Gearbox Throws Innovation to the Wolves

[Evil Avatar]

After Gearbox head Randy Pitchford denounced Infinity Ward and Bungie for not creating new franchises (story (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88596)), Superannuation has revealed that Gearbox has registered new trademarks (http://supererogatory.tumblr.com/post/128941287/gearbox-has-filed-trademark-registrations-for) for... you know it is coming... more WWII themed games.

Gearbox has filed trademark registrations for World War II Hero, War Hero, Brother In Arms War Hero, and Modern War Hero.

So, it seems Gearbox is susceptible to either the Law of Interactive War Franchise Modernization or embracing a fashion designer-esque philosophy to things gamers are sick of (what’s ten minutes ago in the spring is all the rage three years later).

Way to innovate!

[divinechaos]

Hahahaha, if it only it were true...

[Amalor]

My god! I'm beginning to wish WWII never happened :( Wasn't Gearbox doing a Aliens game?

[MADxMrMike]

The Modern War Hero made me laugh out loud. This guy criticizes IW for making games like Modern Warfare and Gearbox turns around and makes a game called Modern War Hero. lol

I love words. So funny they are.

[brandonjclark]

My god! I'm beginning to wish WWII never happened


Beginning? It took some nobody to register a name of an unimportant GAME to make you wish WWII never happened? Sad....

[Evil Avatar]

My god! I'm beginning to wish WWII never happened :( Wasn't Gearbox doing a Aliens game?

Last I heard, due to the title getting delayed by Sega, they fired all their internal staff working on the game and farmed the multiplayer part of the game out to some 3rd party no-name developer and changed it from a regular FPS to a 'multiplayer only' FPS after the 'success' of Left 4 Dead.

I'm sure it will still come out, but unless Gearbox gets control of the title again and adds back in a single player campaign I don't think it will be worth playing.

[Rarely Operable Brain]

To use what Gearbox said yesterday . . .

"I keep waiting to hear what Gearbox is going to do that's not WWII."

[NemeToad]

Just you wait,
No one has commented on the hero part of each title, i suspect proprietary gun and knife controllers ala Guitar hero DJ hero etc.
i can't wait to see how the parachute controller works. With project Natal you could just jump off the coffee table for an airborne drop

[brandonjclark]

Just you wait,
No one has commented on the hero part of each title, i suspect proprietary gun and knife controllers ala Guitar hero DJ hero etc.
i can't wait to see how the parachute controller works. With project Natal you could just jump off the coffee table for an airborne drop


Funny:D

But I think it means it's probably going to be a single-player game. ie., not Hero(S)...

[xcalibur]

After Gearbox head Randy Pitchford denounced Infinity Ward and Bungie for not creating new franchises (story (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88596)), Superannuation has revealed that Gearbox has registered new trademarks (http://supererogatory.tumblr.com/post/128941287/gearbox-has-filed-trademark-registrations-for) for... you know it is coming... more WWII themed games.



Way to innovate!

OMG! Gearbox might make more games about war! War is so played out. Who wants to play games about war anyways? Oh wait... Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of WAR, or just about any shooter ever made... they are all about war. :rolleyes:


-X

[HeartbreakRidge]

I'm beginning to wonder if Randy Pitchford pissed in someone's Wheaties around here? Yesterday, he 'slammed' IW & Bungie, and today he's 'denounced' them. I think you're reading an awful lot of animus into his words, considering that who wouldn't like to see what else Bungie and IW can do?

Lots of people, fans of IW and Bungie, who buy and love all the Halo and MW games they put out, would like to see what else they can do, right? I'm one of those people, and I sure don't blame Bungie or IW, because a) their games are GOOD and b) they sell, which means they can pay the bills and let IW and Bungie take some risks if they are so inclined. Hoping that IW and Bungie do take that last step is not slamming, or denouncing, but a hopeful wish for the future.

I think it is also fair to say that Gearbox has not exactly had the financial or critical success of Bungie or IW, but I hope they do. I'm not sure if they are going to GET there without shaking things up, but then again, Borderlands is not exactly a WWII FPS shooter, now is it?

Finally, this is just a trademark registration, and is it not hopeful that some are clearly NOT for a WWII game?

Sheesh.

[xcalibur]

Also, pretty funny that you ignore the fact that GBX *is* doing things other than WW2 - Borderlands and Aliens. Don't let the facts get in the way of your rant though. :)


-X

[Earth Djinn]

To me it seems like a joke at the expense of Activisions love for "*blank* Hero" games.

Am I alone in that?

[Evil Avatar]

OMG! Gearbox might make more games about war! War is so played out. Who wants to play games about war anyways? Oh wait... Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of WAR, or just about any shooter ever made... they are all about war. :rolleyes:

-X

Yes, all of those games are about war. However, none of them are a continuation of a World War II series whose last game was a total flop, were they?

[xcalibur]

Yes, all of those games are about war. However, none of them are a continuation of a World War II series whose last game was a total flop, were they?

There are more trademarks than just WW2 included in there. It seems to cover a variety of possibilities, including more WW2.

While Hell's Highway was certainly not a blockbuster, last I saw it sold ~2 million copies (about the same as Bioshock had sold last I checked). Not exactly a "flop", but could certainly be alot better.


