BioShock slips past June, dated August 21

Can't wait for this one. Add another good title to the 360's list.

It has delay because of work for PS3 version.

Yeah, thats my 30th Birthday.

This would have been a killer title...if it wasnt coming out on PC as well! That was the biggest problem with XBOX1 too, number of good titles but all of them on PC (other than Ninja Gaiden and of course Halo), that doesnt help the console at all

I wonder if it will get any cover coming out six weeks before halo?

god dammit. now what am i going to play this summer? *sigh*
I wonder why they even bother to show "RP" on the box when the game is a sure fire "M" rated title. I thought they cleared up that this title is atleast a time released exclusive? eh i dont really care i own both, whatever it comes out for first, or if it comes out the same time probably the 360. another 1000 points and things have looked better thus far on it.

Looks like another solid 360 title. I was hoping it would occur during the summer drought, though August is still technically summer. When is Mass Effect out? Maybe they just wanted to dodge that monster.

not to argue with you Jake, but i think Bioshock is a pretty big monster of its own. maybe they didnt want to release them close together because then people might have to choose which to buy and which to wait on. wouldnt matter to me. i would pick both up the same day, and then not leave my house for several days im sure.

@8

For games that are PC/Xbox only, the console game always outsells the PC version by a huge margin. Aside from MMOs and some RTSs, PC games are all but dead.

They can take all the time they need. I'd rather have a complete game like Oblivion or Deus Ex than a P.O.S. like Fable or Deus Ex: Invisible War.

im not all that interested in bioshock, and in some ways i've been wondering why everyone is clamoring for this game so much. Ive seen the screens and i know about the whole "spiritual successor to system shock"... but i dont know... it just hasn't really caught fire in my eye.

< . .>

@7 JJC,

You aren't really disagreeing with me. I think Bioshock is a monster. But Bioshock was pushed back, not Mass Effect, which is why I made my comment. Though ME and Bio are different, they are also fairly similar in ways as well. Single player Open world RPG's where you shoot stuff.

I checked and couldn't actually find a Mass Effect release date. It just said Q2 2007. That could be August too for all I know.


Total side tangent, stop reading if you hate MS.

I just realized, when looking for a Mass Effect date, that Microsoft Game Studios is publishing some pretty bomb ass original IP for 360, along with sequels as well, of course.

Damn, here's their list for only 360. Pretty impressive. Diverse genre selection (not many shooters) with new IP's and a lot of quality. Whooda thunk it.


Alan Wake (TBA) — Remedy Entertainment
Banjo-Kazooie 3 (2007) — Rare
Blue Dragon (2006) — Mistwalker
Crackdown (2007) — Real Time Worlds
Every Party (2005) — Game Republic
Fable 2 (2007) — Lionhead Studios
Forza Motorsport 2 (2007) — Turn 10
Fuzion Frenzy 2 (2007) — Hudson Soft
Gears of War (2006) — Epic Games
Halo 3 (2007) — Bungie Studios
Halo Wars (2007) — Ensemble
Infinite Undiscovery (2007) — Tri-Ace
Kameo: Elements of Power (2005) — Rare
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (2007) — Phantagram
Lost Odyssey (2007) — Mistwalker
Marvel Universe Online (2008) — Marvel Interactive
Mass Effect (2007) — Bioware
Ninety-Nine Nights (2006) — Phantagram
Perfect Dark Zero (2005) — Rare
Project Gotham Racing 3 (2005) — Bizarre Creations
Project Gotham Racing 4 (2007/8) — Bizarre Creations
ShadowRun (2007) — FASA Studio
Too Human (2007) — Silicon Knights
Tenchu Z (2007) — From Software
Viva Piñata (2006) — Rare

@smik. i bet if it was coming out for the PS3 you wouldnt have said anything.

who cares if it is coming out on the PC. as a previous poster stated, it wont sell as well, and unless you have a very nice computer im sure it wont look as good/ play as good either. I dont think that PC/XBOX360 games hurt the 360.

BioShock moved because Mass Effect will ship in June. MS doesn't want to ship two huge titles that would compete in the same month. It's a good strategy.

@9 Joop : Wrong. Look at FEAR for example. Or Quake 4. Or BFME 2.
And as for PC games being dead, you might want to double check.
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24525221

Really looking forward to this game it looks great. And THANK YOU for the European release in the same year! At least Microsoft is treating European customers well.

SeriousKriss - Joop is correct. When a title is released on multiple platforms at the same time, console kicks PC games sales numbers by a huge margin. For example, a game that will break nearly a million on the PS2 might only sell 25k on the PC.

god damn news is slow today...

If news stays this slow I might start a flamewar to be entertained.

