To Borderlands director, a sequel 'seems like a no-brainer'

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 11th 2009 at 3:30PM }

If you build it, they will come -- mostly for the loot. That's how Borderlands creative director Mike Neumann candidly describes the possibility of a sequel to his game. "Yes, I can probably confirm that there's a chance of a Borderlands 2 ," he told VG247 with a chuckle. "I mean, with anything, especially a new IP, if people want more and you can make more, and everybody can make money and do good business there, it obviously makes really good sense to do that."

An unexpectedly large number of people thought it made really good sense to purchase the colorful, FPS-RPG hybrid. Neumann jokingly admits surprise at seeing stores running out of stock, even though "it certainly doesn't suck to be the people who made the game you can't keep in stock."

Though plans for a sequel have yet to manifest outside of the water cooler area -- Gearbox is currently grinding through Borderlands DLC -- Neumann believes the "praise and love" for the franchise will make that first decision easier. "So yeah, if everything makes sense, Borderlands 2 seems like a no-brainer to me."

Tags: borderlands, borderlands-2, fps, gearbox, Mike-Neumann, rpg, sequel

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Nebenator @ Nov 11th 2009 3:31PM

Alright! Round 2 here we go!

Urza @ Nov 11th 2009 6:26PM

No sequel. The game is freakin awesome but I don't need another Borderlands 2 in a year or 2. Just because Left 4 Dead is getting away with it doesn't mean everyone should. More DLC.

Jeff Rebbeck @ Nov 11th 2009 7:27PM

Urza, no sequel within 2 years?!? Forget that. A sequel can make fundamental improvements to a game that mere DLC cannot. For example, I'd love to be able to enter a new zone while my teammate continues to take forever fooling around with a vending machine. By which I mean he's making sweet, sweet love to the vending machine, and forming an inappropriate long-term relationship. And I'd rather be elsewhere, having shorter, less consensual long-distance relationships with bandits. Know what I'm sayin'?

Captain Planet [Planeteer | Power of Captain Planet] @ Nov 11th 2009 3:37PM

8 PLAYER CO-OP CONFIRMED!!

CH3BURASHKA @ Nov 11th 2009 3:53PM

Unless it's Borderlands ^ 2, then there'll be 16 player co-op.

Special Agent Steve @ Nov 11th 2009 4:27PM

Unless it's Borderlands ^ 4, then it would be 256 player co-op.
SUCK THAT MAG!

Indefinite Implosion @ Nov 11th 2009 7:39PM

I'm not sure that's a good idea guys...

The more people you're playing with, the more chance that you'll end up playing with a complete dick or wanker.

Dirty @ Nov 11th 2009 3:40PM

In a sequel I would like to be able to level up a vehicle skill, something like in crackdown were the car gets better from you getting in it. Just an idea.

Cowboy Curtis @ Nov 11th 2009 3:41PM

I will leave in place of this comment a link to the Big Download copy of this blog entry.

http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/11/11/gearbox-borderlands-2-seems-like-a-no-brainer/

Courtney @ Nov 11th 2009 4:08PM

And your point is....

josh @ Nov 11th 2009 4:28PM

Both that story and this story on Joystiq both link to the same interview on VG247.com.

Cowboy Curtis @ Nov 11th 2009 4:39PM

You know you can leave comments on Joystiq's affiliate sites. They won't bite you.. By the way if you take the time to click on the link and read and then article on the affiliate site. Then you should have taken the time to read my comment on the affiliates blog post. Sense of humor = none.. Sheesh..

whylekat @ Nov 11th 2009 6:17PM

Oh yeah about that.... Ya see... Hmm how do I put this..

No one cares what you have to say =P

Cowboy Curtis @ Nov 11th 2009 6:28PM

I'm not def you idiot I yell like this because. I know you don't care, and I figure if I just keep yelling I'll drown you out and you'll just walk away rolling your eyes!

yaja @ Nov 11th 2009 3:41PM

It's a great game, don't get me wrong. But how about fixing some of the many issues with the current game before starting work on a sequel...

