BioShock 2 not hugely successful

It was named early on as one of the big sales hopes of 2010, but Take Two’s BioShock 2 has not met the expectations placed upon it by the publisher, chief executive Ben Feder has admitted.

We’re in an entertainment business. The surprise factor is always going to be there. Sometimes they work for you and sometimes they work against you,” Feder told VentureBeat.

We are in the business of creating huge franchises and launching hits. Even BioShock 2 is profitable for the company and is a great success. The franchise is viable and has a lasting impact on consumers. It was ultimately successful, but not hugely successful. We are also looking forward to other hits coming this year.”

When pressed the exec admitted that, in his eyes, the lower than expected sales were most likely down to the influx of triple-A titles from rivals hitting the High Street at the same time in February of this year.

Your competitive set is always important,” he conceded.

One thing we saw with Red Dead Redemption was that there wasn’t much room in the market for anything but Red Dead. It works in a good way and a bad way. We sucked the oxygen out of the room with Red Dead. We haven’t seen NPD data yet, but I suspect it will show Red Dead had pretty good market share.”