Irrational Games' Ken Levine would like to make a point about PC gaming: it "will always" be the one platform that "drives innovation" in our industry. All those great console IPs and their studios? "PC developers first," comments Levine. It's where the "leading-edge ideas form," thanks to low barriers.
Developer Irrational Games, creator of the original BioShock, reveals they've had to ditch the original games engine as it was "too underpowered" for Infinite. They picked Unreal Engine 3 but even that "out of the box was not enough" for the team's ambitions. Tech boss Chris Kline explains their 'surgical' changes.
If you were part of the PS3 BioShock crowd then you were likely grumpy it arrived a year late, and then when it did finally get here it was glitch-central. Developer Irrational this time however with BioShock Infinite won't be palming off PS3 to an external studio, it's all "simultaneous in-house development".
Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey believes Take-Two and Rockstar will "likely" unleash the next GTA between April 1st, 2011 and March 31st, 2012. He firmly states it will be another huge blockbuster for the studio and will sell upward of 16m copies worldwide, raking in approximately $750m.
Strauss Zelnick has said Take-Two won't be annualising their big hitters like Activision does with Call of Duty and Guitar Hero, it's just not for them. The publishing boss also proclaims they have no "impediment to being profitable" in a given year now, as Grand Theft Auto isn't their only avenue.
Developer Irrational Games are listing seven new positions that need filling at the Massachusetts-based studio; they've gone from 40 to 100 staff. They're looking to "expand considerably" in the near future. They want engineers, designers and many programmers. BioShock Infinite is their current project.
Senior level persons are 'very strongly rumoured' to be eyeing up rival publisher Take-Two for a possible all-out acquisition, namely to secure Rockstar. It is after all Take-Two's strongest studio, however their top talent like the Houser brothers have their contracts expire in 2012. Its 'just rumour' for now.
US analyst service First Adopter believes Activision will most likely go after Take-Two, mainly as they have "nothing now outside" Call of Duty and Blizzard. They say Take-Two would likely take a "$20-22 bid" per share this time, after looking "fools for saying no" to EA's $25 bid. EA might try again to thwart Activision.
Someone accidentally posted the Protector Trials DLC for PC BioShock 2 - users were dismayed when, after 400 MSP, the content just wouldn't work. That's because "it's not ready yet," say 2K. After much campaigning by vocal PC gamers, 2K began work on the DLC for the PC version of the sequel.
Irrational Games' Ken Levine, creator of BioShock, has said the first-person perspective is "one less barrier" to a game's experience for the videogamer. It lets us be in "someone else's shoes," which is something 'very natural to children' when they play, but "much more difficult for adults." 'Transpose identity'.
During a talk at the Wedbush Morgan Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference yesterday, Take-Two revealed high figures for several franchises from 2K Games and Rockstar. 2K's BioShock series has sold over 8 million units since its launch in 2005 on Xbox 360, which was later released for PlayStation 3. We would be interested to see sale differences between the first and second BioShock, but this hasn't been revealed. BioShock Infinite is currently in development and will be the third release in the series.
Irrational Games is running a contest to get a lucky winner's name placed in their upcoming shooter, BioShock Infinite.
2K Boston's Irrational Games' Ken Levine has said publisher Take-Two is "pretty bold" when it comes to letting games explore more mature themes, like BioShock.
In fact "in their shoes," Levine doesn't know if he'd have "written a check" for BioShock at all. If there is any 'dumb down' in BioShock Infinite then it's "for me," he jokes.
Back in August, Ken Levine claimed that like the first BioShock, there would be no online multiplayer in BioShock Infinite. Some investigation into Gamasutra's job listings may have given lie to that statement.
Fiscal year 2011 for publisher Take-Two is flush with cash thanks to a year-on-year net revenue growth of 49 percent to $1.14 billion; a profit too. There was no $108.1m loss this fiscal now passed; instead they made $53.8m. Red Dead Redemption has sold 8.5m copies since launch. What's next?
During the Sony E3 press conference, Irrational founder and CEO Ken Levine has announced that Bioshock Infinite will be enabled for Playstation Move upon release. "We're going to have Playstation Move on the Bioshock Infinite," Levine stated simply.
A new BioShock Infinite developer video has been posted, and this time Ken Levine explains the conflict between the ultra-conservative ruler of Colombia, Comstock, and the ultra-left wing faction Vox Populi.
Ken Levine, in the third developer video for Bioshock Infinite, discusses the Tears, which are "Windows into Other Worlds."
The first two mins of some BioShock Infinite gameplay footage has been uploaded by Irrational Games. It comes from a behind closed doors event. It's here to whet our appetite for the full 15 minute reel that's due next week on Thursday. Booker and Elizabeth chat a little in this teasing footage.
Booker DeWiitt, the ex-Pinkerton Agent Bioshock Infinite protagonist, has been revealed by Irrational Games.