What has Bioware got left to offer?

[Felipe Nurwandi]

Well honestly every development team is very talented. They always have the capabilities to create a new IP, but it is that risk that turns them away from it. If it fails, then it fails; hopefully they will be given another chance. Though with so much talent in their team I have faith that they could successfully create a new IP for everybody to enjoy.

 

[CAPTCHA]

Spoiler

It seems to me like Bioware may be coming to an end. Since becoming a part of EA they haven't been given the go ahead to produce a new IP and their older ones are reaching the end of their life spans.

Mass Effect - pretty much finished bar the long slow milking via DLC.
Star Wars - An fairly lack luster MMO soon to be forgotten.
Dragon Age - Their only real IP with room to expand, though DA has always been a beta project and kind of lacks a strong sense of identity, especially in todays over-saturated WRPG market.
C&C Generals: A very un-Bioware game.

So what do you think will happen next. Will they be let off the reins and allowed to develop a IP? Will they be dissolved into the EA money bin? Perhaps EA will hand them an existing IP to work on? Thoughts?

Let me fix this for you:

Mass Effect - They are going to continue making sequels, just no longer about Commander Shepard.
Star Wars: The Old Republic - Still going rather strong, not going to be forgotten.
Dragon Age - DA3 is being made, hopefully with the best worlds of DA:O and DAII
Generals - An interesting side-project.

When was the last time Blizzard made a new IP? Damn near a decade or two ago? Then what is the rush with Bioware making a new IP when they have two, fairly new I might add, IPs (Dragon Age and Mass Effect). Don't they also have the Baulder's Gate Franchise that could possibly be brought back into today's current market?

I am confused here. Did Blizzard cease to be thanks to Activision? No. So why does everyone think that Bioware will also cease to be thanks to EA? I don't... I... don't understand... I... fuck it, I give up trying to understand.

Blizzard are pretty much resting on their laurels, unlike Bioware who and are being put under the whip in the EA gaming mines for dialogue wheels and romance options. I was mearly trying to point out that those veins are starting to running thin. IMO they need something fresh or they are going to get repurposed.

 

[The Critic]

In all likelihood, Bioware probably isn't anywhere near as close to death as some people would say (or hope) that they are. ME2 and ME3 aren't exactly financial failiures, and The Old Republic is still going strong, despite the doom-and-gloom nay-sayers. They're still successful, like it or not. In truth, it seems like Bioware's biggest problem at this point is it's public image and the negative press that it recieves.

In terms of what they have to offer? Well, they still have the Dragon Age IP, the Mass Effect IP is still their's (even if the trilogy is done with), and they still have Jade Empire. Plus, their new studio acquisition (Bioware Victory) is now working on the C&C franchise. Also, let's not forget the fact that Bioware may still come out with new IPs. All in all, they're pretty well off, I don't really see any major lack of content or ideas for Bioware in the near future.

 

[seule]

Personal opinion : Their work has gone to crap since the takeover, yeah its an easy out to blame EA but if the shoe fits... ...

 

[Saviordd1]

The Mass Effect universe isn't done yet, they've clearly stated multiple times they want to stage more games in that setting. Shepard's story may be done but I can see lots of possibilities for great games in that universe.

I can't be the only one who thinks they could do SOMETHING with Garruses little vigilante group from ME1 to ME2.

OT: Going through a DEBATEBLY rough spot doesn't equal dying, you want dying, go see THQ.

DA still has a lot of expansion and as far as WRPG's go it has a pretty good identity for being a mix of the gritty dark stuff of game of thrones and the high fantasy stuff like lord of the rings, its a pretty nice spot honestly.

Mass Effect isn't finished, Shepard is, but a lot happened before Shepard that they can play with to some degree.

Plus they can always come up with new ideas.

 

[Agayek]

Dragon Age 2 was fine. It was the same fucking area because the game was set around that fucking area. They wanted to add in a main character with a voice, is that really so fucking bad?

Dragon Age 2 was fundamentally broken in just about every way. There were two redeeming features of the game: the combat mechanics and Varric. Everything else ranges from "absolute shit" to "mediocre at best", including the design for combat encounters (read: it was shit, endless waves of mooks spawning means the only valid strategy is to stand in a clump and AOE the shit out of everything). There was definitely a lot of potential in it, and if they'd had another year or two, they almost certainly would have met that potential. The fact of the matter is though, they didn't have that time and couldn't meet it.

Mass Effect 3 was also fine, stop your bitching about the ending and admit it. The game was fucking perfect all the way through. They're also adding in events every weekend for multiplayer.

Mass Effect 3 is far from perfect. It's an excellent game, and I thoroughly enjoy playing it, but it's definitely not perfect. Also, the ending is an abomination that fails to meet any objective standard of quality. It was atrocious. Almost everything else about the game is most excellent though, and it's definitely worth the money.

And TOR. I'm sorry, not enough end game for you? Didn't the game just come out.. OH YEAH IT JUST FUCKING DID.
Re-roll a new toon and get it to 50. Enjoy all the stories they put in the fucking game. It's utterly fucking amazing. Sure, its the same old Kill x things, but so is every other fucking mmo out there. Deal with it.

