Bioware has a lot to offer, but the common view shared by a fraction (not saying its small but likewise not all-encompassing) of the fans is not indicative of the imminent fall of Bioware.
They're a company that for all purposes makes good games (see: sales) and has built a fan base. Sure not all fans are happy with certain directions the company has taken but all in all the games they produce are still pretty damn good despite the dissent.
And I can't understand how TOR is a lackluster MMO, considering it has a significant subscription/fan/player base, even though it has yet to unseat Blizzard as king of the MMO crowd. Still you can see the influence TOR has on future/current MMO's, and I can see correlation TOR and some updates in Mists of Panderia.
All in all, I do not predict doom for Bioware anytime soon.
I've noticed there's quite a lot of negativity towards Bioware but no real constructive criticism. Well I'll take that back slightly. Underlying the lot of fanboy rage and mob-mentality controversy, there have been some salient points but for the most part its pure hate and nothing of real value other than a negative opinion.
I have loved Bioware for years and still am a fan of their games. Objectivity and constructive criticism goes a long way. Negativity and doom-saying and things like that do nothing good for this industry.
Again let me say that not all dissenters have raged without saying quality criticism, but a vast majority of the fan-rage is just that... fecal-osophy. Shit talking without anything of substance behind it.
Want change in the way things are done? There are a few good ways to do so:
1. When voicing your opinion and feelings, make sure your criticism isn't just hate. If you want something changed, add ideas and where/why you felt things went wrong and what you might think could have been done better. People respond better to constructive criticism than just outright negativity.
2. Do it yourself. If you feel the industry doesn't quite get the point, then perhaps you should make it your mission to do something about it. Not this "Retake Mass Effect" thing, sorry but no one has the right to push a dev around simply because you didn't like the ending of one of their games. Instead go develop a game that involves those things you feel are missed in other games. This is a point I try to make clear, you can talk big about how you "would have done it" but in the end, if you can't do it yourself you are hardly an expert in the field and your opinion, while valid only because its yours, carries little weight since you can not do better yourself. Like the guy who rages at their favorite sports team but has never played or coached a sport in his life, who says "they shoulda did..." In reality having no real knowledge or experience in said sport invalidates his opinion on what they "shoulda did". Sorry.
3. Chalk it up to life. Things don't always turn out the way you want, and no matter what you do it won't change because you want it to. Accept that there are things you cannot change. It takes courage to know the difference of what you can and cannot do.
4. Feedback without threatening boycotts. For the most part a company isn't going to give a rats ass if you won't buy their next game because you didn't like something they did previously. If you want change, give them feedback and don't give them an ultimatum. I guarantee those things (lawsuits included) just harden the hearts of devs/publishers towards consumers. I wouldn't want to listen to someone basically threatening me with a loss of business because I didn't make a game perfect enough for them. Especially if they are trying to make trouble for me, or ***** me out but don't actually have something to really say other than how much they hated it. I honestly think the more people do this the more Pubs/Dev's dig in their heels and say to themselves "What assholes we have for customers".
All in all... Bioware isn't dead or dying. So don't start divvying up their assets just yet. I think they have some interesting things coming our wayy.
