52 réponses à ce sujet

[Iosev]

I think that it's important to note that they're talking about a game being delayed to the next fiscal year. For example, if Dragon Age 3 was originally planned for a February/March 2013 release, they may have simply pushed it back to fall/winter 2013, and not necessarily 2014.

[Dakota Strider]

I would be real happy if one of the moderators stepped in to squash this rumour.

[Das Tentakel]

Well, despite the ending controversy Mass Effect 3 made quite a bit of money for EA; something like 200 million + I believe. DA2 sold, how much, 2-3 million? Perhaps half the amount of money?

I wouldn't be surprised if DA3 is delayed, with the DA2 DLC team transferred to maintain at least a skeleton DA3 crew, while the rest is transferred to allow creating a Mass Effect spinoff or something still within this console generation. Financially, it may make more sense.. Oooh, the speculation is making my head spin .

Or it has nothing to do with Bioware at all. This is Rumour Control...

Modifié par Das Tentakel, 08 mai 2012 - 08:11 .

[deuce985]

Das Tentakel wrote...

Well, despite the ending controversy Mass Effect 3 made quite a bit of money for EA; something like 200 million + I believe. DA2 sold, how much, 2-3 million? Perhaps half the amount of money?

I wouldn't be surprised if DA3 is delayed, with the DA2 DLC team transferred to maintain at least a skeleton DA3 crew, while the rest is transferred to allow creating a Mass Effect spinoff or something still within this console generation. Financially, it may make more sense.

Or it has nothing to do with Bioware at all. This is Rumour Control...

Actually, while ME3 is selling well, from a corporate standpoint, I don't think it's satisfying for EA. ME3 did not reach sales expecations for March and is largely why projections were down for the gaming industry. EA also put a absurd amount of marketing behind BF3, ME3 and SWTOR, which is largely part of their over-spending problems right now with marketing. They spent $1 billion in marketing and that's why EA is having problems right now.

I don't think DA2 sold as well as DA:O either. At least, not on the pace it did.

Lastly, SWTOR is losing subs and now Bioware is probably feeling the corporate clamps come down on them. Not a good sign to be honest.

But lets be real here, ME3 numbers are good, especially in March. It's not Bioware's fault. It's bad management on EA's part for overpsending on things like marketing. Which they'll no doubt restructure. Unfortunately, EA can't be happy about SWTOR. Especially the amazing launch it had and was largely why it boosted their financial numbers up in that fiscal quarter. If SWTOR stays where it's at...it's very profitable. The problem is they've lost over 400k subs in just 5 months. Compare it to WoW which steadily gained subs. Not a good sign for Bioware or EA. Having the biggest MMO launch ever doesn't mean much if you can't sustain those high sub numbers.

I'm hoping SWTOR keeps progressing to success because that little project will sustain Bioware's entire company. If it's a failure...Bioware is in major trouble.

[Das Tentakel]

deuce985 wrote...

They spent $1 billion in marketing and that's why EA is having problems right now.

I don't think DA2 sold as well as DA:O either. At least, not on the pace it did.

Lastly, SWTOR is losing subs and now Bioware is probably feeling the corporate clamps come down on them. Not a good sign to be honest.

If SWTOR stays where it's at...it's very profitable. The problem is they've lost over 400k subs in just 5 months. Compare it to WoW which steadily gained subs. Not a good sign for Bioware or EA. Having the biggest MMO launch ever doesn't mean much if you can't sustain those high sub numbers.

I'm hoping SWTOR keeps progressing to success because that little project will sustain Bioware's entire company. If it's a failure...Bioware is in major trouble.

Didn't know about the absurd amount of PR money spent, but I know about the sub loss. 5 months? Wasn't that 1.7 million number from the end of January or something?
I also got the impression that the loss was a net loss, meaning a significantly higher loss of actual subscribers.

[CaisLaochach]

I'd assume any delayed product would be something shiny like a Battlefield being held back to await the next console generation.

[Brockololly]

Interesting if this is the case, considering BioWare always claims how all the teams are mostly separate.

