E3 2011: $400 Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 bundle emerges

LOS ANGELES--Monday saw Microsoft make a swath of announcements at its press conference, including unveiling Halo 4 and revealing a host of Kinect games. However, after Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Sony had their druthers in the press-briefing arena, the software giant made a few more announcements of import.

Besides unveiling a new wireless steering wheel, the company announced a new Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 bundle. Priced at $400, the bundle will include a red and black 320GB Xbox 360 with a special Gears of War finish, as well as customized startup and eject sounds taken from the game's universe. The package also includes two matching controllers, as well as special in-game weapons skins, and a standard copy of Gears of War 3 itself. The controllers will be sold separately for $60 each.

The Gears of War 3 Xbox 360 bundle will go on sale September 20 in North America. It will offer an apocalyptic finale to the series, which has sold 12 million copies to date. The game begins with the last human city having been obliterated and series hero Marcus Fenix trying to protect the remaining humans from the Locust horde and from newer, deadlier foes, the mutating Lambeth. In a franchise first, it will let players play through its campaign in four-person co-op mode.

Besides the $400 Xbox 360 bundle, Gears of War 3 will be available in three other versions: standard ($60), Limited ($80), and Epic ($150). The centerpiece of this year's $150 Gears of War 3 Epic Edition will be a limited-run Marcus Fenix statue. Designed by Epic Games art director Chris Perna and fabricated by Triforce, the statue weighs 3.7 lbs. and measures 11.2 inches by 8.9 inches.

The Epic Edition also includes a behind-the-scenes book by Tom Bissell, which offers 96 pages of interviews, photos, and concept art. Gamers will also find some in-game content by way of the Infected Omen Weapon Pack, which includes multiplayer skins for the lancer, retro lancer, hammerburst, sawed-off shotgun, and gnasher shotgun.

The Epic Edition will also include all of the content of the $80 Limited Edition. The headline pack-in for this package is the Octus Award Box with Octus Service Medal, which is a life-sized replica of the honor given to scientist Adam Fenix for his work on the Hammer of Dawn. The bundle also includes a code redeemable for the Adam Fenix skin in multiplayer, personal records of Marcus' father, and a fabric COG flag.