150°

Pachter: “BioWare without the doctors is like a Godfather movie without Coppola”

Industry analyst Michael Pachter believes the departure of founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will have a profound effect on the quality of BioWare’s output, saying “you’re not getting anything like those games again.”

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beefjack.com
NYC_Gamer4210d ago

The studio lost its identity along time ago while the doctors were in charge

shammgod4210d ago

Agreed. It was EAs meddling that caused the downfall

NYC_Gamer4210d ago

EA is known for ruining studios and franchises

doogiebear4210d ago

And likely caused them to want to leave

GrahamGolden4210d ago

the docs maybe was there but they were still EA bitches so nope they didnt lost identity before EA but after EA.

Bercilak4210d ago

Thank you!

Of course, people will point to sales figures in support of their contention that more recent games sold better but quantity doesn't equate to quality. Britney Spears sold a lot of albums, too.

Jason_Tanner4210d ago

Well really at the end of the day that statement is just a reflection on how brainless the consumer masses are as a whole.

greenpowerz4210d ago (Edited 4210d ago )

They were fine until PS3 was equally thrown in the mix after EA. Hell Even ME3 Box art was geared to PS3 fans.

Look at how Japanese this looks. http://garybaileywriting.fi... When you see Shepard in ads when this energy blade is turned on it ejects like a mineral based blade and makes a cling/sling noise.

Carl_Shocker4210d ago

"Hell Even ME3 Box art was geared to PS3 fans."

...I don't even......whaaaa

The Box art was fine, better then having a horrible purple line at the top "Better with Kinect".

lodossrage4210d ago (Edited 4210d ago )

I know people like the throw ridiculous, fanboyish notions out there on this site, but somehow blaming the PS3 for the fall of Bioware is just.....well...anyone with common sense can fill in the rest for me lol. I'll just say only a fanboy would believe/agree with that dribble greenpowerz lol

Anyway, truth be told, Even though it's true EA has a habit of messing up developer units they buy, Bioware's games were slowly on the decline anyway.

Case in point, remember KOTOR? Remember how hardcore orientated it was?

Then their next game, Jade Empire, while it was still hardcore, Bioware made it more accessible to the mainstream (compared to KOTOR).

Then came Mass Effect, which was while still hardcore, it was made even more mass audience friendly than KOTOR or Jade Empire. And the rest of the games, you all know the story.

Point is yes, EA made them that much worse off true, but they were slowly going down the path of decline anyway. EA just made it come that much faster.

GrahamGolden4210d ago

hate more master zero....hey guess what ME1 coming to ps3 u mad brah?

best version confirmed also..another exclusive lost for ya..but oO wait it was also on pc's u mad ?

wait for your halo 1482937927384 and shut it kkthxbb

majiebeast4210d ago (Edited 4210d ago )

I think my brain just went dead for a second when i read that. WHAT!!!

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ChunkyLover534210d ago

People leave developers, that doesn't mean the games and franchises wont be fine. When Bungie left people thought Halo would suck, but 343i looks to be putting their own touch on Halo and Master Chief and it looks like the best one ever.

Remedy sold off Max Payne and Rockstar did a great job with MP3.

A different company made Little Big Planet for the Vita and people are saying that is the definitive version.

Peter M left Lionhead and I expect that to be a positive for the Fable series. Cliff B left Epic and I expect Gears and those games to be fine.

People leave companies all the time, there are a million quality developers ready to step up.

Chuk54210d ago

The difference with halo, is that bungie didn't have their hearts in it anymore. You could even see with reach that was the case. that's the case where new blood was needed. I see the doctors leaving much like Mikami leaving capcom

ChunkyLover534210d ago (Edited 4210d ago )

I have to disagree, I thought Halo Reach was the best Halo to date, certainly the single player, which was heartfelt and amazing. I thought they took too many risks with the multiplayer, but it was still a solid effort.

@MikeMyers
343i is strictly a Halo developer, that is why so many talented developers joined them in the first place. If you look at some of the people who are on that team, they are an all star dev team.

Even there name is a Halo reference, I wouldn't expect them to do anything but quality Halo games.

MikeMyers4210d ago (Edited 4210d ago )

EA has a history of running franchises into the ground by buying out the developers and changing their identity. Just look at what has happened to Command & Conquer for example. Bioware will never be like the old Bioware because EA restructured them with Mythic Entertainment. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk were the last two remaining co-founders at Bioware.

This whole thing reminds me of what has happened to Rare and when Microsoft bought them. The main people left and only the name has carried on trying to retain the glory days. Same thing is happening now with Bioware, the heart and soul of the company is now gone.

