Mark Rein claims 'Gears of War can rival Mario'

Author: Ryan Garside
Published: 27th November 2006
Comments (23) Stumble
Who would win between Mario and Delta Squad? Mario with a star is invincible - Mario wins.

Who would win between Mario and Delta Squad? Mario with a star is invincible - Mario wins.

The vociferous Mark Rein, one of the men behind the blockbuster 360 title Gears of War, has suggested that the Gears franchise can rival Final Fantasy and even, dare he say it, Mario…

Speaking (writing if you're pedantic) on the Epic forum, Rein said:

"Gears is a trilogy? If we can keep making quality games that fans obviously love (see announcement) then why would we have to stop at three? I don't see the Metal Gear Solid, Mario, Grand Theft Auto or Final Fantasy series (among others) stopping at three and they're still delivering compelling entertainment content that's easily worth the money (see Unreal Tournament as well). There's definitely, as many of you have pointed out, a lot more to learn about what's really happening on the plant Sera and in the lives of the members of Delta Squad.

In the mean time we're working hard to support Gears of War (the first one) and come up with some great enhancements you'll hopefully see before too long. We're not ready to provide any details yet but I assure you we're on the job."

Can a series like Gears of War be as big as Mario? You have to be sceptical; can you really see 'Gears of War Kart' or 'Gears of War Tennis' hitting the shelves any time soon? I think not. Either way the statement underlines the fact that this game has been a massive success for both the 360 and the developers. Whether that will continue when the game isn't the only one on the market using the sparkling Unreal Engine 3.0 (if you ignore RoboBlitz), only time will tell.

In other Mario related news, Kotaku reports a story in which a person created a Mario statue made entirely of popsicle sticks glued together whilst waiting in a queue to buy a Nintendo Wii. A waste of time? I'll let you decide over in the forums.
Quote EK-MDi 27th November 2006, 11:01
A spelling mistake: It's 'skeptical' not "sceptical".

I for one don't think this series has the depth in the plot or storyline required to constantly reinvent itself with further editions in the series past three.

But hey, we'll have to wait and see. Though I do usually prefer to see new and fresh things.
Quote DougEdey 27th November 2006, 11:09
I can see it being popular it in own market segment, but Mario seems to have branched out a lot, its not just a platformer, its not linked to one console.
Quote FooSai 27th November 2006, 11:17
Rival Mario!!! thats blasphemy! Mario is a real classic, it takes time for something to evolve into that status. I can't see someone, in 20 years, picking this game up and playing it.
Quote AlexB 27th November 2006, 11:22
Im already bored of GoW. I dont see how it can rival FF, let alone Mario
Quote flabber 27th November 2006, 11:23
Hehehe, it might be a good game... heck, it might be the best game of 2006. But to say that it can rival Mario, Final Fantasy and others who have been around for years is a bit cocky if you ask me. The game is the first of the (current known) series. Whereas Mario is a character that's sinonymal for Nintento, Final Fantasy is one of thé best known rpg's (and a sinonym for Square-Enix), And who doesn't know Metal Gear? These kind of games have a good history behind them... something Gears of War is still yet to prove. Loads of games were excellent, but the sequel just plain s*cked ;)

I'd wait and see before shouting from the highest tower ;)
Quote Garside 27th November 2006, 11:25
In England we spell sceptical... sceptical. (check the Oxford English Dictionary) :)
Quote Leitchy 27th November 2006, 11:36
Funny thing is, it says he's from London.... Skeptical indeed
Quote Iago 27th November 2006, 12:03
Sorry Ryan, but that headline is totally misleading. Where does Mr Rein say: "Gears of War can rival Mario" ? He's only saying that popular games usually become franchises... nothing more. And if you were speaking about franchises and had to mention 2 or 3, I bet that the first ones that comes to any console gamer's mind are Mario, Halo, FF, MGS or Sonic.

The way you wrote the headline, it seemed that we were headed for a new "jewel" of , as you call him, vociferous Mark Rein, wasting Mario or claiming GoW is "teh best game 3va!!!!w00t w00t", but as a matter of fact, his post seems quite inoffensive to me.
Quote Nature 27th November 2006, 12:14
Whatever Garside your just a multi modder.

Sticking to the topic however I think we can all agree this is a dubious and unwarranted claim about Gears of War(especially since it isn't origional enough to make it's engine). What other game can you whistle the theme music to and instantainiously see the nestalgia encumber inside the head of who ever is listening? Only Mario has the past present and future ability to be played by all ages in all times.

