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Just yesterday, we broke the story concerning the remarks Patcher made that sent the entire gaming community into an uproar. So much so that Mark Rein Himself had to respond to Pachter’s comments when he stated that Epic Games “regrets” the exclusive deal it made with Microsoft and that they “can’t wait until they start doing multiplatform games.”

Well Rein has responded saying “We have a great relationship with Microsoft and we have no regrets.”

Not a surprising answer, after all that deal has made the company tens of millions of dollars. But many still wonder will the top Xbox 360 exclusive ever come over to the PS3, according to Rein it won’t; but should it?

This discussion was ignited when Rein said at TGS, “If there were a next Gears of War, that will be for the next console generation.” After his statement, the gaming media began speculation on what he meant. Some said Mr. Rein was hinting at a multiplatform release for the next title and others thought he meant the next cycle of consoles. Both assumptions were wrong.

After those remarks sent the internet into an upheaval, Eurogamer met up with Mark asking him to clarify himself. Mr. Rein then made it perfectly clear and said he misspoke, and if Gears of War three existed and were to be released in the next four to five years, it would indeed be on this generation of consoles. Note, he never said a multiplatform release, but this the seventh generation of consoles.

The Case To Remain Exclusive

Epic Games and Microsoft have a very, very good relationship. It’s been made abundantly clear that the software giant really care about the Gears of War franchise and have proven its loyalty in more ways than one. When Epic asked Microsoft to increase the Xbox 360 memory capacity, it did.

The giant has also placed its money where its mouth is; spending millions in advertising dollars to promote the game, something Epic at the time, would not have had the ability to do. Also, the franchise has harnessed a loyal fanbase in the Xbox community and if it goes multiplatform, that could be looked upon as a betrayal and you never know where such a situation could lead.

It’s safe to say that if Epic makes the decision to keep the franchise exclusive to the Xbox 360 when its deal with Microsoft is up, their would be guaranteed continuous success.

Coming Over To PS3

With over 32 million PS3 owners in the world, 11 million in the US alone and about the equivalent amount in Europe, it’s okay to assume that if Gears of War ever came over to said console, there’s a great chance it could do extremely well, especially if it’s advertised properly. Although some folks were upset with Pachter’s wording (understandably so), the analyst made some very good points.

There a not too many good reasons why a third party development studio should remain loyal to a particular console; dollars are hard to come by these days and development costs keep rising, forcing companies to cut corners or layoff staff altogether. A lot of profit could be made by releasing the game as a multiplatform title so to keep your company in a tough spot for seemingly no reason just don’t make no sense; although in Epic’s case it’s a different story.

More than likely, the money Epic would make releasing Gears on PS3 would be more than what Microsoft pays for the exclusive deal, I mean, do you think Redmond would pay Epic $100 million for exclusivity? Because it could make way more than that from a single PS3 Gears of War release.

To conclude, I must agree that it’s not an easy decision by any means; as a company out to make money, you would love to expand you reach but at the same time keep the customers who made you what you’ve become today. It’s a tough call, one Epic will have to think long and hard before making.

What do you think, should the game go multiplat?