Company News Bioware is fucked

[zioburosky13]

Now EA has complete the cycle. First turd sports sequel, then turd fps game, later turd strategy game, now turd RPG game.

 

[Fyz]

According to Gamespot:

In a conference call with analysts after the announcement, EA executives shed some light on the motivation behind the deal. Besides the impeccable pedigree of both studios, Riccitiello said that the "acquisition fills out a gap in [EA's] genre lineup," specifically the role-playing and action adventure markets. The executive also cited BioWare's forthcoming MMORPG as a huge opportunity for "further expansion into the MMO space."

Guess that means that BioWare's MMO won't be a Star Wars one.

 

[dagorkan]

Where did I say Trilogy would be on a par with Fallout? I cited Fallout as a prime example of why judging a game by it's length, as you had done, was absurd. Nothing more. You seem to be under the impression that quantity can make up for quality, sorry to break your bubble, but a pile-o-shit is a pile-of-shit no matter how big it is. PSTp1 will either be good or bad. How long the game will be is irrelevant, design is everything. Will it be as good as Fallout? Probably not, they are unpaid amateurs working on a free project in their spare time, learning as they go along. Will doubling it's play hours fix that? No. If anything it will make it worse by diluting the good parts. 10+ hours is also exceptionally good value for something that is free

The problem with NWN2 is that the engine sucks. It's like NWN1 but 10x slower and more unwieldy.

Actually companions was the best part in BG2 (except art of course), without them bg2 would turn into yet another dungeon crawl (bg1).

Many of the BG2 modders are NWN modders, many of the NPC mods have been ported over. Well written dialogue isn't exclusive to BG2 mods and definitely not vanilla BG2. I suspect the cause of your disdain is that you don't like the new base games as much, which is a fair point (and one I share), but it poisons your view on the potential of modifications.

BG / the IE games suck even worse than NWN 2.

Reading the reactions to the takeover reminds me what a bunch of whiny faggots the 'Bioware community' is. Everything is about the quirky characters, the fascinating epic plots, the 'romances'... the play-pretend kind of role-players.

 

[OccupatedVoid]

Guess that means that BioWare's MMO won't be a Star Wars one.

Now it will be Generic WoW Clone #1042.

 

[doctor_kaz]

I gave up hope on Dragon Age at least a year ago, so this acquisition doesn't really bother me, since I'm only a PC gamer. In fact, it might be a little better for PC gamers, since it means that Bioware games probably wont' be XBox 360 exclusives anymore once Mass Effect has been out.

$850 Million wow. That's a whopping sum. From a discounted cash flow standpoint it's probably a bad investment for EA. In order to cash in on that investment as much as possible, EA is indeed going to have to milk this studio for all its worth. They are going to have to release multiple games every year on all of the major platforms.

 

[DemonKing]

It may well be that they trust John Riccitiello too much...

To use a Bio analogy, he comes across like the Glorious Strategist in Jade Empire...years convincing everyone he's a good guy only to swoop in and control the entire empire at the end...

...either that or he's the computer game industry's equivalent of Palpatine.

 

[MetalCraze]

I said there's a load of *good* NWN modules

recommend some then

Regarding the BG2 NPC mods, all the ones I tried felt like they had been constructed by some lonely emo. None added much in the way of choice and consequence, nor did they develop the overall story arc any further. Put simply, they were cheap gimmicks.

yes they have something like that, though people at G3 and PPG are trying to improve some. Also they are trying to do some good mods that add some npc interaction. There's some mod released with a new male NPC who in the end may kill Anomen (or the other way) depending on your choices (haven't tried it yet, as it will require for me to play bg2 again, and that's not until I'll finish bg1).
Also I kinda liked all that (actually there are only 2 of them ) mods that added some more dialogues to basic bioware npcs. During all that 100 hrs gameplay it really makes a difference.
There's also one mod on G3 in production that has close-to-BG2 dialogues in it (in a good way, I can look for it's name there if you wish). No wonder - it's like 5 people or something making this mod.
About territories - I think it's IE fault that you can't add new ones (or simply a lack of tools). About larger quests - not sure about G3 Anniversary mod (haven't tried it yet), but unfinished bussiness mods restore quests which bioware cut/not implemented due to a lack of time etc and some of them are pretty interesting.

10+ hours is also exceptionally good value for something that is free

but if it will be a good mod I would like to play (and re-play) it longer and I simply love planescape setting. So my point is to experience something that is nice for more time.
MotB is a disappointment in terms of re-playing btw. As do NWN2... So I would like to see something really worthy on that engine.

...either that or he's the computer game industry's equivalent of Palpatine.

When I looked at his photo at Kotaku I tried to imagine him with a hood and my first thought was the same.
BTW, nice JE-storyline ruining spoiler there.

