Two hit franchises collide. We talk with their makers to find out how it all happened.
by Erik Brudvig 
April 12, 2010 - Gears of War characters are going to invade Lost Planet 2. How did this happen? We went to the two people responsible for each universe, Gears of War Creator Cliff Bleszinski and Lost Planet mastermind Jun Takeuchi, to get the story behind this epic crossover.
But before we get to that, IGN has one bit of Lost Planet 2 news that Capcom fans are sure to get in a tizzy about. Frank West, the star of Dead Rising, will also be an unlockable character. Keep reading to find the hilarious screenshots confirming this second crossover.
IGN: I simply have to ask: Why a Gears of War / Lost Planet crossover?
Cliff Bleszinski: Why the heck not? Both are great third person shooters with memorable moments, it seems like a no-brainer. I've been a fan of Takeuchi-san and Capcom for years now so we leapt at the chance to do this. Who's to say that Marcus and Dom couldn't find themselves in this neck of the woods?
Jun Takeuchi: I had a chance to introduce the first LOST PLANET game to the Gears of War staffs at E3 2006. At the event sight, they asked me why we didn't use the behind-the-shoulder camera style we used for Resident Evil 4.
I was really curious to hear their opinions again about the camera angles for this LOST PLANET 2 and was hoping for a chance to show them the game someday. Some camera angles of the LOST PLANET 2 resemble the ones used in Gears of War and I was inspired to feature Gears of War characters in the game. The Gears of War staffs showed a favorable response to this idea and they gave us a go.
Marcus? Dom? Lost Planet? Yes.
Cliff Bleszinski: Capcom approached us initially. At first I thought it was some sort of a prank or just a crazy idea, but I quickly realized that they were very serious about it. I found myself extremely excited by the debut trailer when Marcus and Dom come in to help out with the boss monster.
Jun Takeuchi: I needed to take steps to get back in touch with Gears of War staffs since few years have passed since last time we met at E3 2006. Contacting them suddenly after being out of touch for a long time for project deals like this can appear a bit abrupt (considering the Japanese custom). So I first decided to consult with Microsoft Japan.
Microsoft staffs were thrilled about the idea. I must say that this collaboration didn't come without a great support of many staffs at Microsoft Japan. Microsoft staffs introduced the idea to EPIC and we got a prompt response from EPIC saying "Sounds very interesting. Please feel free to use them in LOST PLANET2!". Our staffs were so happy to hear their response and everybody was cheering for this ambitious collaboration with EPIC. It was also our staffs' question that why they were able to give us permission without having any issues. We later heard from Microsoft that EPIC commented "we are friends since E3 2006 and we don't see any issue using Marcus and Dom in LOST PLANET game". We were moved from the fact that they also remembered us from E3 2006 and we were strongly encouraged by their supportive comment.
IGN: Will the Gears of War costumes be unlockable in the game or will players have to purchase them through special editions or downloadable content?
Jun Takeuchi: Players are able to unlock additional contents in a rather conventional manner through game play. The unlocking conditions were proposed by EPIC and we really thank EPIC staff's for their valuable inputs. I hope you all enjoy exploring the game to unlock these character skins.
Frank West has an...interesting backpack.
Jun Takeuchi: Marcus and Dom will appear in the game as character skins in LOST PLANET 2. They are such awesome characters, however, I think that their great stories are to be told within their own unique settings in Gears of War. LOST PLANET 2 uses their images only without affecting their story.
IGN: Do Marcus and Dom have any special powers in Lost Planet 2, or is the skin purely cosmetic? Please tell me you can use the chainsaw.
Jun Takeuchi: I am hoping that these character skins would bring adrenaline rush to the players during game play. They are in fact just a character skins, but I am sure the players can go wild as soon as they unlock these cool characters from Gears of War.
IGN: Will there be any elements of the Lost Planet world crossing over into future Gears of War games?
Jun Takeuchi: Humans might migrate into different planets in the future and I think it is great to let the imaginative thoughts run wild by contrasting different ideas like that. However, we have not brought up the official plan of sharing further contents between the Gears of War and the LOST PLANET games as of now.
Cliff Bleszinski: Who knows what the future will hold. Maybe I'll borrow their great grapple mechanic instead? Let me go talk to the team about that one...
IGN: Will the Marcus and Dom skins be playable in the adversarial multiplayer game as well as the co-op campaign?
Jun Takeuchi: They certainly are available for both online multiplayer game and co-op campaign. Many of our staffs loved them and tended to use Marcus and Dom for testing the game during our QA process. I sometimes had to limit their use of those characters and encourage them to use other skins for more balanced QA results.
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