Oct 26, 2007 Inside an office in sunny Raleigh, North Carolina, Epic vice president Mark Rein settles back into a comfy seat. "It all started way back in the stone age," he begins. "You know, Tim Sweeney started the company in his parents' basement in Maryland." Today Epic is out of the basement and has the two monster-sized games Unreal Tournament 3 and Gears of War (PC) in development. Outside of Mark's office, staff members play on the Epic basketball court, others help themselves to a ... » Read More

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live. Major Nelson had no access to the Arcade title data this week, so no Arcade list for now. Here are the top 5 for both charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Madden NFL 08
4. Virtua Fighter 5 Demo
5. Guitar Hero II

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: MC
3. Counter-Strike
4. Star Wars: Battlefront 2
5. Madden NFL 08
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Viva Piñata developer Rare has questioned why its owner Microsoft decided to back Gears of War with such a high-profile marketing campaign, which left its own new franchise in the shadows last Christmas.

Software engineer James Thomas feels that the new family-friendly IP lost out to Epic's Gears of War, which enjoyed a much bigger marketing budget from Microsoft, helping it top the charts all over the world.
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These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade, full versions purchased this week. Here are the top 3 for each charts, see the source for the complete top 10 list.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. The Simpsons Game Demo

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1. Tetris Splash
2. Puzzle Quest
3. Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1. Halo 2
2. Battlefield 2: MC
3. Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
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Oct 10, 2007 Jerry O'Flaherty, art director on Gears of War and Unreal Tournament III, is to direct a CG-animated Thundercats According to a report by Variety, the decision to make a Thundercats move was logical for O'Flaherty because the story appealed to him and, "It feels like a natural thing for me to step into. Games have come so far now. The last four years of my life have been about bringing the energy of filmmaking into the videogame experience." The plot focuses on the origin of the ... » Read More

Competing against more than 700 gamers from a record 74 countries, the United States overcame the toughest competition in World Cyber Games (WCG) history to capture three gold medals, two silver medals, and a bronze medal in twelve PC and Xbox 360 titles, and won the overall team championship at the Grand Final in Seattle.

It is the United States' second team title and first since the 2005 WCG Grand Final in Singapore. Team USA captured gold medals in "Tony Hawk Project 8," "Gears of War," and "Dead Or Alive 4." South Korea and Brazil each earned two gold medals while Germany had one gold, one silver and three bronze.

The seven-year-old WCG competition, which started in South Korea, has been dominated by South Koreans and Germans since its inception. So far South Korea has won three Grand Finals including last year's. According to organizers, WCG is the largest international gaming festival with over one million attendees and visitors every year.

For complete results, visit worldcybergames.com (i.e., first link under Alternative Sources.)
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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has appealed to UK gamers to vote for their favourite titles in the PC World Gamers' Award.

The category is the only one at this year's BAFTA 2007 Video Game Awards that will be decided by the public. Closing date for an entry is Wednesday 17th October 2007. The winner will be announced at Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, London on Tuesday, October 23.

The full PC World Gamers' Award shortlist features 8 titles:

* Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training on DS (Nintendo)
* FIFA 07 on PS2 (EA Sports)
* Football Manager 2007 on PC (Sega)
* Gears of War on Xbox 360 (Microsoft)
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on PSP (Take-Two)
* Resistance: Fall of Man on PS3 (Sony)
* Wii Play on Nintendo Wii (Nintendo)

Entrants may cast their vote online at www.obsessedwithgames.co.uk. All voters are eligible to win a range of prizes, including four pairs of tickets to the awards show, a day at EA's development studios, a PS3, and an Xbox 360.
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A few months ago, IESB reported that Len Wiseman was in negotiations to direct the Escape from New York remake and also Gears of War.

The big news today, that started over at AICN, is that Len Wiseman will no longer be directing Escape and that Brett Ratner has replaced him.

The IESB contacted a source over at New Line, the studio behind the film, and was able to confirm the story which is no longer a rumor but instead 100% fact. Brett Ratner will take over directorial duties on the remake.

***UPDATE***: IESB later clarified with their source, the status of Gears of War. Yes, Chud, Len Wiseman is still on the project currently, but it doesn't look good, due to the budget concerns the studio has, New Line will most likely not be moving forward on this film.
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Script writer Stuart Beattie spills beans on the film adaptation of Epic's shooter.

The Hollywood scriptwriter given the responsibility of penning the silver screen adaptation of Epic's Gears of War has said that movie will be an "enormous film."

Stuart Beattie, whose writing credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, explained that it's likely the Gears movie will be shot entirely on green screen like 300.

