160 réponses à ce sujet

[MingWolf]

yesikareyes wrote...

As a response to Farbautisonn:

Paul Tassi asks the fans:

1. What could EA do to turn your perception of them around?

2. Will you continue to buy EA games after what's happened in recent months?

What could EA do to turn my perception of them around?  Quite frankly, a little bit more honesty, a little better customer relationships, and a little bit more humility would make perceive them 100% better.

In recent years, I have seen plenty of business malpractice which includes misrepresentative marketing, not promising what is delivered, and outright ignoring customers while pretending to be listening.  I have also seen practices such as censoring controversial topics, and their inability to admit to failure of any kind.  As a consumer, I would much rather deal with a company that is honest than one that hides behind a veil while simultaneously trying to reach for my wallet. 

Will I continue to buy EA games?  Perhaps.  It depends a lot on product quality, and again, EA as a business and how they treat me as a customer, and how honest they are in promoting and selling their products.  After Bioware released Dragon Age 2, I made myself say that Mass Effect 3 would be my last EA product (since it was the last game of the Mass Effect trilogy and despite some personal malfeelings about Dragon Age 2, I wanted to finish that last chapter).  But then, things change.  If EA can turn my perceptions about them, I might be more inclined to revisit them in the future.

[Mannie89]

MingWolf wrote...

yesikareyes wrote...

As a response to Farbautisonn:

Paul Tassi asks the fans:

1. What could EA do to turn your perception of them around?

2. Will you continue to buy EA games after what's happened in recent months?

What could EA do to turn my perception of them around?  Quite frankly, a little bit more honesty, a little better customer relationships, and a little bit more humility would make perceive them 100% better.

In recent years, I have seen plenty of business malpractice which includes misrepresentative marketing, not promising what is delivered, and outright ignoring customers while pretending to be listening.  I have also seen practices such as censoring controversial topics, and their inability to admit to failure of any kind.  As a consumer, I would much rather deal with a company that is honest than one that hides behind a veil while simultaneously trying to reach for my wallet. 

Will I continue to buy EA games?  Perhaps.  It depends a lot on product quality, and again, EA as a business and how they treat me as a customer, and how honest they are in promoting and selling their products.  After Bioware released Dragon Age 2, I made myself say that Mass Effect 3 would be my last EA product (since it was the last game of the Mass Effect trilogy and despite some personal malfeelings about Dragon Age 2, I wanted to finish that last chapter).  But then, things change.  If EA can turn my perceptions about them, I might be more inclined to revisit them in the future.

it seemed with the release of dragon age 2 people started viewing EA and Biowware as one in the same more
imo

Their business practice of releasing quick sequels with need for speed specificaly was being done with Bioware's Franchises to achieve the same level of yearly high sales .

[gbemery]

Do you think they are listening? Can they really hear me? ....  what if they are watching too?

[yesikareyes]

It's not too late to send in your questions! Just send it in whenever

[kingtigernz]

It's a shame the gaming industry is very much a monopolistic market.

[yuncas]

Impressively shameless bump because I' d like to hear what Mr.Tassi has to say.

[Kreidian]

yesikareyes wrote...

Paul Tassi asks the fans:

What could EA do to turn your perception of them around?

Will you continue to buy EA games after what's happened in recent months?

I don't much care about EA so I really don't care what they might or might not do. I care more about Bioware's reputation. What I would like to see from them is simply honesty and action. Don't hide behind bull**** PR phrases like "artistic integrity" when the current ending is what actually violates the artistic integrity of the entire franchise.
More then that, man up and tell people you will be changing the ending. Again none of this "clarification" bull****. They should change the ending because simply put the fans deserve it.

I should add: Changing EA's perception is not something that will be done overnight. There is no magic formula for this one. They got their bad image by their own actions. If they want to improve people's oppinions they should do so with action, not PR. Act like a reputable company, show your customers more respect, eventually people will start perceiveing you in a positive like.
People's perception of you is based on your reputation, not platitudes.