Clams
Quote DougEdey 27th November 2006, 12:17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
Since it isn't original enough to make its own engine
fixed some typos

It uses the Unreal Engine 3, developed by Epic, who happen to have developed this game...
Quote mikeuk2004 27th November 2006, 12:26
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
Whatever Garside your just a multi modder.

Clams

????



Anyway, I like gears of war but for a game thats just come out can not be assumed it can rival a long existing character thats well known across the globe.

I dont even know the main guys name in Gears of war and I bet if you ask any non gamer about gears of war that they will have a blank face as not knowing what your talking about. but ask them who Mario is and they could answer right away. Even my Nan knows who Mario is.

I find it strange that the most well know game character is a Fat Italian American plumber who loves eating piza. Its ironic that kids see him as a hero and roll model.
Quote mmorgue 27th November 2006, 12:49
Rival Mario.. would take a great deal of creative expression to make GOW have the same appeal/options that Mario has had over the years.

And I really can't see a GOW Kart.. ;)
Quote Neogumbercules 27th November 2006, 16:35
It'll last a couple of sequels before people get disgustingly bored of running two feet, hiding, shooting, repeat for 5 hours. In my opinion people are all hyped up about the good graphics and the fun-for-a-while game play. It just doesn't have the lasting appeal of titles like Mario.
Quote DXR_13KE 27th November 2006, 17:09
mario will still exist when my grandchildren play on their future game consoles..... this game wont :D
Quote supermonkey 27th November 2006, 17:12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iago
Sorry Ryan, but that headline is totally misleading. Where does Mr Rein say: "Gears of War can rival Mario" ? He's only saying that popular games usually become franchises... nothing more.

I agree. In fact, I read the article here on Bit-Tech and skimmed the 5 pages of the thread over at Epic, and I could not find where Mark Rein says anything about GoW rivalling Mario.

When I read the post, I got the impression that he was asking a rhetorical question as to why the developers should stop at 3 games. He went on to point out examples of other franchises that have gone on to produce a quantity of other titles, based on the characters of the original game (i.e. Mario), or games that have produced a quantity of sequals under the same title (i.e. Final Fantasy).

-monkey
Quote Nature 27th November 2006, 17:38
Quote:
Originally Posted by DougEdey
fixed some typos

It uses the Unreal Engine 3, developed by Epic, who happen to have developed this game...


And Quake 4 used the doom3 engine even though it was developed by id and raven software. Counter strike runs on what? My point is that for a game to be eternal it must birth itself, not use other games existing technology (even though unreal 07' isn't out). Well I kind of disproved myself right there but my orgional point is that no game can be epic unless it is origional.

Fetus
Quote DougEdey 27th November 2006, 18:27
Originality needs to be in a story line, not in the technology. You can't say something is the same because it has the same engine.

Would you class Half Life and CS as being the same?
Quote C0nKer 28th November 2006, 00:43
Funny that no one mentions Zelda.
Quote THEkorean 28th November 2006, 02:01
cuase zelda is more for the gamers, but everyone knows mario... Everyone

PS. lol at the picture caption "mario with a star is invincible, mario wins" haha priceless
Quote R_H 28th November 2006, 02:50
What's so special about Mario? To me, characters like the Master Chief and Fenix are more human, with more depth...And they're epic in different ways, without making the character inhuman or perfect.
Quote C0nKer 28th November 2006, 07:13
Mario came out when games are generally simple. Well due to graphics limitation and lack of good storytelling back in those days, you can say Mario is pretty much card board. But recent games with the means to convey storyline through elaborate cutscenes and voice acting, it is a crime to make a game without compelling story with a believable character. Games and Games characters evolve.
Quote bllt2bnry 28th November 2006, 16:30
I haven't played the game myself. But it looks like it doesn't have the memorable characters of games that he is comparing them to.
Quote Aankhen 28th November 2006, 23:35
I must echo the earlier comments: the title used for the story was quite misleading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nature
And Quake 4 used the doom3 engine even though it was developed by id and raven software. Counter strike runs on what? My point is that for a game to be eternal it must birth itself, not use other games existing technology (even though unreal 07' isn't out). Well I kind of disproved myself right there but my orgional point is that no game can be epic unless it is origional.
This is such illogical thinking. A game is an original game if it has a new storyline set in a new universe, all considerations of plagiarism aside.
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