Ken Levine says BioShock nearly went nowhere and was almost canceled: "We can't make those games because they don't sell"

2 years ago by alessandro to c/pcgaming

System Shock 2's performance didn't give publishers much confidence
BroBot9000 33 points 2 years ago

We can’t make art because of capitalism. Fucking sad.

They don’t sell because no fucking company wants to market a product that they can’t milk every fucking cent from. They aren’t producing anything of value, only subscriptions, game passes and addictive gambling loot boxes.

Games as a service is a scam. Stop preordering the latest AAA wank and support indie devs.

More standalone experiences that are unique and creative instead of factory produced sludge.

path: 0 11158587, hotness: undefined, score: 33, children: 2
Zahille7 13 points 2 years ago

Abiotic Factor, Going Medieval, Project Zomboid, Selaco, Hedon: Bloodrite, Tainted Grail, Dread Delusion, Cloudpunk, Paleo Pines...

These are all fairly recent or new indies (except with PZ) with at least 30-40 hours worth of playtime each. A couple of these titles are multiplayer as well.

path: 0 11158587 11160846, hotness: undefined, score: 13, children: 0
ILikeBoobies 2 points 2 years ago

You would run into the same problem with communism or any other economic system

“Please give us food so we can make something nobody wants”

path: 0 11158587 11252479, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
Zeke 21 points 2 years ago

Bioshock is one of my favorite games. Something I can play over and over again.

path: 0 11154490, hotness: undefined, score: 21, children: 0
brygphilomena 9 points 2 years ago

"they don't sell"

So why even try? No matter that there isn't a similar game to even compare how well it sells to.

A good game, regardless of whether it's in the current trend WILL sell.

If all you do is look at what is currently selling, you'll miss the gaps where an entire group is waiting to spend their money should something good fill it.

path: 0 11160761, hotness: undefined, score: 9, children: 1
CitizenKong 2 points 2 years ago

Guardians of the Galaxy was a good game that didn't sell.

path: 0 11160761 11165982, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0
therealjcdenton 7 points 2 years ago

I think they mean break even.

path: 0 11156301, hotness: undefined, score: 7, children: 0
DarkThoughts 1 point 2 years ago

BioShock would be a great game for a TV adaptation ala Fallout, and I think Ella Purnell would even make for an amazing Elizabeth.

path: 0 11158090, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
pcgaming
pcgaming

@lemmy.ca

login for more options
15652
8570
5026

For PC gaming news and discussion. PCGamingWiki

Rules:

  1. Be Respectful.
  2. No Spam or Porn.
  3. No Advertising.
  4. No Memes.
  5. No Tech Support.
  6. No questions about buying/building computers.
  7. No game suggestions, friend requests, surveys, or begging.
  8. No Let's Plays, streams, highlight reels/montages, random videos or shorts.
  9. No off-topic posts/comments, within reason.
  10. Use the original source, no clickbait titles, no duplicates. (Submissions should be from the original source if possible, unless from paywalled or non-english sources. If the title is clickbait or lacks context you may lightly edit the title.)

go to feed...