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Bioshock Ships 1.5 Million, Sequels Likely 103

Posted by Zonk from the rollout-for-rapture dept.
Gamespot is reporting that 2K games has shipped 1.5 million units of BioShock to games stores and retailers. The title was noted by EA Sports' Peter Moore as proof that third-party publishers aren't getting squeezed out by first-party AAA games. "It turns out the comments by the former Xbox 360 and Games for Windows marketing chief were prescient. Today during a post-earnings report conference call with analysts, Take-Two Interactive Chairman Strauss Zelnick said BioShock was already a runaway success for the controversial publisher, which has been set back by the Grand Theft Auto IV and Manhunt 2 delays."
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Bioshock Ships 1.5 Million, Sequels Likely More

Bioshock Ships 1.5 Million, Sequels Likely

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  • Alternative title to this new post (Score:5, Funny)

    by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @08:53AM (#20552625) Homepage
    "Company earning millions, likely to want more".

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Duffy13 ( 1135411 )
      While I'm sure their publisher would love a sequel, I think it really depends on the Irrational team. They might not do it if they don't think they have the material to do so. From what I've seen so far, these guys are pretty good about not selling out. There are some rumors that System Shock 3 is planned, and they appear to have a habit of making rounds through their main franchises with pretty good levels of success.

      • There are some rumors that System Shock 3 is planned
        Really, I thought they didn't own the rights to System Shock anymore or something to that nature.
      • The IP for System Shock is owned by EA. Unless Take2 buy it they(ie, Irrational) can't do a thing.

      • Re:Alternative title to this new post (Score:5, Insightful)

        by MooseMuffin ( 799896 ) on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @09:11AM (#20552887)
        Bioshock really doesn't need a sequel. The best thing about the game was that it put you in this mysterious place and you gradually discover how it became that way. You know all that now. Sure some new bad guy can take over the city and need to be taken out, but thats nowhere near as interesting, and by the nature of being a sequel the game won't be anywhere near as original.

        I would hope the irrational team gets to do another new property, since they've shown how good they are at it.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by realthing02 ( 1084767 )
          The thing about sequels in video games, however, is that it's simply brand recognition. It really doesn't have anything to do with the previous games in a lot of cases. Look at the Grand Theft Auto series- the games are all separate entities: different cities, different themes. Sure it's the same (boring?) game play over and over, but it can be a lot different.

          Part of the fun of Bioshock is discovering the city, and also, to me, it was the moral/ethical battle that the game explored. The game play was simpl
        • I'm not sure I'd want to play any sequels for that very reason. Are they just going to stay down in that underwater city of Rapture? Will the culture and contraband have reached the shores of any other part of the world? Even then I don't see where this could go that would be able to hold on to the very specific mood of the game play and story of Bioshock.

          I haven't gotten very far in the game, so maybe there is more opening for sequels than I know, but even then... if the world of Rapture ever escaped

        • Well, they left open the option for a sequel given how Ryan's DNA is tied to the regeneration chambers. I think that there's ample opportunity for him to escape and try to build a new utopia... maybe on the far side of the moon? They can even have an early version of SHODAN make a guest appearance as a proto-AI.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by p0tat03 ( 985078 )
          Well, keep in mind that Bioshock is a "sequel" to the System Shock series in the first place. I hope if Irrational does do a sequel (and I'm hoping they do!) that it be a spiritual sequel, not a direct continuation of this plot, since it's pretty much run its course.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Kelbear ( 870538 )
            In an interview with Ken Levine, I believe it was Gametrailers, he mentioned that he believed Irrational had plenty more to tell about Rapture and he loved this game format and wants to do more. He also mentioned that "games as art" isn't important to him, he mainly want to make a solid game first, and artistic themes are basically a bonus.

            Personally, I'd like to see a prequel instead. Set it just as the war is brewing. They could use a thriller feel instead of horror like in Deus Ex, but with vibrant art d
            • I love the idea of a prequel, but the fact that we already know what happens to Rapture kinda blows the whole 'multiple ending' thing out of the water (if you'll excuse the pun!).

        • The best thing about the game was that it put you in this mysterious place and you gradually discover how it became that way.

          A bit like "The Dig" [wikipedia.org]... ;-)

        • I would love to see the original System Shock remade. It really deserves it, the game was way before it's time. System Shock 2 was good, but nowhere near as interesting as Bioshock.
          • As a big fan of SS2, I tried to play the original a couple years ago.

            Once I finally got the damn thing working (it's old) I discovered that it was unplayable. The graphics were painfully bad.

            Mind you, I'm pretty tolerant of crappy graphics in 3D games. I liked Doom, Wolf3D, and even Blake Stone. This, though? Ugh.

            A remake would be great for people like me who can't get past the blur-tastic graphics.

            While we're at it, can someone please remake Deus Ex? I'll pay new-game prices for graphical/physics engi

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Rallion ( 711805 )
              You cite Wolf3D, Doom, and Blake Stone as examples of 3D games, but they're only HALF 3D. That's probably the difference. It's 'easy' to make sprites look better than low-poly models with low-res textures.

