Levine confirms no PS3 BioShock and does mea culpa on PC issues -- success hurts
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Aug 24th 2007 at 2:15PM }
Levine admits there were "real screw-ups" and he "understands why people are pissed off" about the online copy protection verification for the game and it comes down to a classic victim of their own success story. They couldn't have planned the game would be such an insta-hit and they weren't prepared, so when all those people tried to verify their PC versions online during installation the server crashed. He also reiterated patches are in the works for the FOV issues and that the copy protection limit locked in for PCs will be raised. He also says at some point they will remove the online verification. He says there is nothing "insidious" in their copy-protection, it's the same as any other game that uses the same protection program.
Then there is the lingering question of the rumored PS3 version of BioShock found in the PC code. Levine responds quite clearly, "I promise you, there is no secret plan about the PS3 that we're keeping from people. There's no PS3 development going on that we're hiding. There's lots of stuff that gets into game code, plans change over time and we got an exclusive deal with Microsoft ... that's not a Rosetta Stone discovery."
Update: Full interview with Ken Levine is up.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rawtoonz @ Aug 24th 2007 2:25PM
guess ill just get the pc version then since all of my 360s are dead
Dave @ Aug 24th 2007 2:30PM
Whoa! All of them? How many did you buy?
Snukadaman @ Aug 24th 2007 3:12PM
i smell some bullshit in the first post.
ssuk @ Aug 24th 2007 3:37PM
All of them being 0. As he's a PS3 fanboy troll.
dsub @ Aug 24th 2007 3:52PM
I'm sorry, but every time someone pulls the "I had to buy more than one 360 cause they kept breaking" line, I laugh at their blatant lies.
First of all, the only reason one would need to re-purchase a 360 is if they opened the system up and therefore completely voided the warranty. Even if your system is dead AND out of warranty (which is pretty tough now that the RRoD is covered for 3 years) MS will repair it for you for just over $100 and you will also get an additional one-year warranty on top of that just as if you were buying a new console.
So unless you are an impatient fool who would rather pay $350 for a new console immediately vs. waiting two weeks and paying $100, you DO NOT own more than one 360.
Unless you have purchased multiple systems for one household. Even then, the odds of all those systems being dead and out of warranty are damn near zero.
Anyways, back to playing Bioshock. On my way to Andrew Ryan's house as we speak.
Ryan Smith @ Aug 24th 2007 5:11PM
Yes, I've bought a second 360, which has been fine so far. And yes, when I needed my first one repaired it would have cost me $130 with no guarantee that the repair would work for more than 3 months, the guy on the phone told me that. So I bought another one at Costco where they had a basically unlimited return policy. At the time I had no idea Microsoft would extend the warranty. And by that time I had opened and destroyed my first 360, my fault of course.
cos @ Aug 25th 2007 9:04PM
I wonder how much Sony pays people like Rawtoonz.
That's all.
Sloar @ Aug 24th 2007 2:25PM
This is the best single-player experience I've had in a long while.
Raikage @ Aug 24th 2007 2:25PM
Ahh! I want to play this game!!! I'm listening to Joystiq podcast #13, I'm jealous of Mr. McElroy, I'm not gonna lie...
ExMcloud @ Aug 24th 2007 2:25PM
Yeah so theres no PS3 version thats to bad guys...I guess just get it for PC even though either way yor supporting MS...So if you don't mind supporting MS get Bioshock cuz its a hell of a game...And I believe MS actually really bought the rights to this game like they did with Gears of War...So if they say Microsoft (you know the same guys that spent 50 million) has a exclusive deal its probably true
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 24th 2007 2:26PM
Another reason to not own a PS3...
Seriously Sony... better leave the war now, with your little dignity you have now.
Theres son reason to own a PS3, only if you want a movie player and a folding protein machine.
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 24th 2007 2:27PM
*no reason
JL @ Aug 24th 2007 2:32PM
You sir, are an idiot.
I wish you could come up with something new to say every now and then.
plyx @ Aug 24th 2007 2:34PM
Let me guess, you were attacked by a pack of wild PS3s when you were a child. Or, maybe a PS3 molested you? You've got to let it go so you can move on.
upz @ Aug 24th 2007 2:35PM
And if I want an 80's butt rock haircut, I get a Wii?