I'm not planning on buying any EA games of any kind in the foreseeable future. What few EA games I might have been interested in I have no desire to purchase at the moment. I don't say that to be mean or vindictive. Mass Effect is by far the one title I am most interested in. But the ending leaves me completely unmotivated to play the game further. So I just don't feel there's any point in buying anything Mass Effect related. And if that's the case there's really no point in even looking at any other EA titles comming out right now.

Modifié par Kreidian, 05 avril 2012 - 05:57 .

[Weskerr]

For Paul Tassi: http://www.businessw...-3-Extended-Cut

Do you believe this gesture is enough to satisfy customers dissatisfied with the ending? It's free, but it also does not do what most people want: a complete overhaul of the ending.

Modifié par Weskerr, 05 avril 2012 - 01:35 .

[yesikareyes]

Paul Tassi has just released an article regarding the new DLC! Check it out and send in your questions.

[rfalzar]

So I just read Paul's article on the clarification stuff. A lot of the fans upset with the ending want more options/closure, not clarity. I for one have some faith that Bioware has something impressive in store for fans down the road in the form of DLC both pre-ending and post-ending, but I have gotten my hopes crushed in the past. IMO simply clarifying the ending won't work to satisfy the large number of upset fans. Adding to something bad doesn't make it better, it just makes more bad.

My question is that if this clarification DLC does not actually answer the fans concerns and/or make it clear that some post-ending DLC will create a more satisfying experience, what do you think the repercussions will be on both EA and Bioware? Like would you expect the retake movement to get bigger than it is, financial blowback, PR nightmares, etc? Because they seem intent on keeping their "artistic vision" and in this case where their art is a creative process shared between producer and consumer, following their wants instead of listening to the fans' wants could spell the fall of a company, and I'd really hate to see that.

[Weskerr]

I just read the article. I disagree with its conclusion. This was a small concession on BioWare's part, not a total victory for Mass Effect's fans as you believe. The Retake movement, for the most part, does not want clarification, but a total revamp of the ending. Additional cutscenes and cinematics is clarification, not a new ending.

Also, Mr. Tassi, I was disappointed with this comment in your article: The protesters need to be careful now. If they start saying things like
“I wanted the ending CHANGED not EXPANDED,” they’re going to get slapped
with the “entitled” and “whiny” labels they hate so much. And at this
point, I would finally agree with that classification. This is a win for
fans and a concession from Bioware, plain and simple.

I'll tell you right now that the movement will not accept BioWare's clarification DLC, so presumably you're going to join the chorus of game journalists who describe the fans with the insulting, overused phrase, "entitled whiners." Once you do that, you'll probably find the readership you had initially garnered for Forbes to be lost. Of course, no one is asking you to lie and not say what you think to be true, but if that is how you begin to think, then Mass Effect fans will stop reading your articles on this topic.

Modifié par Weskerr, 05 avril 2012 - 03:14 .

[omnitremere]

Weskerr wrote...

I just read the article. I disagree with its conclusion. This was a small concession on BioWare's part, not a total victory for Mass Effect's fans as you believe. The Retake movement, for the most part, does not want clarification, but a total revamp of the ending. Additional cutscenes and cinematics is clarification, not a new ending.

Also, Mr. Tassi, I was disappointed with this comment in your article: The protesters need to be careful now. If they start saying things like
“I wanted the ending CHANGED not EXPANDED,” they’re going to get slapped
with the “entitled” and “whiny” labels they hate so much. And at this
point, I would finally agree with that classification. This is a win for
fans and a concession from Bioware, plain and simple.

I'll tell you right now that the movement will not accept BioWare's clarification DLC, so presumably you're going to join the chorus of game journalists who describe the fans with the insulting, overused phrase, "entitled whiners." Once you do that, you'll probably find the readership you had initially garnered for Forbes to be lost. Of course, no one is asking you to lie and not say what you think to be true, but if that is how you begin to think, then Mass Effect fans will stop reading your articles on this topic.

I think I'm with Tassi on this one.  I hate the Catalyst kid and those three options.  But at the same time the real reason I hate the ending is that I don't know what the hell is going on and I have no idea what state the world is left in after my actions.  If significant information is given to help explain what it is I've actually done then I'll probably feel better about the endings overall.  And I definitely agree with him that it will be much harder to garner outside support for the cause if a free DLC pack is made available that significantly expands upon the ending.  "Free" and "significantly" being the key words in that sentance.  So the question is how much are they really going to explain.