TOR is a bad MMO. It's a very high quality RPG, with fantastic story telling and really, really good level design. The problem is that Bioware failed to make the MMO aspects anywhere near the same level of quality. See:

1) The economy is ridiculously broken (credits become utterly meaningless within 3 days of hitting the level cap due to dailies edit: and slicing, can't forget about slicing)

2) Crafting professions are silly at best (there's no reason to be anything other than biochem or artificing, the best crafted gear in the game is on par with Tionese gear)

3) The end game is boring outside of dungeons (mostly due to #1)

4) Dungeons are both incredibly easy and are designed in such a way as to encourage burn out (read: multi-tiered difficulty in the same dungeon, with higher tier rewards in lower tiers, is not good design)

There's a few other issues with it, but they're minor quibbles at best. It mostly comes down to the fact that Bioware has never done an MMO before, and that EA is atrocious when dealing with MMOs. From what I've heard, they're starting to figure out what the issues are, and I may even come back in another 4 months or so and see what they've done with it, but the game as it stood in March is simply not a good MMO.

Bioware made these games, not you, you are NOT entitled to ANYTHING. It's their choice, and honestly they're doing well from it.

Also, I really need to point out that the customer, in any transaction is entitled to whatever they want. They can ***** and cry about whatever, and it comes down to the seller to determine whether or not losing a sale is worth the price of not catering to them. That's just how business works.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I like TOR.
I like ME.
I like DA.

Those games are fine and they aren't "Dead"

you guys just expect a shit ton and demand things your way.

Dragon Age 2 was fine. It was the same fucking area because the game was set around that fucking area. They wanted to add in a main character with a voice, is that really so fucking bad?

Mass Effect 3 was also fine, stop your bitching about the ending and admit it. The game was fucking perfect all the way through. They're also adding in events every weekend for multiplayer.

And TOR. I'm sorry, not enough end game for you? Didn't the game just come out.. OH YEAH IT JUST FUCKING DID.
Re-roll a new toon and get it to 50. Enjoy all the stories they put in the fucking game. It's utterly fucking amazing. Sure, its the same old Kill x things, but so is every other fucking mmo out there. Deal with it.

They are constantly updating the game and adding in new things, for free, adding in events for new items/pre-order items!

Bioware made these games, not you, you are NOT entitled to ANYTHING. It's their choice, and honestly they're doing well from it.

/rant off


Sorry, but, Bioware is fucking awesome. Yeah, I am a fanboy, but thats because I can enjoy a game before bitching about it.

Bioware can do what they want, and I am entitled to shit all over it. All this talk of people's expectations making them 'entitled' is a misuse of the word. You just want people you disagree with to shut up. You could have been a lot more effective in defending Bioware if you didn't resort to needless insults. Give people an argument and they have to address it. This was just angry shouting.

I could tell early on I didn't like the direction they were taking Dragon Age II, and in the end I was glad I skipped it. Same with Mass Effect II, although that wasn't such a bad case. I rented that one and got some enjoyment from it. The story in Mass Effect is more-or-less the only thing that makes the series stand out, so I don't think I'll enjoy a Mass Effect with a story as bad as the ending to the third. As for the TOR, I've never heard anything about it that sounded particularly inspired, but to be fair I wasn't shopping around for a new MMO anyway. I definitely would have given it a look, but it didn't draw me in.

So I'm not crazy about the direction they've taken they're main IPs. Since I do think they are capable of making great games, why shouldn't I ask what they have in store that I might appreciate?

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Mass effect is far from finished. They will most likely do that Mass shift series or something similar. I know you can't believe a 'leak' from Reddit but ME is considered the best sci-fi universe ever created by many and EA are sure as hell gonna milk it for as many games as they can. Afterall, the Halo universe already has 8 games in it.

SWTOR is crap overall, but its better than Rift so until GW2 or Pandaria come out (Jury is still out on TSW at this point), unfortunately that makes it still the best MMO at the moment.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

They fucked up the ending for the best RPG since fallout 1 and 2 (and of course morrowind) beyond belief.

Something like that cannot be forgiven.

Let the corpse rot.

BioWare isn't going anywhere. The Old Republic has five times the subscribers they need to remain profitable (400 000 needed, 2 000 000 obtained) Mass Effect 3 is still selling well despite the negative fan reception tantrum, and the last Dragon Age game was nominated for Game of the Year.

The more I think about it, the more it becomes clear that the Burn EA Crowd is actually a very small but vocal minority. EA games still sell well, BioWare games and MADDEN being their biggest sellers. They're not going anywhere. Pandemic was dissolved because it stopped being a profitable company, because their games didn't sell very well. Maxis was bought out by EA, but their games still get made (The Sims still being the single best selling video game of all time).

So perhaps, gaming community, you should realize that the world isn't ending, and gaming is going in a direction that is neither favorable nor evil. Come out of your fallout shelter, the nuclear alarm hasn't even been sounded yet.

What I took from this is people who criticize Bioware are whiners, and whiners should remain neutral because EA makes shitty games that sell well. I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just don't understand the logic of your argument or the point you are trying to make, outside of calling people who criticize Bioware losers who should shut up and take it.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Am I the only who who finds the fact that the OP has the image of the Guardian as his avatar while bemoaning how EA is ruining yet another developer's IP hilarious?

 

[Woodsey]

Them getting their arse in gear. I don't sign-up to the ME3 business, as far as I'm concerned, that team is fine, they fucked up an ending like most games do, the rest of it was highly enjoyable (not perfect, obviously).

I am worried about the Dragon Age team and the two Doctors at the head of the company. If I hear 'wider audience' one more time I will start taking scalps. They also seem to have an increased propensity for bringing up their "rich history", all of which has increasingly less to do with the stuff they're making.

The key difference between Mass Effect and Dragon Age is that, ultimately, ME followed a design direction that suited it. Dragon Age didn't.

 

[red_tok]

Bioware was dead to me the day EA decided to start re-branding "less successful" game studios with the Bioware name. Oh, and the fact that their games have gotten steadily worse since DA: Origins, which at the time had been in development for years.