CzAr @ Nov 11th 2009 3:45PM

Um... I guess you didn't download the latest patch... or haven't heard about DLC...

I'm also guessing that you don't understand the word possibility.

Kevin949 @ Nov 11th 2009 4:03PM

What patch? The one that fixed friend list bugs? Cuz I have that (you kinda have to get it). Otherwise, I still have digital audio problems, the game freezes (very rare for that though), I have a trophy or two that didn't unlock, sometimes rockets pass through guys harmlessly as do some eridian weapon shots, I don't know if it's a design decision but eridian weapons slow down your walk/run speed when handled, and there was one other thing but I can't remember.

Keep in mind, I'm not knocking on the game, I play it just about every night with my friends and love it! It just would be nice if they fixed these issues soon.

PedoJokerBear [Planeteer | Power of Gall Bladder] @ Nov 11th 2009 4:05PM

@kevin: some guns make you run slow, ive tested it myself.

Kodros @ Nov 11th 2009 4:11PM

Lets not forget the gigantic bug where there's only space for 4 stats in the weapon stat window when weapons can have 10+. Nothing better then unknown stats of a weapon to help you decide which one is better.

Matt @ Nov 11th 2009 4:40PM

considering that Multiplayer is seriously unbearable for the PC version I also think they need to fix some stuff.

Why would anybody go with Gamespy....WHY!

Kevin949 @ Nov 11th 2009 5:02PM

@kodros
Oh? I hadn't heard of that. And how can you verify a gun has more than 4 modifiers to it if you can't see them?

@PedoJokerBear
Ya, I wasn't sure if it was meant that way or not. Though I haven't seen any other guns but eridian guns do it so far, but I also haven't done extensive testing. Thanks.

ballistic3188 @ Nov 11th 2009 5:14PM

@matt:
because gearbox apparently hates valve.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/07/randy-pitchford-on-steam-valve-is-taking-a-larger-share-than-i/

http://kotaku.com/5399454/gearbox-boss-valve-is-behaving-like-fanboys

with their decided untrust of steam i can see why they chose gamespy, but it sucks. also I hate them for their half assed PC controls.

Kodros @ Nov 11th 2009 5:37PM

@Kevin949

Yeah, I just found out about it this morning. It explains why some weapons had a "better color" yet crappier stats then a "worse color". The way that people discovered it is that they parsed through the save file with a hex editor and ripped out the actual gun data. I noticed it last night on one of my rocket launchers. It was reloading 50% faster then my other launchers yet it didn't say anything in the stats...thought I was going crazy.

Professor Lario @ Nov 11th 2009 3:44PM

Incredible game. Vehicles should be fixed and hopefully a little more depth to the character stat development could be added.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 11th 2009 3:46PM

Sequel needs:

-More voice acting (nearly everything in the game is text)
-More meaningful weapons (99% are just worthless, no matter how many 'bazillions' the game might have)
-A place to store loot you don't want to sell but don't want to cart around
-An actual trading system
-A more interesting skill tree, or at least a few more powers per class
-AN ACTUAL STORY!

kojo87 @ Nov 11th 2009 3:48PM

what was wrong with the story? i find it quite interesting.

and they need to ditch the GameSpy crap on the PC version. i'll even settle for Windows Live but i dream of Steam integration...

PedoJokerBear [Planeteer | Power of Gall Bladder] @ Nov 11th 2009 3:59PM

pretty much everything you said, but i would like to add an online "hub" like phantasy star online and more customizing!

Stacky @ Nov 11th 2009 4:07PM

I agree. I felt the story was extremely short and not very in depth. The only thing I took away was trust no one and the ending was fairly unsatisfactory.

---SPOILER ALERT---

Only one eridian gun? Stupid monster in vault? Weird woman is a satellite? C'mon.

kojo87 @ Nov 11th 2009 4:08PM

yes! when i first heard about this game i though you would be able to customize your own weapons. you should be able to find gun parts and essentially build your own guns.

anyone ever played Car Battler Joe for GBA? then you know what im talking about.

Kodros @ Nov 11th 2009 4:14PM

Whats wrong with the story? How about everything. It's generic and boring with a god awful ending.

