The promised downloadable content for the PS3 version of BioShock will be released on November 20 on the PlayStation Network, 2K Games announced today. The add-on content will be available for 6.29 GBP in the UK and $9.99 in the US.

It will consist of three challenge room environments, featuring new locations, objectives and artwork not seen in the original game. Here’s the deal:

A Shocking Turn of Events – A Little Sister is trapped atop a Ferris wheel in an undisclosed location in Rapture. Using only the tools and environment around them, players must use their wits to create electricity to power the Ferris wheel and bring the Little Sister to safety.

The I in Team – Using limited resources, and an even more limited arsenal, players must negotiate traps and find a way to defeat a Big Daddy using their wits instead of raw firepower.

Worlds of Hurt – Step up and take on the most grueling challenge offered in the world of Rapture. Players must battle through eight rooms of Big Daddies, Splicers and the worst that Rapture has to offer. Accumulate Adam, build an arsenal of Plasmids, Tonics and Weaponry, and fight through to rescue the Little Sister.

The DLC is exclusive to the PS3 version; PC and Xbox 360 versions won’t get any love. Below are three screenshots.

2K Sports has announced that the cover athlete for NBA 2K9 will be revealed through a 30 second TV spot scheduled to air during the NBA Countdown pre-game show for Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals, June 5 on ABC.

As part of the event, the publisher has set up a community website where registered participants can register and predict the cover athlete for the game from a roster of 16 NBA candidates. Those who predict correctly will be entered into a special drawing for the opportunity to win exclusive prizes.

“We’re extremely excited to offer this online promotion to our loyal community of 2K Sports fans, as we think it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to interact more closely with them through a refreshingly fun and rewarding experience,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “The NBA 2K franchise is king among basketball players and passionate fans who know and understand basketball. Revealing our cover athlete prior to Game One affords us a unique opportunity to capitalize on the anticipation surrounding the NBA Finals while simultaneously generating excitement for the release of NBA 2K9.”

The game, in development at Visual Concepts, will be released for the PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 this Fall.

Take-Two Interactive has announced the formation of 2K Marin, a new development studio under its 2K publishing wing. Located in Novato, California, the studio is staffed by developers who worked on BioShock. The studio will develop original IP, as well as co-develop products with other 2K studios around the world.

“We’re focused on continuing to bring new brands and cutting-edge gameplay to market with the creation of the 2K Marin studio,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “2K Marin will build upon our success in creating and leveraging AAA franchises.”

Hoping to knock out the competition, 2K Sports has announced the Spring 2008 release of Don King Presents: Prizefighter, an upcoming boxing simulation, for the DS, Wii and Xbox 360.

“The combination of real-life fight scenarios, story-driven gameplay and photo-realistic graphics will set this title apart from the competition,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “Our goal has always been to deliver the most engaging and realistic titles, and Don King Presents: Prizefighter will exceed these expectations. Based on the game’s innovative features and high-profile fighters, this title will be a ‘must have’ for any sports gamer.”

It is being developed by Venom Games, who are hoping to deliver the realism of live-action match-ups and the tactics of boxing. Players will be charged with building the career of their boxers, balancing between training and promotion, and other stuff related to boxing.

2K Sports has announced new features for College Hoops 2K8, its upcoming entry in the annual college basketball series. Here’s the deal:

In the All-American Training Challenge, players will be able to improve their game skills by competing in passing, shooting, and defensive tests against former college basketball standouts like Mike Conley Jr. of Ohio State, Julian Wright of Kansas, Glen “Big Baby” Davis of LSU, Alando Tucker of Wisconsin, Al Thornton of Florida State, J.J. Redick of Duke, and College Hoops 2K8 cover athlete, Greg Oden of Ohio State. Gamers can progress through the challenge drills against these great players while tracking their best times and highest scores in the game. With multiplayer support for up to four players, gamers can compete against their friends to see who has the best College Hoops skills.

College basketball fans will truly feel the benefit of playing in front of a frenzied crowd-be it at home or in a neutral tournament venue-with the 6th Man Advantage where the energy of a team’s fans can motivate a team to play harder and with more confidence. During a game, the 6th Man Meter measures the current energy and excitement level of the crowd. By scoring often, playing good defense, and raising the excitement level of the crowd, the 6th Man Meter will rise. Once the meter is full, the home team will gain the advantage of playing with less fatigue for a brief period while the opposing team will start to lose confidence in their playing ability. The 6th Man Advantage delivers a realistic element with how a great crowd can inspire their team to victory.

The game will be out this Fall on PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Controversial games publisher Take-Two revealed that its Q3 2007 fiscal results has seen a 14% year-over-year drop in revenue, following first and second quarter losses with a $58.5 million net loss, though its far less than that of last year.

However, the company had good news for itself: BioShock is popular. The obvious fact was made more obvious as they revealed that the Xbox 360 demo was the faster to hit 1 million downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace and that the company has shipped 1.5 million units of the game worldwide. Though they wouldn’t provide exact sales numbers, the company believes that BioShock is “one of the fastest selling games in video game history.”

Take-Two plans to capitalize on the success of the game by hoping to make it into an ongoing franchise. Company chairman Strauss Zelnick stated that a “two-year schedule would be optimal” for the game, comparing it to that of GTA. “I’d expect we’d apply roughly the same strategy to BioShock because [it] is shaping up to be a very important franchise.”

In other news, the call revealed that PS3 action game L.A. Noire and PSP music game Beaterator have both been delayed. They are now expected to ship sometime in Take-Two fiscal year 2009, which begins in November 2008.

A debut trailer for Mafia 2 has been released, showing off cinematic footage from the upcoming action game.

