46 réponses à ce sujet

[iPatrikolby]

Do you believe that there will be any news, trailers, demos, etc at E3?

 

I hope so, but don't think so....

[Chris Priestly]

No. I think this year they will focus on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then blow the roof off next year with ME:Next details.

 

 

 

[Pateu]

No. I think this year they will focus on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then blow the roof off next year with ME:Next details.

 

 

 

 

They have to show SOMETHING.

 

I doubt Bioware will go through 2015 without launching any big name.

 

2007: Mass Effect

 

2009: DAO

 

2010: ME2

 

2011: DA2

 

2012:ME3

 

2014: DAI

 

2015/2016: ME4

[SNascimento]

Every Mass Effect and Dragon age were announced before the next installment of the other series was released. If this trend continues, this E3 is the best bet. 

[Fiery Phoenix]

No. I think this year they will focus on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then blow the roof off next year with ME:Next details.

 

 

 

This is what I suspect as well. BioWare doesn't make a habit of advertising two projects at once.

 

Also, NICE TO SEE YOU AROUND, CHRIS!

[SwobyJ]

No. I think this year they will focus on Dragon Age: Inquisition and then blow the roof off next year with ME:Next details.

 

 

 

 

But what is the nature of Dragon Age: Inquisition?

 

[PCThug]

At this point, I'm trying hard to expect nothing and leave myself open to be pleasantly surprised.

[chris2365]

This is what I suspect as well. BioWare doesn't make a habit of advertising two projects at once.

 

Also, NICE TO SEE YOU AROUND, CHRIS!

 

Um, didn't Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 2 release 2-3 months apart?

[Fiery Phoenix]

Um, didn't Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 2 release 2-3 months apart?

That was before EA really took control of the marketing process. It hasn't been the same since then.

[chris2365]

That was before EA really took control of the marketing process. It hasn't been the same since then.

 

Fair point, though Bioware has only released 2 games since, which isn't a very big sample. Concerning EA, I think we are facing a similar dilemma that occured last year at E3. Battlefield 4 was due to release that autumn and it was expected to take all the attention. However, at the same time, they also announced the new SW Battlefront, which would also be a shooter and have overlapping audiences. We know that Battlefront's announcement didn't harm at BF4 at all, since it sold well. Also, Battlefront hasn't been discussed at all and seems to have been put on the backburner, whether as the Next Mass Effect seems to further along (concept art and all). It proves that both EA and Bioware don't mind having some overlap in marketing. Besides, if the game is scheduled to come out earlier than Fall 2015, the marketing should start now, at E3.

[durasteel]

I have never understood why BioWare takes the cloak-and-dagger routine so ridiculously far. Sure, I understand the need to manage your marketing and the expectations of your fan base, and I also get that in a competitive business environment you don't want to put all your cards on the table until the last possible moment. BioWare, though, for as long as I can remember has really gone overboard with the secrecy thing, sometimes to the point of actual falsehood from official reps.

 

Case in point: back when he worked for BioWare Chris was unequivocal on the old BioWare forums that Mass Effect was an X Box exclusive and there were no plans to release a version for the PC, ever... about a week before the game was announced for PC with a bunch of new interface elements like a whole new inventory system. Either he was spreading disinformation, or the PC port was so secret even he didn't know about it. Either way, it's extreme.

 

It could be just my imagination, but it really seems like BioWare's secrecy before is nothing compared to its unwillingness to talk about ME4. I used to think it was because they didn't want to talk about ME3 any more, and were apprehensive that the negativity surrounding that game would spill over into the discussion of its sequel. If that was it, though, you would think that time would have passed by now. They confirmed that ME4 was in development a long time ago, but there is still not even a forum for it--we're stuck talking about it in the ME3 forum. If it had its own forum, it would be a fairly straightforward thing to mod out ME3 discussion.

 

What concerns me is the possibility that BioWare spent all that effort getting feedback about what the ME fans wanted in the next game, but didn't like what they heard. We all know by this point that Mac intended to basically nuke the MEU back to the stone age after the Reaper War, which would suggest that he wasn't keen on the idea of a sequel. What if the secrecy is motivated in part by the fact that as soon as the lid comes off, we're gonna see that they've disregarded the feedback that Casey directly asked for? Certainly the rumored working title of "Mass Effect: Contact" along with the assertion that it's not really fair to call the game Mass Effect 4 raise that possibility. Remember, this is the same company that suggested that SWTOR was essentially KotOR 3, 4, 5, ... 10. 

