191 réponses à ce sujet

[otis0310]

Dragon Age 2, and Mass Effect 3, a double dealing of death from their EA overlords.  Could this be the end for Bioware?

As we all know DA2 was heavily modified per EAs instructions.  First it was "dumbed down to appeal to a broader fanbas"  then it was pushed out the door for an "Easy Paycheck" (both quotes are from me, they are just quoted to add emphasis).  The combat was nothing more than button mashing, lacking any of the strategic combat of its predecssor.  The plot was nonsensical, each chapter played as a seperate story, only at the end did the underlying plot finally emerge and then it pushed to a hasty conclusion.  There was also a complete lack of memorable characters, no one can compare a companion in DA2 to either Alistair or Morrigan successfully.  Finally there is the lack of any real choice at all in the story, combined with an absurd rehashing of the same maps.  DA2 is a very poor game, the rapidly diminishing sales told us this, regardless of the review scores.

Now we have ME3.  The game that has gamers livid about two things, Talis face, and the horrible ending which is so bad it makes us forget about Tali's face.  The hate for this ending has spread like wildfire and must be effecting sales of the game tremoundously.  (Although they probably already made a fortune on pre orders already).  Once again we are forced to ask ourselves "Did EA play a part"  the most obvious answer is yes, they wanted an open ending that would allow for sequels and expansions, ruining Biowares intended ending.  The starcchild idea does not seem to come from the team that made ME1 or ME2, which were both good games plotwise. (Although ME2 was marred by the loyalty missions, the general plot made sense).  So it could have been forced on them by EA.

Although we can not know for sure that DA2 was wrecked by EA, I am certain everyone is convinced this was the case regardless of the fact we don't have a "signed confession".  Again we do not know for certain that EA is behind the ending of ME3, but the ending does not seem to fit what we expect from a Bioware game, which makes us think that maybe they were behind it.  AND LET US NOT FORGET THAT EA WON THE "GOLDEN POO" AWARD FOR WORST COMPANY IN AMERICA.
Congratulations EA.
Which of course supports the theory that it was EA meddling behind it.

Now we have the Extended DLC for ME3 coming out.  The indoctrination theory is the only "out" they had.  IF the indoctrination theory is proven false, and the press release seems to confirm it is, then we are left with the sad alternative.  Neeldes to say, this will only exasperate the problem, regardless of what explanation they give, it will still be bad. As many here have said "if you polish a terd, it is still a terd".

In this case, if our theory about EA interference is true.  Then A: They have successfully destroyed the Dragon Age franchise, and B: They have now succefully destroyed the Mass Effect franchise.  The two biggest franchises Bioware has.  (For those who are interested in history their interference ruined the long running, award winning Ultima franchise by Origin, which was in a lot of ways, Bioware's spiritual precessor when it comes to large, epic RPGs.  This ultimately led to that company's closure.)

This basically leaves SWTOR as Bioware's only succesful game.  Most of that game was undoubtedly dictated by EA.

The main question is, with a double whammy like this, will Bioware be able to regain its artistic integrity, and by extension, its loyal fanbase. Or has EAs interference ruined Bioware's artistic integrity to the point that we, the fans, are no longer willing to buy their products.  In short, is this the end of Bioware?

[Snout]

It could be!

It could not be!

Let's speculate!

[Vexia2070]

I don't think so, I wasn't thrilled with DA-2, but I think the BW people have alot still up the sleeve as far as M3 goes.

Imho

[KingKhan03]

Meh we'll see it Depends on DLC sales and how DA3 does.

[Marcus Lee]

I hope so

[R3MUS]

You guys will be buying the ME3 DLCs.

It all will go down on how well Dragon Age 3 goes. If it sells bad. I can see Bioware being close to the end.

[robertm2]

more like the end of the beginning imo.

[toolfan9284]

Considering they cancelled the last DA2 xpac recently...about the same time as ME3 was released/rage started...IDK...I think the ship is sinking and BW is trying to plug the leaks. Haven't really heard anything from EA...maybe EA is letting BW take the hit?

[bennyjammin79]

FFS get some new material.

[Reptilian Rob]

I am waiting for this ship to sink, and it's sinking fast.

[SuraklinPrime]

ME3 is way better that DA2 which was poorly done from start to finish and has all the replayability of a pile of dirty socks.

