The BioShock Gallery
Three cities, and the boxes that sold them.
BioShock sold Rapture with a portrait: a Big Daddy and the Little Sister he guards. Japan kept both figures and recomposed them into an attack. The sequel kept the pairing and changed publishers. Infinite traded the sea for the sky and put its hero, Booker DeWitt, in front of a burning flag, the same painting on both sides of the Pacific. This shelf holds the pairs, with the histories and the questions behind them.
Every cover below is a door. Behind it sits the game's history, how it was made and how its own era received it, and behind that, the questions its fans still ask. Start anywhere. The doors all open.
BIOSHOCK
Irrational Games · Xbox 360 and Windows · 2007
America · 2007
The Big Daddy stands in the flooded hall, drill raised, the Little Sister small at his side with her syringe. A portrait of the pair.
Japan · Spike · 2008
Japan kept both figures and recomposed them: the Big Daddy lunges fist-first at the buyer. CERO D badge, Spike logo, NTSC-J mark.
The History
How BioShock was made, and how it was received: Rapture, the System Shock inheritance, and a 96 on Metacritic.
The Japanese Release
How was BioShock released in Japan? Spike published it, a full Japanese dub sold it, and the sequel changed publishers.
The Three Words
What does "would you kindly" mean in BioShock? A conditioning trigger, and the twist it was hiding. Spoiler warning on the page.
BIOSHOCK 2
2K Marin · PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows · 2010
Japan · D3 Publisher · 2010
The sequel's Japanese edition: new publisher, D3 Publisher, and a CERO Z adults-only rating worn plainly at the corner.
America · 2010
The American cover art: Subject Delta's drill fills the foreground, a Little Sister riding behind him, the glass of Rapture cracking at the right.
BIOSHOCK INFINITE
Irrational Games · PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows · 2013
America · 2013
Booker DeWitt, shotgun over his shoulder, in front of a burning flag. This copy is the pre-release printing, wearing a Rating Pending badge.
Japan · PlayStation 3 · 2013
The same Booker painting, dressed for Japan: PS3 banner, CERO D badge, and a PlayStation Move banner across the top.
The History
Five troubled years, a city in the sky, and 11 million copies: how Infinite was made, scored, and argued about.
The Songs
Why does BioShock Infinite have 1980s pop songs in 1912? Tears in the fabric of time, arranged for 1912.
The Inspiration
What inspired BioShock? The series' roots, in the creators' own words, before the series left the sea.