Today's ridiculous rumor: Bioshock for the Wii
by David Hinkle 
{ Sep 26th 2007 at 11:15AM }
Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey is of the mind that 2K's much-hyped game Bioshock could find itself on the PS3, Wii, PS2 and handhelds sometime in the future. Hickey says this won't happen for quite some time, though, stating that he believes the game could make its way onto these platforms sometime in 2009.While we've seen Rockstar's own RAGE engine adapted to the Wii in the Nintendo console version of their Table Tennis game, we wonder if the Unreal Engine III that powers Bioshock could even be augmented for use on the Wii. We've heard Epic's Mark Rein state that he doubts the system can handle it on multiple occasions, so we wonder if 2K could even get it to work with the Wii.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
vidGuy @ Sep 26th 2007 11:22AM
I also doubt the Wii could run the engine at a steady framerate. Is it possible to re-tool the game to scale down using a different engine for emulation? I imagine that would be pretty expensive though, so 2K may be happy with the 360 version's performance and leave it at that.
hvnlysoldr @ Sep 26th 2007 11:44AM
Killing little sisters with Wiimote controls? Instant AO
vidGuy @ Sep 26th 2007 11:52AM
Ok, reading the full quote it appears the "analyst" is predicting a spin-off game, which I think is entirely possible. It'd be built ground-up for Wii to use the best graphics engine available and the control scheme - probably wouldn't see release until 2009-2010.
David W. @ Sep 26th 2007 12:18PM
What VidGuy said makes much more sense. Seeing as Bioshock is one of the most advanced games on the 360 it would take a LOT of work to get it to the point where it could run on the Wii at all, much less WELL.
comtar @ Sep 26th 2007 1:13PM
Love Bioshock, but... yeah I highly doubt it, unless they ported the game back to the Unreal Tournament 2004 engine.
Is it entirely impossible? No. If Metroid Prime 3 proves anything it's that you can make moody atmosphere without bump-mapping and high rez textures, then again... System Shock 2 is still one of the scariest games of all time, and it's based off the Quake 1 / Unreal 1 hybrid engine... so that was proved long ago.
Bioshock's mood is just one of those that the game could use the original System Shock 2 engine and it would still be just as scary as it is now.
PsionicMonkey @ Sep 26th 2007 12:23PM
You know what would crack me up? If they rendered some sort of BioShock spin-off as a grittier version of those plasmid "movies" you get whenever you pick up a new power. That would probably fly on the Wii.
Or they just re-tool a lot of the areas to be more confined - or render things like backgrounds in a static fashion - to cut down on the extra assets that would have to be drawn. It wouldn't be -impossible- to do it on the Wii, it'd just present a quirky set of headaches and hurdles to overcome.
exolstice @ Sep 26th 2007 12:35PM
I'd love to see a Wii version of this game so I wouldn't have to upgrade my PC or purchase an Xbox.
troy @ Sep 26th 2007 12:35PM
Ha ha wake me when MP3:C comes out on XBOX 360 ha ha
ymmv @ Sep 26th 2007 12:53PM
I don't see the point of a Wii version. One of Bioshock's main features is how great it looks. Rapture is full of posters, signs and decorations in an art deco style so it looks like you're stepping into the thirties/fourties. It's simply a lot of fun just going through that world and admiring all the art. That would be lost completely in a Wii version because of its lores textures and lores resolution.
Nintendo has designed the Wii to be a simple low-tech console with a high concept controlling scheme. It was not designed for the next gen eye candy only a 360 or PS3 can provide. People seem to forget the Wii's hardware *really* is severely limited compared with the competition. All of the Wii hardware is directly bases on a gamecube, only 50% faster with twice the memory, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 are an order of magnitudes faster than their predecessors. The 360 CPU for example is at least 12 times faster than the Wii's CPU and that goes for everything else (GPU, RAM, memory bandwidth) as well. The PS3 goes even beyond the 360's specs. There's no way a Wii can keep up with that.
RD @ Sep 26th 2007 1:12PM
I love how people immediately assume that things cannot be done on the Wii. Quit quoting specifications of the processors across the board. You don't know exactly what you're talking about.
