The Sunday Grind: Gears tops 3 Million
I know, I know. I’m posting this on a Monday morning — sue me. I just got back from my duty station. Regardless, looking at the RSS feeds and around the general internet, I couldn’t find a single piece of news about the Xbox 360 from over the weekend. Notta. Zilch. Absolutely nothing. So naturally, when a blogger can’t find anything on the subject he’s supposed to (and in this case, is paid to) cover, he does the sensible thing: Rehash an already reported and very well known story, adding a hint of personal opinion to the matter.
Kind of like my personal Jesus Christ, Keith Olbermann. So without further interruption, let’s do this.
As I’m sure you all know by now, Gears of War has topped over 3 million copies sold. For those of you who can do math, $60 x 3,000,000 = $180,000,000, which essentially boils down to $180,000,000 = Cliffy B. rubbing his naked body with crisp $100 bills. Epic is making money hand-over-fist with this game, due in part to the George Lucas effect. Namely, Epic developed both the game AND the Unreal 3 engine, thus doubling the lining of their pockets. When this game became a HUGE hit, this is when the George Lucas effect truly manifested itself.
Now I know that Epic doesn’t get all of that money. Retailers and Publishers get a hefty chunk of the game’s profits as well. But when I see a game like this making as much as it does, I find it hard to root for the little guy. The “small time” developer who falls back on the age-old excuse of “We were working on a budget” for producing a steaming pile of virtual feces. Epic Games was once one of those “small time” developers. But they put forth the time and effort, and were able to create a game like Unreal using nothing but hard work, determination, and a crap-load of caffeine.
At one time, Epic Games was amongst the development houses who had their games thrown into the bargain bin days after release. Now you see them and think of them as one of the top development houses in the industry, turning out one great game after another. And they’re not done.
So I say to all you small time development houses out there — don’t try to make the quick buck by knocking off a bigger, and better game. Take the time, effort and energy to create your own idea. Your own gameplay mechanics. Your own game engine (if necessary, since they take a LOT of love). Do all that is necessary to create a game that will make you money, but will also get you recognition from inside the industry. Do your part, little men, and some day YOU could be like Epic.
Gears of War, Epic Games, Cliffy B.