The problem with NWN2 is that the engine sucks. It's like NWN1 but 10x slower and more unwieldy.

it's the same aurora shit anyway, no matter what devs say. And I also remember that NWN1 was also slow as hell without all that literally countless patches.

 

[dagorkan]

recommend some then Wink

Tortured Hearts 1 (and 2)
Runes of Blood
Honor Among Thieves
Saleron's Gambit
Hyborian Chronicles: Legions of the Dead

 

[MetalCraze]

Tortured Hearts 1 (and 2)

isn't this that mod from hungarians?.. if yes then I remember that I didn't like writing much (I mean the writing style). If no - then I have this mod somewhere but never had a chance to give it a try.

 

[dagorkan]

Yeah it is but I could get past that to the roleplaying.

By the way part 2 was written with the cooperation a published English-language author. Apparently it's much better but I haven't played it.

 

[slamelov]

Bye, BioWare, I liked some o your gamea and I will miss you.

 

[Drakron]

Hello?

McFly?

Death of BioWare ... not shitty mods for shitty NwN ...

Well I always believed that BonoWare would never work ... I wonder how much Bono got from this deal ...

 

[MetalCraze]

Yeah it is but I could get past that to the roleplaying.

By the way part 2 was written with the cooperation a published English-language author. Apparently it's much better but I haven't played it.

Hmm. So how feels a role-playing there? Are there any C&C and are there any really interesting companions?
(and can nwn work in software mode? my vcard is dead, so only now I can feel the power of 2D games (and some 3D with software rendering)).

 

[Sir_Brennus]

Benefit of the Doubt.

You finally lost it. Giving THEM the BotD and don't give Bethsoft's FO3 any of it? Considering EA track record?

It's like entrusting the devil with the Holy Grail on the verdict that he had never been found guilty of stealing pottery.

PS: Your stance on BioWare is well known, and even if you think that Dragon Age is NWN reloades (as you logic dictates) you should mourn the loss of an "independent" (to be owned by a hedge fund means just that) developer in the biz.

PPS: I love most of their games and actually think that even Jade Empire isn't without merit.

 

[NOVD]

Oh well. I'll probably still buy Dragon Age if the previews look OK. How long has Dragon Age been in production? Quite a while. I imagine EA can't destroy it easily.

 

[Lumpy]

Oh no, now Bioware are going to start making bad games!

...Wait.

 

[Naked Ninja]

My heart dropped at this news.

 

[Sovard]

If I had something of value, I would bet one of the 09/10 (perhaps even 10/11) releases will be a cross-platform Dragon Age. Actually, I can guaran-fuckin'-tee it. They are missing RPGs, sure, but I bet they're not referring solely to the PC market.

I can also bet the MMO will attempt to be pushed as cross-platform as well, we'll see how much fun they have putting the Hero's Journey engine into THAT arena. By that time they will have cross-platform MMO's already coming out. It'll look like the thing to do from EA's fiscal perspective.

There will be a greater push for simultaneous cross-platform releases. Not a development cycle solely to put something on the PC with a little something extra.

I'd like to call myself a prophet, but this is all common sense.

 

[Drakron]

EA is conservative, console MMORPGs are new (well Phantasy Star is not but you get the picture) and I doubt they will go multiplataform with the BioWare MMORPG ... at least until they see if the current trial swims or sinks.

Now Dragon Age for PS2/PS3/Xbox 360/Wii/PSP/DS ... oh yes, I can see that ....

 

[VonVentrue]

I have never held Bioware in high esteem, I must admit... They make good cRPGs, but I most certainly do not consider them to be the best.
Nevertheless, I can't say I am happy about this - in fact, this is depressing news.

 

[Volourn]

"I just thought they had more ethics and moral than to outsell the company and their employers to the evil empire that is EA."

The only people who lackl ethics and morals in this situation are the whiny, judgemental, selfssh, and greedy customers suffering from 6 year old temper tantrum disease.

Everyone should just get over themselves. Geez.

 

[Brother None]

The only people who lackl ethics and morals in this situation are the whiny, judgemental, selfssh, and greedy customers suffering from 6 year old temper tantrum disease.

Everyone should just get over themselves. Geez.

Yeah, those damned consumers and their accursed "standards"! Everyone should just be thankful someone is taking the effort to shovel crap at them and just eat it with a smile.

 

[Volourn]

"Everyone should just be thankful someone is taking the effort to shovel crap at them and just eat it with a smile."

Wrong. It's real simple. if you don't like a game being made don't buy and/or play it. Period. Don't be lame like most Codexers who abshed the hell out of Oblivion before release yet went out and bought it. Don't be the morons who called NWN 'one of the worst RPGs ever' yet bought both expansions, anyways. Don't be a doofus.

