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Canadians can enter the Borderlands for $40

by Xav de Matos { Oct 17th 2009 at 11:30AM }

Much like Batman: Arkham Asylum's sale price during its initial release, Canadian retailers are giving players a break with the upcoming shooter Borderlands. For a limited time, Futureshop, Walmart and Best Buy are offering the Gearbox title for the discounted price of $39.96 on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Borderlands hits stores on October 20, giving Canadians plenty of time to dig out of their snow covered homes.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Technical foul: 2K looking into framerate issues in NBA 2K10

by David Hinkle { Oct 8th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Posting on the official 2K forums, an admin has stated that the developer is aware of reported framerate issues encountered by several players in NBA 2K10. He's also put out a call to readers to describe any encounters with the slowdown, with the hopes that problems can be identified and resolved. The thread has grown to 25 pages at the time of writing this post.

If you've run into the problem yourself, get over to the relevant thread and recount that traumatic experience with as much detail as you can. Heck of a way to celebrate a franchise's 10th anniversary, eh?

[Thanks, Mark!]

2K bringing P.B. Winterbottom, Axel and Pixel to XBLA

by Justin McElroy { Aug 26th 2009 at 12:14PM }

click for more pixels (and Axels, we suppose)

It's likely been a while since you've thought of Odd Gentlemen's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, the extremely promising puzzle platformer that appeared on our radar during GDC 2008. Here's an update: We got the great news from 2K that it will bring the game exclusively to XBLA in early 2010.

In the same missive, 2K also confirmed the Czech-developed point-and-click adventure, Axel and Pixel (which looks similarly delightful in the below screens and the game's official site), as another XBLA exclusive. Luckily, the wait's not so brutal, as you'll only have to hold out until this fall to give it a try.

Gallery: Axel and Pixel (XBLA)

Borderlands DLC 'already in motion'

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 21st 2009 at 9:00PM }

Borderlands isn't even out yet. Sure, you know about its three million weapon combinations, but you also know that's not enough. Don't worry, because Gearbox is on the job, as company president (and consummate yarn-spinner) Randy Pitchford informs Eurogamer that DLC is "already in motion." He says that "people are going to be surprised" by what the content is, and how soon it will arrive. He adds that Gearbox will be monitoring what players want after the game launches in October, so the company can adjust DLC plans accordingly.

An announcement regarding the first batch of DLC should be made "soon." We have no way of knowing what the DLC will be, but we're assuming that exploding spiders and flaming midgets will be involved.

'Early 2010' is a 'realistic' release for BioShock 2 [update]

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 20th 2009 at 9:00AM }

Update: Call it a failure in translation. The representative meant PAX in Seattle and not PAX East in Boston. The company currently has no plans for PAX East. The rep followed up that "'early 2010' is a much more realistic release date than 'second quarter 2010.'"

Speaking to a 2K Games representative at GamesCom, Joystiq learned that a new BioShock 2 trailer is set to be revealed at next year's PAX East show, which will also be host to a strong presence from the company. With the undersea sequel still being promoted during the last week of March, we were able confirm the obvious implication: BioShock 2 won't be out during the cluttered first quarter of 2010.

Instead, it seems we'll make our long-awaited return to Rapture in the second half of the first half of 2010.

Get a MotionPlus with NHL 2K10 in Canada

by JC Fletcher { Aug 17th 2009 at 5:45PM }

Nintendo has already, to the surprise of many, partnered with EA to bundle MotionPlus peripherals with sports games. Now, according to a Canadian retail listing, the company is collaborating with another third party on a bundle. Futureshop lists an NHL 2K10 package featuring 2K Sports' hockey game (and its utterly terrifying box art) and a MotionPlus, for $69.99 (about $63 USD). Amazon.ca also shows the same bundle at a $10 discount.

These seemingly Canada-exclusive bundles will ship concurrently with the standalone release on September 15.

[Via GoNintendo]

Oblivion, Bioshock bundle doesn't feature Game of the Year edition

by David Hinkle { Jun 18th 2009 at 6:58PM }

Well, the Bioshock and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion bundle just got a lot less interesting. We put in word to Bethesda's Pete Hines asking which version of Oblivion would be included in the bundle, and he got back to us with this most sad news: It's the original game. That means it's not the Game of the Year edition including Shivering Isles, the lengthy expansion featuring the hilarious Daedric Prince of Madness, Sheogorath.

Borderlands planning on October release

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 8th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Gearbox has confirmed its casual E3 mention to Joystiq that it plans to release Borderlands this October. A company representative told us today that it's looking forward to breaking new ground this fall when the "role-playing shooter with strong co-op and split-screen gameplay" is released. The rep also confirmed that the post-apocalyptic action game will launch simultaneously on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Borderlands had been banging around for a while, then disappeared for an awkward period of time before ultimately reemerging – think: butterfly – with a new art style, which freshened up the title and removed it from "Fallout clone" territory. We'll have our E3 impression of the title up soon.