Fuck you microsoft. What is your problem with letting me keep my money for more than a month at a time?

@17 : Joop only talked about PC/Xbox titled and didn't say anything about non-simultaneous releases. So as it is, his statement is incorrect, and I gave a few counter-examples. I could add Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Dreamfall and many others.

I agree with smik and have said the same before. Sure the console versions might sell more than the PC,but how many of those people are actually saying "Oh man,I can't get this game anywhere else!" and go out and BUY a 360 compared to the people who get it that already have an Xbox?? It doesnt help the system by having a PC version because nobody with a PC is going to go out and buy a 360 for it (and just about every other game that's on both the 360/PC)

SeriousKriss,

You only found a small loophole in his statement and twisted it around to make it look like he was wrong. He didn't include the detail that he wasn't counting PC games ported to consoles years later because most people aren't stupid enough to point that out as if it matters. You were, though. That doesn't make him wrong. It just makes you an anal retentive asshat.

It is a well known fact that PC/console multiplatform games sell much better on consoles. Console games in general sell better. Note that I said in general, so please don't come at me and compare The Sims sales to Barbie Horse Adventure NES.

@ 22 : among my examples, Dreamfall, BFME 2 and Quake 4 were released the same year, with maybe a few months difference, and still sold better on the PC. Care to explain this strange phenomenon?

The funny thing is, as long as I keep getting great games for my PC, I don't even care that much about sales. At least, not enough to feel the urge to insult random people in the comments sections of a blog.

And so another one of the heavily-purpoted "Spring release" games gets pushed back into the ether

First Heavenly Sword
Then Metroid Prime 3
And now BioShock

damn

@24

There you go again. I say years later instead of saying at least several months later and you throw dumbass examples back at me. You argue like a friken 13 year old.

And you obviously do care because you've posted more than once about it. I think you are an ass for pointing out your examples of PC games that were later ported to console(s) as evidence contrary to a well known rule about PC/console multiplatform releases. I am entitled to my opinion, and that is it. You are arguing against the structure of a statement, not the actual argument itself.

When a game is released as a multiplatform console/PC title, the console version will typically sell more copies. That is just the way it is. There will be EXCEPTIONS to the rule, of course, especially in the case of PC franchises getting some console love. Console games just typically sell better. The 360 had seven 1-million-sellers last year in its first year with a very small userbase. How many PC million sellers were there last year? How many copies of GRAW, a PC/console multiplatform release, were sold to PC owners compared to the 1 million console copies?

When Bioshock releases, it will sell significantly more copies on the 360 than the PC. That is all that was trying to be said in the first place. It is an important game for 360 owners and potential buyers, as well as PC owners. But it will probably be bigger on 360 than PC. (well, unless you count pirated copies, which I have no way to estimate)

Mr Khan,

Yeah, that whole "look, we won't have a summer drought :)" concept looks worse and worse.

Just to back up Jake a bit. We have to understand that we're talking about non-concurrent releases here. Regardless of what platform a title goes to, the first release one usually sells the best. The reduced sales frequently arises because the title simply was not designed around the strengths of the ported platform or everyone that would have purchased it on platform 2 already got it on platform 1. Case in point, why should I buy Oblivion on the Xbox 360 when I obtained the PC version earlier? Why should I buy GTA: San Andreas on the Xbox when I had the PS2 version already? Same goes with BFME2, PC owners with Xbox 360s are no longer in the market for the game, the RTS genre doesn't translate well onto a console and even if done right, the console market for RTS games isn't that large.

In terms of concurrent releases, the primary sales usually end up on the more widely available platform (Xbox 360 units outnumber PCs with graphics cards that can run Bioshock properly). Other factors have to be involved like system of primary concern and unique features (Soul Caliber 2 took preference on Gamecube primarily because of Link for example) so it is likely to believe that a concurrently released PC-style RTS will sell better on the PC whereas a console-designed third-person shooter like GRAW will hold greater precidence on a console.

I actually have a question from all this hub-ub. I don't follow the PC gaming scene much. I have some buddies that are big into BF-2142, so I hear about that game a lot. But, what were the PC million sellers last year. WoW is the only one I can think of. Other than MMO's, where is the PC game money being made, other than hardware?

@23

Actually, most people who own consoles have PCs. Just about everyone does these days. So in answer to your question about who buys the console versions of games when they are also on PC... well, millions do.

@24

It's easily explainable. Those games were released to small user base right at a console generation shift.

Anyway, why is this even a debate? One, it's very clear that the PC platform is suffering compared to consoles. This is a well known fact. That's not tsay the games aren't being made, but the sales just aren't there. Console titles always dominate any sales list that also has PC games in it.