The Cult of Rapture has something extra for fans of BioShock - the full orchestral score by Garry Schyman. It’s a free download that features a 12-track compilation of the music featured within the game.

BioShock’s release has seen quite a few controversies raised on the use of online activation, as well as the installation of a rootkit used with the DRM. To quell fears, Ken Levine, the game’s creative director, spoke to Joystiq, stating that the SecuROM copyright protection will be eventually removed.

“At some point we’ll move back from online activation,” he said. “If people want to play BioShock ten years from now, they’ll be able to play it.”

He also went on to dispel the PS3 rumor - NO BIOSHOCK FOR PS3. “I promise you, there is no secret plan about the PS3 that we’re keeping from people,” he stated. “There’s no PS3 development going on that we’re hiding.”

Levine then reminds gamers about their exclusive deal with Microsoft regarding the game, implying that it is nigh impossible to see the game being released on PS3.

Following outrage from fans over the aspect ratio and the twice-install issues in BioShock, The Cult of Rapture carries word that these problems are being addressed. First up, they are increasing the number of activations allowed by the SecuROM software from two to five. They are also creating a revocation tool to deactivate a BioShock installation and have given SecuROM more leeway to direct assist customers with activation issues.

They are also working on a patch to address the widescreen issues. The Xbox 360 will also receive a similar update, according to the story. No release date was offered for the update.

Get ready to enter the classic mob underworld of 1940s Chicago once again - Mafia 2 has been announced. 2K Games will be publishing this highly anticipated sequel in development at Illusion Softworks, developers of the original Mafia title, for next-gen consoles and PC.

Like the original Mafia title, Mafia 2 immerses players in the mob underworld of a fictitious late 1940’s-early 1950’s scenario. Players will easily become engaged in the game’s cinematic Hollywood movie experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing city. By fusing high octane gunplay with white knuckle driving and an engaging narrative, Mafia 2 looks to be the industry’s most compelling Mafia title to date.

“As the original Mafia was a big success, we are excited to leverage the power of next generation console technology to create an all-new experience, while embracing the elements that resonated with the previous game’s fans,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “The ‘wow’ factor of Mafia 2 is definitely the benchmark-setting visual quality and action that you expect to see only in Hollywood movies.”

The game’s official website is live, dishing out the following screenshots.

2K Games and 2K Sports have announced their lineups for the Leipzig Games Convention starting today. The publisher will be showing off Borderlands, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution, NBA 2K8, NHL 2K8 and Top Spin 3.

More details on their lineup can be found just after the jump.
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It is a known fact that BioShock features music from the ’40s and ’50s to immerse the player into the game experience; did you know they will be releasing remixes of some of those songs by famous DJs? 2K Games has announced the release of an exclusive EP remixed by Moby and Oscar the Punk - it will be bundled with the Limited Edition version of the game in GameStop and EB Canada; it will also be available as a pre-sale gift-with-purchase from Game Crazy, another game retailer.

The three remixed tracks on the CD include Beyond the Sea, God Bless the Child and Wild Little Sisters, variations of which appear within the game.

“While these classic songs from the 40’s and 50’s evoke a happier time, they take on an eerie aesthetic in BioShock’s decaying art deco-designed underwater city of Rapture,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K Games. “Moby and Oscar The Punk have captured that disparity with these remixes and added a new spin to these indelible classics.”

BioShock, already released to a lucky few thanks to a Toys R Us goof, will officially be available starting tomorrow in North America and this Friday in Europe for PC and Xbox 360.

2K Games has announced that Chris Paul, starting point guard for the New Orleans Hornets, has been named as the cover athlete and official spokesman for NBA 2K8, the upcoming entry in the basketball franchise.

“It’s a great honor to be a part of the best NBA video game title, let alone the guy on the cover,” said Chris Paul. “I’m a big time video gamer and it’s a dream come true to be on the cover and represent the next NBA 2K game, NBA 2K8.”

Here’s the deal on the man:

Chris Paul has made an immediate impact in the NBA. Following two All-American seasons at Wake Forest University, the Winston-Salem, NC native was the fourth overall selection by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2005 NBA Draft. During his rookie season, Paul led all rookies in points, assists, steals, and minutes en route to earning Rookie of the Year honors, receiving the most votes (124 of 125) since David Robinson in 1990. The only unanimous selection for the 2005-2006 NBA All-Rookie First Team, Paul continues to evolve as one of the most exciting players on the USA Basketball Senior National Team that represented the United States in the 2006 World Championship of Basketball, playing in all nine of the USA’s games, and averaging 7.0 points and 4.9 assists per game. The 2007-08 season looks bright for Paul as he will lead the Hornets’ return to New Orleans and continue to prepare for his expected participation on Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

One of the top-rated NBA simulation games in the market, the next entry in the series will see the studio building and expanding on the Signature Style feature, as well as adding new moves, animations and more. NBA 2K8 will be available for the PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 this Fall.

Popular film, television and video game composer Garry Schyman has created the original score for BioShock, according to a recent announcement. Known for his work on Destroy All Humans, the composer had composed in various styles of early twentieth century writing, with the music described as being “chillingly ominous” and “beautiful and poignant.” It was recorded with a live orchestra at historic Capital Studios in Hollywood, featuring solo violin, cello and piano performances.

“Garry Schyman’s work for us was incredible from the start in every possible aspect,” said Emily Ridgway, Audio Director at Irrational Games. “From his ability to produce and compose amazingly unique orchestral recordings, all the meanwhile perfectly accommodating the peaks and troughs of game development, Garry really deserves all the praise he gets for the BioShock soundtrack and then some.”

There’s a Q&A on Music 4 Games with the composer, talking about his work on the game.

BioShock is set for release on August 21 in North America and August 24 internationally for PC and Xbox 360.