343i still has Frank O' Connor (formerly from Bungie) at the helm and he's in charge of continuing the Halo franchise. How the company moves forward on other future franchises is the question and that is only if Microsoft allows the team to do anything besides Halo. On the flip-side, Bioware has created a lot of ip's and were not a one-hit wonder. Now will the development team be able to create new and refreshing franchises while working at EA?

zerocrossing4210d ago

Itagaki left Team Ninja and now look at Ninja gaiden, number 3 was awful

Shinji Mikami left Capcom and look at the state of RE 5 and 6 they almost represent nothing of their origins.

Toyama left Konami and Silent hill hasn't been very good or scary since.

These are prime examples of creators leaving a company and their games declining because of it.
Also I'm not trying to correct you just showing the argument has weight on both sides.

m234210d ago

343i will only make Halo games, hence the name 343i.

MikeMyers4210d ago

ChunkyLover53, then perhaps 343i isn't the best example of new people carrying on the torch since all they will be doing is Halo. Bioware is known for many franchises, not just Mass Effect. I do hope Bungie well in the future as they probably wanted to move forward and do something else besides Halo.

I think when Bioware was bought by EA it was downhill from there and now nobody is left from the old team. I also expect some people from 343i to jump ship in the future once they have experience under their belts. Not too many people only want to work on just one franchise forever.

Jason_Tanner4210d ago

The name of a developer means nothing without a talented group of people behind it.

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Belking4210d ago

I knew once EA stepped in it wouldn't be long before those guys took off. No studio wants want to be owned and those that are owned and say otherwise is total BS. All my opinion of course.

Knight_Crawler4210d ago

I hate MS for not buying Bioware when they had the opportunity.

Blah blah blah...Rare was already dead when Nintendo sold them to MS so do not give me that BS about MS killed Rare.

Belking4210d ago

"Blah blah blah...Rare was already dead when Nintendo sold them to MS so do not give me that BS about MS killed Rare."

I know Rare wasn't the same when MS bought them. As a matter of fact, MS actually brought them back to profitability. In this case there was no need for EA to step in with that deal because Bioware was doing well with their publishing deals. They really didn't benefit from the EA take over. When they had to defend their ending to ME3 I knew a change was gonna come. These guys will start another studio and won't that mistake again.

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130°

BioWare Could be Working on More than Just Dragon Age Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4

Earlier this year, BioWare was hit with layoffs as part of a downsizing of parent company Electronic Arts, but fans have been reassured that the next Mass Effect game hasn’t been impacted. Likewise, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s development is still churning along, with BioWare putting it at the forefront of its focus and rumors suggesting that it could launch sometime later this year. Fans might be getting another look at the long-in-development Dragon Age: Dreadwolf at the Summer Game Fest in June.

If the recently posted job offering for a temporary development manager is any indication, BioWare could have yet another surprise up its sleeve for when Mass Effect 4 and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf are nearing completion. This mystery BioWare video game could truly be anything, from another spin-off of its two major properties to something entirely new. All there is to go on at the moment is a vague mention in the job posting, and it might still be some time before BioWare is ready to confirm any new games in its pipeline.

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gamerant.com
just_looken16d ago

So a studio that spent years on anthem then this dragon age thing is now also working on another ip along with mass effect,

You think they would be worried that there brand has been on 3 major screw ups

Dragon age 3 launched broken with the frostbite engine yes its a good game but you can see in the late game how rough it was

anthem......

Mass effect 4 well that dev team was fired so yeah.....

They should make sure this new dragon age is a goat instead of putting more work on the table

bababooiy15d ago

Bioware today is like 150 poeple i dont see how they are seemingly working on all these projects at the same time.

Michiel198915d ago

Inquisition wasn't broken, it just had some flaws and on the contrary it also had some strengths. If you call inquisition a major screw up then idk what to say.

That said with what happened to the study since then and now, I'm not really confident that their next game will be any good.

just_looken15d ago

If you played it fully to get plat like me back in its novemeber launch window you had that castle with empty area's endgame missions not there or working and a mp that was made around loot box grind like the mass effect mp.

Its hard to explain to those that played it years later after they tossed out the dlc/patch's

Michiel198915d ago

entitled much? I played it at launch too. Why you even platted it if it was a "major screw up"?
It was good enough for you to sink 100 hours in but also a complete fuckup at the same time, make up your mind.
So either you like shitty games or you're just talking out of your ass.

RaidenBlack15d ago

Well just wanna say, Archetype Entertainment is the new BioWare, composed of mainly ex-BioWare vets.
And they're developing Exodus (starring Matthew McConaughey), a new sci-fi RPG (spiritual successor to Mass Effect, dare I say?)

CantThinkOfAUsername15d ago

I hope it's a single player game with Anthem's gameplay mechanics.

