Gemini1179 wrote...
Michael Gamble wrote...
Folks,
I don't represent whether or not EA funds us for any DLC content. EA supports us, don't worry about that. I help to manage some of that budget, yes, but my primary goal is to work with Casey (the executive producer) and the other creative visionaries around BioWare and create something we are proud of.
I can understand how Producers get a bad reputation sometimes - but most of us care passionately about the product we are putting out. Of course, having a financially successful game is important - but making something we are proud of, and something that's a very high quality is even more important to me.
More soon...And see, we still do read the forums
Mr. Gamble,
I do not envy you or Mr. Hudson. You both are willingly and perhaps as part of your job, putting yourselves in the line of fire. Let's dispense with the BS though, seriously. A team that cared so passionately about a product they are putting out would not have released ME3 willingly with the ending the way it was.
It's ok, we understand. EA, stock trading, budgets, fiscal years, etc. all played a factor in releasing an unfinished game. Yes, we know it was unfinished. It is glaringly obvious. From the blatant evidence of an 'Indoctrination' attempt to the incredible contradiction of pre-release statements by the dev team. I cannot believe that you or Mr. Hudson or even Mr. Walters would have said half the things you said if the ending that was released for Mass Effect 3 was always the originally intended ending.
You guys are usually masters of double-speak and teasing, but the frankness of a lot of the pre-release comments can only be attributed to the ME3 dev team's passion for what they were doing. For the end result to be so blatantly contradictory to all of this points only to pressure outside the dev team to release the product.
Mr. Woo has stated several times that we don't know the inner workings of the company and its interaction with EA, and are not going to. That's ok. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure things out.
EA bought a company that was deep into development of an MMO that features, off the top, a massive licensing fee. A company also simply cannot fund at least 2 original IP's and a MMO without seeing a return on investment. With the success of ME2, I suspect that it was encouraged that BioWare release a game each year to meet fiscal requirements and shareholder demands that returns be gotten. We know that ME3 was originally scheduled for Nov 11 release and was pushed back, probably due to a lot of pleading on your part and perhaps Mr. Hudson because the team knew it simply wasn't going to be ready. Now, combine that with the poor reception and sales of DA2 and the fact that the release quarter for SWTOR had been pushed back several times already, you got a first-quarter 2012 release (or 4th quarter 2011 release depending on how EA does their budget) that you couldn't move again because once the decision to move ME3 was made, EA needed a Christmas release and SWTOR was pushed up and with DA3 off in the distance, there was nothing on the slate for a BioWare release this year.
But in the end, there still wasn't enough time. The advertising division went into full gear and the team HAD to produce a game on time. Hence the ending.
Now, you can't come out and say any of this because you work for a publicly traded company. If Casey Hudson were to come out and say he was sorry or that they were pressured to release a game before they were able to finish it, not only would EA's stock take a hit, but the company would probably file a massive lawsuit against Mr. Hudson and anybody even remotely connected to his words.
So, we understand.
But again, even through all the canned responses, NOT ONE ME3 dev team member has come out and defended the current ending(s) as they are showing their 'passion' for them. Mr. Woo has said that he had no problem with it, or liked it, or didn't mind it- which alone says enough despite my 'picking apart' his words.
Look, we are a forgiving bunch, but the business model needs a bit of refinement if the BioWare team still wishes to produce a passionate and QUALITY product. Read: QUANTITY is not better.
I believe your team can fix this. This is not precident setting, nor is it about "tampering with art" or damaging "artistic integrity", it is about finishing a passion product that you love and that we love with the ending it deserves.
Goodl luck at PAX.
I read through most of this thread, and this comment jumped out at me, so I'm quoting it for truth.
There's just one thing that I want to stress, and that is the money Bioware and EA would be losing if they don't provide us with what we want. I think it'd be fair to say that the 60,000 people that hate the ending wouldn't buy any dlc if a new ending isn't provided. So if the average vocal fan would be willing to spend up to 20 dollars on dlc or expansions, that would be a total of 1.2 million dollars (probably less since the consoles get a cut). They would be stupid to not pander to their fans. As I'm sure that people who don't care about the ending aren't big fans of the Mass Effect series, and therefore wouldn't buy all of the dlc.
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