The release of Gears of War 2, arguably the most important 360 exclusive since Halo 3, seems set to outdo even the much troubled Fable 2 in terms of manfucaturing and supply issues. First, English speaking Canadian gamers got shafted when it became apparent that the hardcover art books that were supposed to come with the Limited Edition version of the game were printed in French [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.76292]. English speakers were forced to read a substandard softcover version which, according to rumour, was rife with spelling errors and gramatical mistakes, including one famous incident where the Locust are mistakenly refered to as 'Mole-persons'. Then it became apparent that the limited edition 'Lancer replicas' available exclusively by pre-ordering the game from Amazon were shipped with battery connectors designed for Asian standard batteries [http://kotaku.com/5085029/replica-gears-lancers-broken-heres-how-you-fix-em]. Attempts to use European or North American batteries in the unit have, in some rare cases, resulted in minor explosions and in one extreme case, horrific acid burns and blindness. [http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh125/alexandremisfits/RobocopToxicSplat.gif]
Not, to add insult to injury, it turns out that some unlucky north American buyers have recieved defective versions of the small collectors issue photograph supplied with the Limited Edition. The photograph, which is supposed to depict secondary character Dom and his estranged wife whom he spends the game searching for has, in some rare cases, been replaced with a picture Epic is claiming was an 'Early prototype'.
The original.
[http://www.freeimagehosting.net/]
The 'defective' picture.
[http://www.freeimagehosting.net/]
Gears 2 Lead designer Cliffy B has refered to the various production problems marring Gears 2's launch as "Whack" and, on one occasion "Totally Bogus, dude".
More on this story as it develops.
Edit: As it turns out the photo is somewhat of a practical joke gone wild. Epic staff apparently initially planned for one in 100,000 units to come with the picture but a manufacturing error made it one in 10,000. Leading to this mess. More news as it develops.
Not, to add insult to injury, it turns out that some unlucky north American buyers have recieved defective versions of the small collectors issue photograph supplied with the Limited Edition. The photograph, which is supposed to depict secondary character Dom and his estranged wife whom he spends the game searching for has, in some rare cases, been replaced with a picture Epic is claiming was an 'Early prototype'.
Staff at the Escapist managed, via Ebay, to aqquire a copy of the 'defective' photo which, some believe, may eventually become a collectors item.
The original.
The 'defective' picture.
Gears 2 Lead designer Cliffy B has refered to the various production problems marring Gears 2's launch as "Whack" and, on one occasion "Totally Bogus, dude".
More on this story as it develops.
Edit: As it turns out the photo is somewhat of a practical joke gone wild. Epic staff apparently initially planned for one in 100,000 units to come with the picture but a manufacturing error made it one in 10,000. Leading to this mess. More news as it develops.
