Gamer's Corner: Has EA Ruined Bioware?

"Rather than being a pioneer for software quality, it seems that E.A. is a pioneer for business models. There are many common themes with E.A. published games - paid for DLC, pre-order bonuses, special editions, online activation codes etc. All of these are innovations in generating money rather than improving the quality of the game. Methods that increase the money you hand over and reduce the chances of selling the game to the pre-owned market."

[NewMonday]

IMOO yes they did, they only started changing because EA wanted the games "accessible".

EA missed the point that EA is dedicated for hardcore RPG games, and its fans are hardcore RPG gamers.

[Baka-akaB]

i dont really believe it .

Bioware has been streamlining and simplifying each subsequient game right after Kotor .

EA was just "lucky" to buy them after me1 ... at the point bioware was really simplifying to the extreme .

And the dlc trend was already starting full force with me1 .

I even bet Bioware's top showed EA their vision for the future , and project of making rpgs for the masses , wich convinced them of the purchase even further .

That's too easy to pretend its EA's fault , just because you dont wanna start disliking Bioware . it takes two to tango

[JAMurida]

Still gets me though how Bioware would stay with them after EA said "Single player games are a thing of the past".

That was literally a kick in the nuts for Bioware.

[krazykombatant]

Agreed on what you have to say, I don't think we need to pass judgement until ME3 comes out. If it fails which it shouldn't but if it goes into more simplicity. I think its safe to say that bioware have ruined themselves.

[Solid_Snake-]

agreed. EA ruined bioware.

[DeadlyFire]

I disagree. Bioware was perfect before EA touched it. Now it is no longer Bioware. It is EA-Bioware. Completely different company in my eyes.

Its hard to really say if EA has changed Bioware or not.

[evrfighter]

can't argue that

think Square-Enix except EA/Bioware will put out 10x more DLC.

[Rainstorm81]

EA tends to ruin most games they touch.....like the last patch for Fight night champion changed the game and made it unplayable for me.....also look at NBA live/elite or Madden for more proof.

Even still, i just cant put down Bioware games

[JAMurida]

I wouldn't say "ruined" just made the game more stream lined to reach as many people as possible. This process happens to just about every game out there these days though.

[Rybakov]

nope Mass effect 3 is not being streamlined like ME2 and DA2 were

and star wars mmo is gonna be awesome tho i wish they would do a proper ktor3....hated 2 but then again they didnt make it

[bessy67]

Yeah, but just the fact that they're doing an MMO speaks to EA's influence in trying to appeal to a wide audience and roll in the dough, like WoW. Bioware has always been about making the best single-player experiences out there, and I really wish they hadn't gone down this route. It'll be the first bioware game since Baldur's Gate that I won't buy.

[Rybakov]

yeah and have you not seen any of the devs talk about the mmo its more about the single player experience on top of being able to play with groups of people

and who chars if its an mmo or not its star wars ktor thats enough for me to at least pick it up and try it....tho i dunno where i will be or my financial situation but if i can ill keep playing

[Baka-akaB]

EA's influence ?

I'm rather otherwise convinced that the appeal of a project like Old republic , along with their sp portfolio is what made EA purchase them to begin with .

The idea didnt start with EA , and Bioware was more likely seeing a big enough publisher to support its mmo projects and a few others .

I have a feeling we'd have the same subject and debate , if not worse , had Bioware gone to activision , Square enix , capcom , namco or ubisoft instead

[bessy67]

@Rybakov: I'm sure that it will be a great game and a more story-focused MMO than some of the others on the market, but as with WoW, which I'm sure is an amazing game, I refuse to pay $60 on the game itself and then close to $200 a year in subscription fees for a single game. It's ridiculous.

@Baka-akaB: I also agree that the situation would be the same or worse if they had gone to some of the other studios that you mentioned. I just wish that they had stayed independent and kept releasing games in their typical style, since they are some of my all-time favorite games.

[XRider]

EA has turned one of the best RPG's Mass Effect into Gears of War Space Edition. Look at that buggy glitchy shit Dragon Age 2, now remember how good the first DA was. They scored Mass Effect 2 so high and though it was a good game Mass Effect was just soooo much bettter.

[Baka-akaB]

and yet its funny how you dont give EA credit for DA and yet would credit them for ME2 or DA2's negative stuff .

contrary to my posts in the thread might indicate , i dont like EA , they arent that far off to activision imo and never reallly were ...

But seems to me that if you deems the publisher got such a big influence on bioware , then it goes both ways .

An over intrusive and greedy publisher wont suddenly leave you alone for that one project while ruining the others

[XRider]

EA does have a big influence over Bioware because they "own" Bioware and all their IP's. Bioware was working on DA and ME before EA stepped in and ruined it. Now we have Mass Effect 2 Gears of War space marine and broken button mashing closed world DA2.