[YohkoOhno]

I find it funny that people praise Tassi and the others at Forbes for being "true journalists", yet as soon as he writes an opinion that is critical, all the sudden people hate it. It makes me think the only reason Forbes was popular was because they just happened to have opinions similar to the people who disliked the endings, and not any objective quality of their reporting.

Maybe this is why the gaming sites were dismissive of the people who started this movement--they've probably seen a lot of this before.

In any event, the only time I'm seeing a significant jump in comments at Forbes gaming blog site is if somebody mentioned Mass Effect in the article (The EA articles keep mentioning Mass Effect). Other pretty decent articles get very few comments. I believe as soon as this dies down and they'll be no articles on ME, people here are just gonna ignore Forbes.

I hope that's not the case but I suspect it's mostly people looking for articles that fit their confirmation bias. Hopefully people are interested in Tassi in general and not just because his opinions match their own.

Modifié par YohkoOhno, 05 avril 2012 - 04:49 .

[Mylia Stenetch]

Weskerr wrote...

I just read the article. I disagree with its conclusion. This was a small concession on BioWare's part, not a total victory for Mass Effect's fans as you believe. The Retake movement, for the most part, does not want clarification, but a total revamp of the ending. Additional cutscenes and cinematics is clarification, not a new ending.

Also, Mr. Tassi, I was disappointed with this comment in your article: The protesters need to be careful now. If they start saying things like
“I wanted the ending CHANGED not EXPANDED,” they’re going to get slapped
with the “entitled” and “whiny” labels they hate so much. And at this
point, I would finally agree with that classification. This is a win for
fans and a concession from Bioware, plain and simple.

I'll tell you right now that the movement will not accept BioWare's clarification DLC, so presumably you're going to join the chorus of game journalists who describe the fans with the insulting, overused phrase, "entitled whiners." Once you do that, you'll probably find the readership you had initially garnered for Forbes to be lost. Of course, no one is asking you to lie and not say what you think to be true, but if that is how you begin to think, then Mass Effect fans will stop reading your articles on this topic.

Then you are letting every gaming journalist out there win, cause you are falling into the entitled whinner they stamped on you. Now Forbes who you decried as a saviour made an article you do not like and blast him for his opinion. Yeah you are damning yourself.

[yesikareyes]

rfalzar wrote...

So I just read Paul's article on the clarification stuff. A lot of the fans upset with the ending want more options/closure, not clarity. I for one have some faith that Bioware has something impressive in store for fans down the road in the form of DLC both pre-ending and post-ending, but I have gotten my hopes crushed in the past. IMO simply clarifying the ending won't work to satisfy the large number of upset fans. Adding to something bad doesn't make it better, it just makes more bad.

My question is that if this clarification DLC does not actually answer the fans concerns and/or make it clear that some post-ending DLC will create a more satisfying experience, what do you think the repercussions will be on both EA and Bioware? Like would you expect the retake movement to get bigger than it is, financial blowback, PR nightmares, etc? Because they seem intent on keeping their "artistic vision" and in this case where their art is a creative process shared between producer and consumer, following their wants instead of listening to the fans' wants could spell the fall of a company, and I'd really hate to see that.

Paul Tassi:

If the new ending content is disappointing, it will cause fans to lose faith in the brand even further. Already, this entire thing has seemed to make people starting saying "A Bioware game..." with skepticism rather than "A Bioware game!" with unbridled enthusiasm. I know people WILL be disappointed with it, but that's just how fandom works. You can't please everyone. After the release however, I don't think the protest will get bigger. A segment will be satisfied and the other protests will be useless, as Bioware will not go back and do the rewrite they want. 

[yesikareyes]

Weskerr wrote...

I just read the article. I disagree with its conclusion. This was a small concession on BioWare's part, not a total victory for Mass Effect's fans as you believe. The Retake movement, for the most part, does not want clarification, but a total revamp of the ending. Additional cutscenes and cinematics is clarification, not a new ending.