Gallery: Borderlands

Mafia II trailer is all snow covered streets, bullet ridden corpses

by David Hinkle { Jun 1st 2009 at 11:59PM }

Wiseguys finish first, and it's usually thanks to gallons of unwillingly donated blood and plenty of expended bullets, as this Mafia II trailer demonstrates. The family always comes first (unless you're Fredo, of course), and never lets anyone get in its way. If they try, well, you need only reference the above trailer to see how such problems are solved.

Essential reading: Joystiq impressions: Mafia II

BioShock 2: Simultaneous release on Xbox 360, PS3 & PC [update]

by David Hinkle { May 29th 2009 at 11:13AM }

We've been waiting on platform confirmation for 2K's upcoming BioShock 2 for some time now, and now we finally know which systems the title will release for. VG247 confirmed with 2K that the game will release "on PS3, 360 and PC on 30th October, just for the record." It should be noted that October 30 is the European release date for the game, and that it's already been confirmed for a November 3 release in North America.

With the game releasing on multiple platforms on day one, it means that PS3 enthusiasts won't miss out on the fun due to timed exclusivity this go round.

Update: We contacted 2K to clarify the statements that VG247 received, and it confirmed that a simultaneous Xbox 360, PS3 and PC release would occur in North America as well. Huzzah!

BioShock 2's Big Daddy revealed on GamePro cover

by Griffin McElroy { May 21st 2009 at 5:30PM }

GamePro is promising that its upcoming July issue will blow the doors off of the sequel to 2K's undersea shooter, BioShock. Of course, by the time it hits newsstands, you'll probably be full to the gills with all the the BioShock 2 details you can handle -- we're sure to hear a ton about the game during E3.

Fortunately, GamePro recently offered a delicious morsel to its potential readers, uploading the Big Daddy-infused cover of the upcoming issue to the mag's online edition. You can check out the full cover -- and the design for BioShock 2's diving suit-wearing protagonist -- after the break. As a point of reference, here's the original Big Daddy. And here's a poster for the hilarious, heartfelt Adam Sandler comedy Big Daddy. And here's professional wrestler Big Daddy V! Wait, we forgot what we were doing ...

[Thanks, Storm Eagle!]

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GDC09: 2K as confused about 'Sea of Dreams' as we are

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 24th 2009 at 4:26PM }

This is getting ridiculous. After confirming that the Sea of Dreams subtitle had been dropped from BioShock 2 and then confirming that it hadn't been dropped, it seems like 2K is taking too many of its own plasmids. Following a serious back and forth regarding the game's name at GDC, 2K eventually settled on "no comment." The company says that there should be an official answer by the end of the week.

Kind-hearted folk that we are, we've decided to help out 2K marketing by putting the question to a key demographic: Joystiq readers!

BioShock 2 not waiving Sea of Dreams subtitle

by Richard Mitchell { Mar 23rd 2009 at 8:44PM }

It looks like someone at 2K missed the memo. After confirming last week to Joystiq that BioShock 2 had dropped its Sea of Dreams subtitle, 2K has now unconfirmed the news to Eurogamer. So, to reiterate, the full title is, in fact, BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams. It's a shame because we were really hoping to pitch a new subtitle. Alas, it looks like BioShock 2: Big Daddy Day Care just wasn't meant to be.

Joystiq will be spending some quality time with the game in the very near future. Stay tuned.

We really want this new BioShock art book

by Justin McElroy { Mar 18th 2009 at 8:30AM }

We know how it is. You're standing at your local department store/Cracker Barrel gift shop/hotel mini-bar and you just can't find the perfect gift for that special video game blog in your life. Hey, we've all been there. This year, we're going to make it easy on you: You should get us ... err, rather, your favorite video game blog, whichever that may be, this new BioShock art book.

Breaking the Mold: Developer's Edition is 174 pages, $24.99, is now available for pre-order and will make us love, prize and cherish you above all other readers from now until the end times. Did we mention there's free shipping?

2K exec criticizes casual titles on Wii

by David Hinkle { Jan 14th 2009 at 2:41PM }

2K Games Global President Christoph Hartmann doesn't see 2009 as a great year for casual publishers. He sees the console flooded in a flurry of casual games, what he dubs "crappy titles." He thinks that for every ten casual titles produced, publishers expect two to be hits, financing the other eight. The problem is that all of those titles flood the market, making it tougher for casual games to prosper and only servies to confuse consumers.

He points to his own 2K-published Carnival Games as an example. "Had we released it last week, it would have been much tougher," he says. "There's far too much stuff in the Wii market [now] and it's hard to shine."

Regardless of a game's focus, we've always been big advocates of fun. If a game is only a collection of minigames, it's fine so long as they're fun to play. We think even pushing for that ten can mean that more than two are engaging and not "crappy," as he puts it. What do you all think? Too many casual games out there?

[Via Joystiq]