Instead, save your energy for when creators get more time with the Wii and are able to create environments just as artistic as anything the PS3 can do.
No, I did not say Hi Def, or quote a frame rate, or mention any type of processing power. The Wii is capable of more. Just wait. Just wait. Maybe not BioShock, but something remarkably like it...
Greg2k @ Sep 26th 2007 1:36PM
You guys talk like THERE'S NOTHING AS GOOD AS BIOSHOCK. I'm not saying it's bad, but hell, sliced bread still wins.
samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Sep 26th 2007 2:11PM
I'd much, much, much, much, much rather have a Ninja Gaiden II port/spin-off than a Bioshock port/spin-off.
Larz @ Sep 26th 2007 2:29PM
Meh, I wouldn't bother with the console version even if it came to PS3. The PC trumps consoles when it comes to FPS's. Bioshock looks, controls, and plays so much better on PC than 360 already.
Brian @ Sep 26th 2007 8:04PM
System Shock 2 is based on the Dark engine from the Thief games, not a Quake/Unreal hybrid.
This is evident in the excellent sound propagation, stealth capabilities, detailed item placement, and identical 3-state enemy AI (normal, suspicious, hostile).
Can you tell I just played it recently? :) Phenomenal game once you get past the dated graphics, and there are user mods to improve those.
comtar @ Sep 26th 2007 9:25PM
To Brian:
I try to play through System Shock 2 every year, although this year has been replaced with Bioshock, which I'm still working on. Metroid Prime 3 impresses me more then Bioshock at this point. I have to agree with Zero Punctuation that Bioshock is System Shock 2... so I think being a hardcore System Shock 2 fan, Bioshock isn't as impressive to me cause alot of things I'm doing, I've done before.
Not to dis Bioshock at all, I love it. It's probably one of the best games this year, so far, it's probably going to be #2 on my list of top 10 so far... Metroid Prime 3 is just impressing me more cause there are more vast outdoor areas, and voiceovers is something all of Nintendo should be doing more. I seriously believe that Zelda needs to have voice over acting like Metroid has, bring Zelda to a production level similar to Final Fantasy.
I recall my statement about System Shock 2 using a hybrid of the Quake and Unreal hybrid engine, for now... When I use to look at the code, there was specific files called Quake and Unreal in the original installation of the game... I looked up a while ago the Dark Engine was made up of early beta build engines of Quake and Unreal, or at least used aspects of both... But now I look up the Dark Engine and people say it's a "visual hybrid" of both. Even Wikipedia says "It looks like Quake but uses Unreal skyboxes." So, I can't get a stright answer on this right now.
comtar @ Sep 26th 2007 9:24PM
To Greg2k,
If it helps you feel better, I think Metroid Prime 3 is better then Bioshock right now. But I come from a sad state of mind that I've played Bioshock before a few years ago called as a game called System Shock 2. Bioshock is flooring people now, like System Shock 2 floored me 6 years ago.
System Shock 2 was suggested to me by a blind woman, I am not kidding. She said she heard her brother playing the game and it freaked her out.
avant @ Sep 27th 2007 6:35AM
There's an excellent "making of" feature on System Shock 2 in this months Edge (UK) Magazine. It states they used the same gfx engine as Thief. Really good article, I recommend taking a look :)
wiiboy101gezza @ Sep 27th 2007 11:46AM
why would a custom wii hardware require the unreal 3 engine it could easily run bioshock with a custom wii engine
the wii is a custom closed system A TRUE CONSOLE
360/ps3 are faked pcs
wii can easily run bioshock in 480p and mimic the shaders via its TEV UNIT
PLEASE APPLY COMMONSENCE WII IS A WII NOT A PC IOT DOSNT REQUIRE PC ENGINES WAKE UP JESUS IT AINT A PC ITS """CUSTOM""" DESIGN
diggmediggyou @ Sep 28th 2007 3:04AM
Bioshock is perhaps this year’s sleeper hit on the 360 and PC, no doubt this is the most wanted game at the moment.
But i don't think that necessary for Wii. They have a lot of nice games.