The Gears of War 3 beta has been over for a month now and that has given me some time to reflect on it. I won’t make this a game play review article, there are enough of those on the web for you to read. Instead, I’d like to write about what the beta could mean for the future of video gaming.

Gears of War 3 is by all accounts a “triple A title”. That term is taking on quite a few connotations in gaming circles. First and foremost it means money, and a lot of it. A huge up front investment is poured into these titles and along with that a huge amount of risk. If a well financed triple A fails to produce some people somewhere are losing a huge pile of dough. And we all know when that happens, bad things follow; developers are laid off, investors fade away, and design houses shutter. The business of triple A’s is becoming an exclusive club with fewer willing to risk the investment. Any industry that produces a huge return for a high level of risk will naturally look for ways to mitigate that risk. Every investor, be it an independent association, a big publisher, or some established individuals, will be looking for ways to make a new triple A less risky; less likely to blow up in their faces as the euphoria of profits rolling in turns into the sick gut-wrenching, slow-motion realization that getting out of the investment with their shirts intact is the best they can hope for.

I think the industry may be in this state right now and Gears of War 3 could be considered an example. How many “3’s” are coming? Mass Effect 3, Call of Duty 3, Dragon Age 3, and Assassins Creed Revelations all count as evidence for this phenomenon. The publishers and the investors know these titles are going to make a profit. They are the tried and true. Heck who needs risk? They know they will be coming out of it with higher quality shirts then when they went in, maybe even a bow-tie too. I can almost hear it now: “They want more Commander Shepherd? Give it to ‘em!”

Gears of War 3 isn’t just an example of this trend, with the beta it’s setting a new bar; one that future triple A’s will be measured by. The beta was run on a scale unheard of for consoles. Partly to tweak the game for a smooth launch, and partly to drive awareness. One million beta players, one million pre-orders. Cliff Bleszinski goes on sabbatical. With what Epic just pulled off, hell, I would take a long vacation too.

Some may think this situation is well and good. The future of video gaming is heading in the right direction. Escalation on the high end. Things will go up and up. There is no way back. Some may also think this trend is narrowing the field to only the very rich players. Some may point to other industries and so-called “bubbles”. I’m no seer, I think the next couple of years will provide us the answer. I just hope whatever it is, video gaming is the better for it, and we the players, get to keep our humble gaming t-shirts when it’s all over.

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.