Take-Two didn't just say "no, thanks" to EA this morning. They went out and put a little document together, aimed at showing their shareholders just why they should say no. Most of it's taken up with stuff like GTA sales, but one page is interesting. This one, above. Labelled "potential untapped opportunities", it shows that while 2K are currently under-represented in the MMO, mobile and media markets, they've got the franchises to change that. BioShock, for example, could be turned into an MMO. And a mobile game. And a movie. Civilization, well, it could (presumably) be made into some kind of global, online strategy title. Take-Two shareholders, while you may have cause to doubt Strauss Zelnick's motives during this whole mess, you can not doubt the company's intentions to milk their best franchises to within an inch of their lives.
Take-Two Pondering BioShock MMO, Movie?
5:40 PM on Wed Mar 26 2008
By Luke Plunkett
3,692 views
78 comments







Comments
Please don't make a Bioshock MMO....PLEASE....
I have to agree, and I don't think it's possible to make a Civ MMO.
Big daddies need a nerf.
Jesus christ! enough of MMO's already...
@QualityJeverage: Agreed. For the love of the original, please no.
Oh, hell no.
A sequel/prequel was enough...
NO Bioshock MMO
NO Bioshock Mobile game. If those two get made, Take Two is as bad as EA.
They won't get made. However, the prospect is appealing to non-game-playing share-holders. "One of the best selling games of the year, turned into one of the latest game fads of the year? Brilliant! Take my money!"
I'm mystified that GTA isn't on all three...
I say +1 to Rapture in a full-blown theater glory.
I mean, the producer of Bioshock is a failed Screen-Writer in real life. I would love him to shake a box of Bioshock at some studios; I am sure they will throw some money to the adaptation.
Oh god oh god oh god. A BioShock MMO must never be made, ever. It would soil everything good about the game.
@Acunia: Agreed. It's a monkey see monkey do.
-Look at what you've done Blizzard!!-
Leave Bioshock to it's horrifyingly intense single player gameplay on either the 360, the PS3, the PC, or all of the above. (PC Preferred)
I can guarantee if they make Bioshock an MMO, EA will be able to buy Take 2. $30 million down the drain, at bare minimum, will not be good for Take 2.
Some games would make good MMO's. Unfortunately, Bioshock isn't one of them. It just wouldn't make sense. Being by yourself against a bunch of crazy genetically modified people was essential to the fun of the game. If you add more people it would just...suck.
I'm not against MMO's. Still, I don't want to have grieffers ruining my experience when I'm harvesting Little Sisters.
Doesn't this document just prove WHY the shareholders SHOULD accept the EA buyout? =P
Look! we can still completely destory everything we have without EA!
Can we have a GTA MMO seriously. That is pretty much all I do in that game anyway. Just walk around and kill people. I seriously don't believe that game has a story at all. Since I never have wanted to go through it.
Bioshock, really?
If they want to milk the franchise, they reall should at least put some THOUGHT into it.
I could see a Bioshock movie or mobile version, but I don't think it would work very well as an MMO.
So T2 is the one behind the posterboy of Wii Shovelware that is "Carnival Games".
I'm reversing course: EA should go ahead and buy these guys. If you're going to milk something til it's dry, at least do it with class.
I have mixed feelings about a Bioshock movie, I mean name one good video game adaptation... see there are none, and while I hope Bioshock could be the one to prove me wrong, being witness to one of my favorite games being butchered is just hell...not to be confused with Rapture.
Wait... I think everyone is missing the most glaringly funny thing on there.
Carnival Games.
When Bioshock and Carnival games are mentioned side by side, it makes me realize why Executive-types should not run game companies.
Not all MMOs are terrible grindfests. City of Heroes actually has storylines, customisation and is actually FUN. But it's an island paradise in a sea of liquid shit.
A Civilisation MMO... why not give it a try? Where players control entire nations rather than individuals...
The only GOOD way I see a Bioware MMO is if it was a prequel, make it similar to Second Life (without furries and flying penises) and have the players buy virtual land with virtual money, run businesses, and a whole bunch of other things (but the virtual money will have nothing to do with the real world, unlike SL).
Good or bad idea?
I have not seen a mobile action game that works as well as a full console version would, so I would say no to a Bioshock mobile game. I could see a Bioshock MMO, but I don't think it would work very well. As far as a movie goes, I've seen independant films with more convoluted plots so that could probably work.
A Civ MMO piques my interest a little, but I'm not sure how it could be done that retains what makes Civ fun, namely building up your society and then taking over the world.
@Kaljin: I need more information as to why it has to be a prequel. Not to be a dick; Im just curious.
@Kaljin: What does that have to do with BioShock?
Jeez, I mean I can picture a gigantic rapture overworld.....but how the hell would it work?? I mean bioshock didn't even have a multiplayer...
