Gears of War Realm

Lead Designer Cliff “Cliffy B” Bleszinski and Epic VP Mark Rein will be on the podcast 1UPYours today, Friday August 11th. It is expected that they will respond to statements made on this podcast on August 4th.

Cliffy B himself has bitched in the past about games getting too expensive. Cliffy B, the man, the myth, the legend. Mocking Cliffy’s Voice: “I think prices need to go down. $50 is way too much for an impulse buy. $60 is out of the question.” Unless you’re buying Gears of War you Dick! You ****ing hypocrite!

They go on to invite Cliffy B and Mark Rein to come on the show and explain or apologize for the pricing. They also complain about the Xbox Live marketing campaign involving the Gamertag MFenix.

Fellow Gears of War fansite GearHeads has posted their first exclusive interview with Gears of War lead designer Cliff “CliffyB” Bleszinski. The interview was conducted by Tyler “papi blez” Bleszinski, Cliff’s older brother, and he grills Cliff like only an older brother could. During the interview, Cliff reveals that the game will ship on November 7th, and retailers will be allowed to sell it as soon as they recieve it. He also talks a bit about the types of weapons in the game and recounts a couple stories from his childhood.

While North America, yes also including Canada, gets first grab at Gears of War on November 12, 2006, the rest of the international community wont have to wait too much longer to “Get their Gears On”. Vice President of Epic Games, Mark Rein, revealed in an IRC chat room the other dates for the game. Europe gets their Gears five days later on November 17th (that’s the same day as PS3 European release date BTW), Australia/New Zealand get it two weeks later on November 24th and Japan has a non-solidified day sometime in December.

Mark added that there sadly will be no demo of the game, atleast before the game launches. So don’t be holding your breath for a demo. He also mentioned a big event around Emergence Day, so I’m sure we’ll hear more about that in the coming months. He also claimed that Epic was not behind the messages on Xbox Live but rather that Microsoft was behind it. Also he stated that Epic is still hard at work focusing mostly on the single player experience, and are throwing in a few “jumping out of your seat” moments into the game. I know I personally can’t wait!

[Thanks to digg user estvir for the recap of the chat room events]

Joystiq got a chance to sit down for an interview with Gears of War lead designer Cliff “CliffyB” Bleszinski. He goes into the basics of the game, ease of development for the Xbox 360, Gears of War sequels/spinoffs, and the pressures of the game going against the Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii this holiday season.

He also makes a good comment on the changes announced for the E3 Expo:

Joystiq: What are your thoughts on the recent slashing of E3?



CliffyB: I had a real love/hate relationship with E3. It was our Superbowl, but it got to the point where it really just wasn’t worth it anymore. The best place to show off any game is in a dark room. You need something more intimate. Something that is pretty much the antithesis of [the original] E3. But don’t get me wrong, I’m gonna miss what it was. In its own way, it helped legitimize the business. It was the one thing where your mom could turn on CNN and see news about video games. That meant something.

This morning the big news was revealed. Emergence Day 2006 was revealed to be November 12, 2006. The game will retail for $59.99, and there will be a limited edition package with art book and bonus feature DVD as well for $69.99.

Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Since the first frightening images appeared a little over a year ago, gamers worldwide have felt the ominous rumblings of something approaching that defies all convention. Sightings as recent as at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2006 have confirmed its existence, leaving gamers breathless. Microsoft Corp. today announced what anxious players have been eagerly awaiting: Emergence Day 2006. Available exclusively for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the highly anticipated title “Gears of War” will be available in North America on Nov. 12, 2006.

More details as we can get them. Better go out and get those preorders in now before it’s too late!

Our Gears of War Faceplate Contest winner Josh has received his prize last week. And Josh, who goes by Maxrealm on the Realm Media Network Forums has sent us some photos of his prize to share with the rest of the community.

Thanks again to everyone who entered the contest, and for the great comments on Gears of War. And don’t forget to stay tuned for our next big contest, which should kick off once we know the game’s release date.