Bizarre wanted Geometry Wars to be free
by Dustin Burg 
{ Mar 14th 2007 at 4:30PM }
In an interview with IGN about their upcoming game Boom Boom Rocket, Bizarre Creations' own Ben Ward revealed the true ambitions behind that uber hit Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. When asked about their experience with the XBLA and comparing the risks involved between Boom Boom and Geo Wars, Ward said that,
"Geometry Wars was really intended as a gift to hardcore gamers and we initially wanted to give the game away for free. When it became evident that we couldn't do this, we said to Microsoft "what's the absolute bare minimum we can charge". They said 400 points, so we went with that."
We have yet to find someone who has complained about paying 400 Microsoft Points for Geometry Wars, because the game is good enough to charge 1200. But how cool would it have been to get it for free? We always knew that the guys at Bizarre were good folks which makes us want Boom Boom Rocket all the more. Speaking of Boom Boom, make the jump for the complete interview where Ward discusses everything Boom Boom related. And feel free to express your disgust with Microsoft for not allowing Geometry Wars to be a free download ... long live the free content!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Clinton @ Mar 14th 2007 4:55PM
I always cringe whenever I read something say, "What's the big deal with this game's price? I'd gladly pay 'X' amount of points/dollars for it!"
Geometry is good, sure, but 1200 pts. for a game that just tosses an insane amount of brightly coloured shapes onto the screen is pushing it... by a lot.
aragorn @ Mar 14th 2007 4:59PM
Geometry wars is the 2nd most played game on my 360, succeeded only by lumines (cuz my 'other' loves it).
I'd have paid $20 for t his game.
b Enfield @ Mar 14th 2007 5:08PM
At $5 this game became the staple download, the game that showed off x-box live arcade. With the volume that this game has sold, I am suprised that other companies don't share in the "$5" model, with rediculously high volumes.
This game was the true star last year, unfortunatly it was not considered in the rankings for the games that sold the most, as it was digitaly distributed. Does anyone have quantities for Geometry Wars?
Morgon @ Mar 14th 2007 5:09PM
Maybe someday they'll come up with a model that asks people what they want to pay -- and that's what they pay.
That way we can all get the same game, but aragorn can cough up his Jackson, and the rest of us reasonable people could enjoy Bizarre's request.
Wishful thinking. ;)
As far as GeoWars, there should have been a slider to adjust the amount of particles.
It simply wasn't enjoyable with all that crap in the way every single time you got into a respectable firefight. Eye candy is nice, but make sure it isn't placed at a higher priority than a useful experience.
KilgoreTrout XL @ Mar 14th 2007 5:25PM
What a fantastic game. I remember the day when I finally got that "survive 1 million" achievement- I was literally doing victory laps around my bedroom.
My only complaint with geo wars is that Bizzare refuses to release any news or info about a sequel.
aragorn @ Mar 14th 2007 5:37PM
Morgon: in earnest; that has to be the weirdest idea ever :p
personally, I'm kind of a rare breed out there... where if a game company (or other industries) produces that I love to such an extreme... it becomes a case of "PLEASE!!!! TAKE MY MONEY!!!"
Especially when this one game continues to get more play throughs than all the gears of war, and PGR3's out there.
Tim @ Mar 14th 2007 6:15PM
Morgon - The word you so expertly managed to avoid was "donation."
cman @ Mar 14th 2007 7:36PM
Regarding comment 1... who cares what exactly the game is *only* doing. (and I digress but there are some cool complex things going in this game) The point is that the game is FUN, and I, along with many other people, have played Geometry Wars as much as any full price game on the system.
When I picked up my 360 about a year ago I got Obvlivion and Geometry Wars. I played Oblivion for less than 10 (painful) hours, but I have probably played Geometry Wars for a good 20-30+, and I still play it every now and then a year later. I knew Oblivion was not my cup of tea going into it, but I picked it up on the hype anyway.
Point being - It sounds like heresy, but I wish it was GW that cost $60 and Oblivion only cost $5. Even though Oblivion had an order of magnitude more work put into it than Geometry Wars, GW was worth more to me than Oblivion.
aragorn @ Mar 14th 2007 8:23PM
cman... you love geometry wars... yet hate oblivion?
I don't know what to think. You're either a nice person, or hitler's grand-son.
Steve @ Mar 14th 2007 8:57PM
Anybody who has PGR3 has had Geometry Wars for free all along. I guess MS just wanted their cut for Acheivements. I bought it just so I woldn't have to load up PGR to play it.
aragorn @ Mar 14th 2007 9:19PM
Steve: that was just a demo of Geometry Wars.
Bearxor @ Mar 14th 2007 10:12PM
Technically, Steve is right. Geometry Wars is free on both the PGR 2 and PGR 3 discs. Geometry Wars 2 is a demo only in PGR 3 though Steve, which I'm sure is the one you were actually talking about.
Ninegauger @ Mar 14th 2007 10:37PM
Whatever, I'm glad I was able to show at least token support for the game... it's not like I'm going to buy their other games. I just wonder what happened to the Geometry Wars gamer pics and themes hinted at in some interviews.
Viridium @ Mar 15th 2007 8:55AM
Was I the only one who did not enjoy Geometry Wars? I couldn't be bothered wasting $5 on it.
Tyr @ Mar 15th 2007 9:37AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_Wars
What a load of BS, they want it to be free and then they threaten to sue the guy who made a free clone of their game on PC.
ALH @ Mar 15th 2007 2:10PM
I had to spend £20 to buy arcade unplugged to get geometry wars anyways because i have no acess to live..or didnt have, the week after i bought the disk my internet was working again well enough for me to purchase lumines *shakes fist*
I still dont feel ripped off though. geometry wars is amazing.