Infogrames President Phil Harrison announced today at a publisher event that the company plans to revisit
Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons,
Neverwinter Nights and
Test Drive Unlimited -- but not until after 2009 (via
Eurogamer). Three of those franchises have had recent releases (
NWN2: Storm of the Zehir last month,
TDU and
D&D Tactics in February 2007).
As for
Baldur's Gate, a follow-up to
BG2: Throne of Bhaal has been rumored since 2001 from now-defunct Black Isle Studios. It was reportedly mentioned again by a PC Gamer UK editor as recently as January 2008.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Durinthal @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:07PM
That would be nice - if they can do it well - as the Baldur's Gate games are still among my favorites. I never liked Neverwinter Nights all that much, unfortunately (beat the first one, have the second but haven't gotten that far in it).
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:16PM
I feel the same. BG2 was awesome, and is one of the only computer games I ever really got into (besides MOO). Neverwinter wasn't nearly as interesting.
I've been dying for BG3 forever. Hopefully they don't fuck it up without Black Isle.
burgabunz @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:11PM
I only liked the Baldur's Gate series when 1) waiting for a new Diablo release, 2) sick of the newest Diablo release.
zkey14 @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:15PM
That doesn't make sense at all.
chispito @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:07PM
It means that when there wasn't a new, more immediate experience available (Diablo) he was able to enjoy something slower and deeper (BG).
I actually liked Icewind Dale better than Baldur's Gate because I was more into the combat and exploration than the story.
jimmygotsmack @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:13PM
..... Are you calling Baldur's Gate a Diablo clone? Now I wounder if you ever even played Baldur's gate.
Clutch_beast @ Dec 2nd 2008 7:22PM
I preferred Icewind Dale as well. It's much easier to maintain a balanced party when you don't have to rely on whatever characters the plot throws at you. With the exception of Minsc.
burgabunz @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:54PM
it's a different experience, granted. but I enjoyed the diablo series much more than the baldur's gate series. just sayin'
OmegaVader @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:15PM
If it's not Bioware, it's not worth it. And for all we know, they're talking about the Dark Alliance series, not the legitimate Baldur's Gate.
phobic99 @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:17PM
I have to agree. They really shouldn't even bother unless they somehow agree to reform Black Isle and have them work with Bioware on it.
I can only dream...
Wiinterfang @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:16PM
Atari is stepping up good for them.
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:18PM
I AM the Law!
Haggard @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:20PM
Atari 'revisits' franchises, Activision 'exploits' them.
Burritoclock @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:35PM
Yes, the time between Guitar Hero's is like 4 months, the last Baldurs Gate was like 6 or 7 years ago, so there is a slight difference there.
Haggard @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:44PM
No, I'm more talking about the words used by executives. That Bobby Kotick guy or whoever told his shareholders they were looking to really "exploit the core franchises". With games journalists in the room.
Burritoclock @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:45PM
Ha, ok, we are on the same page now.
Dirty @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:20PM
Im thinking that Dragon Age:O is going to scratch this itch.
Snowblind @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:24PM
You must gather your party before venturing forth.
Ihavepants @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:11PM
I cannot be caged, I cannot be controlled! Understand this as you die. Ever pathetic, ever fools.
Levi @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:10PM
...is this an aimless game reference or a hint that they should gather together the old black isle team to make it?
either way, I lol'ed!
Halwende @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:29PM
I would LOVE to see a new Test Drive Unlimited!
dantebk @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:31PM
Cool! Test Drive Unlimited is one of my favorite racing games ever!
Ihavepants @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:32PM
Well it was Bioware that made Baldur's Gate and its sequel, I don't see this being any good without them involved.
AwesomeTown @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:34PM
Yay for Dragon Age!
Ihavepants @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:37PM
This was a reply to Dr. Stabbingworth and Durinthal.
Ihavepants @ Dec 2nd 2008 5:39PM
I've been following Dragon Age since it was announced in 2004. Can't wait.
jimmygotsmack @ Dec 2nd 2008 6:12PM
Kick ass
blindfromthesun @ Dec 2nd 2008 8:33PM
It seems Atari is finally pulling itself to together. Bravo. I would love a new Balder's Gate. Better yet, keep it 2D and bump up the resolution of the sprites. 3D Balder's Gate games are "inferior." If your a huge fan of the original 2 (and expansions)you might agree.
unfriendly_cat @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:33PM
Agreed. I still don't understand why the Infinity Engine was abandoned.
sickbeat @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:45AM
Yeah, I'm not playing it unless it's 2d isometric.
agentflashx @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:06PM
How does this work as BioWare originally made them? (BG and the original NWN)
unfriendly_cat @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:32PM
What really saddens me is that the future of western RPGs looked so bright around 2000 with BG2, Planescape and Fallout 2. Since then not a single game with similar scope and quality has come out.
I mainly blame MMOs for counting on player interaction to replace the hard work of writing quality dialogue trees for characters.
Not getting my hopes up yet, but between Dragon Age and this announcement about revisiting Baldur's Gate it looks like by 2010 or so we might finally be back to where we were 8 years ago. Hooray, I guess
Ihavepants @ Dec 3rd 2008 2:45AM
Said it better than I ever could.
Zanthox @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:26AM
I really hope so, this is the greatest RPG series in my book, and thus the greatest game series. There have been lots of spin off attempts at it but nothing had the depth of these games.
I really wish Bioware had the license, so maybe Dragon Age will be good. But NWN2 was very enjoyable so who knows, maybe they can pull it off yet.
I played through with that exact party in the screen shot once btw, haha.
mecharine @ Dec 4th 2008 11:15AM
Go for the eyes,Boo! Maybe this time they can use the little gerbil in attacks? "Rocket propelled gerbil of eye gouging"?