Also, people buy console and PC games for different reasons. Unless I'm planning to do some serious FPS multiplayer (i.e. clans), I generally buy console versions of games. I sit a computer all day, so I really have no desire to gaming in my office at home where my PC is. Plus, if I have friends over they aren't interested in crowding around my PC. They want to sit around on the couch and game. UT3 is my next PC game purchase. As I stated before, I prefer my serious FPS multiplayer on the PC, but single player/co-op and pretty much every other genre goes to the consoles. They just offered different gaming experiences. So you guys really need to quit acting like people have no reason to buy an 360 game because it's also on the PC. You simply don't get it.

@26 : Again with the insults Jake? Nevermind the fact that makes you look even more foolish when accusing me of argueing "like a friken 13 year old."

Anyway, the original point was : "For games that are PC/Xbox only, the console game always outsells the PC version by a huge margin. Aside from MMOs and some RTSs, PC games are all but dead." I gave examples to the contrary and a link to a list of promising 2007 PC titles to point out that PC games were far from "dead" even outside the RTS and MMO genres. That's all.

@30 : if the PC sales weren't there, why would developpers and publishers keep making PC games, a lot of which are exclusive? That would make little business sense. That might be so in the US, but come on, Germany ALONE is almost a bigger market for PC games than the US.

"PC games are all but dead."
Get out. Seriously.
Could you explain then why do the hardware makers are still able to make a tidy profit on all the high end hardware?
The only reason why some have the impression that PC gaming is dead is because it doesn't have as much coverage as consoles do nowadays.
People were saying that PC gaming was dead at PS2's launch. And people will keep saying it because they are quite simply, stupid.
Having a good gaming rig is obligatory for anyone who considers himself a real gamer.
Myself, I game far, far more on my PC than on my X360 which is now just collecting dust. Every crossplatform game I prefer to play through on my PC because of the higher quality of visuals. And there aren't that many console exclusive releases that actually interest me.

Also:
"I really have no desire to gaming in my office at home where my PC is."
I'm tired of repeating this, but PCs CAN BE CONNECTED TO A TV SET JUST AS CONSOLES CAN.
My gaming rig is connected to the living room HDTV. I can't see how is it a problem to do the same to yours. And, most of "Games for Windows"-branded titles are released with X360 gamepad support.

ok. as much as i believe PC games and consoles games can cooexist. i much prefer a console.

1) consoles are designed specifically for an unrivalled gameplay experience. and they dont turn obselete every generation.(we have all been there. when we take that awesome new game home to our 2 year old (very expsnsive) computer and we realise its time to upgrade again) I have higher priorities on my pc than playing games on it all day. plus coop is impossible. unless u like playing by yourself and ONLY yourself then PC gaming just isnt as good.

2) price. yes u say having a nice gaming rig is obligitory. well i really dont feel the need to shell out several thousands for a top notch gaming rig when 400 can buy me all the gaming pleasure i desire(minus the games) plus an entire community (xbox live) dedicated to a superb online experience. plus with the extra cash i save from not buying a huge ass gaming pc. i can have 4 controllers for friends. a decent HDTV and a couple games.

I still play several PC games. mostly RTSs but i still play em. just when u take a machine designed specifically for games and then take a machine designed for something else and make it capable of games, then compare the 2. there is very little argument to say that the PC is superior to consoles.

o yeah....bioshock....LOOKS FUCKING SWEET!!

check it out. http://www.2kgames.com/bioshock/enter.html

looks very VERY promising

"just when u take a machine designed specifically for games and then take a machine designed for something else and make it capable of games, then compare the 2. there is very little argument to say that the PC is superior to consoles."
This is a totally broken argument right there.
Consoles are NOT designed to provide an optimal gaming experience. Consoles are designed to provide the best performance/cost ratio.
High end PCs will always, always remain the best option for hardcore gamers who actually care about having the best possible gaming experience just because of that.
Also, the technological cycle for consoles is much longer, so basically rather than being able to upgrade your gaming machine every year, you just have to buy a new one every five-six years. As PCs generally have a shorter catch-up time every generation: the PC caught up to the X360 in mere 6 months or less after its release, it is becoming a more and more important advantage for the PC.

It appears that most of you think the concept for this game is something new, and are either too young or simply overlooked System Shock 2 - simply b/c it was runner up for GOTY when Half-Life came out. SS2 was the best single player experience ever, and the fans of that game have been looking forward to Bioshock before the concept art even hit paper. Sadly though, I can't afford the upgrades necessary to make my computer beefy enough to run this game, so I'm going to steal my friend's 360 and play the game on that, albeit FPS games are inferior on consoles. There, I said it.


www.bluehousecomics.com

whoops, forgot the "http://"

http://bluehousecomics.com