DA2 essentially killed what could have been Bioware's next great RPG franchise with poorly considered, repetitive gameplay and the mysterious 'dropping out of the empty sky' waves of enemies which might pass muster in a 'shooter' but in an RPG where story is so much more vital was criminal. It also retconned so much of DA:O that it just wasn't funny.

If EA want a look at how an RPG can be made simpler for the console players while maintaining the depth that PC players enjoy they should look at Skyrim.

I have steered clear of Kingdoms of Amalur, a game I wuld have nought without a second thought a couple of years back, simply because I don't trust EA with RPGs any more regardless of how intrigued I am by the creative team behind it.

ME3 is truer to it's predecessor games than DA2, it's characters haven't been wildly changed to appeal to the brain dead studio exec and it gives a decent overall ending to the series.

Now I get those who don't like the actual final five minutes of that ending and I get, to a lesser extent, those who seem deeply upset by Tali's face but if you put those to one side the other 95% of the ME3 experience is not remotely as poor as that of most of DA2.

Is it the end of Bioware? Hard to say... if I was them I might seek a better distributor who interfered less in creative decisions and didn't force delivery of games that weren't completed to their standards (assuming that is what has happened).

But I also worry that part of the problem is that companies are trying to develop across platforms that do not share the same audience - i.e. I think what a PC player wants to play is quite different to what a console player wants, the control systems are not really very compatible between the two and even the types of people who play on each platform can be quite different. Thus you get games which don't really meet anyone's ideal gaming experience because they are forced to fit into two (or more) very different audiences...

I understand the desire of companies to sell one game across many platforms but I think it ultimately makes gaming less pleasurable for all of us.

[Corvus74]

R3MUS wrote...

You guys will be buying the ME3 DLCs.

It all will go down on how well Dragon Age 3 goes. If it sells bad. I can see Bioware being close to the end.

I won't be.  I haven't bought a single DLC across any of the ME games.  I had been considering doing so to fill in back story but the end of ME3 makes me never want to play any of the ME games again, at least not for a long time.

[Fhaarkas]

What? Nah. Too many sheep.

[otis0310]

Simfam, the reason for the list is to show a pattern of decline. Yes we can all list bad things in a game, but without a pattern of bad reactions to games, and a list of what those reactions were, my OP would have less merit.

[Cazlee]

I'm hoping that Bioware takes the criticism of DA2 Entire Game/ME3 Ending and use it to make DA3 an outstanding success. The fact that EA has given them approval to fix ME3's rushed ending cutscenes gives me hope that maybe they won't make the same mistake with DA3.

Modifié par Cazlee, 07 avril 2012 - 10:22 .

[Rickin10]

I've said it before, Bioware will be gone in 2 years tops, like all the other great devs EA has harvested.

[otis0310]

Rickin10 wrote...

I've said it before, Bioware will be gone in 2 years tops, like all the other great devs EA has harvested.

Bullfrog and Origin, both top game companies of there time, both visionaries, and both some of the founders of the industry, shared this fate.

[arthurhallam]

NO.

[Huyna]

There was a studio called Shiny.
It gaves us Earth Worm Jim. MDK, Sacrifice and Messiah.

And now it's no more.

[Sparse]

Depends what the plan for the future is.

If Bioware is going to stay as EA's quality RPG wing then DA2 and ME3 are problematic. DA2 was OKish but was a very toned down RPG and ME3 is barely an RPG at all and has story issues.

You have to presume though that Bioware aren't accidentally forgetting to make quality RPGS, so it must be a conscious decision as to their future direction.

I'm guessing that they are going to be EA's 'MMO and action game with a story' wing. If that's the case then it won't be the end of them as a company as there is a big market there.

Modifié par Sparse, 07 avril 2012 - 10:30 .

[devSin]

I think it's just a transition. They're certainly unsteady at the moment, but I think they'll eventually be able to find balance.

They could crash, of course, but I don't think it's likely at this point. Their reputation is getting tarnished, though, so they can't keep on messing up like this.

[tonnactus]

It already started with Mass Effect 2 turning shepard into space jesus.

And no,the "doctors"  themselves wanted to go blockbuster and sell 10 million copies. Nothing was forced by Ea.


http://social.biowar...index/3267335/1

Modifié par tonnactus, 07 avril 2012 - 10:41 .

[Venturisection]

To be honest this is the perfect opportunity for another gaming company to learn from Biowares mistakes and pick up its fan base. Sticking to the plot would be a great lesson to learn.

[otis0310]

I think Bethesda is already picking up a lot of Bioware's fan base.