Confirming a long-standing rumor, 1UP reports that a PS3 version of BioShock is in development for release this Holiday season. It will most likely feature graphical improvements and maybe some new content, though details are unknown at the moment. Previously, rumors had suggested a release period of Fall.
According to the site, BioShock artist Jordan Thomas, who also designed Thief: Deadly Shadows, has replaced creator Ken Levine as creative director of the franchise. A sequel is said to be in the works; Levine is attached to the project, but his specific role hasn’t been revealed.
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.
Poor programmers at Valve are facing tough times: no BioShock for them. The company’s head honcho Gabe Newell explained to CVG that a ban on the excellent shooter has been imposed in the offices because of the work required to get Half-Life 2: Episode Two out the door. Apparently, getting their own game out will get everyone in the company a copy of BioShock as a reward. Weird indeed! However, Newell then admitted that he is looking forward to playing it.
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.
Beta drivers for both ATI and Nvidia graphic cards have been released in anticipation of the BioShock demo. The drivers promise better performance with the game on both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Download the ATI drivers from AMD Customer Care and the beta v163.44 drivers from Nvidia.
Everybody’s favorite madman is at it again, this time attacking another of Take Two’s offering: BioShock. The game - which has been released to retail today - has attracted attention from Jack Thompson because of its TV ads which were shown off during a teen-heavy television program.
Take-Two… is aggressively marketing its newest Mature-rated video game to kids less than 17 years of age… On this Friday’s night’s 8 pm Eastern time airing of WWE’s wrestling program “Smackdown,” there were repeated ads for Take-Two/Rockstar Game’s Mature-rated, incredibly violent BioShock…A check of the demographics of the audience of that program reveals that teens under 17 years of age watch that program in huge numbers…
Remarkably, the video game industry is running ads for games like BioShock on teen-intensive television programs while at the same time its industry-captured “watchdog,” the ESRB, is running a self-congratulatory ad campaign to assure parents that the video game ratings system is working and that the industry can be trusted not to target their kids with these Mature-rated games. It is all a lie, as the BioShock ads prove.
This rampant fraudulent trade practice is precisely what “Big Tobacco” did with its “Joe Camel” and other teen-targeting ads, while at the same time lying to Congress that it was not marketing its adult product to kids.
Yes, BioShock has effectively shocked Jack Thompson, if anybody cares.
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.
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.
This year’s X06 saw a couple of big announcements from Microsoft. Very big announcements. Let’s check them out:
- Peter Jackson, who is currently associated with the upcoming Halo movie, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Fran Walsh and Microsoft Game Studios have teamed up to create two new games exclusively for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. The first series will be a collaborative with Bungie to co-create the next game in the Halo universe, while the second series will be a completely new IP. Additionally, they have also partnered up to form Wingnut Interactive, the studio which will dedicate itself to bringing these series’ to the next-gen console.
- Besides the Wingnut Halo game, Ensemble Studios is working on Halo Wars, a new real-time strategy game based on the legendary universe. Before you cry foul, keep in mind that these guys are behind the Age of Empires franchise, which has been a solid series so far. The game is entirely exclusive to Xbox 360.
For more information, check out the game’s website which hosts a cinematic trailer, as well as these screen grabs from the trailer.
- Hoping to make a dent in Sony’s future, Microsoft revealed that the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV will receive two exclusive downloadable, “epic” episodes via Xbox Live, each with many hours of entirely new gameplay. These episodes will be available just months after the game’s release next year.
Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will ship at the same time in October 2007.
- In a move that is very uncharacteristic of Ubisoft, the publisher confirmed that the next Splinter Cell title after Double Agent will be a console-exclusive on Xbox 360. It will also be released on PC for those without the console.
- Yes, BioShock is also exclusive to the console. It’s on PC as well.
- Banjo-Kazooie is back, courtesy of Rare! Another exclusive to Xbox 360, the title will feature the much beloved characters, who, according to the press release, will thankfully retain their “sharp wit and hilarious sense of humor.”
- Another exclusive: Marvel Universe Online. In development at Cryptic Studios, the game will also be released for Windows Vista.
- Everyone saw this coming, but not this soon: Project Gotham Racing 4. The game was unveiled at the show, though it is not expected until late next year, or 2008.
- id Software’s DOOM and Codemasters’ Sensible World of Soccer are now available on Xbox Live Arcade.
- And finally, the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player will be released in North America, UK, France and Germany this November. It will retail for $200 in North America and €200/£130 in U.K., France and Germany. The player will also come with a copy of King Kong on HD-DVD and the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.
The first batch of X06 screenshots:
BioShock
Alone in the Dark
Kane & Lynch: Two Dead Men
Rainbow Six Vegas
The Darkness
Two high-resolution Xbox 360 screenshots from BioShock:
Two new high-resolution screenshots from BioShock:
Five new screenshots from Irrational Games’ BioShock, an upcoming ecological-shooter:
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