Re-Emergence Day

Gears of War is headed back into stores with a new version scheduled to hit at the end of this month*. Featuring all the downloadable content released thus far and a bunch of trailers, themes, and picture packs, it’s a pretty loaded package at the lower price of $39.99. Nor surprisingly, it also features a bunch of trailers promoting the sequel, Gears of War 2. They may not seem like much, but these trailers are the most important element of this release. Because, you see, this isn’t really a game. It’s marketing material.

By re-releasing Gears of War now, Microsoft and Epic have the chance of selling it to two possible groups:

1) Recent Xbox 360 buyers who have heard about Gears and Gears 2 and want to check it out.

2) Hardcore Gears of War fans willing to repurchase the game for the additional material.

Either way, Microsoft is getting Gears 2 promotional materials into the hands of a key demographic. Either the buyer is interested in the series and playing the first game shortly before the release of the sequel, or a hardcore fan – the type of gamer that tends to become a “brand evangelist” and hype the game to friends.

Re-releases of games are common, but seldom do they come so long after the original release. Personally, I think it’s a great strategy. First of all, buy re-releasing a game just ahead of its sequel, you increase awareness of the franchise and get additional revenue in the hands of the developer for little additional work. After all, the game is already completed, as is the bonus material (usually). Like a special edition of a DVD, re-releases of games extend the shelf life of the product, which tend to make the bulk of their sales in the first few months. Granted, Gears of War and other triple-A games tend to have long legs, but the more money a game makes, the better it is for the entire industry. The developer gets more, the publisher gets more, and since that developer is successful, ultimately gamers get more in the form of future games.

The upcoming BioShock release for PlayStation 3 is another example of a game as marketing for its sequel. Whether or not it includes info on BioShock 2 remains to be seen, but it’s a safe bet that it will. Either way, the PS3 BioShock will introduce the Sony audience to the franchise so they too can get excited for the sequel. After all, gamers are less likely to buy the second game in a story-driven franchise like BioShock if they don’t know what happened in the first.

I’m all for re-releasing games in order to help sell their sequels. Wouldn’t the recently-announced Beyond Good and Evil 2 find a wider audience if Ubisoft put out a bargain-priced version of the original for 360 and PS3? How about a collection of the Resident Evil series for Xbox 360 so Microsoft exclusive gamers can play the series for the first time in preparation for Resident Evil 5? Pack it with exclusive bonus material (like the scrapped prototype versions of RE4) and I’d be sold.

Game companies don’t do anything without a reason. Game of the Year editions, re-releases, and the like aren’t put onto the market to give gamers new stuff. They’re to make money, pure and simple. But sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that.

*Side note: The Gears of War re-release won’t be on the shelves side-by-side with the original version (or “sku”). It will replace the original version. This is what’s known in the packaged goods industry as an “in-line change.”