Irrational Games is currently beavering away on Bioshock, the game that's been widely dubbed the spiritual successor to the dev's acclaimed System Shock 2, but it turns out the studio could as easily have been developing System Shock 3 - according to Irrational boss Ken Levine, however, EA just wasn't very keen on the idea of a sequel.
Levine has reportedly revealed in an article appearing in PC Gamer (US) magazine that he actually put together a story design for System Shock 3 which EA had, but said that the publisher "didn't give a shit. It's just not their thing".
"One of the reasons I wasn't interested [in System Shock 3] is EA just didn't give a shit about that game", he said, continuing: "I think if EA were to do it, it would've been just a regular first-person shooter with a boss monster at the end".
"They [EA] didn't see it as big brand and I didn't want that uphill battle", Levine further explained. Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to praise Bioshock publisher 2K Games.
"We have a publisher who cares about this game, and they believe in this kind of game. 2K Games is the company that helped reinvigorate Elder Scrolls [with The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion] and Civilization. They believe in core games", Levine said.
Why is it they insist on making sequels to games people couldnt give a rats ass about. If they would actually listen to their customers and make games we want perhaps they would make more money! ALA Lucasarts and Sam & Max System Shock 2 was a damn fine game and deserves a sequel.
Every time a game sells by word of mouth it is a failure for the games industry. Such is System Shock and System Shock 2. Ever checked what price they go for on online auction sites?
I feel sorry for all the great companies that have been absorbed into the EA web. I never played System shock 2 but it looked great. The best thing with the EA logo on are thing they have just published. bastards.
EA didn't see it as a big brand, heh? I propose the following 3-point plan:
1. Sit them (the EA bosses) down with the game and have them play at least 40% of it 2. Hand them a copy of the original PCGamer review 3. Set them in a room with Kieron Gillen
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