[Crazay]

You can't give EA much credit for Dragon Age - it was in development for a very long time and actually was conceptualized and started on prior to EA acquiring them.

[VampiricDragon_]

it already happened

[baldulf]

I think Bioware have ruined themselves.

Their games were more and more casual with every instance. EA could have pushed them in that direction but it was their fault in the end.

[Gamerfans]

start marking Loner as trolling he is looking for exrta bubbles.

[krazykombatant]

As long as ME3 is more like ME1 then they we'll redeem themselves. If somehow they managed to make ME3 shit. Then the only way they can redeem themselves would be to make the next Kotor. I'm not buying Dragon Age 2 until the price goes down and they release it with all of the DLC. Until then i'm not gonna bother buying rushed crap.

[Foxgod]

Mass effect owns, i doubt it would have been so great without the bag of cash that EA provided to fund this series.

[Blad3star]

Are you talking about the original ME or ME2 because EA was not involved in ME1 and despite all the bugs it was better than ME2.

[NYC_Gamer]

yes,because they will have bioware,take the mainstream approach.

[nskrishna2]

Mass Effect 1 was the RPG that Mass Effect 2 could not be...
As someone above pointed out, it has become Gears of War by Bioware. Dragon Age was awesome, but looks like awesomeness is a rare occourance with EA these days

[hano]

Hell yeah, they sure did. The old Bioware took more time developing games, now they are doing too much, that's why we have games like Dragon Age 2.
Speaking of which, EA turned most of their franchises into casual RPG's.

I prefer the original Dragon Age and Mass Effect to the sequels. Both of those games were being made before EA purchased Bioware.

Now, they will also release the Old Republic MMO which I believe will fail horribly.

[moaradin]

Derp. Just so you know, The Old Republic is Bioware's longest developed game they ever made. It started production in 2006, which is way before EA picked up Bioware.

[V0LT]

EA ruined a ton of companies.

[Ace_Man_6]

EA ruin everything!

[SquareEnixFan]

EA hasn't ruined Bioware. Bioware is still an awesome developer. On another note, I can't believe there are people who think ME1 is better than ME2. ME 2 was better in every way. I also like Dragon Age 2 more than Dragon Age Origins but I can at least understand how somebody else may enjoy Origins more.

[tigertron]

I agree that EA hasn't ruined Bioware, but when you say ME2 was better in every way, I just can't agree. There are definatly aspects that were better in ME1 than in 2, and vice versa. Mako exploration, combat etc are certain things which people feel make the first game better.

[Nate-Dog]

ME2 had around 3 important missions in the whole game, and half of the game was spent doing "loyalty" missions for people to try and learn their background like it was just chucked in there to take up time, meanwhile in ME you had about 6 long and important missions and other things like actually being able to explore other planets (as opposed to scanning them) and doing little assignments there and of course doing the heaps of small assignments you had on the Citadel. Plus in ME you didn't have to do loyalty missions to learn about your squad mates, they were introduced to you and to the story and their own times and you learned about them as you went along and as you talked to them. ME2 just felt a bit empty to me, didn't feel like much of an RPG like ME did.

[kirajc]

Mass Effect 2 is an amazing experience....EA has not ruin Bioware.. They crazy or something?....

[Crazay]

My buddy who worked at Bioware certainly thinks so. He said that Dragon Age (not DA2) was the last true Bioware title and to get ready for more cookie cutter crap with the Bioware name on it.

[tigertron]

Has EA ruined Bioware? *looks at ME2* No.

[mananimal]

yep, EA has done this to EVERY studio theyve ever owned, Bioware has lost its Soul, and the Hardcore Gamer is hard to reel back in once that trust is broken, Go ahead Bioware, chase the $$$$(casual- itist), but in the end, thats all you will have gained. going down hill and sinkin fast. lol

[gcolley]

i'm still pissed they closed black box who made the skate series

they ruined BFBC2 (single player) in my opinion as well by mimicking COD.

basically anything with potential will go mainstream for sales. this of course ruins what was great about the previous effort in the first place. i played DA2 for about 5 hours and all i wanted to do was turn it off for most of that.

it reminds me of when some of my favourite bands get a new manager and then all of the sudden they are releasing pop songs

[Magic_Spatula]

Anyone else miss Jade Empire? That was an awesome game. Now off to go find a copy.

[Speakindatruth]

This article shouldn't be called "Has EA ruined Bioware?". It should be called "HOW EA ruined Bioware."

[Nac]

BioWare changed their focus. They ruined themselves.

[Rowland]

EA are a corporate giant whose mandate is to churn out mass produced quantity as quickly as possible.

Can't blame Bioware for wanting a quicker slice of this particular cake - it's a fact that their games are becoming more & more streamlined & seriously simplified to enable faster production & mass appeal.