't see Epic... (none / 0)

              purchasing server farms.  It just doesn't make good business sense.

              Friends don't let friends two-piece.

              by Blankman on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 06:47:14 PM EDT

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            •  UT (none / 0)

              has a MUCH bigger following than it seems you guys are giving it credit for. I really think that they are keeping UT their PC franchise and gears their console franchise.

              by MacheteMan7 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 06:52:19 PM EDT

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              •  Trust me, (none / 0)

                that following is gonna be FUCKING CRAZY on the 360. Shit, Unreal Championship 2 still has a following and that game was shit compared to the past ones, ESPECIALLY the original Unreal Championship. But as Blank said I don't think EPIC's gonna spend the time and moola on the Servers when they still gotta work on all their other games and extra content and stuff.

                "Vuht? Ze Panzerz? WHO LET ZE PANZERZ OUWT?!?!?!?!"

                by Grymm on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 08:37:28 PM EDT

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              •  Machete, I think UT3 has a very loyal following (none / 0)

                and I've no doubt it is an awesome game, but it isn't the money maker that Gears or Gears 2 is or will be.

                From Wikipedia:

                "Although reviews of UT3 were mostly positive, in the US in the first month of its release the PC version only sold around 34,000 units[14], while the Playstation 3 version sold around 110,000.[15] Midway announced in March that they had shipped over 1 million units worldwide."

                34,000 units for the PC in the first month is pretty abysmal.  Epic was VERY discouraged about the PC market this last winter.  They were almost hinting at giving up PC altogether (they won't, but that is how discouraged they were - all the theft, and the general lack of interest).  UT3 will sell pretty good on the 360, but I think that Epic may actually be relieved and happy if it goes platinum for the 360 before Gears 2 is released.  I think it would be bordering on unwise for them to continue pouring all their resources into that IP (not the middleware - but that specific IP).  Look what they did with Gears.  If they created yet another IP?  Wow!

                That is just my opinion.  Hey, I really hope it sells millions right away, but I don't think it will. The only reason Gears 2 would not break 5 million in the first week, is if Microsoft doesn't market it because they want Halo 3 to be their record holder (which also seems unlikely to me).

                by 3Suns on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 10:02:14 PM EDT

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                •  I have (none / 0)

                  little doubt that it will sell very poorly next to gears 2. However, there are certain franchises that developers will never leave in the dust. Unreal Tournament is what made EPIC games and I think they have a lot of love for the franchise. I just can't ever see them leaving the series for a new one.

                  by MacheteMan7 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 10:06:48 PM EDT

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                  •  I think that like Microsoft with Halo (none / 0)

                    Epic should put Unreal Tournament away for a couple of years.  

                    I am not saying that is what they will do, but from a business point of view, I think they do themselves a disservice by continuing to push it (diminishing returns and all that).  I think they should make something new as the showcase for Unreal Engine 4 (when it comes out), and then revisit Unreal Tournament with their 5th Unreal Engine.  UT4 would be too soon.  Wait until the technology allows them to do something totally new with that IP, something that really blows everyone's minds.

                    by 3Suns on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 10:22:16 PM EDT

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