BigD145 @ Nov 11th 2009 4:33PM

I have three eridian guns, but one has messed up sights.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 11th 2009 4:45PM

Yes yes, being able to customize weapons! How could I forget?

sjenky @ Nov 11th 2009 5:09PM

I wish that weapons would deteriorate over time, I played most of the game with a cobalt viper, wishing I would somehow sell it accidentally.

8-bit.artist @ Nov 11th 2009 5:16PM

a sequel with working online would be fantastic!

kojo87 @ Nov 11th 2009 3:46PM

free Zune HD games and now this!? TODAY IS AWESOME!

holyice7 @ Nov 11th 2009 3:48PM

Hey, I had very low expectations for Borderlands (mostly because a combo FPS/RPG game was an idea I'd dreamed of since middle school), but partially because I wasn't sure how it would manifest itself, practically speaking. I was pleasantly surprised, though the game has a bevy of issues. I can't quite determine if they're the result of a cross-platform effort, or issues with the development team, or perhaps even just troubleshooting inexperience.

Regardless, the IP is fun, and hopefully the issues that the game has are noticeable enough to get solved in a sequel, providing an experience as enjoyable and beyond...though I pray for a patch before then.

tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 11th 2009 3:50PM

Barring some extreme shock from Assassin's Creed 2, Borderlands is the hands down GOTY with MW2 right behind it. I almost cancelled my borderlands preorder right before it came out because of lots of bad impressions, but it's an amazing game. Put about 50 hours in, about half of it with a friend, and had a blast.

Orion @ Nov 11th 2009 3:57PM

My vote's for Demon's Souls, but that's just me. As much as I want to like ACII, the repetition of the first left a bad taste in my mouth for the second. I'll wait till it's heavily reviewed instead of buying it day one.

Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith @ Nov 11th 2009 4:03PM

I doubt it. GotY is looking like MW2, Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, DA, or Arkham.

Aaroniero Arruruerie @ Nov 11th 2009 4:04PM

Boderlands GOTY? ha, no way, sempai

tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 11th 2009 4:08PM

the hell does that even mean?

Utmost Nutszo @ Nov 11th 2009 4:11PM

Uncharted 2 pretty much has GOTY locked up.

Courtney @ Nov 11th 2009 4:12PM

For raw fun, it's GOTY material for me, no game has brought me as much joy this year as Borderlands. I've got three characters going (one with my wife, one with my kid and one solo), and I'm having a blast with each one and not burning out at all on it.

I would say it's hands down the co-op GOTY.

Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Nov 11th 2009 4:26PM

Tmac, Senpai is a Japanese title reserved for upperclassmen/superiors (roughly translated, it means "mentor).

And it's Senpai, not Sempai, Anti-Sprinkes.

Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Nov 11th 2009 4:32PM

Oh, and I agree. Borderlands is my GOTY, followed by Demon's Souls/Dragon Age.

Discotheque @ Nov 11th 2009 4:44PM

Dragon Age for GOTY.

Babel @ Nov 11th 2009 3:54PM

Whatever happens, needs more midgets.

But yeah, this was such a fun game - me and my brother had an awesome time. And for some reason opening crates was really satisfying: having them slide open and reveal some kickass weapon was so good. I'd had high hopes since the first screenshots, and it didn't disappoint.

This, Arkham Asylum and Dragon Age are my top games of the year so far. And I haven't even played MW2, Assassin's Creed 2 or Demon's Souls yet.

:D

kojo87 @ Nov 11th 2009 4:00PM

crates are awesome except more often than not the weapons turned out to be next to worthless. but there is nothing more exciting than finding a rare kickass gun and blowing midgets' heads off with it

Kevin949 @ Nov 11th 2009 4:04PM

I love listening to midgets scream from a melty acidic death.

snarfoogle @ Nov 11th 2009 3:56PM

Hopefully they fix the sniping, add more bigger multiplayer arenas and 4v4 support, etc.

Borderlands was fun, but there are a lot of issues they can work out to make a really good sequel.

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