Gears associate producer Tanya Jessen told Shacknews.com that there are no plans for a GoW2 demo. She says that such a fast release of a sequel that this caliber means that they won't have time for the demo.

Will this end up hurting GoW2 sales?

Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 both had successful demos or beta tests before the launch of those games. Both of those games sold millions of copies on launch and today are the most played games on XBOX Live.

Of course, Gears of War 1 didn't have a demo and it is the #5 most played game on XBOX Live; two years after release.

Will GoW adopters give up that game for the sequel without a demo?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/846/846903p1.html

January 22, 2008 - After a total of six multiplayer maps, one new game mode, and 250 achievement points, it appears Gears of War downloadable content is being put to rest. Developer Epic is moving on to other projects. Representatives from Microsoft and Epic told IGN, "We don't have anything planned for [Gears of War] right now in terms of DLC."

Though both companies left open the possibility that new Gears of War content could be released in the future, new DLC seems doubtful. Perhaps Epic is clearing its workstations for another important product? Maybe a sequel of some kind?

It's been more than half a year since the release of the last downloadable pack for GoW. Despite this, Gears remains one of the ten most played Xbox Live games.

However, he made a blog post suggesting that there are new gamerpics available for Games for Windows - Live users. Sorry Major, but those gamerpics were released in an August update to Games for Windows - Live. More reasons why you need someone reporting GfW-Live news.

Here's looking forward to playing Gears of War on the PC. Hopefully the GfW-Live revolution will begin.

With nearly 500,000 downloads to date, the “Gears of War®” Hidden Fronts Map Pack has become the No. 1 piece of premium downloadable content on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

“Gears of War” has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, and continues to hold the title of most popular Xbox 360 game on Xbox LIVE, as “Gears of War” recorded the most number of unique players among all Xbox 360 games in August 2007, as well as the highest cumulative number of hours played by Xbox LIVE members.

In the Hidden Fronts Map Pack, players can clash for control of four dynamic areas, including Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process, and Subway:

Bullet Marsh
In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.

Garden
This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.

Process
Fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.

Subway
Timgad 's Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.

Confirmed:
Foulbreed
sparda
Midnight
EA
Oculus
47A

I haven't gotten in touch with anyone else.
Slayer? Mintz? Anyone else?

Gears of War: Friday Aug 17 8:00pm CST

4v4 private games if enough people are available, 4 vs. the world otherwise (take no prisoners), Look for Mikeulus online.

Participants in tonights games:

THX'ers:

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and guests:

In a move that makes total sense, Microsoft is bringing Gears of War to the PC during the holiday season of 2007.  This is going to be a great move for PC gamers.  Gears is a high profile game and it was only released for the XBOX 360 in late 2006. This game is still fresh.

It is going to wear the "Games for Windows" badge and come with a host of exclusive features not available on the XBOX 360 version of this game.  The game will support five new campaign chapters.  Campaign was the "killer" feature for Gears of War.  Adding five new chapters is going to sell a lot of copies.  Gamers were not only into the story that Gears presented, they were into the characters that we played and assisted us throughout the campaign.  That's when you know you've built a good campaign - when fans bond with the characters. 

Another feature that PC gamers will be excited about is the game editor that will allow users to can create and publish new multiplayer content.  They will be using the Unreal Editor - one of the most popular editors available.  Players can now import custom artwork into the engine, create particle systems, scripted encounters, cinematics, and more.  While I've never been a fan of games that did this, it's still a great option to include that will add to replayability. 

Gears PC will also ship with new multiplayer maps, one new multiplayer game mode and new achievements.

The game supports the Games for Windows - Live online service.  Many people have read my takes on the shortcomings for Games for Windows - Live.  In short, it needs a lot of help and could be more crippled than the XBOX Live beta from 2002.  A high profile game like Gears of War will surely bring some changes to the GfWL service.  While HALO 2 was a high profile game (understatement?), it was released in 2004 and launched the GfWL service.  HALO 2 (PC) game got mediocre reviews and had a quite launch with crippling online connection errors.  Gears should change that.  Gears PC will be in your face and heavily marketed.  Here's hoping that MORE users on the GfWL will give Micrsoft the data and feedback it needs to make the service better.  If for nothing else, a hugely popular title like Gears PC will at least assure us that support forums and message boards will fill up with requests and threads for support.  More feedback, even about technical issues, will eventually lead to a better service.

Gears of War PC will also run on DirectX 10.  This is going to help usher in the DX10 era.  Unfortunately, DX10 hardware hasn't penetrated the market yet.  Still, more and more gamers are updating their rigs to the latest cards from ATi and nVidia.  DirectX10 will ensure that this game looks better than the XBOX 360 version while playing at higher resolutions.  However, it will come at a price.  Since DirectX10 is new, most PC gamers will have to buy new hardware.

This game will most likely NOT support cross-platform play allowing PC gamers and XBOX 360 gamers to play together in the same game. While it works well with Shadowrun, there's no sign of that happening in Gears.

There's also no mention of dedicated servers being released for Gears. Being able to play Gears on a super highspeed network connection would have ensured lagless games and possibly more than 8 players in a game.

Gears PC will be the biggest Games for Windows title to date.  It's going to drive the community and technology which will lead to even better games later in 2008.