The Great Video Game Business and Financial (In)Stability Thread

BadKen wrote:

So f*cked.

Based on the reaction here and elsewhere to the ME remaster... they’ll probably be okay.

Blind_Evil wrote:
BadKen wrote:

So f*cked.

Based on the reaction here and elsewhere to the ME remaster... they’ll probably be okay.

So I'm the only looking at 100+ hours of 2-generations-ago game and thinking "no thank you very much, nuh-uh, are you kidding me?"

ME remaster is gonna sell like gangbusters.

Dragon Age 4 is gonna be their next marquee release, then Mass Effect 5 after that. It's a bummer, but I expect Anthem will have scared them away from anything outside of safe franchises for the next few years at least. Maybe once ME 5 is out they'll try something new, but I wouldn't expect it any sooner.

Jonman wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:
BadKen wrote:

So f*cked.

Based on the reaction here and elsewhere to the ME remaster... they’ll probably be okay.

So I'm the only looking at 100+ hours of 2-generations-ago game and thinking "no thank you very much, nuh-uh, are you kidding me?"

Nope. Also, the early impressions from Kat Bailey made it sound like you could basically get most of what they're doing via graphics mods. Making it so I don't have to go through the long mod install process -- especially for ME1 -- is nice, but not $60 nice.

billt721 wrote:

Nope. Also, the early impressions from Kat Bailey made it sound like you could basically get most of what they're doing via graphics mods. Making it so I don't have to go through the long mod install process -- especially for ME1 -- is nice, but not $60 nice.

I assumed that this was a decision made for the console market - because you're right, a PC remaster doesn't make a lot of sense by itself.

Jonman wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:
BadKen wrote:

So f*cked.

Based on the reaction here and elsewhere to the ME remaster... they’ll probably be okay.

So I'm the only looking at 100+ hours of 2-generations-ago game and thinking "no thank you very much, nuh-uh, are you kidding me?"

I thought the games were overrated in their own times, but the thread here is hopping and a couple podcasts I listen to gave me the impression that the audience reaction to the remasters are the take my money gif.

Speaking for myself, I am a day-one purchase for whatever the next Dragon Age is. I have loved every one of them so far.

The fanbase is pretty rabid, so as you say there are certainly folks who will just throw money at the remaster no matter what.

Mass Effect 1 is old enough now that people who were in elementary school when it came out are now old enough to want to check out the series from the beginning, especially if they only played 2 and 3, or maybe even just Andromeda. Mass Effect 1 is an old, ugly (mechanically and visually) game, and while there are plenty of enthusiasts here who have no problem wading through the BioWare site to download DLC for the trilogy, and grab mods to smooth out the pixelated textures, there are a lot of people who are happy to to just play a spruced up version on console or Steam without having to mess around with that stuff.

Blind_Evil wrote:
BadKen wrote:

So f*cked.

Based on the reaction here and elsewhere to the ME remaster... they’ll probably be okay.

Conversely, the enthusiasm for the Mass Effect remasters coupled for the lack of interest in Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem demonstrates that the studio's best work is behind them. The Mass Effect Remasters are a fairly low-effort porting job coasting mostly on the strength of the IP.

BioWare has hosed the last two projects they released. My guess is that at the first hint of trouble with the next Dragon Age, EA runs out of patience and kills the studio.

I could have sworn the original Mass Effect was getting a major overhaul.

I don't own the trilogy on PC, so $60 for three games plus all the DLC I missed isn't too bad. That said, the odds of me playing all three games again rather than just the one is also highly unlikely.

I highly doubt Bioware is screwed in any sense, particularly as us old fogeys age out of being the big top influence of mass media and younger generations that don't know a Baldur from its Gate or think Fallout begins and ends with Bethesda become the primary buyers of new content. The old BioWare was already dying when Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 released, and it was certainly six feet under once the doctors left (which I believe was around when Anthem was announced). But that doesn't really matter in the long run.

I was interested in seeing what they could do with Anthem. Not sure I'm interested in whatever is coming for Dragon Age or Mass Effect in the future.

Yeah, my armchair-quarterback impression is that the ME remaster buys them just enough time to crank out another big game, but not much more if their next effort flops.

People in this thread are underestimating the chance that the remaster will suuuuuuuck.

Just because it's a remaster of Mass Effect is no guarantee that it'll be any good. Remember, this is the studio that gave us Andromeda 1.0. :shudder:

I mean, how could they suck more than the original 3 games? It’s 95% the same stuff.