Also interesting that it would put the game beyond March 2013 and either at the very tail end of the current console generation or possibly a launch title for new consoles? Thats a risky launch window I'd think. Good chance it'll either get forgotten and overlooked by the new consoles if its launched on current gen systems as the new ones are released or it'll be a risky next gen title and possibly not sell well as sales will be majorly dependent on how well the new consoles sell.

Any event, EA is not doing very well right now. And beyond Dragon Age 3, it could be any number of other unannounced projects that was delayed- the Army of Two sequel, Respawn's project, Sims 4, Insomniac's game, Generals 2...

[Korusus]

2 things:

1) "Key game" is not what I would expect EA to ever call a Dragon Age title.

2) If Dragon Age 3 were ever slated for an early 2013 release, that's bad news in my opinion because it suggests that they thought they could get the game out by then. It also doesn't make much sense since indications are that they're still in the planning/batting-around ideas stage for DA3.

I really doubt this was a BioWare title.

[Maria Caliban]

BubbleDncr wrote...

SWTOR is made entirely by Bioware Austin. Dragon Age/Mass Effect are made by Edmonton. As best I understand things, they don't share staff between the two.

They have shared staff, but I can't imagine the entire team of DA 3 working on SW:TOR.

[deuce985]

Das Tentakel wrote...

deuce985 wrote...

They spent $1 billion in marketing and that's why EA is having problems right now.

I don't think DA2 sold as well as DA:O either. At least, not on the pace it did.

Lastly, SWTOR is losing subs and now Bioware is probably feeling the corporate clamps come down on them. Not a good sign to be honest.

If SWTOR stays where it's at...it's very profitable. The problem is they've lost over 400k subs in just 5 months. Compare it to WoW which steadily gained subs. Not a good sign for Bioware or EA. Having the biggest MMO launch ever doesn't mean much if you can't sustain those high sub numbers.

I'm hoping SWTOR keeps progressing to success because that little project will sustain Bioware's entire company. If it's a failure...Bioware is in major trouble.

Didn't know about the absurd amount of PR money spent, but I know about the sub loss. 5 months? Wasn't that 1.7 million number from the end of January or something?
I also got the impression that the loss was a net loss, meaning a significantly higher loss of actual subscribers.

Yup. Those numbers were right at the end of January. The article I read earlier is SWTOR has 1.3 million sustained subs right now. Which is still good. They need it to be over 500k to remain profitable. EA is feeling the pressure with Tera and Guild Wars 2 right around the corner. This rumor probably has weight behind it because EA doesn't want to see SWTOR fail. Spitting out content faster is a smart thing to do.

[Thor Rand Al]

Cyne wrote...

I found a recent article regarding DA3, check it out:

Is Dragon Age III The Game EA Just Delayed?
It's time to solve a mystery, or at least come up with a viable
theory. Yesterday, executives mega-publisher Electronic Arts announces a
bunch of financial numbers. They also say that they've delayed a "key
game" from fiscal year 13 to fiscal year 14, which, for those who prefer
to speak English, means they've delayed a "key game" from coming out by
March 31, 2013 to some time after.
Which game could it be?
Dragon Age III is the favorite candidate of one Michael
Pachter, financial analyst who is sometimes right, sometimes a master of
research and math and sometimes—let's be honest—just educated-guessin'.
His theory has a delicious wrinkle in it, to mix metaphors. The Dragon Age III delay would be happening so that BioWare developers working on the game could help out on BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic.
In a note to financial-minded folks this morning, Pachter explains his theory:
"When we spoke with the [EA] CEO, he added the color that the game
was expected to slip because the team had been pulled away to work on
another important project.

I'm sorry but I think this could very well be the DA2 expansion that they said they were abandoning to work on "The Next Thing." 
And the author is just assuming that it's even DA related.  N it's shyt like this that get people all riled up n heated convo's start.  I've learned to not assume anything DA related until I litereally hear/see it from a Dev

Modifié par Thor Rand Al, 08 mai 2012 - 09:31 .