              There's a mod that replaces the textures with higher-res versions. The models themselves are still hideous, but it hides them a little.
              • SS1 looked plenty spritey to me. Maybe it wasn't--I did only manage to play for about 10 minutes before I got motion sickness and annoyance-induced sickness at the clunkiness of the resolution-limited UI.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by Rallion ( 711805 )
                  Ah, well, you said SS2. It's been way too long since I've played SS1 to say anything about that. It may be sprites.

                  If you ARE interested in better SS2 graphics, there's actually two projects that improve them:
                  Improved AI models [strangebedfellows.de]
                  Improved objects [strangebedfellows.de]
                  I haven't tried either of them myself, but I'm downloading both of them right now.
                  • I tried the AI models one. It's not bad.

                    Ah, crap. I did say SS2. Yeah, I meant SS1. 2 is very playable, though its graphics could also use an update (beyond what these oh-so-good projects are doing).
        • Although the game revealed most of what happened before and how everything came to be, there are huge chunks of the game that really aren't explained. For example: the game constantly refers to Rapture as a "city" yet you never see any residential areas. (Where did people sleep?) How did they get so much steel down there? (You never see a massive "maintenance elevator" for equipment and materials.) Who came up with the technology for building a city on the ocean floor in the first place? The game constantly

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Zeussy ( 868062 )
        According to this gamesutra article [gamasutra.com]:

        officials from Take-Two have hinted at BioShock becoming a long-term franchise on a 'roughly 2 year interval,'
        So here is hoping to atleast having a sequel, although I dont want this franchise to be flogged to death.
    • And yet still puts Securom on their games...
    • Well since they are making so much maybe they can remove that microsoft-esque copy protection so I can buy it without feeling like I just dropped the soap in prison.

    • Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @09:35AM (#20553301)
      No! says the AC on Slashdot. It belongs to the pirates.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jim Hall ( 2985 )

      No kidding. Discussing whether or not to make a sequel is like discussion whether or not to pick up the bag of money on the table.

  • Let it ship 5m times more. Everybody should play this.

    I played it through Hard, Easy and Medium (in that order). I have 1000/1000 achievements points. Still, the weird thing is; I was at work the other day and in a dull moment, I couldn't wait for my next trip to rapture.

    I hope the game industry 'gets' that these are the games we want.
  • Sure, the first party and third party publishers are doing OK, but won't someone please think of the second party!

    • Sure, the first party and third party publishers are doing OK, but won't someone please think of the second party!

      Though technically speaking the first and second party interchangeable, since the first party is defined by convention to be the platform manufacturer (in this case Microsoft), the second party who is the other direct participant in a transaction must therefore be the end user of the platform. This is of course outside of Nintendo related literature where the second party is redefined to mean the semi autonomous subsidiaries and affiliates of the platform creator.

      For PCs I think the end user (second part

      • Very true :-)

        I believe Microsoft have gone some way to support indie games developers (who could feasibly be called the 2nd party as you say) through downloads on X-Box live and the provision of a free toolkit for games development.

        Interestingly, I think the 1st party is harder to define on the PC platform than the 2nd and 3rd parties! No one company is responsible for the complete PC package including hardware and software as with consoles. I guess Microsoft would like to be considered 1st Party, but
  • ... shipping is not selling.
    • Correct me if I'm wrong, but shipping *is* selling, from the publisher's point of view. At this point, a store has already bought the product from the publisher, and that's all the money the publisher is going to see from it.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by chromatic ( 9471 )

        The stores can return unsold inventory to the publisher for refunds. At least, that's how it works in book publishing. Sell-in is nice, but only sell-through matters.

  • 2K Games, would you kindly leave out the DRM on any sequels to BioShock you happen to make?

    • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

      by glindsey ( 73730 )
      Hey, would you kindly not mod my previous comment "Troll"?

      CODE YELLOW.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by glindsey ( 73730 )
        Oh, fine, I see Tennenbaum's been messin' in your egg salad, eh kid?

        (Now I'm left to wonder if the moderators beat the game and are playing a meta-joke on me, or didn't and are watching references whoosh past their heads...)
    • I couldn't even play the Bioshock demo. I launched it from Steam, Steam said it was starting, and then... nothing. Nothing happened at all. No error messages, no log, no clue about what might have gone wrong.

      All other Steam games work fine, but Bioshock is different because it includes SecuROM, even in the demo (!). Therefore, I suspect that SecuROM is to blame. So - no sale. Please try to make sure that showstopper bugs like SecuROM don't get through your QA process next time.

      • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

        by glindsey ( 73730 )
        The funny thing is, I never touched the PC version, only played the 360 version, so I never experienced the DRM issues; my comment was just a subtle joke. (And since you haven't played the game, you wouldn't get it, since I'm trying not to be spoiler-riffic.)

        I'd bet if I'd just said "would you kindly continue to make Bioshock sequels?" instead of mentioning the DRM, the moderation on my comments would've been far different.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Cheesey ( 70139 )
          Ah no, that went way over my head. I couldn't resist an opportunity to complain about SecuROM, but with 1.5 million copies shipped, I doubt they really care...

          • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

            by glindsey ( 73730 )
            Heh. From the looks of my comments now, it went way over a lot of folks' heads. Oh well... I have karma to burn.

  • I can understand why (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Pojut ( 1027544 ) on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @09:13AM (#20552923) Homepage
    The first 15 minutes in BioShock were easily the scariest I have ever experienced in a video game. Turned out the lights, cranked the surround system, cranked the sub, and got lost in Rapture. My ladyfriend and my best bud were over...all three of us were jumping and shrieking. Definately an amazing experience.

    Play this game. Play it on 360 or play it on a (very) well equipped PC, it doesn't matter which. Just make sure that you experience it at least once...you won't ever forget it.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Gulthek ( 12570 )
      Check out Fatal Frame 2 if you really want a game that you can't play with the lights off.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Pojut ( 1027544 )
        Had a buddy of mine (a spotter if you will...in fact, it was the same buddy that was there for the opening of BioShock) sit through all of the Fatal Frame series with me...As a whole series, Fatal Frame is EASILY up there as the scariest....BioShock is not neccessarily the SCARIEST game out there, but the first 15 minutes were positively terrifying (we had purposely read and seen as little as possible....a couple screenshots, a single preview article, and that was it...we didn't want to ruin any of it. As

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Aladrin ( 926209 )
        Cripes, yes. That's the game I thought of, too. I am not easily creeped out (Bioshock was scary?? AT ALL??) but Fatal Frame 2's INTRO had me creeped out. I got that weird chill down my spine and everything. Awesome game.
      • Agreed, your post needs to be modded up. I have played tonnes of "horror/suspense" games and this game made me soil myself. Makes Horror movies look like children's stories. Bioshock has nothing on the Fatal Frame series in terms of horror/suspense.
    • I'm playing Bioshock right now and true, it can be scary at times.

      But the most scary game I played was Thief:The dark project. I barely managed to complete couple of levels without sound and gamma maxed out, but I just gave up afterwards because I was completely terrified playing that game. I said then: "No more scary games for me fullstop."

      Maybe I'm just a bit older now, but I still freeze occasionally when playing Bioshock;)
  • ...i liked it better when it was called System Shock 2 [escapistmagazine.com] :)

    (If you liked Bioshock, SS2 is well worth the try. Still an amazing game after all these years)
    • System Shock 2 was pretty similar gameplay-wise, although updated and prettier for sure. But, I think overall I enjoyed SS2 just a little more...

      Still, Bioshock was really good.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Urusai ( 865560 )
        Bioshock suffered from the shoehorning of System Shock 2's space station theme into an Art Deco environment. How do you explain IFF rocket-launching turrets? Even Thief 2's addition of turrets and robots (the exact same model as used in SS2 but reskinned, apparently) seems less implausible. They should have ditched the unlikely parts and tried some originality. Even the essential character of the two antagonists is the same: the corrupt collectivist Many/Fontaine vs. the arrogant individualist Shodan/R
        • I think that was the main problem, the implausibility of some aspects... the world as a whole seemed somewhat less coherent than SS2.
    • And I DO want a sequel to it. SHODAN wants a sequel to taunt us!

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by irby0 ( 886254 )
      I'm having a hard time getting into Bioshock completely and I never really liked SS2. I always preferred SS1 and I'd love a port or "spiritual successor" to /it/. Nothing like some good cyborg killins with the flechette rifle.
  • The only answer to piracy is to make games so good that they sell well... also known as "the stardock way".

    I respect stardock for a reason because they are probably one of the only rational game developers/publishers.

  • damn (Score:4, Funny)

    by St. Arbirix ( 218306 ) <matthew.townsendNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday September 11, 2007 @11:49AM (#20556169) Homepage Journal
    I'm a Mac user who owns a PS3.

    Pretty much fucked, aren't I?

    • Not if you have an Intel based Mac (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      And a high-end one. Bioshock ran great under BootCamp on my MBP. Had it at 1920x1200, too.
    • hahahhahhahahhaaha yes you are buddy (don't mod me down, I am just rewarding humor)

    • If it's that popular, it will be ported to Mac inside of a year.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by fallen1 ( 230220 )
      I know you were making a joke but be glad... Securom sucks. Why should I be tied to a trojan on my computer and be limited to 5 installs? I bet the pirates with a NoCD crack aren't worried about those things...

      I'm not advocating piracy by any means. I don't own Bioshock and will never own it - more than likely. I still use Windows 2000 Pro because it is exceptionally stable and does everything I need it to do. I'd need to upgrade to Windows XP Pro and upgrade my video card just to enjoy the massively invasi
  • No publisher wanted any piece of this game initially. Irrational wanted to acquire the rights to do System Shock 3, and no one would foot the bill. In fact, when they pitched this game, most publishers insisted this game would bomb, and it was just another pointless FPS.

    Irrational makes fine games, and I'm glad to see someone saw the potential in this title. Consumers sure did.
  • Won't buy, won't play, have a nice day.
    • I don't think there is any DRM if you get it through Steam? I.e. I don't think you get rootkit-ted ? I could be wrong.

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