Rumor: Bioware being dissolved into EA

[crazyrabbits]

There's making bad business decisions, and there's closing down an entire branch of studios that have consistently made you a profit over one game that had problems. It's not just Mass Effect 3. Dragon Age 2 sold 2 million copies within a month of release, and Dragon Age Origins sold even better. Even the famed "disaster" of The Old Republic had 1 million subscribers within 3 days, better than any other MMO has done. EA said, prior to the game's launch, that having 500,000 subscribers would be enough to start turning a profit.

Basically, Bioware is one of EA's gold-laying geese, and they'd be committing corporate suicide to close it down.

Close, but no cigar.

DAII was a bonafide flop. If we're to factor in the rumors that the game was originally an entirely different RPG that got kitbashed into the DA universe, that's extra development funding that would have already had the game in a hole by launch. Besides, it came nowhere close to DAO's figures, and sales dropped off to virtually nothing within the first three weeks of launch. Hell, a BW employee even said a few months back that there was no consumer interest in a GOTY edition, due to the fact that the DLC's sold terribly.

ME3, while selling well, didn't surpass the sales of the previous installment - to date, it's sold roughly 500,000 units less than ME2 within the same launch window. Both ME3 and DA2 have the distinction of having their sales boosted by critically acclaimed previous installments, and were both marred by massive controversy.

The whole TOR issue is a disaster. They've bled something like 750,000 subscribers - they'd be fools if they kept it the way it is. I don't even know if this whole "free-to-play" (with content still locked up) model is going to do anything for them.

As far as I'm concerned, they may as well dissolve sooner than later and save the fans the heartache of watching a company they loved slowly get strip-mined.

 

[Thoric485]

Greg Zeschuk being devastated over his WoW killer going F2P makes sense. He was really involved in development, even got a SWTOR tattoo.

An honest-to-god-we-need-to-laser-burn-it-off kind of tattoo?

Looks like the real deal to me.

Spoiler

Also, from his Linkedin:

General Manager, BioWare Austin
June 2010 - May 2012 (2 years)

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

There's making bad business decisions, and there's closing down an entire branch of studios that have consistently made you a profit over one game that had problems. It's not just Mass Effect 3. Dragon Age 2 sold 2 million copies within a month of release, and Dragon Age Origins sold even better. Even the famed "disaster" of The Old Republic had 1 million subscribers within 3 days, better than any other MMO has done. EA said, prior to the game's launch, that having 500,000 subscribers would be enough to start turning a profit.

Basically, Bioware is one of EA's gold-laying geese, and they'd be committing corporate suicide to close it down.

Close, but no cigar.

DAII was a bonafide flop. If we're to factor in the rumors that the game was originally an entirely different RPG that got kitbashed into the DA universe, that's extra development funding that would have already had the game in a hole by launch. Besides, it came nowhere close to DAO's figures, and sales dropped off to virtually nothing within the first three weeks of launch. Hell, a BW employee even said a few months back that there was no consumer interest in a GOTY edition, due to the fact that the DLC's sold terribly.

ME3, while selling well, didn't surpass the sales of the previous installment - to date, it's sold roughly 500,000 units less than ME2 within the same launch window. Both ME3 and DA2 have the distinction of having their sales boosted by critically acclaimed previous installments, and were both marred by massive controversy.

The whole TOR issue is a disaster. They've bled something like 750,000 subscribers - they'd be fools if they kept it the way it is. I don't even know if this whole "free-to-play" (with content still locked up) model is going to do anything for them.

As far as I'm concerned, they may as well dissolve sooner than later and save the fans the heartache of watching a company they loved slowly get strip-mined.

Looking up the numbers of DA2 compared to the first game, yes, it was a flop. But games that are "bonafide flops" usually don't get sequels. Which DA2 did, in fact, get. http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/21/muzyka-bioware-to-throw-previous-dragon-age-games-into-a-blende/

As for Mass Effect 3, as the man two posts above me pointed out, the 500,000 difference is in total sales, meaning that Mass Effect 3 has sold far faster than Mass Effect 2 has. After all, in just 5 months, it has sold only half a million units less than Mass Effect 2 has in 2 years and seven months. It's also only about a quarter of a million units shy of the lifetime sales of Mass Effect 1.

Also, if you go across all platforms, Dragon Age II, the "bonafide flop", has sold almost 2 million units. Assuming $60 dollars per unit, that's nearly $120 million in sales. Bonafide flop? Hardly.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

I like how "rumor" is now a synonym for "shit we made up". XD

I know, right? Personally, I heard from an anonymous source that Bioware employees are secretly working on Jade Empire 2, keeping it on the DL to prevent interference by EA.

 

[lithiumvocals]

If this is true, good night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.


If not, k then. Moving on.

 

[ThriKreen]

Lol but it's only Bioware Austin... For that matter, how many different Bioware are there? Is it like Ubisoft (there's too many to count) Or Bioware Austin is the one and only?

There's six, Bioware Edmonton (the first) (city pride initiated!), Austin, Mythic, Montreal, Ireland, and San Francisco.

Actual Bioware:
Bioware Edmonton (The main one, ME, DA)
Bioware Austin (SW:TOR)
Bioware Montreal (ME)

Bioware Ireland is more of a CSR office for TOR, so not a proper dev studio.

Rebranded:
Bioware Mythic (WAR, formerly Mythic)
Bioware Victory (EA LA, maybe former Westwood?)
Bioware San Francisco (formerly EA 2D, FaceBook games)

 

[Zaik]

It's no rumor that bioware is being dissolved into EA, the rumor part is that it's happening soon.

I expect EA to mismanage a few more games into the ground before putting a bullet through Bioware's head and eating it's corpse.

 

[FoolKiller]

The Bioware name lost its value once EA picked them up.

Because even if Bioware is actually independently working on stuff under the wing of EA, the masses will assume the worst and think EA is pulling all the strings. Thus it doesn't matter if you call them Bioware, ClownCarParade, AsshatDesign or anything else for that matter because at the end of it all, it's still EA.

 

[Weaver]

Bioware and EA are already the same company. Muzyka essentially said as much like a year ago in a public press statement. He's a chief shareholder at EA, thinks of himself as an EA executive and really... that's what he is.

 

[thespyisdead]

well... i think these 2 geniuses should jump out as soon as possible and restart their company from scratch...


if anything you should be applauding that they are bailing out of bioware

 

[Jack_in_theGreen]

I think Curt Shilling should totally buy Bioware back and make it and independent studio again and make hit games...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJfJTmfq2Q4

 

[Laurents van Cauwenberghe]

i doubt i would buy a game from bioware again if they will "merge" (i guess) with EA, so far a game hasn't been good after the studio merged with EA