So, the Gears 3 beta wrapped up last weekend. I’ll save my opinions of the third installment until I experience the actual product, but I had a great couple of weeks. My excitement for the conclusion to the trilogy is through the roof. I can’t wait for September.
What I will say is that Epic deserves a lot of praise for putting on a great beta. They should be commended by all and their execution of the beta should be thoroughly copied. A beta is about collecting usage data; addressing edge condition, adjusting game setting to actual users, that kind of stuff. It’s not about the players, it’s about the developers and getting them what they need to release the most polished product possible.
What Epic seemed to realize was that in order to get the statically significant data their developers rely on; they needed to make the beta beneficial to the players — even more than just getting to see an early glimpse of the product. This is where Epic succeeded where many don’t. They crafted a situation where the time spent on the beta was rewarded. Gamers love their exclusive content, swag that others won’t have access to going forward. Epic obviously knows this and took full advantage of it, dangling the swag carrot and keeping players engaged for a shitload of matches. Nice work, Epic.
On the other side of the coin, Epic has proved itself to be an expert at exploiting its players loyalty to pad its pockets with pre-sale figures as well. They know players perceive betas as an exclusive party for only the most loyal fans to gain a sneak peak at what’s in the pipeline. Of course that translates to instituting a cover charge for that opportunity.
At the onset, players had two choices; either help bump sales of another Epic product, or let GameStop get hold of your money several months before the actual release of the game. Neither sits well with me. I don’t like my fanatic nature for something being taken advantage of in this way. Look at my save files on my Xbox, or the achievements I’ve earned. Look at the hundreds of hours I spent playing the Gears of War series, or the hundreds of dollars that I’ve sent Epic’s way. Don’t push some other game on me that I really don’t have that much interest in. Don’t force me to give money to GameStop — a company I don’t prefer to shop with in the first place — four months before I’ll actually receive the product. Just reward me for loving this series and spending a ton of time playing it.
Anyways, we’ve got four months until the actual release now. I would say that I can’t wait, but I’ve got a nice pile of new games to keep me busy.