Also, Mr. Tassi, I was disappointed with this comment in your article: The protesters need to be careful now. If they start saying things like
“I wanted the ending CHANGED not EXPANDED,” they’re going to get slapped
with the “entitled” and “whiny” labels they hate so much. And at this
point, I would finally agree with that classification. This is a win for
fans and a concession from Bioware, plain and simple.

I'll tell you right now that the movement will not accept BioWare's clarification DLC, so presumably you're going to join the chorus of game journalists who describe the fans with the insulting, overused phrase, "entitled whiners." Once you do that, you'll probably find the readership you had initially garnered for Forbes to be lost. Of course, no one is asking you to lie and not say what you think to be true, but if that is how you begin to think, then Mass Effect fans will stop reading your articles on this topic.

Paul Tassi:

Part of being honest, a trait which new readers of my writing seem to like, has to extend to covering fans as well. I've called out gaming journalists and publishers for various things, but I cannot get behind the negative reaction to this announcement by fans. If you want to stop trusting Bioware after the whole ending debacle, I don't blame you. They've certainly earned it, and I'm not saying this gesture should make you like them again.

But to say that free ending DLC must conform to your EXACT idea of what you want, meaning essentially a page one rewrite of the ending and several other plot points in the game, I think you're overstepping. You were never going to get that. There was just no way. Bioware is doing this as diplomatically as they can manage. The fact that this new DLC exists, and HAS to be free, is a huge victory for the movement. I'm not sure what would be considered a victory for the die hards at this point. A groveling apology complete with an entirely new ending that abandons what they've already put out? It's just not a realistic demand. I am not namecalling fans, but the most zealous among you need to understand the realities you face. It's amazing you got them to make free DLC with your protests. But if you continue to say, "that's not enough, we want more," no one is going to take you seriously.

Modifié par yesikareyes, 05 avril 2012 - 04:58 .

[Taritu]

yesikareyes wrote...

Weskerr wrote...

I just read the article. I disagree with its conclusion. This was a small concession on BioWare's part, not a total victory for Mass Effect's fans as you believe. The Retake movement, for the most part, does not want clarification, but a total revamp of the ending. Additional cutscenes and cinematics is clarification, not a new ending.

Also, Mr. Tassi, I was disappointed with this comment in your article: The protesters need to be careful now. If they start saying things like
“I wanted the ending CHANGED not EXPANDED,” they’re going to get slapped
with the “entitled” and “whiny” labels they hate so much. And at this
point, I would finally agree with that classification. This is a win for
fans and a concession from Bioware, plain and simple.

I'll tell you right now that the movement will not accept BioWare's clarification DLC, so presumably you're going to join the chorus of game journalists who describe the fans with the insulting, overused phrase, "entitled whiners." Once you do that, you'll probably find the readership you had initially garnered for Forbes to be lost. Of course, no one is asking you to lie and not say what you think to be true, but if that is how you begin to think, then Mass Effect fans will stop reading your articles on this topic.

Paul Tassi:

Part of being honest, a trait which new readers of my writing seem to like, has to extend to covering fans as well. I've called out gaming journalists and publishers for various things, but I cannot get behind the negative reaction to this announcement by fans. If you want to stop trusting Bioware after the whole ending debacle, I don't blame you. They've certainly earned it, and I'm not saying this gesture should make you like them again.

But to say that free ending DLC must conform to your EXACT idea of what you want, meaning essentially a page one rewrite of the ending and several other plot points in the game, I think you're overstepping. You were never going to get that. There was just no way. Bioware is doing this as diplomatically as they can manage. The fact that this new DLC exists, and HAS to be free, is a huge victory for the movement. I'm not sure what would be considered a victory for the die hards at this point. A groveling apology complete with an entirely new ending that abandons what they've already put out? It's just not a realistic demand. I am not namecalling fans, but the most zealous among you need to understand the realities you face. It's amazing you got them to make free DLC with your protests. But if you continue to say, "that's not enough, we want more," no one is going to take you seriously.

