-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Irrational Games shutting down, 2K takes over BioShock, KL in new 15 person DD studio
- Thread starter Quentyn
- Start date
NYCmetsfan
Banned
Didn't a very similar thing happen with movies? There were a lot more movies being made at the turn of the century and silent era but things collapses or greatly consolidated went sound came around and it got even worse with color and SFX and the Blockbuster. It seems like only now is the Film Industry having midsize projects anymore a long with a pretty healthy indie market. Game making seems so labor intensive. Having a staff of 100s for 2 plus years in addition to marketing and tech costs all to sell a product which nets you what $30-$40 bucks? (I don't know what the manufacturing and retail cut is)
XANDER CAGE
Member
Man...
Sorry to hear that man, terrible news.
Hope it works out for you and good luck.
GillianSeed79
Member
Oh wow, I hope Shawn (fartofwar) lands on his feet. Infinite was my GOTY this year and it was one of my favorite games in recent memory. The team at Irrational did an amazing job. Good luck sir!
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Some of my favorite games have come out of that studio. Sad days.
I can understand where Ken is coming from but it seems like a pretty cold decision for the rest of the team.
I can understand where Ken is coming from but it seems like a pretty cold decision for the rest of the team.
silver.tongue
Member
What?!
But Infinite was a great game! What the hell!?
But Infinite was a great game! What the hell!?
Bony Manifesto
Member
Because that needs an awful lot of up-front capital, even for a small studio.
How many of those units sold at full price though?
Omegasquash
Member
Shit. I hope that everyone gets snapped up quick.
This will never happen because fans would not accept it. People want the graphics, voice acting, motion capture, etc. A lot of this stuff is nice to look at and listen to, but on the flip side it limits games and extends development time.
Buckethead
Banned
This is a bummer, best of luck to Levine.
krypt0nian
Banned
God damn it. =(
maquiladora
Member
Cow Mengde
Banned
Because the cost of developing is higher than the multi-million selling get profits.
Live Free or Die
Banned
Wow. Wonder if Bioshock Vita will be made by Sony now?
Acidote
Member
Smart move. The fishing has begun.
Anticitizen One
Banned
The reason BI kept getting delayed is because someone (not sure if it was Ken or Take Two) kept changing the vision of the game. What was originally supposed to be a guy entering a city built by patriots of colonial America to rescue a girl with telekinetic abilities ended up being about a hardcore christian convincing people to build him a city in the sky to trap his daughter who has the ability to travel through different dimensions. The gameplay was also changed to be more simple "COD style" for casuals to play.
If they stuck to the original vision the game would have been out by 2012 and been far cheaper to make and arguably far superior.
If they stuck to the original vision the game would have been out by 2012 and been far cheaper to make and arguably far superior.
They take 5-7 years for almost every game they make, so even when they sell millions upon millions they can still lose money.
A single game bombing also becomes a huge problem because when even things like Spec Ops cost $50+ million, you have to sell a ton of copies to make up that loss.
Borderlands and NBA come out on a regular schedule, but Gearbox and the NBA have significant profit sharing on those as they own their respective IPs.
captmcblack
Member
This industry is eating everyone - and some people want to double-down on the things that make it do so. 
Hope everyone involved lands on their feet...
Hope everyone involved lands on their feet...
Blue Ninja
Member
Holy fuck. Why shut it down? If Ken wanted to leave, couldn't he just, you know, leave?
Aquamarine
Member
There could be more problems / issues unrelated to Bioshock Infinite's sales performance. And, as said before, 4 million units sold does not mean 4 million units sold at $60 where $29 goes to the publisher.
Yeah, I still need to play The Bureau. Back on topic, I hope everyone that lost their job lands on their feet.
HOLY SHIT! This is sad and great news all at once. It sucks that Irrational is shutting down and people may lose their jobs but it's GREAT that Ken is going back to a smaller team and focusing on a core gaming audience.