"There's no way to build that world any other way, really," he said. "That's a huge world. It's a planet and it's a bubble and it's a building. It's an epic sci-fi war and an enormous film. To get it made at all, the only way to make it for a price is to be on a soundstage. But the game also has that look, which is really interesting, so I think it will dovetail really nicely."
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Oct 4, 2007 The Hollywood scriptwriter given the responsibility of penning the silver screen adaptation of Epic's Gears of War has said that movie will be an "enormous film." Speaking to GamePro.com, Stuart Beattie, whose writing credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, explained that it's likely the Gears movie will be shot entirely on green screen like 300. "There's no way to build that world any other way, really," he said. "That's a huge world. It's a ... » Read More

The latest round of Xbox Live stat crunching from Major Nelson reveals that Halo 3 has already topped to "Live Activity" rank listing for the week beginning September 24.
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Here is the list of Top Xbox 360 games (based on unique users) for September 15th through the 21st. Remember this is before Halo 3 launched!

1. Gears of War
2. Call of Duty 4 (Beta)
3. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
4. Madden NFL 08
5. BioShock
6. Guitar Hero II
7. Call Of Duty 3
8. Forza Motorsport 2
9. skate.
10. GRAW 2
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Silicon Knights has filed a response to Epic Games' August counterclaim and motion to dismiss a case revolving around Unreal Engine 3 and Too Human, and blasted Epic's motion to dismiss with accusations of breach of contract, fraud and various other claims.

"Silicon Knights has... very clearly and sufficiently alleged that Epic has 'done much wrong.' Consequently, Epic's Motion to Dismiss should be denied," Silicon Knights said in its response to the motion to dismiss, "Under Epic's interpretation of 'operable,' it would be sufficient if Silicon Knights received effectively nothing in return for its payments under the Agreement (which is what, in reality, happened in this case, as set forth in the [original] Complaint)."
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Those overly creative LEGO building fellas over Brickshelf did it again, this time using their finely honed talents to create a Gears Marcus Fenix figure. Just look at the detail on the armor, the accurate representation of the Lancer and how perfectly crafted the model is.
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With nearly 500,000 downloads to date, the Gears of War® Hidden Fronts Map Pack has become the number-one piece of premium downloadable content on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace. Beginning Monday, September 3 at 2:00 A.M. PDT, the Hidden Fronts Map Pack will join the Annex gametype and Multiplayer Map Pack 1 as another piece of free downloadable content for Gears of War.

Gears of War has sold more than four million copies worldwide, and continues to hold the title of most popular Xbox 360 game on Xbox LIVE, as Gears of War recorded the most number of unique players among all Xbox 360 games in August 2007, as well as the highest cumulative number of hours played by Xbox LIVE members.
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Microsoft has announced that beginning on Monday at 5 pm EST the Hidden Fronts map pack for the Epic Games developed hit Xbox 360 action game Gears of War will become free to download via Xbox Live. The map pack contains four levels for the title.
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GDC China kicked off in Shanghai with a keynote from Epic China CEO Paul Meegan discussing 'The Possibilities and Perils of Production Outsourcing, And How It's Changing the Way Games Are Made', and Gamasutra was there to report his conclusions.

Meegan, who formerly ran Ubisoft Shanghai, recently set up the relatively low-profile Epic China, previously revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2006, and his speech at the inaugural GDC China conference, co-run by [Gamasutra owner] CMP and IDG, covered the bases, from why to outsource to some of the pitfalls of doing so.

Epic China has been set up to provide outsourcing help both to Gears Of War creator Epic and to associated companies using Unreal Engine 3, and already has a large China-based staff working on asset creation for games - thus Meegan's keenly awaited speech.
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2K Games' BioShock rules over the charts again this week while there are new best sellers on PS3, PS2 and Nintendo Wii.

1. BioShock-2K Games (Xbox 360)
2. Halo 3*-Microsoft (Xbox 360)
3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption-Nintendo (Wii)
4. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day-Nintendo (DS)
5. Nintendo DS Lite w/ Brain Age 2-Nintendo (DS)
6. Wii Play w/ Remote-Nintendo (Wii)
7. Halo 3 Ltd. Edition*-Microsoft (Xbox 360)
8. BioShock-2K Games (PC)
9. Madden NFL 08-EA (Xbox 360)
10. Brain Age-Nintendo (DS)
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In another week, you'll be able to download the Hidden Fronts map pack for Gears of War on the Xbox 360 for free. That's right, free. Previously costing 800 MS Points, the new free pack consists of four maps.

These maps are needed for the extra 250 achievement points in the game. So now you don't have to pay for that extra gamerscore...
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An Engine Panel at the 2007 GCDC examined the benefits and challenges of licensing an engine versus deciding to build ones own, and addressed questions to ask during the decision process and what to look for in support after the decision has been made.

Krawall Gaming Network's Goetz Klingelhoefer moderated, and Cryptic Studios' (City of Heroes, City of Villains) Bruce Rogers, Crytek's (Crysis
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