And yes, Clock and hbi are right. When I said I think they’ll be fine, it was in the context of the two posts above saying they BioWare is screwed. Long term they probably are, but aren’t we all? They’ll make it to the next DA.

Jonman wrote:

What else do Bioware have in the hopper - more Dragon Age and Mass Effect re-release?

Which is to say - how f*cked are they?

I think I said this in another thread, but just in case: they're an EA property. EA is where studios go to die.

Malor wrote:
Jonman wrote:

What else do Bioware have in the hopper - more Dragon Age and Mass Effect re-release?

Which is to say - how f*cked are they?

I think I said this in another thread, but just in case: they're an EA property. EA is where studios go to die.

In this case, it sounds like EA is where BioWare went to hang themselves.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I mean, how could they suck more than the original 3 games? It’s 95% the same stuff.

Do you remember the textures and animations from the initial release of Andromeda?

IMAGE(https://pics.onsizzle.com/sorry-my-face-is-tired-16414348.png)

BadKen wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I mean, how could they suck more than the original 3 games? It’s 95% the same stuff.

Do you remember the textures and animations from the initial release of Andromeda?

Now I want to see Shepard flail their arms like they're plummeting to their death every time they walk down one step.

Bioware was founded in 95 and EA acquired them in 07. They have existed longer under EA than without. If anything EA probably allowed them to exist longer than they should have. Creative Studios typically don’t have 20+ runs because the Founders drift away/break up/ get bored etc.

It was a good run if it does end but EA ending it is probably not the story.

BadKen wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

I mean, how could they suck more than the original 3 games? It’s 95% the same stuff.

Do you remember the textures and animations from the initial release of Andromeda?

I saw the bad response and stayed away, in light of not being a super fan of the first three.

Speaking of, I've been meaning to give Andromeda a go now it's been tidied up. Think Origin will still give me a few hours of playtime as a demo.

Jonman wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:
BadKen wrote:

So f*cked.

Based on the reaction here and elsewhere to the ME remaster... they’ll probably be okay.

So I'm the only looking at 100+ hours of 2-generations-ago game and thinking "no thank you very much, nuh-uh, are you kidding me?"

Sir, you are not.

However, in all fairness, I will probably buy it first time it goes on sale.

But if they are going to lean into remastering... Dead Space can have my money.

"2-generations-ago" makes me wonder if in addition to nostalgia for the game, it's nostalgia for the era.

he plays a BioWare game,
he plays an Atlus game,
he plays a Bethesda game,
he plays an Irrational game.
he plays the games that remind him of the good times,
he plays the games that remind him of the better times.

I do need to restart andromeda. I was having fun until I jetpacked through a window I was not supposed to be able to enter. 30 min later I got out to find the last enemy did not exist. After firing enough bullets into the rock the guy was stuck in he died. Then the door opened to the room I was stuck in. No, just no. Uninstalled.

Andromeda is on Xbox game pass. I played a bit and quite enjoyed it. Got distracted and stopped though

Eleima and I both really like Andromeda. It's still the weakest in the series but the combat and skill system is top notch.

TheGameguru wrote:

Bioware was founded in 95 and EA acquired them in 07. They have existed longer under EA than without. If anything EA probably allowed them to exist longer than they should have. Creative Studios typically don’t have 20+ runs because the Founders drift away/break up/ get bored etc.

It was a good run if it does end but EA ending it is probably not the story.

Indeed. Why would a small game studio ever refuse a buyout offer by the EA's/Activision/Microsofts of this world? You not only get your big payday, but on top of that any sh*te you publish after the acquisition will always be blamed on your owners, no matter who's actually responsible!

Schreier is also reporting that EA has axed Motive's Gaia that's been in dev since 2015. This project had some lead folks bounce a couple years back, so not a huge surprise.

And that Dragon Age 4 is now back to being a single-player game rather than a forced multiplayer game.

Has anyone seen any reportage on how developers/publishers feel about Game Pass? Enthusiastic, good-for-business? A weaksauce way to monetize your game? Good for the long tail, but poison for the new release sales burst?

Vector wrote:

Eleima and I both really like Andromeda. It's still the weakest in the series but the combat and skill system is top notch.

I also liked Andromeda a lot!

charlemagne wrote:
Vector wrote:

Eleima and I both really like Andromeda. It's still the weakest in the series but the combat and skill system is top notch.

I also liked Andromeda a lot!

...my favorite ME game, honestly.