Category: Xbox 360

BioShock Infinite sold much better than its predecessors, Take-Two still in the red

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In what can only be considered to be not-a-surprise, Take-Two has announced that BioShock Infinite has sold significantly more copies in its first month than its predecessors in the series. In fact, more than 3.7 million copies of the excellent game has been shipped around the world, and there has apparently been “solid demand” for the game’s Season Pass, though no one really knows what DLC they’re going to get.

The publisher, however, isn’t doing so well. Despite having such big successes as BioShock Infinite, Borderlands 2, and NBA 2K13, the company finished the year with a net loss of $29.49 million. Interestingly, it’s better than last year, which saw a $108.82 million deficit.

As for its other successes, Borderlands 2 has shipped 6 million copies since its release, which puts it on track to be the publisher’s best-selling title; NBA 2K13 has shipped 5 million copies. No figures were revealed for Max Payne 3 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown, though both of them were critically acclaimed at release.

The publisher is looking to bank on the launch of GTA 5, which is due out later this year. It’s quite sad that Take-Two is still in the red despite having released so many good games. As a matter of fact, I’ve put countless hours into these games, as have many others, yet I don’t understand how such a publisher can still make a loss.

Mass Effect didn’t have non-humanoid aliens because it would’ve been costly

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There were quite a few alien races represented in the Mass Effect trilogy. Although they may have scales, blue skin, or might even look like roaches, they were basically humans with a palette swap. That’s disturbing, but considering how limited consoles were during this generation, that may have been a necessary step.

Apparently, BioWare thought the same, too, for they considered having non-humanoid squadmates in the games, but they discovered that it would have taken away from the rest of the game.

All the party members in the games were based on the humanoid skeleton because the development effort for non-humanoid playable aliens would have been great. Instead, the studio pushed to make a “larger, more polished game.” Also, all squadmates had to function like human characters in the sense that they’d have to be able to carry guns.

Honestly, I’d love to see the galaxy’s first Hanar spectre in the next Mass Effect game. Now, that would be freaking amazing! Also, I think next-gen consoles have more power and RAM that can be dedicated to render more than one type of “skeleton” in games.

Remember Me was originally set in water; Paris came in much later

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Remember Me was originally slated to have jet skis and would’ve been called “Adrift”. Players would be seen zipping around a flooded coastal city. While that sounds vaguely interesting at first, I believe the game would’ve become boring too easily and would have been dismissed quickly.

Thankfully, that didn’t come to fruition according to the game’s creative director Jean-Maxime Moris. The team had wanted to focus on the effects of global warming on the world, which they why they had wanted to place the game in a city like Sydney, Tokyo, or San Francisco. “The [player] would have to navigate with a wakeboard, grappling from one jet ski to another,” he said.

As it stands, they became more interested in the idea of manipulating memories and shifted the theme away from global warming. Dontnod’s (the studio) home city of Paris became the game’s stomping grounds but with a sci-fi twist. The iconic features of Paris came into view, though Moris explains that they were initially reluctant to be “that French studio doing that French game.”

Honestly, I think the game looks cool. The scenic views of Paris act as great eye candy, especially the new glass-and-steel skyscrapers alongside familiar Parisian landmarks. The interview touches upon the studio’s vision of Paris in the future and how social networks will come to dominate society. It’s an interesting read.

Remember Me is expected to be released early next month on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Bethesda possibly teasing new Wolfenstein

Bethesda has been posting teaser images for their next project, and everyone’s betting money that it is a new Wolfenstein game. All images are posted below.

The collage shows three images, one with the hastag 1960 below. People are speculating that it’s the long rumored Wolfenstein game, which is reportedly in development at Swedish studio Machine Games. The studio was formed by members of Starbreeze, the studio behind excellent games such as The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick.

This has been confirmed indirectly by Bethesda themselves, who noted that “this morning’s tease is not related to anything @BGS_Devs is working on.”

The game is rumored to make use of idTech5 game engine. There hasn’t been a new Wolfenstein game since 2009. The last entry was average at best, and was made by Raven Software, id Software, and some other studios.

Resident Evil monsters are scary because they’re related to real life viruses

I’ve always found Resident Evil’s monster designs to be fascinatingly repulsive and frightening. Apparently, that’s because they can be related to viruses we see in action in the real world. This comes from director Kazuhisu Inoue, who says so in this developer diary for Resident Evil Revelations.

Previously a 3DS-exclusive title, the game is now set for release on May 21 for PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360.

Void Walker Arsenal pack for Dishonored coming

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If you hadn’t preordered Dishonored but wanted access to the bundles that came as perks, then you’re in luck. Bethesda just announced the “Void Walker’s Arsenal Pack” that will include the Acrobatic Killer, Arcane Assassin, Backstreet Butcher, and Shadow Rat packs. These were previously only available to those who had preordered the game.

The packs include perks that include character bonuses, additional slots, books, and other things that make playing the game easy. It will be available starting next week on PC, PSN, and Xbox 360 for $3.99. You can find out more details at Bethesda’s blog.

South Park game still expected later this year

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Despite THQ going bankrupt earlier this year, South Park: The Stick of Truth is still on track for release this year. Ubisoft picked up the game at auction alongside THQ Montreal.

The action RPG is being developed at Obsidian  in close collaboration with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the series. It is due out on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

The game was actually set for release later this month but was delayed once acquired by THQ. According to UK retailer Tesco, the game is scheduled for release on August 23.