 

What seems to be happening is that the gaming press and the fan base are turning rumors and speculation into expectations, with an ever increasing certainty of "it must be thus" and "it cannot be otherwise" tones to the coverage and commentary. It feels like it is rapidly reaching the point where those expectations will lead to negative reactions when real information--regardless of what it might be--is actually released. The only way to manage those expectations is, in my opinion, to start putting out some solid info. 

[Drone223]

^I think that's unlikely, they'll announce the game when they are ready or surprise us on N7 day, the delay may be because they're getting use to the hardware on the new consoles, there is also competition from other games to consider as well.

[Malanek]

Durasteel, you make some interesting guesses but it is just all speculation. I have wondered whether they went down some path and then changed direction. I would have expected to have heard a little by now based on what they were saying a year ago and if it is due out next year. However I suspect the most likely reason is that they are all under NDA's and information release is dictated by an EA marketing team who will do it when they ready.

[Drone223]

Durasteel, you make some interesting guesses but it is just all speculation. I have wondered whether they went down some path and then changed direction. I would have expected to have heard a little by now based on what they were saying a year ago and if it is due out next year. However I suspect the most likely reason is that they are all under NDA's and information release is dictated by an EA marketing team who will do it when they ready.

This pretty much.

[themikefest]

They will focus on DAI and release any information about the next ME game after DAI is released.

[Drone223]

They will focus on DAI and release any information about the next ME game after DAI is released.

That also, but they could still release a teaser.

[durasteel]

^I think that's unlikely, they'll announce the game when they are ready or surprise us on N7 day, the delay may be because they're getting use to the hardware on the new consoles, there is also competition from other games to consider as well.

 

That's not it. 

 

Making the game work in the environment of the new engine and making sure it works on new hardware is important, but it isn't going to determine the pace of release for content info. Their competition is from games like the new Halo, which has never been as tightly under wraps as ME4 is.

 

I'm just guessing, but I really think that it's as simple as a culture of secrecy into which a fear of the fanbase has crept. Cultures don't have to make sense, and fear doesn't have to be justified, and in this case we have ample evidence to suggest both.

[Drone223]

That's not it. 

 

Making the game work in the environment of the new engine and making sure it works on new hardware is important, but it isn't going to determine the pace of release for content info. Their competition is from games like the new Halo, which has never been as tightly under wraps as ME4 is.

 

I'm just guessing, but I really think that it's as simple as a culture of secrecy into which a fear of the fanbase has crept. Cultures don't have to make sense, and fear doesn't have to be justified, and in this case we have ample evidence to suggest both.

Those don't take into consideration things such as NDA's (as mentioned by Malanek) or focusing efforts on games nearing release such as DA:I (as mentioned by themikefest), there could also be some other things that we aren't aware about so I doubt its really that simple.

[Malanek]

The EA E3 website http://www.ea.com/e3 makes it sound unlikely that ME will be featuring at E3. If it is, and their goal is to surprise, they will have succeeded on me at least.

[Drone223]

The EA E3 website http://www.ea.com/e3 makes it sound unlikely that ME will be featuring at E3. If it is, and their goal is to surprise, they will have succeeded on me at least.

Won't be surprised if they want to save it for N7 day (which is understandable).

[SNascimento]

That was before EA really took control of the marketing process. It hasn't been the same since then.

Well, DA2 was announced before ME2 was released, ME3 before DA2 and DAI before ME3. Not to mention we had The Old Republic looming all over thoughout that time.

I said this on this topic already. Saying NME will not be announced before DAI's released is absolutely baseless, with the facts actually pointing to the opposite direction. 

[durasteel]

The EA E3 website http://www.ea.com/e3 makes it sound unlikely that ME will be featuring at E3. If it is, and their goal is to surprise, they will have succeeded on me at least.

 

They certainly weren't trying to surprise anyone with the ME3 trailer, there was actually a mini-trailer for the trailer, and they made sure everyone knew that the full trailer would be on that show on Spike.

 

If they do release a trailer at this E3, it will be a significant departure from their past tactics.

[Malanek]

Yeah, that's why I say it sounds like there will not be anything. Use known products to generate hype and interest and leverage that to promote brand new unknown products. If there was something ME related I think EA would be using it.

[SNascimento]

There are a lot of games that are announced at E3 and are not hyped before it. I don't remember if there was any "pre-announcement" for ME2 in the GDC it was announced. 

It might be announced in this E3, it might not be. But almost everytime I see the arguments saying it won't they're generally really weak.

[Malanek]

It's just a guess. I'm certainly not saying there won't be, just the impression I've got from EA and the devs on twitter. I hope I'm wrong.