They'll be taken seriously when Bioware is gone in 6 years after the brand stripping by EA is done.

Bear in mind, this fiasco is after DA2 massively disappointed and after the disappointment of SWTOR (which I'll lay real money is bleeding subscribers like mad).  In fact the best practice here would have been to admit the mistake and not change the ending, but add ending (those are 3 of the endings, but here are some others).  As a company, as a PR matter, you should either stonewall or you should admit you were wrong and fix it completely.  This is not just my opinion, this is best practice.

Bioware's brand has been very damaged by all this. 

I think that this particular decision was made because of ego, but the general trend of Bioware games disappointing is not new.

Remember, when you brand strip, sales are a lagging indicator.

Modifié par Taritu, 05 avril 2012 - 05:23 .

[Weskerr]

Mylia Stenetch wrote...

Weskerr wrote...

I just read the article. I disagree with its conclusion. This was a small concession on BioWare's part, not a total victory for Mass Effect's fans as you believe. The Retake movement, for the most part, does not want clarification, but a total revamp of the ending. Additional cutscenes and cinematics is clarification, not a new ending.

Also, Mr. Tassi, I was disappointed with this comment in your article: The protesters need to be careful now. If they start saying things like
“I wanted the ending CHANGED not EXPANDED,” they’re going to get slapped
with the “entitled” and “whiny” labels they hate so much. And at this
point, I would finally agree with that classification. This is a win for
fans and a concession from Bioware, plain and simple.

I'll tell you right now that the movement will not accept BioWare's clarification DLC, so presumably you're going to join the chorus of game journalists who describe the fans with the insulting, overused phrase, "entitled whiners." Once you do that, you'll probably find the readership you had initially garnered for Forbes to be lost. Of course, no one is asking you to lie and not say what you think to be true, but if that is how you begin to think, then Mass Effect fans will stop reading your articles on this topic.

Then you are letting every gaming journalist out there win, cause you are falling into the entitled whinner they stamped on you. Now Forbes who you decried as a saviour made an article you do not like and blast him for his opinion. Yeah you are damning yourself.

I never praised Forbes for anything. Maybe other people did, but not me. Also, I didn't "blast him." I told him exactly what I think is the truth. He said in his article, which I quoted, that if Mass Effect fans don't accept BioWare's response, then they are "entitled whiners." He said it and I'm calling him out for it.

I disagree with his conclusion that the Mass Effect movement won their fight. In actuality, I think they lost the fight because they did not achieve what they originally set out to achieve - to change the endings. BioWare will lose fans and revenue because of their decision, but they still will not change the ending. That is not a victory.

Mr. Tassi and his colleague, Mr. Cain, are two journalists whom I have developed a tremendous amount of respect for because of their no-nonsense reporting of this whole debacle - calling out certain game reviewers for having conflicts of interest, defending fans from misrepresentation and demonization, acknowledging the faults of Mass Effect 3's endings instead of ignoring them and engaging in logical fallacies of insults and strawman arguments, and just behaving like respectable journalists in all respects.

However, I do not agree with everything they write, and this is one of them. I have a differrence of opinion and that's all. I think in this particular article, Mr. Tassi assesses the situation incorrectly. I think his notion about what the Retake Movement's goal is is wrong. Clarification is not the goal. A change of the ending is. Yet, not only does he miss that, but he even goes so far as to say that he will view fans as exactly what he defended them against initially - the label of "entitled whiners" - if they do not accept BioWare's free DLC as a victory.

I am not a hypocrit so don't classify me as one. I simply disagree with this article and some of the sentiments expressed in it. Abraham Lincoln once said "Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." This is what I am doing now.

Modifié par Weskerr, 05 avril 2012 - 05:27 .

