The Fryer, Vol. 5
You must defeat videogame news to stand a chance.
10/31/2008 5:58 PM | 1 Comments | Page 1 of 4
Kyle Orland
Status: "You can't get quality video game editorial from a value menu!" "No, really, you can't."
Bethesda announces BioWare's Fallout 4 for 2018
In an unprecedented announcement,
Fallout 3 developer/publisher Bethesda Softworks announced today a detailed, 10-year plan for the eventual development of the game's sequel by a rival developer.
"We're using the development cycle of
Fallout 3 as a guide for what we want to do with the sequel," said Bethesda's Pete Hines. "Thus, we plan to immediately start work on a version of
Fallout 4 that will quickly be canceled so we can focus on a set of underperforming sequels to some of our more defunct series, like Wayne Gretzky Hockey and IHRA Drag Racing." Hines went on to assure the assembled press that this would not be the end of Bethesda's involvement with the Fallout series. "By 2014, we plan to take up development of
Fallout 4 yet again, just in time for the threat of bankruptcy to force us to sell the rights to the entire series," he said.
Hines then detailed the eventual auction process, which he said will culminate with a $5 million purchase by Electronic Arts subsidiary BioWare. With that, Hines turned the floor over to BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka, who outlined what the ensuing development process will be like at the new developer. "While we expect to be very excited to have bought the Fallout license, existing work on the long-planned
BioShock 4 will delay our ability to really get into serious work on
Fallout 4 until 2015 or 2016," he said. "By that time, there will be so much cross-pollination between the development teams of both projects that the final products will be so similar as to be largely indistinguishable."
By the Fallout sequel's eventual launch, currently slated for late 2018, many critics expect the game will be derided for its similarities to the latest BioShock game. "Yes,
Fallout 4 will be an impressive game with an amazing scope and incredible atmosphere," said Wired's Chris Kohler, "but it will just feel a little tired by that point. We will have already seen effective dynamic conversational intelligence and topological bullet morphology technology implemented in
BioShock 4, which will be a two-year-old game by then. After the 10 years of hype and expectations we will have suffered through during what will be an excruciating wait for this game, we will be expecting something a little more revolutionary."
