“Why not just use Unreal?”

I don’t think many people who cover the industry actually understand why not– even if they say they do. Ever since Gears of War came out in late 2006, it’s possible to read in magazines statements like, “the game runs on Unreal Engine 3, so it should look quite sharp when it’s released” or “imagine what a studio like Bungie could do if they were using Unreal technology.” The assumptions are clearly made, and they are wrong. Is the general gaming press really this uneducated and gullible?