That's not paranoia. It's definitely within the realm of possibility that Mass Effect as a franchise will be shelved following MEA if it seriously undersells.
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The Mass Effect Community Thread |OT2|
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That's not paranoia. It's definitely within the realm of possibility that Mass Effect as a franchise will be shelved following MEA if it seriously undersells.
dr_rus
Member
It's toxic when you're emotionally invested into a thing which you shouldn't have been in the first place probably. For me it's just sad to see the continuation of Bioware's downfall, even though I understand that MEA isn't really a Bioware game in a pure sense. Will probably still buy it as it seems that the reviews are exactly what I expected and it's not like there's a lot of options when it comes to sci-fi AAA RPGs.
I will be vastly disappointed if destiny and star wars ends up being the only planet traveling sci-fi game we have left on consoles. It's insanely lacking
Heckler456
Banned
I know a lot of people are going to be eager and willing to throw Mac Walters under the bus, and I get that creative leads often take the bulk of the praise too if it's done well, but I don't think it's very evident as to whether or not the issue lay at the feet of the "big ideas" guy, or rather with the execution on those big ideas. I think not introducing too much new all at once is a sound decision if you're wanting to retain that DNA of your previous franchise, for example. And in terms of narrative logic, it makes sense too, given the fact that we're only visiting a single region of a galaxy.
I'm just gonna wait and see on what happens internally over there regarding him.
I'm emotionally invested in not seeing people gleefully enjoy other people's misfortune. I'm sure he is too. Besides, Shinobi left because people were accusing him of astroturfing, while he was just sharing his honest to god personal impressions of the game. He said that he realized that the well is basically poisoned when people start doing that, and that there is no point in trying to partake in the discourse if people unreasonably start regarding you in an accusatory manner.
I'm just gonna wait and see on what happens internally over there regarding him.
I'm emotionally invested in not seeing people gleefully enjoy other people's misfortune. I'm sure he is too. Besides, Shinobi left because people were accusing him of astroturfing, while he was just sharing his honest to god personal impressions of the game. He said that he realized that the well is basically poisoned when people start doing that, and that there is no point in trying to partake in the discourse if people unreasonably start regarding you in an accusatory manner.
wesleyshark
Banned
I'm okay with only a couple new alien races. As far as we know there's no mass relay equivalent in Andromeda, so certain species might be locked within their home clusters etc.
Thankfully there'll be Destiny 2, at least.
Having Mass Effect shelved along with the already shelved Deus Ex is a depressing prospect.
Thankfully there'll be Destiny 2, at least.
Tony Redgrave
Member
Yeah, I was just trying to to freak out lol.
Seriously, what's happening here? I never thought BioWare would drop the ball with this with such a long development time and knowing they'd have to make amends after ME3's ending.
Yeah. That's partly why I put my predictions around mid-80s. That said, I'd still say my lowest predictions still would've been high 70s rather than mid.
Jimmyfenix
Member
Welp
Tony Redgrave
Member
I think I need a drink.
I'm really curious what the marketing plan for this title is going to be.
Honestly, thinking about it, I don't think I've seen a single ad for MEA outside of the official channels for Bioware and ME itself.
Marketing for ME:A has been a shit show imo. Honestly baffles me how many fuck ups they had in their markeiting plan.
Whether it's the dev diaries at E3 or the silence until 2 months before release i don't know what they were thinking
The Artisan
Member
when can we expect some reviews brethren
IGN did a lot of online marketing for Andromeda when you think about it.
Ironically, despite that, they still gave the game a 7.7/10 lol.
Um, we've had loads. There's a thread in general for it. They aren't amazing. Metacritic score is at 75 so far, so a massive drop from the usual Bioware score.
Yeah. I thought they were going for FO4 style marketing where they become much more open near release, but I never felt we reached that point. Or maybe I'm misremebering FO4 marketing.
Given what we know now, it's entirely possible that some areas of EA may have had less than full faith in the title, and the marketing was adjusted accordingly.
You're definitely not misremembering. FO4 unveiled with 20+ minutes of gameplay.
The pre-release stuff for MEA was a fucking disaster, but I'm getting the sense that was less marketing's fault and more the game just wasn't ready to show. The game was clearly forced out earlier than it should have been.
But in addition to that the way and places they showed off made little sense. Like I still don't understand why the first gameplay they showed was a couple minutes of walking around, and it happened at the PS4 Pro unveiling.
Dandy Lyin
Member
I don't think they will shelve the Mass Effect franchise, but I have a feeling the next one will be Ryder-less. Probably sell it as a new trilogy, going back to their roots.
