Remember when Ken Levine stepped on stage at Sony’s E3 2011 presser and announced he was making a BioShock game for PlayStation Vita? Well, you’d be forgiven for wondering what happened to the pocket-sized entry in this acclaimed franchise, because we’ve heard nothing of it since. Apparently, Levine isn’t too keen on making early announcements, but dropped the news nonetheless due to Sony’s request as a means of showcasing early support for PS Vita.
Fast-forward to the end of 2012 and Levine has finally broken silence on the project, and it appears that while he’s still enthusiastic about the idea, the title hasn’t really gotten anywhere. To be more specific, it’s in the hands of ‘business people’ at Take-Two and Sony. This isn’t exactly the most encouraging news to hear; in fact, we’re starting to get pretty concerned about whether or not the game will ever see the light of day.
Not to beat a dead horse, but PS Vita has had a rough time of it since launching. Sales have been struggling, and a lack of killer software hasn’t help matters. While things have improved, it’s still getting trounced by the 3DS and on its home turf is even being outsold frequently by PlayStation Portable. These inauspicious series of events will undoubtedly render a mega publisher like Take-Two apprehensive about investing in the platform, and it makes sense to us that the reason why BioShock hasn’t really gotten anywhere is because the company has got cold feet.
This is a crying shame too, as a game like BioShock would definitely help attract new punters to Sony’s latest handheld. Sadly, the PS Vita’s sales are hardly going to convince the suits at Take-Two to give the project the go-ahead right now, which is even more reason why 2013 may make or break the platform. Still, there’s always the chance that Sony may opt to fund the game itself.
Right now though, it isn’t looking too promising for BioShock on PS Vita.