According to industry analyst Michael Pachter, Epic's widely popular Gears of War franchise (currently an Xbox 360 exclusive, with allowed PC ports) is probably headed to the PlayStation 3... eventually.

Pachter recently stated to Game Trailers that "we ('we' apparently meaning Patcher and his analyst pals) pretty much know that Gears of War 3 is probably gonna' come out on PS3." Pretty much, eh? Sounds scientific.

Pachter assumes that Microsoft has a two-game deal with Epic Games and that, barring any extension of that deal, afterward Epic is free to release GoW games on any platform it chooses. Considering the PS3's current lackluster offering of online titles (with the exception of Call of Duty 4 and Resistance: Fall of Man), a Gears of War game on Sony's catch-up console might definitely get some units sold - especially if it were a PS3 exclusive.

Meanwhile the rest of us anxiously await Gears of War 2.

Epic Dismisses Gears of War 2 Reports [2/05/08] 57% match
GB Review: Gears of War 2 (360) [11/16/08] 43% match
Gears of War 2 Announced [2/20/08] 43% match
Retailers Using Call of Duty 4 Costs to Lu... [1/04/08] 43% match
New Xbox Experience: It's Up. [11/19/08] 29% match
Gears of War 2 Sweepstakes Details [11/04/08] 29% match
No Gears of War 2 For PC [9/29/08] 29% match