In Defense of Bioware: What Do They Owe Us?

Wesley Copeland of VGI writes ...

"What started out as a simple news article regarding The Mass Effect 3 DLC 'From Ashes,' has remodelled itself into something else. You see, the more I thought about day one DLC, the more I found myself thinking about gamers and our need for everything! We have this undying need for information and this unfounded level of entitlement.

So the question I pose today is: What do Bioware owe us? The answer is nothing. Especially when it comes to things like DLC."

[ninjahunter]

So, we make them successful, then they wait till we turn away and screw us where it hurts. They dont owe us anything, but we, and they know this is a bad business practice and will bite them in the ass, may it be now, or in later games.

[tigertron]

Bioware owe us some explanations. Clarifying our concerns would be a great.

*looks at Bioware social forums*

[Titanz]

It's pretty ironic, considering EA Sports's slogan
"EA Sports: It's in the game" (while it honestly isn't).

[majiebeast]

They owe us everything that is already on the disc, that includes the prothean squad member. If they dont give that to everyone i will pirate it, so instead of losing out on 10$ they will lose out on 40-50$. EAware went too far that is all there is to it.

[krazykombatant]

"What does BioWare owe us... Nothing?" Are you ****** kidding me??? Lots of people have been loyal fans through the years, only to have them slap us in the face because of their greed.

“The content in 'From Ashes' was developed by a separate team (after the core game was finished) and not completed until well after the main game went into certification” says ME3 Producer Michael Gamble. That is total bullsh*t from him, the game was just announced to have been 100% finalized like a week or two ago. The script and story about (at the time just rumors) were leaked back in November.

Its not a big "if" they're just covering their ass to try and convince the gullible fans like the writer of this article, into saying that it was made separately and after the game.

Are you trying to tell me that BioWare, who have been known to make great stories and plots and lore, are just going to add a shallow DLC story to the (as we know it)THE SOLE SURVIVING PROTHEAN?!?!? I think not. At least it would be foolish to think of it in that way.

"what right do customers have to tell developers what we want in the game?" Have you ever studied business??? The world has changed from production base to what do the customers want. We have every right to complain/give ideas/ criticize both good and bad points.

"the majority of us are not angry gamers, but rational gamers...." You don't care how EA/BioWare are taken advantage of you through your wallet. They CUT OUT/locked material in the CD to force you, to pay outside the CE. It's ridiculous business standpoint. Sure they might make a quick buck in the short term but in the long term, they'll keep doing things like this until people get fed up.

CE edition should be cosmetics and just things to give you an slight early advantage in the beginning of the game (Dragon armor in DA:O). Not a character that represent a huge and mysterious portion in the ME lore.

[TheGreenMan]

My biggest problem with this is the precedent it sets. If Bioware gets away with this (by which I mean lots of people buy the DLC), it sends the message to developers and especially publishers, that gamers are willing to pay $60 for 3/4 of a game and then pay another $10, $20, or maybe even $30 for DLC that completes the game. If this happens, more and more companies are going to start doing it and we won't have a choice but to buy the DLC - if we want the whole game, that is.