Yeah that could be true, then again from what we now they thought it would review quite well. If i remember correct mock reviews were pretty good
Tony Redgrave
Member
But, the Andromeda initiative videos etc. show there was some genuine effort put behind the scenes, it's the timing that seemed weird.
Either they were trying to get in the FO4 bandwagon or they rushed it. Either way, this is a disaster.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
I hope that despite all this circus, it sells well and BioWare can learn from it's mistakes and make ME:A2 the ME2 of this new series.
The sales data is what counts post this, so that's what needs an eye kept on it in terms of future installment viability.
I'm fairly confident it'll still sell well: especially with how good the multiplayer is to boot.
That's my hope honestly, after a DLC or two for Andromeda(namely the Quarian Ark arrival).
Reboot the whole thing, give it to another team more comfortable with Frostbite if it needs be, and bring us back to the Milky Way. I'm still a bit pissed off that we didn't get to see planets like Palaven or Thessia(ME3 mission wasn't enough honestly), or the Drell/Hanar homeworld, just to name a few, in their full (current gen) glory.
Even if they don't want to do a reboot, they could still do something from the ME1/2 timeline and just let us follow some regular commander/explorer while mostly ignoring the Shepard/Reapers story. If I remember right, ME2 whole thing with Cerberus/Collectors was kept in secret to the public anyway.
High sales forgives all sins. A low Metacritic score will be forgotten at EA if it sells well.
I'm just not confident it will sell that well. I think it'll do ok, but not great.
I imagine they just wouldn't have talked about it then.
I kinda made a point before release, but I think it still kinda stands along with a quote from the VentureBeat review.
Games aren't released in a vacuum. In the time since Inquisition released (which looked smoother than ME:A looks from what I've seen), we've had a good share of open world games that have each tried their own experimentation at how best to do an open world.
Blue Ninja
Member
Yeah, if it doesn't sell well, Mass Effect may be finished. So disappointing.
Heckler456
Banned
What can we glean from how it's performing on the amazon rankings?
wesleyshark
Banned
Amazon rankings aren't exactly the best indicator of sales but the current "best sellers (US)" list shows:
#4 MEA Standard (ps4)
#5 MEA Deluxe (ps4)
#6 MEA Deluxe (xbone)
#9 MEA Deluxe (xbone)
#15 MEA Standard (pc)
GenericBadGuy
Member
I still think the game is going to sell fine. Too many people have been anticipating the game for too long to skip it, and folks will buy it if only to see what the polarization is about.
However I don't think Bioware will escape the negative legacy of the game thanks not only to reviews but the way the EA trial was handled, and after DA:I and this I think I'm done with them for a while and can't believe a word they say. These days I can get my story/setting/character fixes elsewhere.
However I don't think Bioware will escape the negative legacy of the game thanks not only to reviews but the way the EA trial was handled, and after DA:I and this I think I'm done with them for a while and can't believe a word they say. These days I can get my story/setting/character fixes elsewhere.
Heckler456
Banned
Up to them to make a game that proves you wrong. I'm still rooting for them, personally.
Yeah, and 20th on the top 100 of 2017, so far, above the likes of Wildlands. Maybe that's good? When's the next conference call damnit!
wesleyshark
Banned
Lol @ the Nintendo Switch tempered glass protector being #1 in the top 100.
Speaking of, top 100 of Hot New Releases (US) has:
#2 MEA Standard (ps4)
#3 MEA Deluxe (ps4)
#4 MEA Deluxe (xbone)
#5 Mario Kart
#6 MEA Standard (xbone)
#7 MEA Standard (pc)
#8 Horizon Zero Dawn
#9 Persona 5 Steelbook
#10 MLB The Show
#11 Zelda
#12 Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5
#13 Ghost Recon Wildlands
Speaking of, top 100 of Hot New Releases (US) has:
#2 MEA Standard (ps4)
#3 MEA Deluxe (ps4)
#4 MEA Deluxe (xbone)
#5 Mario Kart
#6 MEA Standard (xbone)
#7 MEA Standard (pc)
#8 Horizon Zero Dawn
#9 Persona 5 Steelbook
#10 MLB The Show
#11 Zelda
#12 Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5
#13 Ghost Recon Wildlands
Jimmyfenix
Member
EA said they wanted 3 million on the first few days of launch
I think the game is still going to sell a lot despite the reviews and online mockery of the animations.
Question...how many millions does it need to sell for EA to say "That's good enough to continue our support."?