A movie though...now where talking! Just don't get Uwe Boll for the love of Rapture
@ShaggE: I get it now. Nevermind.
@Kaljin: Bioware?
Alright Bioshock MMO....maybe before Raptor's fall....maybe choose powers....hmmm interesting...
Shit, I meant Bioshock, I've been trying to finish my NWN2 campaign I never finished, and I'm going drunk on d20s.
Bioshock movie could be good. The quality of material is certainly there.
MMO though? No chance.
Conspicuous in it's absence: GTA MMO... Confirmed.
@Allfather Black: Because having a Bioshock (I SAID IT RIGHT THIS TIME!) MMO in where people go down to rebuild the city and do battle with splicers will give the feeling from the developers to "make it like WoW". Game will flop.
I couldn't see a Bioshock MMO working very well. Civilization could have some potential, though.
Milk Bioshock for all it's worth...who's the money grubbing coroporation now?! :)
Bioshock MMO? Bioshock MOVIE? Can I get a freaking HELL YEAH!! Bring in Uwe Boll, git r done! (That last part was a joke.)
@LordMagnusMastah: Hmm, hang on, I was letting my fanboy side show. These would probably be bad ideas. Unless they did them REALLY REALLY good. Then obviously... that would be a good idea.
Would anyone buy a bioshock MMO?
I couldn't see there being a Bioshock MMO but a Movie seems like a great idea.
a movie would be nice, or a book.
@darthmole12: Heh. People shouldn't label TT as a money hungry overlords.
Considering that your investor can jump ship, I think such presentation is a minimal if not negligible impact on their overall image.
I mean, imagine the stress level of the TT honchos knowing the big man is coming to grab your babies. You would absolutely do everything you can to convince the shareholers of the even more brighter future starting Apr. 29th and "possible source of money".
Hmm, this "Potential Take-Two Opportunities" column is looking a little bare. What will the shareholders think?
Hey, Bioshock was a pretty good game. Let's just slap it in there.
Sweet, problem solved!
Somewhere in the world, a man named Uwe's ears just perked up like nipples in the Arctic.
If done right I could see a Civ MMO being very fun.
I'm still waiting for the games industry to wake and realize there's only room for one big MMO at a time and WoW is it at the moment. Oh sure other ones can survive, but hitting it big? No chance.
As much as I hate the idea of financial people whoring out the Bioshock franchise at every possible opportunity ... the idea of exploring Rapture as part of a MMO is kinda, sorta interesting.
You know, if any game would make for an interesting movie, I think it's bioshock. It had the right vibe for one anyway. MMO or mobile game. . .ehhhhh. . .no.
How are they gonna pull off a Bioshock MMO? Millions of NPCs running around in rapture?
"Kill ten objectivists and come back to get a rewarded."
And please do not make a movie.
So gaming companies do Powerpoint too, eh? And there I thought it was limited to useless careers like mine. In any case, Bioshock would make a very poor choice for the mobile platform, it would never sell anything close to Tetris, whichm conversely, is a perfect mobile game. A movie is definitely a possibility and they could probably get away with an MMO, though I'd rather them not, as it will likely slaughter the great Bioshock universe with brainless PvP.
I'm more scared of the Bioshock mobile game than the MMO... though I'd rather they didn't do either for their sake.
@Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.: I'll grant you the storylines and customization, but the grindfest is still present. Add on the fact that it is damn hard to find a good party for the high difficulty/reward quests, and you are looking at several weeks worth of work just to earn an extra costume slot. They don't even have cool animations when you change costumes it's just... blorp, you've gained two new horns and hooves.
I'm waiting for champions online. Customizable powers too? Glee!
im not fond of either but id take a bioshock mmo over another shitty game tie in movie any day.
Of course the officers don't want the shareholders to accept EA's offers! If the shareholders sell directly to EA, the officers miss out on the bonuses they gave themselves in the event of a sale to EA! There's no altruism going on here. The CEO, CFO, CTO, etc are just trying to get their "golden parachutes". This wouldn't be the first time Take 2's officers have done some "self-enrichment" at the expense of stockholders.
[www.gamespot.com]
[www.sec.gov]
Who is going to be foolish to be something else related to Carnival Games?
@Kaljin: Make it a Randian libertarian paradise. It'll end in the perfect manner to set up Bioshock.
@Ghede: You weren't here for XP Smoothing were you? Levelling is seriously faster. I'll grant you the Task Force/Strike force difficulty, but that might just be bad luck. What server are/were you on?
This is the reason rapture was built(actually, it wasn't... but you got it)... Now "the weak" will make a shitty thing with a great, innovative concept...
Boy they sure are humping Bioshock like there's no tomorrow.
i'd play a MMO of Civilization if it was like a massive game of Risk style of play.
This is my new impression of Take-Two.
[www.penny-arcade.com]
Penny Arcade wins. As usual.