[Cantina]

Once a game is announced that's when all the basement kids sit at their computers and start typing out rumors just to feel cool.

Its too easy to write up something like this and add in just enough details to make it sound like its official. I'll wait until a developer confirms or denies this.

If and I do mean a big IF its true, <shrugs> just means more time to develop the game. Sides I got Diablo 3 to occupy my time until then.

[ajbry]

The most crucial point of all is being overlooked here: Dragon Age III has not been officially announced. I find it very improbable that executives at EA would allude to the status of a game that isn't even an official product yet, in any capacity.

This reads like a speculative article that is based on the inferences of one guy. Let's wait until DAIII is announced first before entertaining the idea of a release date timetable.

[Das Tentakel]

deuce985 wrote...
Yup. Those numbers were right at the end of January. The article I read earlier is SWTOR has 1.3 million sustained subs right now. Which is still good. They need it to be over 500k to remain profitable. EA is feeling the pressure with Tera and Guild Wars 2 right around the corner. This rumor probably has weight behind it because EA doesn't want to see SWTOR fail. Spitting out content faster is a smart thing to do.

Well, I've seen this kind of thing before. Losing what looks like 400,000 net (500,000/6-700,000 in absolute terms?) subscriptions in 3-4 months is kinda scary. Once this thing starts, it continues, even accelerates, until it sort of stabilises at a relatively low level (next step: free to play. If Lucas Arts lets them). They might be no more than 3 to 6 months away from making a loss.

Suddenly, jets flying Canadians from Edmonton to Austin and putting them into hotels doesn't sound so unlikely.
My main objection would be whether EA would call DA3 a 'key title', given DA2's disappointing sales.
But hey, maybe they still see potential given DA:O's relative success:huh:

Modifié par Das Tentakel, 08 mai 2012 - 10:19 .

[Dakota Strider]

Have been looking for news on the web to confirm anything that was in the article posted in the OP.  No success yet.  However, I did find a site that has posted a conference call between EA CEO and officers with some top investers, from the Seeking Alpha website.  seekingalpha.com/article/567641-electronic-arts-ceo-discusses-q4-2012-results-earnings-call-transcript   Nothing specific about Bioware or Dragon Age, except to say that Dragon Age is considered to be one of EA's top titles.   Mostly just talking financials, and the expectations for profit in the next couple years, and how EA believes they are positioned for the next generation of console games.

This meeting took place on May 7, according to the story, so hard to get much fresher news than that.

[deuce985]

Das Tentakel wrote...

deuce985 wrote...
Yup. Those numbers were right at the end of January. The article I read earlier is SWTOR has 1.3 million sustained subs right now. Which is still good. They need it to be over 500k to remain profitable. EA is feeling the pressure with Tera and Guild Wars 2 right around the corner. This rumor probably has weight behind it because EA doesn't want to see SWTOR fail. Spitting out content faster is a smart thing to do.

Well, I've seen this kind of thing before. Losing what looks like 400,000 net (500,000/6-700,000 in absolute terms?) subscriptions in 3-4 months is kinda scary. Once this thing starts, it continues, even accelerates, until it sort of stabilises at a relatively low level (next step: free to play. If Lucas Arts lets them). They might be no more than 3 to 6 months away from making a loss.

Suddenly, jets flying Canadians from Edmonton to Austin and putting them into hotels doesn't sound so unlikely.
My main objection would be whether EA would call DA3 a 'key title', given DA2's disappointing sales.
But hey, maybe they still see potential given DA:O's relative success:huh:

The projections for March were actually off for ME3, apparently. It was actually a huge success generating over $200 million.

www.vg247.com/2012/05/07/ea-2012-mass-effect-3-takes-200m-ea-swings-to-profit/

Grats to Bioware. Well deserved. However, the SWTOR concern is still there.

Modifié par deuce985, 08 mai 2012 - 11:13 .

[Archmage Silvery]

I'd take the original article with a grain of salt - it's nothing more than conjencture at this point.

