Official 'Gears of War 4' Xbox One S forged by monster claws and fire
When the Fenix legacy returns this October in Gears of War 4, Microsoft will welcome it in style.
The company's first widely available custom Xbox One S -- the console redesign announced at E3 -- draws on Gears 4 for inspiration. Its blood-red exterior is scored by faux claw marks, a nod to the upcoming game's new Swarm menace.
The limited edition Gears of War 4 Xbox One S sports a 2TB hard drive and a custom "Crimson Omen" controller that borrows the console's color scheme.
The controller features the same distinctive claw marks as the console along with other nifty flourishes, such as a bloody thumbprint splashed across the D-pad. It will also be sold separately.
The claw marks were added using a laser-etching process that cut into the plastic casing deep enough to ignite a fire. You can see that process in action below.
On the digital goods side, the console bundle includes a download code for Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition (for XB1 and Windows 10), early access to the game on Oct. 7, Gears 4 weapon and character skins, a multiplayer lobby emblem and six "Gear" packs containing in-game items.
Microsoft will also be releasing a second Gears 4-themed controller, also priced at $74.99, as a GameStop and Microsoft Store exclusive. This one features a grey-and-blue color scheme based on the armor worn by protagonist J.D. Fenix, the son longtime Gears hero Marcus Fenix.
Both controllers sport the same enhancements that Microsoft revealed at E3 2016 in June, including a newly textured grip, Bluetooth support and increased wireless range.
The two sold-separately controller packages also include some Gears-specific digital goods to justify the premium $74.99 pricing. You'll get a multiplayer lobby emblem and three "Gear" packs. It's not yet clear what these packs will contain, but it'll likely be cosmetic enhancements for the game's online modes.
CARD ID: 59750
Rod Fergusson, studio head at Gears 4 developer The Coalition, shared his thoughts on the custom console's design and it's connection to the new game's fiction with Mashable.
When we started the design process for the console, we talked about what would be its origin story. One thought was to make it look as if it was part of the game world, that it could literally be an object that you would find in a game level on Sera. That didn’t seem all that interesting to me or Monique on our Design Team, so instead we talked about how the console could be inspired by Gears of War 4 themes and colors. We focus more on what we might have had to use to survive in that world. We talked a lot about the theme of “reclaimed beauty” in the world and the impact the brutal Swarm were having on it. The laser etched scratches (the deepest they’ve ever done on a console) represents using the console as a shield blocking Swarm attacks. The directional multilayered bloody splatter printing represents using it as a weapon and smashing it’s corner down on a monster’s head. This is more than a console, this is what you need to survive the Swarm!
The previous Xbox 360 custom Gears console and controller was red and we wanted to continue that tradition. Obviously red is the color of blood (something you see a lot of in Gears) and for us it’s also the color of the Swarm. So naturally as we did more with red we also wanted to make sure there were lots of references to The Swarm and blood. Whether it’s laser etched claw marks on the console or the bloody fingerprints on the custom Elite controller.
At its core, Gears of War 4 is a co-op game and so it made a lot of sense to create a second controller. With so much of our hardware bundle Swarm themed, we decided to create a controller around the theme of our Coalition heroes. We focused on the iconic chest plates of the Gears, and their blue lights, blue paint and center chest logo – especially JD Fenix’s new armor. So now you and your friend can each grab a controller – one Swarm-themed and one Coalition-themed and jump into Gears 4 to see if you can survive a night together with the monstrous new Swarm.
Pre-orders for the console bundle are up now and pre-orders for the controllers open on Aug. 1, with the bundle priced at $449.99 and controllers selling individually for $74.99. Orders will start shipping in mid-September.
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Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