Christ, Fernando, what's with the endless vendetta against the PS3?
megaStryke @ Aug 24th 2007 2:44PM
Every ying needs a yang. Fernando is the polar opposite of Curmeo.
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 24th 2007 2:46PM
"Every ying needs a yang. Fernando is the polar opposite of Curmeo"
jaja That was funny, seriously... a plus for you...
REUYL @ Aug 24th 2007 2:47PM
Fernando, seriously, get off my internet.
megaStryke @ Aug 24th 2007 2:51PM
Fernando, that really wasn't a compliment, ya know.
borland502 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:53PM
I'm betting he's a console racist trying to maintain the purity of the White Wii.
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 24th 2007 2:54PM
Ok... Im sorry... really...
But you can deny that I often make people laugh. Imagine this site without guys like me or Curmeo.
But we dont want to extremist fanboys, like Godisamyth.
Or Im wrong and nobody wants me? =(
Fernando Rocker @ Aug 24th 2007 2:55PM
@borland502
I can't be racist... Im brownie! =)
cc123 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:55PM
BUT YOU ARE AN EXTREMIST FANBOY!
Jerk Face @ Aug 24th 2007 2:56PM
Aww, shucks Fernando. You know I can't stay mad at you. I'll give you a plut to counter all these minuses.
I mean, SOMEONE has to hate on the PS3! Might as well be a dude who has pretty hair.
borland502 @ Aug 24th 2007 3:36PM
"But you can deny that I often make people laugh."
No you provoke people. I'll grant you it is not nearly as bad as JonnyBoy2U, Godisamyth, etc. Still, it doesn't really contribute to my enjoyment of this site. We all dig at the other sides in this weird war, but if that's all you do then it ceases to be amusing.
*shrug* Do what you want, but don't act shocked at all the negative posts directed at you.
kissmygritz @ Aug 24th 2007 5:21PM
"Theres no reason to own a PS3, only if you want a movie player and a folding protein machine."
Haha, well said.
PSN: ummfada @ Aug 24th 2007 7:26PM
REPOST OF MY COMMENT
Lets all ignore the system with the small install base and no games by not giving them games...It's true quam!
eviiil @ Aug 24th 2007 2:27PM
really good game, i just wish they will issue a patch regarding the subtitles.
Jake @ Aug 24th 2007 2:27PM
Well, if there is an agreement with MS for this to be 360 and Games for Windows only, then there is pretty much no chance for a PS3 version. Zilch. Nada. End of that story.
As for the widescreen cropping issue. Can someone please expain to me how "fixing the widescreen" is different than just zooming out slightly the camera perspective?
leland @ Aug 24th 2007 2:49PM
It's not a zoom issue. it's a view-angle issue. You're not moving backwards, you're increasing the field of view. It will looks un-zoomed, but it's slightly different. Regardless, the fix shouldn't be that hard, as all of the field-of-view parameters should be easily changeable in the unreal engine.
ExMcloud @ Aug 24th 2007 2:51PM
Jake my main man...How was that free copy of Bioshock? So anyway yeah theres no chance....When MS gets a exclusive it stays that was.....After that Elder Scrolls fiasco they weren't having it anymore they started spending cash money baby! Maybe Sony should do that cuz they costintly claim they don't all the time
Bobby @ Aug 24th 2007 2:29PM
Did the PS3 rape your dog Fernando? What do you care if it lives or dies? Shut up.
Travis @ Aug 24th 2007 2:32PM
It stole his scissors, and now he can't cut his hair.
Grindstone @ Aug 24th 2007 2:37PM
lol, nice Travis, nice.
Say, maybe they could trade? Ya know, Bioshock for MSG4 cross-platform release? Not that I plan on playing either game, but at least the PS3 crowd could be a little happier these days...
Jerk Face @ Aug 24th 2007 2:49PM
Ha ha... You get a plus for that comment.
Blazur @ Aug 24th 2007 2:29PM
Bioshock rocks so badly! I can't wait to get home and play this game right now.
Easily the coolest single-player FPS experience I've every had (Unreal 2004 gets my vote for best multiplayer FPS).
Travis @ Aug 24th 2007 2:31PM
Upping the limit on the number of installs doesn't fix the problem, it just delays it. I would think most PC Gamers tend to format and reinstall all their stuff periodically as Windows has a tendency to go to shit after a while.
Why can't they just admit they got behind terrible DRM and do the right thing by ditching it?