[Cyne]

Hey guys, I just re-read the article at the actual website and they've added this (more or less what I expected):

A BioWare rep did not return a request for comment by press time. I'll update this story if and when I hear back. UPDATE: The BioWare rep has reminded me that EA doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.

Modifié par Cyne, 09 mai 2012 - 02:07 .

[Withidread]

I'd be careful about reading too much into it, but to me it certainly seems plausible that DA3 could be the game delayed.
As for the offending project pulling resources, my guess would be this: http://www.baldursga...ews/language/en

There may not be a Bioware or EA logo on the website, but if you turn your attention to the fine print...

© 2012 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, the Forgotten Realms, Balder's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

There's also the little fact that if you were looking for people who worked on BG originally, it would be near impossible to NOT look Bioware's way.

[Melca36]

Hate to say this but...

1) Guild Wars 2 has been in development since 2007

2) Guild Wars 2 has a Level 80 CAP

3) The way the game is designed offers "REPLAYABILITY" The choices you make about your character will make each game different

4) No Monthly Fee


Guild Wars 2 as well as The Elder Scrolls online are going to leach players from WOW and SWTOR

[Withidread]

Melca36 wrote...

Hate to say this but...

1) Guild Wars 2 has been in development since 2007

2) Guild Wars 2 has a Level 80 CAP

3) The way the game is designed offers "REPLAYABILITY" The choices you make about your character will make each game different

4) No Monthly Fee


Guild Wars 2 as well as The Elder Scrolls online are going to leach players from WOW and SWTOR

I must be missing something here... I don't see the connection between that and an EA project (possibly DA3) being delayed...

[Silfren]

Melca36 wrote...

Hate to say this but...

1) Guild Wars 2 has been in development since 2007

2) Guild Wars 2 has a Level 80 CAP

3) The way the game is designed offers "REPLAYABILITY" The choices you make about your character will make each game different

4) No Monthly Fee


Guild Wars 2 as well as The Elder Scrolls online are going to leach players from WOW and SWTOR

What relevance does this have to whether EA's delayed game is DA3? 

[Melca36]

Withidread wrote...

Melca36 wrote...

Hate to say this but...

1) Guild Wars 2 has been in development since 2007

2) Guild Wars 2 has a Level 80 CAP

3) The way the game is designed offers "REPLAYABILITY" The choices you make about your character will make each game different

4) No Monthly Fee


Guild Wars 2 as well as The Elder Scrolls online are going to leach players from WOW and SWTOR

I must be missing something here... I don't see the connection between that and an EA project (possibly DA3) being delayed...

What I meant to say is they have their work cut out for them and delaying any game isn't going to help.

EA has a horrible track record when it comes to MMOS.

Remember The Sims Online? 

[Dakota Strider]

Withidread wrote...

I'd be careful about reading too much into it, but to me it certainly seems plausible that DA3 could be the game delayed.
As for the offending project pulling resources, my guess would be this: http://www.baldursga...ews/language/en

There may not be a Bioware or EA logo on the website, but if you turn your attention to the fine print...

© 2012 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, the Forgotten Realms, Balder's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

There's also the little fact that if you were looking for people who worked on BG originally, it would be near impossible to NOT look Bioware's way.

It would be wishful thinking to hope they were getting the old gang back together, but that project no longer has anything to do with Bioware.  They had to give acknowledgements to everyone that was part of the old game, but EA/Bioware no longer has the license to make D&D games.  If you notice the big logos at the bottom of the page, you will see who is working on the BG Enhanced edition.

[deuce985]

Also, in the EA financial meeting article I linked, EA confirmed they're working on next-gen console projects. That means they're right around the corner and you'll likely see them in 2013. That also could be why a DA3 "delay" is only logical and giving SWTOR more help.

Bioware will have to build a new engine for the next consoles and those take awhile to do. Likely a year, minimum.

Way I understand it, dev kits usually go out a year before the console is released. Maybe they just started making the rounds.

Modifié par deuce985, 09 mai 2012 - 01:34 .