BioShock 2 coming Feb. 9, 2010

2K Games announced today that BioShock 2 will be available worldwide beginning February 9, 2010. The game is now available for pre-order at participating retailers if you want to get it early. Currently in development for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Games for Windows LIVE, BioShock 2 will feature two unique, intertwined experiences that form to create an interesting story, unique first-person shooter combat, compelling and multiplayer action.

BioShock 2 is set 10 years after the events of the original BioShock, where the halls of Rapture once again echo with the sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city of Rapture. This time players step into the oversized boots of a Big Daddy, as they travel through the broken city, chasing an unseen foe in search of answers and their own survival.

Multiplayer in BioShock 2 will provide a prequel experience that expands the origins of the BioShock fiction. Set during the fall of Rapture, players assume the role of a Plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions, a provider of Plasmids and Tonics in the underwater city of Rapture that was first explored in the original BioShock. Players will need to use all the elements of the BioShock toolset to survive, as the full depth of the BioShock experience is refined and transformed into a multiplayer experience.

BioShock 2 is currently in development at 2K Marin in collaboration with 2K Australia, Digital Extremes and 2K China.

For more information on BioShock 2 visit one of the following web site: www.bioshockgame.com, www.cultofrapture.com, or www.somethinginthesea.com.

BioShock 2 pushed to 2010

Take-Two Interactive announced that BioShock 2 has been pushed to 2010, and as a result, it has revised revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2009. Ain’t that a b*tch?  BioShock 2 has been moved from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 to fiscal 2010 (FY 2010 begins in November of this year), “in order to provide additional development time for the title,” said Take-Two in a press release this afternoon. As a result, Take-Two updated third quarter and fourth quarter fiscal 2009 guidance to reflect “reduced sales of catalog products and lower than anticipated initial retailer orders of new releases.”

“We recognize that our revised outlook for the balance of fiscal year 2009, due to both internal and external factors, is a disappointment.,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two. “That said, we concluded that moving the release of BioShock 2 into fiscal year 2010 was the right decision for the product. We believe the result will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace. At the same time, near term retail conditions have proven to be more challenging for our business than the assumptions built into our prior outlook. We remain confident in the long term potential for Take-Two’s business, and our ability to capitalize on that potential through our exceptional creative talent and solid balance sheet.”

While expectations for 2009 have been lowered, 2010 expectations are high because Take-Two has a ton of sequels coming out next year including BioShock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption.

BioShock 2 Multiplayer Details

2K Games revealed some details on the multiplayer you can expect from BioShock 2 - including the fact that it is being developed by Digital Extremes. Digital Extremes is certainly qualified to handle the multiplayer end of this game: the company is known for helping to create the multiplayer for the original Unreal as well as the Unreal Championship franchise.

The company is reportedly working closely with the creative team at 2K Marin to make sure multiplayer fits in this game. I am a little skeptical that multiplayer will work well within the framework of the BioShock universe, which is geared towards solitary play. i am also a little disappointed to see that cooperative play isn’t mentioned. I sure do hope this game will support some sort of coop play.

2K Games says that multiplayer in BioShock 2 lets players earn experience points during play which in turn is used to gain access to new Weapons, Plasmids and Tonic. These can be used to create hundreds of different combinations, allowing players to develop a unique character that caters to their playing style.
Like the single player game, players will get to fight it out in an unmolested version of Rapture and engage in combat in locations such as Kashmir Restaurant and Mercury Suites, all of which have been reworked to cater to a fast-paced multiplayer experience. This is only a tiny hint of what multiplayer will offer, so expect to hear more about this game at E3 next month.

BioShock 2 is currently in development at 2K Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows. This title is not yet rated by the ESRB.

Take-Two Hit with $50M Q1 Losses

It looks like the 2009 fiscal year is getting off to a rough start for Take-Two. Addressing investors this week, the company posted its first quarter numbers and revealed that it has taken a loss of $50 million, up from the $38 million loss posted during the same period last year. Ironically, the company’s actual revenue was up for the quarter, up roughly 7 percent from $240.4 million last year to $256.8 million for this most recent quarter. The loss for the quarter in spite of higher revenue was blamed on the higher than expected costs related to “unusual legal matters” related mainly to the attempted takeover by Electronic Arts, business reorganization, marketing, and R&D costs.

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BioShock 2 A Prequel Sequel?

On Friday we reported that a special trailer found in the PS3 version of BioShock revealed some slight details on Bioshock 2, leading many to speculate that the next game in the series would actually be a sequel. But according to comments from 2K Marin, the game is both a prequel and a sequel to 2K Games’ popular action game. Commenting to WhatIfGaming, an undisclosed 2K Marin representative had this to say:

BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams is part of a prequel and at the same time is a sequel, so you’re kind of close on the interpretation of the trailer. The rising replica of Rapture can represent something to do with this or something part of a bigger surprise that everyone has to wait and see to play. —- 2K Marin Dev CH.

How the game will flow from prequel to sequel we do not know, but it sounds like it will be an interesting ride.

Source: WIG via GCO