-X

[Evil Avatar]

There are more trademarks than just WW2 included in there. It seems to cover a variety of possibilities, including more WW2.

While Hell's Highway was certainly not a blockbuster, last I saw it sold ~2 million copies (about the same as Bioshock had sold last I checked). Not exactly a "flop", but could certainly be alot better.

How many games drop $30 in price in the first 30 days? :D Can you still count them as 'sold' if you had to give them away?

You have to admit that WWII is more than played out. With the whole 'every other year' thing Activision has been beating WWII into the ground for years now.

Randy Pitchford was telling Bungie and Infinity Ward to branch out... can we expect any less from Gearbox?

I think Borderlands looks awesome, but as I said above I have heard that Aliens: Colonial Marines is a lost cause. Let me know when Gearbox takes control of that game again and adds back in the single player campaign.

[divinechaos]

To me it seems like a joke at the expense of Activisions love for "*blank* Hero" games.

Am I alone in that?

*Standing ovation*

Great job, mate! You win +1 Internets.

[HeartbreakRidge]

Randy Pitchford was telling Bungie and Infinity Ward to branch out... can we expect any less from Gearbox?

I think Borderlands looks awesome, but as I said above I have heard that Aliens: Colonial Marines is a lost cause. Let me know when Gearbox takes control of that game again and adds back in the single player campaign.

Well, between Borderlands and A:CM (even if that is a lost cause), Gearbox is trying (apparently), but I imagine that's harder for them to do without the cash printing machines that Bungie and IW can rely on. I don't think Mr. Pitchford was telling or asking Bungie/IW to go cold turkey on their bread and butter, so we needn't expect Gearbox to do so either. However, as you point out, and as I said earlier, I'm not sure how much of a benefit sticking to the WWII genre is at this moment.

[xcalibur]

You have to admit that WWII is more than played out. With the whole 'every other year' thing Activision has been beating WWII into the ground for years now.

Yet CoD5 still sold over 11 million copies.

Randy Pitchford was telling Bungie and Infinity Ward to branch out... can we expect any less from Gearbox?

That is what Borderlans and Aliens are about. Remains to be seen if those work out well, but they are certainly trying. Of course, you could argue that if the BiA series were as big as CoD or Halo, they might be less inclined to try new things and just churn out another BiA every other year to milk the cash cow.


-X

[ElfShotTheFood]

I really don't think the games would come out with names like that; those are more like "working titles" if anything.

And by registering several different names, they're just covering their bases. It's not like they're going to make every single one of those games.

[Evil Avatar]

Yet CoD5 still sold over 11 million copies.

Us gamers are suckers for 'More of the Same'. Branding also plays a part of that though. If someone else throws out a WWII game, it isn't going to be an instant success compared to a new Call of Duty or Battlefield title. We buy those because the earlier titles were a success. The same can't be said of the Brothers in Arms franchise.

Look at Battlestations: Pacific. I don't remember anyone talking about buying or playing that title.

If Gearbox was smart, they would dump the BiA name (and don't even get me started on using the word 'Hero' in a game right now) and develop a new WWII franchise. Leave all that old baggage at the gate and start your new life the second you get on the plane.

[Nate Graves]

Yet CoD5 still sold over 11 million copies.

It isn't a numbered sequel.

Just saying.

Not much of a comment on the thread otherwise, good luck to Gearbox for doing...whatever it is they do.

[xcalibur]

It isn't a numbered sequel.

Just saying.

Not much of a comment on the thread otherwise, good luck to Gearbox for doing...whatever it is they do.

Ok, CoD:WaW. Still a WW2 game that sold like hotcakes. :)

Point being, I question the validity of the "WW2 is dead" mantra seen on internet forums. It reminds me of the "PC gaming is dead" mantra that has been around for the past 10 years or more.


-X

[alienchild]

Yes! More WWII games, AWESOME! No wait... what?

Randy Randy Randy... why don't you make some -interesting- games for a change?

[Nate Graves]

Ok, CoD:WaW. Still a WW2 game that sold like hotcakes. :)

Point being, I question the validity of the "WW2 is dead" mantra seen on internet forums. It reminds me of the "PC gaming is dead" mantra that has been around for the past 10 years or more.

I don't think WW2 is dead from a standpoint that says "Can we sell this and will people buy tons of it?" And to be fair, CoD also sells better than any other WW2 title and Infinity Ward built up a lot of good will with Modern Warfare.

I think most people just complain because they're sick of the setting, or because other people are complaining and they want a reason to bitch too, damn it.

[NemeToad]

I still think it will be a crossover,
We never knew what happened to Glen Millerm, but now the tale can be told
Imagine you are dropped behind enemy lines with only your faithful guitar;
(this allows you to use any guitar hero controller), [but since it was the big band era they will now have the entire brass section available as instruments to buy].
And now you have to take down the entire Third Reich you muust play them into submission.
I give you Bobby Kotick's ultimate goal
World War II Hero
(Tim Schaeffer's got nothin on this)

[Sensei-X]

This has to be a joke, or is that the Activision lawyers sharpening their battle axes I hear off in the distance....

[Dag-Sabot]

I've had to go back to reading about WW2, that's how bad these games are.

[Ulysses]

The very last WW2 game should put you in the boots of a Wehrmacht soldier.