Becuzisaid15d ago

They're owned by EA. What makes you think that they wouldn't publish for PS5? Shoot, if your fridge could connect to your bank account EA would try to release it for that if they could!

Double_O_Revan16d ago

How about they focus on those games and not over extend themselves? We don't need another Anthem.

Becuzisaid15d ago

Bioware died after Inquisition (some would even argue after ME3). They are no longer the same company.

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220°

EA Hopes to Use Generative AI to Drive Monetization and Make Development 30% More Efficient

Today Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson provided a look into his ideas for the use of generative AI in the company's development processes.

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techraptor.net
thorstein42d ago

I wonder what the next buzz word they'll slap in front of AI to make it sound exciting next? "Generative" as if it's creating its own content. Lol.

Cacabunga41d ago

EA is already dying a painful death..

peppeaccardo41d ago

i have a better idea .. why the whole exec team doesn't get replaced by chat bots ?

just_looken41d ago

Though i agree the ai thing is already in other forms of media there have been ai translations/scripts/voice over and even full ai commercials aired on tv. Ubisoft has created a ai game creator story/vo/music except the building of the game

The new unreal engine has auto terrain creation tools

In the world of greed in which it is winning without any major blow back ai is our future.

everyone want's biden dead on the mic or a criminal instead of a woman and now we are getting ai everything because no one will stop watching/playing ai created media.

GamerRN41d ago

Maybe they should just focus on making good games?

Just a thought...

Kiryu199241d ago

Exactly EA are just pure evil. When they are beating Bank of America to be voted the worst company to work for that’s saying a lot

Good thing I don’t buy their games day one and wait for deep deep sale years after launch (the select few games I am actually interested in)

Gaming is making so much money yet the greed of these companies is never ending

CEO’s and people on board making millions yet cutting jobs to those who are actually making the products

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Knightofelemia42d ago (Edited 42d ago )

EA is still a shady shitty company even with or without the help of Skynet. All they will use AI for is new ways to milk loot boxes and come up with the same sports title with a different year on the label. They are one company I truly do hate with a passion. They single handedly ruined some great franchise with their death touch. ME, Dead Space, Alice Returns, Dante's Inferno.

Stuart575641d ago

EA layoffs followed by 'Generative AI to Drive Monetization'

I knew it. Wonder what AI salary looks like? Nothing.

ChasterMies41d ago

I having a feeling that most of the layoffs in the industry are based on the idea that AI will do the same job for less.

DarXyde41d ago

Very likely, yes.

Made worse by the fact that the execs aren't changing their compensations.

My deepest fear at this point is that we are now in the capitalism endgame.

At this point, we really should just burn AI to the ground. Executives cannot be trusted to do the right thing.
How are those people expected to support families if everything gets automated?

Barlos41d ago (Edited 41d ago )

And take away creativity, and people's jobs as we've been seeing. Got it.

No thanks. I want my games created by people, not AI.

CobraKai41d ago

Exactly. If or when games start becoming more AI than people, im done with gaming. AI and companies like EA can suck donkey d***k.

just_looken41d ago

Though i agree remember this is no ps3/360 era were we got up to 3 games in one generation from on developer like gears/halo/bioware/sony/ms

The people today are pro esg/sweet baby for the most part AAA gaming is imploding right now.

We should be stepping back re evaluate everything as a whole this year xmen 97 written/directed by a woman that is nuts and its also being made by a group reshaping bodies to be less sexual like wtf. A dam famous cartoon from the 90's is being rebuilt with millions spent to be worse in everyway.

Gaming/movies/tv shows made today are worse than what we had 7years ago ai won't change this but that ai is also being made by these groups so either way we are screwed.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Eonjay41d ago

Don't be of afraid of women. Sexy characters in games and movies still exist. Got my Stellar Blade on preorder!!! Everything all the time doesn't need to be sexual...that's stupid, childish and dull.

Chocoburger41d ago (Edited 41d ago )

EA doesn't want to lose their title of worst gaming company ever, always trying their best to remain the champs!
What's sad is that they have so much potential to be a decent publisher.

SSX Tricky / SSX 3
Def Jam Vendetta / Fight for New York
NBA Street
NFL Steet
Mirror's Edge
Bad Company
Burnout 3 / 4 / 5

Remember when EA used to be awesome? It's all over with now. Unpolished, if not out-right broken games these days. Endless monetization and gambling in their sports games, and let's not forget wasting hours of your life trying to unlock characters or equipment using "surprise boxes!"

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80°

Mass Effect 3's Ending for Javik Misses the Forest for the Trees

Based on one narratively fitting ending in Mass Effect 3, Prothean squadmate Javik is highly unlikely to return in the next Mass Effect game.

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gamerant.com
anast43d ago

He was one of my least favorite characters. I wish they would have done the Proths different.