While Take-Two has a number of solid properties, such as BioShock and Borderlands, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto is unquestionably its largest and most important franchise. However, sluggish sales of recent GTA efforts, from the handheld Chinatown Wars to the 360-exclusive DLC Episodes from Liberty City, have Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter worried about the future of Take-Two’s flagship brand.
“Has the Grand Theft Auto franchise peaked? Given the strength of GTA IV in 2008, the question may seem misplaced, but our concern is that the very highly rated new GTA content for Xbox as well as PSP and DS did not perform up to expectations in 2009,” Scahchter notes, while addressing potential criticisms to his claim. “Now, we very clearly understand that these do not represent ‘true’ new GTAtitles. However, the fact is that these were compelling titles, attractively priced, and reasonably well-promoted, yet they fell relatively flat.”
Considering well over ten million people purchased GTA IV, the lackluster sales for these spin-off efforts is even more evident. Does the GTA name no longer carry the weight it once did? Or, are gamers simply waiting for a game that doesn’t take place in Liberty City?
Not to be overshadowed by BioWare’s latest effort to depict Mass Effect 2 in one epic cover, 2K Games has released the box art for BioShock 2 — and it doesn’t win any points for originality or cleanliness. Just like the first game’s cover, it features Big Daddy (this time he’s you!) and Little Sister (not you). Only now, everything’s behind cracked, grimy glass and the logo’s covered in barnacles. Eww.
You can lay your eyes on high-res versions of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC covers for the sequel in the gallery below. You might want to put on some rubber gloves and grab a can of Scrubbing Bubbles before you click on ‘em, though.
Having already taken a brief tour of Rapture through the eyes of a Big Daddy a few months back, we were okay with the fact that BioShock 2 looked and seemed to play very much like the original game — only this time encased in a huge pressurized diving suit. Now that we’ve played through a full area of the game, our initial assessment more or less holds up, but that’s not to say there aren’t several noteworthy — and even surprising — changes and additions to expect when the game arrives next spring.
Warning: We’ve done our best to keep what you’re about to read as spoiler-free as possible, but the extremely sensitive should tread cautiously beyond this point.
Grand Theft Auto has always been heavy on satire, making exaggerated observations about the world for the sake of a few cheap yuks. It’s readily apparent on the in-game radio programs, which poke fun at both extremes of political talk radio. The in-game TV programming does much the same (if you haven’t, we suggest you make time to watch “Republican Space Rangers“). It looks like The Ballad of Gay Tony will continue the tradition with “Princess Robot Bubblegum,” an anime parody to be featured on the in-game CNT channel. The show will serve as part of the new TV lineup in the upcoming expansion.
In Rockstar’s own words, “Princess Robot Bubblegum” features the hallmarks of more than a few animes: “Incomprehensible narrative, wretched dialogue and creepy, misogynistic sexuality.” See it all in the trailer above.
If you diligently avoided last week’s GameTrailers TV due to all the BioShock 2 spoilers, the trailer you see above can help provide you with some water-soaked gameplay — sans all the direct information. We feel it’s safe to tell you that 2K Games gave this clip the title “Siren Alley” because of an area in Rapture of the same name, a place that we never got to see the in the first game.
Even if you don’t watch the video above, you should take one thing from it: The “worldwide embargo” gets lifted this Thursday and a flood of information on the game is sure to follow. If you’re really trying to remain spoiler-free on BioShock 2, now may be a good time to go dark.
Grand Theft Auto franchise may have ‘peaked,’ according to analyst originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
