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BioShock Vita in 'paper design stage'

Irrational Games' Ken Levine says Sony portable installment will be different from Infinite, previous two games, "have its own voice."

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The 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo served as a premiere for the PlayStation Vita, and Sony trotted out a number of third-party developers to promise support for the device. One such developer was Ken Levine, who announced that a new installment in Irrational Games' popular BioShock franchise is coming to the handheld.

If Columbia winds up on the PS Vita, expect it to be a side story.
If Columbia winds up on the PS Vita, expect it to be a side story.

However, it appears as if gamers shouldn't expect BioShock on the PS Vita any time soon. In an interview with Joystiq, Levine said that the game is still "in the paper design stage." He also confirmed that the current plan for the game is to not deliver a port of Irrational's multiplatform console release BioShock Infinite or a rehash of the first two BioShock games.

"I think for us, the idea we have is a really good expression on a platform like that [Vita]," Levine said. "It's a different goal. And it has to sort of have its own voice in the franchise. If it just feels like a quieter voice in the franchise, I don't think that works. For us…I'd rather do something that's an experiment and that's a little different. And is unique for the franchise."

Levine also discussed the possibility of outsourcing the PS Vita version of BioShock to another developer. While acknowledging that the team has spoken to some "extraordinary people," Levine said that Irrational is wary about handing control of its IP off to someone else.

"We have a Metacritic average of something like 88 or 89 percent," he said. "And the way you do that is you're very careful with your bets…we made that bet and now we're very carefully proceeding to make sure that it's a game that stands tall within the franchise."

For more on BioShock Infinite, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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