[Squallypo]

i got a Question for Paul, hey paul i was with many others in the Q+A day in FB, i was wondering if you guys had any plan for an interview with either Dr. Ray, Casey Hudson or Mac Walters? about the mass effect 3 situation / endings and consumers/ gamers situation and how this has actually made an impact in the opinions and Voices of the fans / gamers and consumers on how this has been handled and well alot of stuff this is just but a few things of what you should guys should ask to them. btw i think i ask you the same thing in that Q+A day if you guys had any plans of an interview but i though i could ask again to see if theres gonna be One or is in progress to be. Thanks

[Furtled]

@YohkoOhno
Some of us read Forbes long before they dipped their toes into games industry coverage, BSN members have lives and jobs that don't just revolve around games, and some of those jobs cross over to the sort of thing Forbes are more well known for covering. Agreed though that someone having a different opinion doesn't suddenly make them a bad journalist, and I hope that other publications follow suit in examining the games industry from the same angle given how big it is these days.

Question for Paul Tassi if @yesikareyes gets a chance to pass it along
Do you think we can expect a more customer focused strategy from EA to come out of this, or will it be business as usual given how big EA has become and how difficult it is to pull off a major culture shift in large organisations?

Thanks

Modifié par Furtled, 05 avril 2012 - 05:33 .

[Mylia Stenetch]

Weskerr wrote...

I never praised Forbes for anything. Maybe other people did, but not me. Also, I didn't "blast him." I told him exactly what I think is the truth. He said in his article, which I quoted, that if Mass Effect fans don't accept BioWare's response, then they are "entitled whiners." He said it and I'm calling him out for it.

Fine you were not I can accept that, still think people are coming out in this forums and in his blog post, saying that want more. I saw people wanted closure and clarification. To come out and say no we demand more is falling into it, where they will never be satisied and become the entitled gamer.

I disagree with his conclusion that the Mass Effect movement won their fight. In actuality, I think they lost the fight because they did not achieve what they originally set out to achieve - to change the endings. BioWare will lose fans and revenue because of their decision, but they still will not change the ending. That is not a victory.

 

How can you gage a victory? It is a matter of perception, aside from retake has been fractured on it's opinion on what to do. A lot of people are pleased that they are getting this, the people I have seen are just repeating in every thread it is much smaller than the entire retake group.

Mr. Tassi and his colleague, Mr. Cain, are two journalists whom I have developed a tremendous amount of respect for because of their no-nonsense reporting of this whole debacle - calling out certain game reviewers for having conflicts of interest, defending fans from misrepresentation and demonization, acknowledging the faults of Mass Effect 3's endings instead of ignoring them and engaging in logical fallacies of insults and strawman arguments, and just behaving like respectable journalists in all respects.

However, I do not agree with everything they write, and this is one of them. I have a differrence of opinion and that's all. I think in this particular article, Mr. Tassi assesses the situation incorrectly. I think his notion about what the Retake Movement's goal is is wrong. Clarification is not the goal. A change of the ending is. Yet, not only does he miss that, but he even goes so far as to say that he will view fans as exactly what he defended them against initially - the label of "entitled whiners" - if they do not accept BioWare's free DLC as a victory.

Still the problem is the retake goal was not fully clear. To YOU the goal was a change. I agree with Mr. Tassi, changing the ending now that a game is out it not possible, cause it puts in a precarious position where people will demand more which they can never live up to. Sometimes people have to accept they will not get the exact outcome they want, just like Bioware needs to realize they cannot please everyone who bought the game.

I am not a hypocrit so don't classify me as one. I simply disagree with this article and some of the sentiments expressed in it. Abraham Lincoln once said "Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." This is what I am doing now.

I retract my hypocrite on you. It is fine to disagree, but the immediate backlash from anything is feeding into what the gaming media wants. While "we" "won" this fight, it is now being lost due to the backlash happening, they are playing right into their hands. All I am saying is sometimes we have to accept when someone or us is wrong in a fact. You have shown that in this thread with the explanation, and I am doing that now. 

[yesikareyes]

Thanks for the questions guys! I'll be back with Paul's responses soon.

[Weskerr]

yesikareyes wrote...


Paul Tassi:

Part of being honest, a trait which new readers of my writing seem to like, has to extend to covering fans as well. I've called out gaming journalists and publishers for various things, but I cannot get behind the negative reaction to this announcement by fans. If you want to stop trusting Bioware after the whole ending debacle, I don't blame you. They've certainly earned it, and I'm not saying this gesture should make you like them again.