Stop whining with your I N T E R N E T D R A M A over a stupid game company being bought.

 

[Brother None]

Wrong. It's real simple. if you don't like a game being made don't buy and/or play it. Period. Don't be lame like most Codexers who abshed the hell out of Oblivion before release yet went out and bought it. Don't be the morons who called NWN 'one of the worst RPGs ever' yet bought both expansions, anyways. Don't be a doofus.

I have bought neither Oblivion nor NWN. Why were you assuming I had? The only game I've ever pre-ordered was BioShock, all other games I've tried via demos and only bought if I like what I saw.

Stop whining with your I N T E R N E T D R A M A over a stupid game company being bought.

I'm not whining. I'm indicating BioWare has lost any consumer trust it had with me (which was little) by being purchased by EA. This is the same thing all the other "whiners" are saying, in so many words.

It's a pretty standard reaction to a sale of this nature in any industry. No need to get upset about it, BioWare is just losing consumer trust. Sucks for them, though I doubt it'll mean much on the long term.

 

[Section8]

Benefit of the Doubt.

You finally lost it. Giving THEM the BotD and don't give Bethsoft's FO3 any of it? Considering EA track record?

Well, Bethesda have proven they're both incapable of design integrity, and are all too willing to alienate any fanbase, including their own, in the pursuit of "greener" (read: less discerning) pastures. EA may be cunts, but for gems like Battlefield 1942, The Sims, The Sims 2, Undying, Crusader: No Remorse, Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper, The Tiger Woods series, Freedom Force, the System Shocks, the Magic Carpets, SimGolf, the early Wing Commanders, the Ultimas, Alpha Centauri, etc. I'm willing to forgive them.

Yes you can say they've destroyed good things - the demise of Origin was tragic, but Garriott has hardly proven himself to be anything but a turd-monger post-EA. Same goes for Peter fucking Molyneux. Sid Meier (and Brian Reynolds) have proven themselves both under the EA banner and outside of it. Will Wright is given free reign for his loony ideas. I cursed the day Looking Glass closed their doors, but it's not as though the talent therein hasn't busied themselves since.

I'll freely admit EA have a patchy record - the Medal of Honour series is probably the most pungent piece of shit atop a hefty dungheap, the C&C series was run into the ground not long after the first game, the EA sports market is saturated, and their milking of the Sims is utterly brazen. But you can't say they haven't published some fucking great games, and supported some fucking great developers - many of whom still survive, in one form or another - some making quality games, but admittedly many are simply pinching out the digested by-products of their past glories.

It's like entrusting the devil with the Holy Grail on the verdict that he had never been found guilty of stealing pottery.

No, that's a terrible analogy. The benefit of the doubt is not granted on the condition that they have never been caught sinning. But unlike Bioware, Bethesda, id Software, Blizzard or any of the other big "independents" who show a trend of steady decline without exception, EA have a questionable business model that for the most part gives us repetition, but also has room for innovation and quality.

Someone with a selective memory could pick many high-points from EA's back catalogue right through until the present day - the same person would be faced with a difficult task in matching Daggerfall with a modern day contemporary of similar quality, and even the most rabid Bioware fan would find it difficult to find anything post BG2 that's come close to matcing BG2.

Short of drawing a fucking graph for you,I don't know how I can better illustrate this - EA's cash cow franchises are steady and consistent, while there are fan favourites, and increments considered to be missteps, on the whole, if you like one FIFA game, you'll like them all. Among that consistency, you have unknowns, with a reasonable strike rate of good, solid games. The supposed "independents", especially the RPG houses are going downhill in nearly every respect but production values. Give me the evil empire any day of the week. Patchy strike rate or steady decline? Let me think...

PS: Your stance on BioWare is well known, and even if you think that Dragon Age is NWN reloades (as you logic dictates) you should mourn the loss of an "independent" (to be owned by a hedge fund means just that) developer in the biz.

My logic? Fuck that. NWN was a DIY mod kit, and I'd have no problems with it being marketed as such - at one point in time, it was. Dragon Age is obviously something different, and it seems to me like a throwback to Baldur's Gate - which my well known stance indicates I'm no fan of. Forgive me for not whooping with joy and turning cartwheels in anticipation.

And as for independents, I'm still as discerning as I am with evil empires. You could be a sewage contractor who buys their way into games, or a pair of medicos seizing an opportunity. I don't give a fuck. If your business is business and not games, then you cease to be an "independent" because you're thinking in the same way as the big guns.

PPS: I love most of their games and actually think that even Jade Empire isn't without merit.

I'd give it a go, but their track record of nothing but disappointment holds them in worse stead than an evil empire who turns out both good and bad.