Kotaku: Chocolate Rein

Rein: Big Publishers Will Run Digital Distribution, Too

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:30:00 MDT

Has digital distribution made games cheaper? Uh, no. But lots of people thought it would. That's not the only myth surrounding the digital delivery of games: the idea persists that selling your games online will be a way to get around the dominance currently enjoyed by big publishers in the bricks-n-mortar retail sector. Well, according to Mark Rein, that's all a load of codswallop:

Digital distribution is not a replacement for a publisher...They'll be paying for marketing just like they do for positioning in a store. The big publishers are going to own the front of those online stores.

Were I a small-time developer, that would be terribly depressing, but since I'm not, I will admit it does sound like a fairly predictable scenario.

Some Publisher Contracts "Borderline Illegal" [Next-Gen]

Fret Not, Gears of War 2 Shirts Will Happen

Mark Wilson — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:40:56 MST

Epic has signed a deal with Inno-Wear, makers of various video game licensed apparel to design merchandise for Gears of War 2. Needless to say, we can expect t-shirts, and expect them by the launch of Gears of War 2. Also needless to say, there's a strong probability that these t-shirts will come in a very chocolaty flavor of brown. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best on this one.

Gears 2 signs up textile leader [CVG]

Chocolate Rein Gets The Cliffster Back On-Message Re: PC Gaming

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:40:00 MST

Oh no, Cliffy, you so did not just say PC gaming was in disarray. How could you? Epic and PC gaming are tight, and you've even signed up to PC gaming's very own super friends! Time for Mark Rein to step in and set the record - and your message - straight. Speaking with MTV, the pair said:

MR: We want all these people buying laptops and reasonably priced PCs, to at least be able to be exposed to gaming. They can go out later and upgrade to something better, but let's at least give them a baseline experience."

MTV: Cliff, you buy it? PC gaming is back?

The Cliffster: Abso-frigging-lutely. The thing is, I think everybody coming together in that kind of way will essentially kind of help re-glue things back together and kind of help fix the market. I have a big PC gaming heritage and I love playing games with a keyboard and a mouse, as well as a console, and I'd just love to see it.

Much better!
Epic's Mark And CliffyB Explains What PC Gaming Alliance Means For Gamers — 'Disarray' Dismissed [MTV]

Mark Rein Promises Gears of War 2 "Good Surprises"

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:00:46 MST

Gears of War 2 is coming. And so soon! Not surprising since it's been in development before Gears of War 1 shipped. Does that mean it's going to be Gears rehash? You know, more of the same? Epic honcho Mark Rein says:

Yes, we're doing Gears of War 2! Did you ever doubt that? It's been in development since before Gears of War 1 shipped... We had an executive review the other day and I can tell you it is definitely more badass. It's really good. One thing I can say is that compared to where we were in the February before we shipped the last Gears, the game is in phenomenal shape. There are some good surprises for people.

Like a cohesive story?
Rein Interview [Eurogamer]

Epic Aren't Worth $1bn...They're Worth At LEAST $2bn!

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:30:00 MST

Rumor: Microsoft are going to buy Gears of War creators Epic for $1 billion. Rumor response: Epic VP Mark Rein, while refusing to rule the possibility out, gets his not-really-serious bargaining boots on and says $1 billion is totally unacceptable:

I have not seen the actual GamePro article but if they're going to make predictions about us selling Epic we would prefer if they started at $2 billion. Because we don't want anyone thinking that we're cheap.

I dunno Mark...that brown suit...you might want to kick it up to $3 billion, just to be sure.
Rein: "$1bn? We're not that cheap" [Develop]

Epic Can't Quit The Shooters

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:00:54 MST

Epic's games come in two flavors: First person and third person. Mix it up, guys! Can't you make other types of games? You know, games that aren't shooters? Epic honcho Mark Rein says:

We love making shooters, and I'm certain there are still countless ways we can improve in that genre. We look at Gears of War and we see the pimples, we look at UT3 and think 'we should also do this, we should also try that, if only we had more time and more people, we could have done...' so I think we're continually looking at our own games and thinking there are lots of unfinished puzzles left to solve before we move on to something else... There's still a lot of low hanging fruit in this genre — we need to pick some more of that.

And that fruit, dear reader, pays the bills and buys the brown suits.
Mark Rein Interview [Guardian Unlimited]

Finish UTIII PS3, Take a Break, Talk to Microsoft

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:00:11 MST

Epic Games is busy and has to proirtize. Priority number one? Getting that PS3 version of Unreal Tournament III shipshape. Where does that leave the Xbox 360 version? Nowhere near done — blame the mods. Epic's Mark Rein explains:

The PS3 is an open system, and they embrace user-created content. But there isn't really a way to do that on the 360... So our job, when we finish the PS3 version, and we've taken a little break, is to sit down with Microsoft and to figure out how we can do mods on their system.

To recap: The PS3 version has been pushed back to possibly 2008, the Xbox 360 version isn't anywhere near release and the PC version, well, that's on track for November 23rd.
UTIII on 360 [CVG]

How SIXAXIS Is Used in Unreal Tournament III

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:00:26 MST

Sure, we got hands-on with the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament III at TGS. It played great and smooth — save for the times it didn't cause Sony consoles to crash. So how is the PS3 version different from the PC one? Explains Mark Rein:

Well, the PLAYSTATION 3 has a lot of unique features and we try to take control of them - like with SIXAXIS. SIXAXIS can be used to steer the hoverboard or The Redeemer, but that's it. We wanted to be very careful not to hammer this functionality in just because we could. As for PlayStation Network, we just don't have a plan to use that right now to my knowledge but I suppose it's possible.

Smart. A mouse and keyboard probably handle steering much better anyway, no?
Mark Rein Interview [bit-tech.net via PS3 Fanboy]

Thanks Chris!

UT III Is So "Smooth" and "Really Fantastic"

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:00:18 MDT

UT on a high-end PC is amazing, but we're slightly concerned how UT III runs on the PS3. There might be lags and a slower frame-rate. That, dear reader, would be a huge drag! Sucky, even!! We wonder if Unreal Tournament III on the PS3 will be any good? Let's ask Epic honcho Mark Rein. Mark?

I was playing the PS3 build for a few hours tonight and it is really, really fantastic...　amazingly smooth and solid. I think you PS3 users are in for a huge treat with UT3.

Whew! We were worried. Well, as long as the guy who runs the company likes the game, then we have absolutely nothing to worry about. You know what's really smooth, Mark? That chocolate-colored suit.
Mark Talks PS3 UT III [Epic via CVG]