But to say that free ending DLC must conform to your EXACT idea of what you want, meaning essentially a page one rewrite of the ending and several other plot points in the game, I think you're overstepping. You were never going to get that. There was just no way. Bioware is doing this as diplomatically as they can manage. The fact that this new DLC exists, and HAS to be free, is a huge victory for the movement. I'm not sure what would be considered a victory for the die hards at this point. A groveling apology complete with an entirely new ending that abandons what they've already put out? It's just not a realistic demand. I am not namecalling fans, but the most zealous among you need to understand the realities you face. It's amazing you got them to make free DLC with your protests. But if you continue to say, "that's not enough, we want more," no one is going to take you seriously.

I like the honesty trait that you exhibit in your articles also, Mr. Tassi. In fact, that is precisely why I agree with the majority of what you write in your articles and say in your interactions with Mass Effect 3 fans. You and Mr. Kain have carried yourselves admirably as journalists and show - glaringly - much of what is to be desired in some game reviewers. However, I disagree with this specific article you just wrote.

I get the feeling from spending some time on the BioWare forums that most fans who are dissatisfied with the endings are dissatisfied completely. They don't want clarification because they believe that the ending so bad that any attempt to save it is doomed to fail. Instead, they believe the only way to fix the ending is to completely scrap it and start anew. BioWare is clingling desperately to a sinking ship so to speak.

I understand why you think fans who do not accept BioWare's recent response will be viewed as fanatical and crazy and should just take what was given to them now and cut their losses. However,  I think most fans are reacting to this in a different way than you imagine. Their reaction is not "that's not enough, we want more," but "This doesn't even address our concerns. We feel like BioWare has totally ignored us." This is what the reaction of fans really is, in my opinion, and should be construed as.

Free DLC is fantastic of course, and it is what you yourself advised BioWare to do with any DLC released that relates to the endings. As far as I'm concerned though, this free DLC is a copout. It does not do what most fans want. It will not fix the endings, but clarify them, which is in itself condescending. People understand the endings perfectly. They don't need clarification. They understand that the Catalyst controls the Reapers ; that the mass relays are destroyed; that Shepard does not resist the Catalyst's arguments in any way; that the endings are so similar that they might as well be identical; that lore is contradicted, plotholes are created, character arcs are left unfinished (such as Harbinger's), and that the fleet that Shepard worked so hard to amass to save Earth is trapped in the Sol system with all the unpleasant implications that that implies. Players don't need these things clarified because there's nothing to clarify about it. They know it's a poorly executed, poorly thought out, unsatisfying conclusion. It's a bad ending and it has to change for Mass Effect to be whole. This is why you're seeing the negative fan reaction to today's announcement.

[yesikareyes]

Weskerr wrote...

For Paul Tassi: http://www.businessw...-3-Extended-Cut

Do you believe this gesture is enough to satisfy customers dissatisfied with the ending? It's free, but it also does not do what most people want: a complete overhaul of the ending.

Sorry for the late reply but here you go, I missed it previously! 

Paul Tassi:

Judging from the amount of negative comments I've seen associated with the news, no, it would seem not. People have the right to feel that way (though I would reserve full judgement until the content is out), but they should not expect further protests to get them anywhere. This is it. This is the compromise they've won. It's one that's unprecedented in the industry, and I think they should feel like they've won a victory, but it appears many do not share that view. 

[yesikareyes]

Squallypo wrote...

i got a Question for Paul, hey paul i was with many others in the Q+A day in FB, i was wondering if you guys had any plan for an interview with either Dr. Ray, Casey Hudson or Mac Walters? about the mass effect 3 situation / endings and consumers/ gamers situation and how this has actually made an impact in the opinions and Voices of the fans / gamers and consumers on how this has been handled and well alot of stuff this is just but a few things of what you should guys should ask to them. btw i think i ask you the same thing in that Q+A day if you guys had any plans of an interview but i though i could ask again to see if theres gonna be One or is in progress to be. Thanks

Paul Tassi:

I'd love to talk to the Bioware guys, but that's easier said than done. If I do land such an interview, you'll be the first to know.