I really hope Bioware has a lot of bug fixes patches planned in the weeks/months ahead and to postpone whatever DLC they might have in mind until the biggest bugs are gone.
Question...how many millions does it need to sell for EA to say "That's good enough to continue our support."?
I really hope Bioware has a lot of bug fixes patches planned in the weeks/months ahead and to postpone whatever DLC they might have in mind until the biggest bugs are gone.
I think we'll see exactly the same happen as other big releases that disappointed. This game will sell a lot on its first few days, but have very short legs and struggle to sell much in the future. Then the next game that comes out, no matter the quality, will take an absolute dive in sales terms because of what happened here.
Tony Redgrave
Member
They need to focus on what can be fixed and fast. Apparently the reviews note problems with the story, the writing, the characters, lifeless worlds etc. that can't be fixed now but they should work to improve animations, robotic expressions, squadmate customization and (probably) have the power wheel comig back.
Didn't Inquisition sold a lot of copies despite DA2 though?
Good point, inquisition really breaks that rule. Possibly because it got such amazing reviews, and that year was a poor year for gaming all round?
Jimmyfenix
Member
Did inquisition really sell that well? I remember the only data we got was how many dragons were killed
Oh and it had a poor debut in the UK
Oh and it had a poor debut in the UK
It did. It had the best-selling debut in Bioware history in the US.
Florida_Man_5000
Member
A sci-fi AAA RPG is the quintessential genre of video-gamer's imaginations. Its the Star Wars of videogames. Bioware delivered this dream to us three times, (maybe a fourth because i reserve my right to love this game until i play it). But with this genre comes the expectation for new species and new experiences on reality (think Intersteller) and much, much more. Maybe they didn't capture the players imaginations and curiosities this time?
I hope the ME team considers some of these criticisms to make the next game or dlc better. Although I'd hate to wade through and filter the meaningless shit posts that will dominate most forums of communication of this game.
Also, emotional investment in a studio isn't a bad thing, there are real people behind these "works of art painting their vision", so am I a called a "consumerist" because i want those people to succeed or because i accept their vision as their own, or is a "consumerist" someone who views games as commodities and expects the artist to conform . Thats a grey area for endless argument (I do not wish to engage on).
I'm thinking it may fall far below EA's target. There are some franchises I thought were locks this gen but didn't hit the target (WD2, D2 and MD) because the dropoffs were super fast and steep. Very scary times.
Don't worry about it haha, he is emotionally invested in Nvidia.
The team should have filtered the meaningless shit filler that dominates most of this game.
They could still do so in a patch (but won't).
zeroeffect
Member
Looks like I'm going to sink into a deep melancholy of depression. I don't usually pay attention to reviews but it's hard not to for this game. Bioware as a brand sounds like it's done and this franchise might be too. They've had too much controversy over the years and this put the nail in the coffin. Going to be a dissolved brand like EA does to everything. Search for upcoming talent, buy, milk brand to death until they outlive their usefulness, dissolve them. The EA way.
Don't see Bioware recovering from this. Regardless how good their next game is, the damage appears to be done.
Don't see Bioware recovering from this. Regardless how good their next game is, the damage appears to be done.
Son Of Sparda
Member
lucebuce12
Member
Sales speak louder than reviews. I wouldn't lose hope until we have more news of how the game did financially.
To add injury to your injury, the OG ME team in Bioware is working on a competitor to Destiny 2.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
Best thing BioWare can do right now is to bite the bullet, give a timeline on improvements and fixes in game (and these may have to be quite big), and lay their cards on the table.
We're talking the frakking future of Mass Effect here, ALL Mass Effect.... let's not let it go the way of the dodo like Deus Ex BioWare - post game support and improvements (especially announced in a confident but empathetic way) will make a big difference going forward.
Hopefully it pulls a Destiny and sells like hot cakes and the reviews that are bad are mostly swept under the dollar coloured rug (like Destiny did so well).
We're talking the frakking future of Mass Effect here, ALL Mass Effect.... let's not let it go the way of the dodo like Deus Ex BioWare - post game support and improvements (especially announced in a confident but empathetic way) will make a big difference going forward.
Hopefully it pulls a Destiny and sells like hot cakes and the reviews that are bad are mostly swept under the dollar coloured rug (like Destiny did so well).
I think that's a tad hyperbolic. It's certainly not a good time for Bioware, but this isn't going to kill the studio.
Again, if you want an idea of what the response is going to be like, observe how Bioware reacted in the wake of DA2.
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