However, I'm concerned about this all digital format and 15 man team. I want a hardcore RPG like Levine made with System Shock 2 but I don't want a mid-tier production value game, I want a AAA game. A fifteen man team doesn't sound like a big enough team to create a AAA game so I'm a bit worried, only time will tell but for now I can only trust Levine won't make something like a mobile game.
However, I'm concerned about this all digital format and 15 man team. I want a hardcore RPG like Levine made with System Shock 2 but I don't want a mid-tier production value game, I want a AAA game. A fifteen man team doesn't sound like a big enough team to create a AAA game so I'm a bit worried, only time will tell but for now I can only trust Levine won't make something like a mobile game.
It's possible that Levine expressed a desire to leave Irrational to the 2k higher-ups, and without him there it's possible that they didn't foresee a bright future for the studio given Infinite's troubled development.
Obviously I'm just speculating, but it seems like Levine and his creative vision was the only thing keeping Irrational alive.
Dr. Black Jack
Member
I said last year that I expected Take-Two to shut down Irrational Games once Bioshock Infinite is released. Quite simply, because I couldn't imagine that Infinite would be able to make a profit, after so many years of development. Once nothing happened for months and months after its release, I thought Take-Two wouldn't close down Irrational after all. Apparently I was wrong.
Not sure if Levine's story is to be trusted. He's still remaining at Take-Two, so I can imagine that he's not quite faithful with the way he tells the story. I believe him when he says that he wants to work with a smaller team again, but then again I also believe that it wasn't a completely voluntary decision.
It's nice to see that Take-Two gives the talent room to land on their feet, however. And I'm confident that Ken Levine's games become more enjoyable when he's working with a smaller budget. I doubt that he wanted Infinite to become so shootery either, it's just what needed to be done in order to sell the game to a huge audience.
Not sure if Levine's story is to be trusted. He's still remaining at Take-Two, so I can imagine that he's not quite faithful with the way he tells the story. I believe him when he says that he wants to work with a smaller team again, but then again I also believe that it wasn't a completely voluntary decision.
It's nice to see that Take-Two gives the talent room to land on their feet, however. And I'm confident that Ken Levine's games become more enjoyable when he's working with a smaller budget. I doubt that he wanted Infinite to become so shootery either, it's just what needed to be done in order to sell the game to a huge audience.
Sucks about the lost jobs.
Serously Shawn if you and Jeff start a podcast I'll pay you in like real money, or dogie coins. Pls
Plot Summary
This is both super sad but also super exciting as a direction.
I have no idea what the small group's next project is but digital delivery only, "as part of fostering a relationship with fans", could be an indication of regular update cycles. For narrative driven games, that could get quite interesting. I'm in! Best of luck to all of them on their transition
This is both super sad but also super exciting as a direction.
I have no idea what the small group's next project is but digital delivery only, "as part of fostering a relationship with fans", could be an indication of regular update cycles. For narrative driven games, that could get quite interesting. I'm in! Best of luck to all of them on their transition
Art Teitlebaum
Member
Well, Fuck.
BI was my GotY. Hope the staff finds new work fast.
Industry is shrinking fast.
BI was my GotY. Hope the staff finds new work fast.
Industry is shrinking fast.
EmCeeGramr
Member
See, that is the problem.
The expectations may be unrealistic, but they are what a game that costs that much needs to sell.
RottenTanuki
Member
2K China is probably where the next Bioshock will be coming from.
At least many of the surviving Japanese studios seem reasonably smart with money, probably because the mid tier and lower mid tier developers still exist. Most western development seems to be AAA or indie so when shit goes down it'll be outright apocalyptic.
That's kind d of the problem, yeah. It's not so much 2K caught the SE crazy where they go "we need more CT port sales to justify a new Chrono game!" after selling several hundred thousand, it's a game that finally exited development hell and they can just HOPE for a decent return at this point.
What a shame. BI was one of my favorite games of the year. Best of luck for those looking for jobs.
Celestial Mortal
Member
There's always a studio. There's always a man. There's always a story.
Similar threads
- Locked