Gears trailer hits theaters, development on track

In the old days, half the fun of seeing a movie in the theaters was sitting through the 10 minutes of previews before the main event. More recently, advertisers have been using the captive audience to peddle soda, cars, and whatever else they can, making getting an early seat much less appealing.

Times are changing, for gamers at least, as more publishers are blurring the line between films and games by promoting upcoming games before movies, as was the case with Halo 2 and Advent Rising.

The latest to join the ranks is Epic Games' Gears of War. On the game's official forums, Epic prez Mike Capps posted a note saying the trailer for Cliffy B's sci-fi shooter will be shown before Miami Vice, Pulse, A Scanner Darkly, Clerks 2, and Little Miss Sunshine. All the movies are rated R for Restricted--the film equivalent of Gears of War's all but assured M-for-Mature rating.

Though Capps says gamers will likely have already seen the trailer, the new promotion will give them a chance to "see it on a massive theater screen and hear it in badass 5.1."

As for Gears making it to the big screen proper, famed game maker Cliff Bleszinski didn't rule out the possibility. In an interview with Xbox.com, he said, "The only way we'd ever consider doing a film of our property would be if the absolute right people were attached who understood not only the game and its universe but also the (hopefully!) rabid fanbase that we'd like to acquire."

The game itself appears to be on schedule, but, like the insectoid horde that impedes the progress of Gears' space marines, Epic's Mark Rein cautions that the game may face its own bugs.

While speaking to GameSpot, he said, "We're working very hard to make sure it hits [this holiday season]. You know what could prevent that from happening? Bugs. Maybe we hit a roadblock. Maybe some last little bit of content or code doesn't work as well. Or maybe it takes us a little longer to optimize or fix this or do that, or implement an unfinished feature."

Rein emphasizes that quality over punctuality is Epic's creed. "What we're saying is that we won't sacrifice quality for release date. To tell somebody it's going to be out this particular date or that particular date, it's a lie because all we could ever say is 'We're shooting towards this [date].' We've said we're shooting to have it in stores in time for the holidays. Right now it's looking pretty good. I think it will make it, but fingers crossed."