Epic Games VP speaks out

Epic Games VP Mark Rein has spoken out on the developer's continuing commitment to producing PC games - despite the fact that their efforts are currently focused on Gears of War for the Xbox 360.

In an exclusive interview with Eurogamer, Rein said: "We have a PC heritage and we're very much committed, for instance with Unreal Tournament, to making great PC games as well.

"There's a lot of parity right now between where the absolute top-end of PCs are, and where the next-generation consoles are - especially with the multiple processors that we're seeing now in the consoles. You're getting a lot for your money with these next-generation systems, and it'll be a while before the average gamer PC surpasses them."

Which is why Epic is working on console games these days - not just Gears of War, but a version of Unreal Tournament for the PS3, too. It's all good practice, according to Rein.

"Four years from now, when a PC has as many processors as an Xbox 360, the work we've done on Xbox 360 will pay off on the PC as well. That's something we didn't have in previous generations. So it's a good time to be doing both."

Rein also discussed his recent comments regarding the Nintendo Revolution's "freestyle" controller, which caused all manner of controversy - but according to Rein, he was taken out of context.

"I actually said Nintendo's going to make amazing games. I never really passed a judgement on the controller itself. I think the controller's cool!

"I wasn't bashing Nintendo, I wasn't bashing the controller, I was really just saying that a byproduct of having a device like this is that people are going to make games that possibly are just there because of the controller, as opposed to being great games of themselves, and I said it badly - I regret that."

Rein also took the opportunity to clarify comments he'd made regarding the importance of graphics on next-gen systems, telling Eurogamer: "People think I said the most important thing in games is graphics, and that's not what I meant to say.

"What I meant to say was the most significant improvement we get, the best new thing about the next-generation systems, in my opinion, is the graphics. And that's a hardware discusssion - not a game discussion."

To find out more about Unreal Engine 4, why Epic won't develop games for handhelds and what Mark Rein really thinks about the Revolution, read the full interview.