Yea, I understand that...I'm not even asking for gameplay or anything like that. Maybe just a sentence or two about plot, or a CGI teaser trailer. Things like that. I don't think it's too early for those things.
Yeah, and I figure they'll do that anyway. They teased Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, and I'm pretty sure Dragon Age 3, before going all out with details.
Reiterating the situation:
- Mass Effect 1 - Announced (early) October 2005. Released November 2007.
- Mass Effect 2 - CGI teaser March 2009. Gameplay June 2009. Released January 2010.
- Mass Effect 3 - CGI teaser December 2010. Details/screens April 2011. Released March 2012.
Lets assume VGA 2013 comes and goes and no Mass Effect shows. This will mean that between release and the year's end there's been a window of 21 months Mass Effect free. This would eclipse the gap between Mass Effect's release and Mass Effect 2's announcement by 5 months, marking the longest downtime between any two games. And look, that's possible given the engine switch and new direction from Montreal. But if it's not going to be announced then, then when?
And consider a reasonable release date. If it doesn't make 2014 at all, if we're ruling that out due to Dragon Age: Inquisition getting holiday priority, then it can't be later than 2015, right? So how far into 2015? If it doesn't release until holiday 2015, that means Mass Effect will have been decommissioned for
almost three years. I seriously doubt EA will want BioWare sitting on one of their most consistently well performing and growing franchises, with strong mass market viability, for that long.
My prediction: Mass Effect 4 is aiming for a Q1 2015 release. One-two punch with Dragon Age: Inquisition, and BioWare's big game to fill early that year software rush. New IP holiday 2015. Very short Mass Effect 2-esque teaser for Mass Effect potentially at VGA 2013, early deets in Game Informer Q1/Q2 2014, first trailer and footage at E3 2014, and Q3/Q4 used to spread screenshots, videos, and impressions across magazines and websites. Big deal made of the game on N7 Day 2014, marketing campaign gears up, game is out ~February 2015. BOOM.