The good news in all this is that either Capps' conscience or employees convinced him in the end to do the right thing. Also, Epic now has an iron-clad recipe for success: Find out what Mike Capps says you should do, and then do the exact opposite.
Epic president wanted to cut Gears' multiplayer, Mad World ad
by Justin McElroy 
on Oct 29th 2007 3:55PM
74
The good news in all this is that either Capps' conscience or employees convinced him in the end to do the right thing. Also, Epic now has an iron-clad recipe for success: Find out what Mike Capps says you should do, and then do the exact opposite.
Reader Comments (74)
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 5:10PM 343 Guilty Fart said
Isn't Mad World originally by Tears for Fears?
Never enjoyed GoW multiplayer much, I got sick of everyone just grenade tagging me all the time and doing the barrel roll thingy.
Never enjoyed GoW multiplayer much, I got sick of everyone just grenade tagging me all the time and doing the barrel roll thingy.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 5:16PM (Unverified) said
That video shattered my mind. I hate you guys so god damned much.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 5:23PM (Unverified) said
Would have preffered a longer/better campaign with more features and even four-player coop over the competetive multiplayer.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 5:25PM (Unverified) said
for some reason that made me want to play gears multiplayer
Posted: Oct 31st 2007 12:05PM (Unverified) said
I could have done without the whoring of the song everyone associates with Donnie Darko. Seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the game other than a lame attempt at tying something popular with their game to make it more memorable when you see the commercial.
I still hear on a daily basis people speaking of GoW multiplayer so I guess it's a good thing that guy apparently wasn't listened to when he made the request.
I still hear on a daily basis people speaking of GoW multiplayer so I guess it's a good thing that guy apparently wasn't listened to when he made the request.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 5:56PM (Unverified) said
The Mad World ad spot is what convinced me to buy the game, I liked the music. Does everything have to make a pop culture reference to make sense?
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 6:02PM Ricky Bango said
Yes, Mad World is a Tears for Fears song. The real geniuses behind it. It doesn't take a whole lot of genius to take a song and slow it down and play it on the piano.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 10:31PM KaneRobot said
The version with Hanson's "Where's The Love" as the music was better.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 6:31PM Otimus said
The ad was terrible. Made the game seem deeper than it was, whereas it was shallow and fairly dumb, story wise.
Posted: Oct 30th 2007 9:47AM baby sea tuna said
So then, what you're really saying is that the ad was awesome, and the GAME was terrible...
Reply
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 6:47PM watership said
Gears was marketed by Microsoft, EPIC had nothing to do with the ad.
Posted: Oct 31st 2007 3:10PM (Unverified) said
I really think that ad was terrible and stupid.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 7:14PM (Unverified) said
I like the commercial above better.
(Nows where I point out I was kidding because some twat won't get it and begin flaming)
(Nows where I point out I was kidding because some twat won't get it and begin flaming)
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 7:34PM (Unverified) said
joystiq.... congrats on making the single best post ever using that gears of war video
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 8:16PM (Unverified) said
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 8:22PM (Unverified) said
I still wanna hear the Tears For Fears version of Mad World played to this video, since it's a little more upbeat and dancy.
But The NeverEnding Story - classic...
But The NeverEnding Story - classic...
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 8:44PM spin cycle said
The Gears ad sucked, all it was was an attempt to rub off the popularity of one thing (Donnie Darko) on another. It didn't really fit the game, as shown by all the other versions (like the NeverEnding story) that fit the commercial equally well.
I like both versions of "Mad World", partly preferring the original just because it's the one I'm more familiar with. But the cover is good, and it fit Donnie Darko very well.
I like both versions of "Mad World", partly preferring the original just because it's the one I'm more familiar with. But the cover is good, and it fit Donnie Darko very well.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 8:46PM Wuggy425 said
Great ad, but the multiplayer was obviously rushed.
The combat mechanics don't work well for multiplayer, it's all camping and spraying, and the worst netcode this side of 2002.
Gears of War was a great single player game and amazing graphics, but it has the lamest multiplayer seen in a major FPS release in years. Still, if it's functional there's no reason to cut it.
Console gamers have far lower standards than PC gamers, so stapling a few unfinished (but functional) features will make them happy.
The combat mechanics don't work well for multiplayer, it's all camping and spraying, and the worst netcode this side of 2002.
Gears of War was a great single player game and amazing graphics, but it has the lamest multiplayer seen in a major FPS release in years. Still, if it's functional there's no reason to cut it.
Console gamers have far lower standards than PC gamers, so stapling a few unfinished (but functional) features will make them happy.
Posted: Oct 29th 2007 8:54PM JoshMilewski said
I've never seen this commercial before, so I thought the fake one posted above was the real one. I looked up the real one on YouTube after...I would have to say the original version is better, but this Joystiq one isn't so bad.
Posted: Oct 30th 2007 12:14AM (Unverified) said
Well, if Epic ever fires him, you know Exxon will hire him. They'll hire pretty much any dumbfuck, and then give them $500 million to leave.
Posted: Oct 30th 2007 2:05AM (Unverified) said
Seriously. The Mad World Ad was laughable. WHY would they do that...
Posted: Nov 10th 2007 2:51PM WiredKnight said
Despite that one slip, Dr. Capps is a smart man. He gave a talk at my school about game design theory and the Unreal 3 editor and believe me, he's not the bumbling fool this article makes him out to be.
Posted: Nov 10th 2007 2:52PM WiredKnight said
P.S. This is OLD news for anyone who watched the bonus DVD with the limited edition!
Posted: Oct 30th 2007 2:38PM Trojan said
You don't need to be familiar with Donnie Darko to think that ad kicks ass.
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