NEW YORK (AP) — The game studio behind the original “BioShock” is coming out with another follow-up to the award-winning, wildly popular 2007 horror shooter – but not until 2012. While Irrational Games’ original “BioShock” was set in an underwater metropolis called Rapture, “BioShock: Infinite” takes place in Columbia, a floating city modeled after 1900s America – with all the promise it held. “It’s like the Apollo Project, constructed as an example of the success of America,” creative director Ken Levine said. As with the first game, there’s a twist. Columbia, it turns out, is not just a floating world’s fair, but a death star. The player’s mission is to save a young woman who’s been kidnapped and holds enormous power. “Infinite” will be the third “BioShock” in the series. Irrational did not develop the second installment, which is also set in Rapture and came out earlier this year. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., Irrational’s parent company, unveiled the game in New York’s Plaza Hotel on Wednesday evening, the same time and place as a birthday party and fundraiser for embattled U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. The game will be available on the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and PCs. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
August 12, 2010 | Posted in
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SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. retail sales of video games declined 15 percent in February, hurt in part by an ongoing decline in sales of music games and lower sales of the Wii system. Americans spent $1.26 billion on video game systems, software and accessories during the month, down from $1.48 billion a year ago, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday. February isn’t generally a big month for the video game industry, which still makes much of its money during the holiday season. Even so, several high-profile titles launched during the month, including “BioShock 2,” the follow-up to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s popular sci-fi shooter, and “Dante’s Inferno” from Electronic-Arts Inc., both appealing to hardcore video game fans. “I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month,” said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. Sales of individual games have declined for more than a year, hurt by a combination of the economic downturn and fewer launches of hit games. Even with “BioShock 2″ at the top of the best-seller list, game software sales fell 15 percent from the same month a year earlier to $624.4 million. “Dante’s Inferno” editions for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 snagged the No. 8 and No. 9 spots. Analysts say faltering demand for the once blazingly popular casual games like “Guitar Hero” and “Wii Fit” have also dragged down game sales. Jesse Divnich, an analyst at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, said that’s to be expected. “These are volatile categories,” Divnich said. “Once you own a ‘Wii Fit,’ you don’t need another ‘Wii Fit.’” The amount of money people spent on gaming systems sank 20 percent to $426.4 million, in part because the number of Nintendo Wii systems sold in the quarter plunged 47 percent. Nintendo said last month it was facing a shortage of consoles after the holidays. Competitors fared better in unit sales, though. Sony, which also warned of shortages, saw PlayStation 3 unit sales jump 31 percent. Microsoft sold 9 percent more Xbox 360 systems, grabbing the top spot among the console makers for the first time since “Halo 3″ was released in September 2007, NPD’s Frazier said. In a statement, Sony said tight inventory is still crimping sales. Microsoft has not complained of supply problems. — AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this report.
March 12, 2010 | Posted in
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SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. retail sales of video games declined 15 percent in February, hurt in part by an ongoing decline in sales of music games and lower sales of the Wii system. Americans spent $1.26 billion on video game systems, software and accessories during the month, down from $1.48 billion a year ago, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday. February isn’t generally a big month for the video game industry, which still makes much of its money during the holiday season. Even so, several high-profile titles launched during the month, including “BioShock 2,” the follow-up to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.’s popular sci-fi shooter, and “Dante’s Inferno” from Electronic-Arts Inc., both appealing to hardcore video game fans. “I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month,” said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier in a statement. Sales of individual games have declined for more than a year, hurt by a combination of the economic downturn and fewer launches of hit games. Even with “BioShock 2″ at the top of the best-seller list, game software sales fell 15 percent from the same month a year earlier to $624.4 million. “Dante’s Inferno” editions for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 snagged the No. 8 and No. 9 spots. Analysts say faltering demand for the once blazingly popular casual games like “Guitar Hero” and “Wii Fit” have also dragged down game sales. Jesse Divnich, an analyst at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, said that’s to be expected. “These are volatile categories,” Divnich said. “Once you own a ‘Wii Fit,’ you don’t need another ‘Wii Fit.’” The amount of money people spent on gaming systems sank 20 percent to $426.4 million, in part because the number of Nintendo Wii systems sold in the quarter plunged 47 percent. Nintendo said last month it was facing a shortage of consoles after the holidays. Competitors fared better in unit sales, though. Sony, which also warned of shortages, saw PlayStation 3 unit sales jump 31 percent. Microsoft sold 9 percent more Xbox 360 systems, grabbing the top spot among the console makers for the first time since “Halo 3″ was released in September 2007, NPD’s Frazier said. In a statement, Sony said tight inventory is still crimping sales. Microsoft has not complained of supply problems. — AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this report.
March 12, 2010 | Posted in
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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. video game retail sales dropped 13 percent in January, another down month for the industry after a difficult 2009. In all, Americans spent nearly $1.2 billion on video game systems, software and accessories during the month, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday. Software sales fell 12 percent from the same month a year earlier, to $597.9 million. January does not tend to be a big month for video games, which sell heavily during the holidays, though it is when many people trade in the gift cards they got for Christmas. The month’s best-selling title was Nintendo’s “New Super Mario Bros.,” followed by “Mass Effect 2″ from Electronic Arts Inc., which launched Jan. 26. Other games such as Activision Blizzard Inc.’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ and Nintendo’s “Wii Fit Plus” also did well. January hardware sales tumbled 21 percent from a year earlier to $353.7 million. In December, hardware sales hit nearly $2.2 billion and were up from a year earlier. NPD said Thursday the Wii kept its spot as the month’s best selling console with 465,800 units sold, followed by the handheld DS with 422,200. Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 was in third place with 332,800 units, tailed by Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 with 276,900. Sales of accessories climbed 2 percent to $217 million. Peter Dille, senior vice president at Sony, said there has been a lot of pent-up demand for the PlayStation 3 and he expects supplies to be tight “for another month or two.” Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime also pointed to supply constraints for the Wii, saying the company’s “biggest challenge on the Wii side continues to be meeting demand.” Xbox spokesman David Dennis said the company was having no supply-demand issues. After January’s decline, analysts expect big game launches to give a boost to software sales for the remainder of the quarter. Many of these titles, such as “BioShock 2,” “Dante’s Inferno” and “God of War III” cater to hardcore gamers. In a note to investors ahead of the NPD report, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said he thinks “the hardcore gamer will carry 2010 to solid growth” when it comes to game software. NPD’s report came the day after Activision reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
February 12, 2010 | Posted in
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