Jake @ Aug 24th 2007 2:34PM
It is limited to the number of installs "at a time". The DRM doesn't limit how many times you can uninstall and re-install the game, just how many it can be simeoutaneously installed on.
The problem is the server that registers the fact that you uninstalled the game went down. Once it is working, you could install the game 100 times as long as you uninstalled it 98 times along the way.
Travis @ Aug 24th 2007 2:37PM
@Jake:
Thanks for the clarification. Not as bad as I thought then.
MasterInsan0 @ Aug 24th 2007 2:49PM
Unfortunately, that's not true...yet. When you uninstall the game, it does NOT tell the authentication servers that you have uninstalled it. So, you can only INSTALL the game 5 times, ever.
They do say they're working on a "revoke" tool to make that copy of the game unregister so that you get your game back, but it's still pretty much BS.
Crono @ Aug 24th 2007 2:50PM
No, jake is wrong. It cleary states that the number of re-installs has been increased from 3 to 5.
All this "copy protection" is going to do is drive people to get no-cd/dvd cracks for their software. I know that if I installed this game and the protection dicked me, the first thing I'd do is check the crack sites to see if anyone has cracked it yet. This kind of "protection" is bogus, and should be illegal.
Can somebody PLEASE start up a class action lawsuit against secuROM please. When you purchase a product, and then the product doesn't work, thats a defective product. And if all products do that, this sounds like class action fodder.
Its stuff like this that drives people to piracy, or at least supporting the haxxors that enable piracy (because its not really piracy if you bought the software and it just won't work).
Jamie @ Aug 24th 2007 2:56PM
Don't worry, the crack for it will be out soon, if it isn't already. The only thing copy protection ever does is give crackers something to play with for a few days.
dsub @ Aug 24th 2007 3:56PM
part of the upcoming patch will fix the number of installs issue. That is when the game will unregister your system upon an uninstall.
Also, to all of those who are going on and on about how you can't play Bioshock if you don't have the internet, there is a manual activation option. Also, do you really think the kind of people that are going to play this game don't have an internet connection? My god. If you don't have one, the sign up for fucking net zero for free, register and then cancel. It's not like you need a damn 5M connection to register a game.
Jake @ Aug 24th 2007 2:37PM
Games that the 360 gets that the PS3 does not get do not lessen the amount of fun you can have with a PS3.
Sure, it makes the platform's fall lineup look weak in comparison. But Bioshock has nothing to do with "reasons to own a PS3."
I know a guy who got a PS3 just for bluray. How does Bioshock affect his purchase?
ExMcloud @ Aug 24th 2007 3:03PM
Jake he sir was a smart guy it is the cheapest Blu-Ray player on the market even though for that price you could get 3 HD-DVD players????Hmmmm Thats weird.
DSR7997 @ Aug 24th 2007 6:12PM
That's funny, I bought a PS3 to play games and yet.....
joeyg @ Aug 24th 2007 2:40PM
i don't understand why Sony should "leave the gaming industry"...the PS2 is still outselling everything but the Wii!!!
I'm pretty sure Sony is MAKING money in this industry and MS is still LOSING money.
btw. I'll just buy the game for my 360 since it's not going to be available for my ps3.
Anticrawl @ Aug 24th 2007 2:54PM
Sony has been in big financial trouble for years because they spread their company so thin. In fact I distinctly remember that if Sony doesn't turn a profit in their computer entertainment and gaming division then it will be terminated. Microsoft makes money as a company where Sony does not, it's just the gaming division of Microsoft that is losing money. By money I of course mean profit, not revenue.
In any case Nintendo has had a net profit increase steadily for 50 years, so yeah theres that whole thing.
ExMcloud @ Aug 24th 2007 3:08PM
Anticrawl is correct when you look at the facts first of all Sony doesn't see near the amount of money MS makes...Even though the 360 losses money their other divisons more than make up for it......Even Sony pays Microsoft which is kind of ironic but anyway Sony has been in financial trouble for a while but they did pretty good last year even though the PS3 loses mad money every time they sell one...So Nintendo is the only profitable game company in the business point blank
Ian @ Aug 24th 2007 3:25PM
I've read that the games/entertainment division WOULD make money if the Zune wasn't apart of it. The 360 itself is now profitable. Not sure if thats TRUE but I know I read it.