Dragon Age: Origins Reigns Supreme as Best-Selling BioWare Game.

[Logan Westbrook]

Dragon Age: Origins Reigns Supreme as Best-Selling BioWare Game.

Never mind space battles, lightsabers and robots; apparently what gamers really want in their BioWare games is blood splatter and dogs.

BioWare's reputation as a maker of excellent RPGs is well deserved, having created classics like the Baldur's Gate [http://www.amazon.com/Baldurs-Gate-4-1-Boxset-Pc/dp/B000FGA1US/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278611478&sr=1-1] series and Knights of the Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Knights-Old-Republic-Xbox/dp/B000067DPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278611503&sr=1-1]. But despite this long pedigree, it seems that BioWare's most commercially successful game is in fact last year's Dragon Age: Origins [http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Origins-Pc/dp/B001IK1BWC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278611430&sr=8-1], a game it expected to have little mainstream appeal [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99058-BioWare-Surprised-by-Mainstream-Success-of-Dragon-Age].

"Dragon Age was an extremely successful title for us - last November it was the single most globally successful title we've put out to date," said Rob Bartel, BioWare's principal designer. "This is one of our two primary IPs in the Edmonton studio in Canada, and then we're working on the Old Republic [http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Pc/dp/B002I0HH2O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278611585&sr=1-2] down in Austin. So Dragon Age is a very big part of what we do and for what the future for BioWare will hold for sure."

There are no doubt plenty of reasons you could think up for why Dragon Age has done so well, but a big part of it must surely be the fact that it's the first BioWare game in nearly ten years that has been available to PlayStation owners. Mass Effect [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Xbox-360/dp/B000OLXX86/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278611621&sr=1-1], Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire [http://www.amazon.com/Jade-Empire-Xbox/dp/B0006ZJPSC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278611652&sr=1-1] were all initially released on the Xbox or Xbox 360, with PC versions coming later. Dragon Age: Origins, on the other hand, was designed to be multi-platform from day one. Considering the PS3 represents an audience of tens of millions that was previously untapped, Dragon Age's success makes a lot of sense.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39913/Dragon-Age-bigger-than-Mass-Effect]


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[Lemon Of Life]

Cool. Seeing as my Steam account is disabled, and I'm bored of my Xbox 360, DA is pretty much the only game I'm playing. It's got its share of flaws, but it's a great game.

 

[The Zango]

Wow, I was expecting the ME series to be Bioware's top seller but still, DAO is a great game.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Doesn't surprise me, though I was sure ME2 would take the title.

 

[Dexiro]

It'll be because it's multiplatform. I'm sure ME2 would top it if it was on PS3 as well ;D

 

[Woodsey]

"last November it was the single most globally successful title we've put out to date,""

Does that mean ME2 could still possibly be their best sold? Or has he just worded that a bit funny and I'm looking too much into it?

 

[ww2jacob]

That's surprising, but does make sense. I'm glad to hear it though, since DA is my favorite BioWare franchise with the possible exception of KOTOR.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

That's odd. I didn't expect that at all. In fact, I expected Mass Effect, like others in this thread seem to have done as well.

 

[Loonerinoes]

So that's why it ain't ME2! Huh...whelp, sure good to see it worked out well for the PS3 crowd too.

 

[rawrnosaurous]

It is worded a little funny but I don't think that if it was ultimately proven false they would tout it as such.

 

[theaceplaya]

Make it multi-platform, and they will come.

 

[CloudKiller]

Unsuprising news, but well deserved all the same. DA:O one of the best RPG's ever!!

 

[MrBrightside919]

That is very surprising...considering that Bioware made Baulders Gate...AKA the greatest RPG ever made...

 

[The Austin]

YAY!
This officially makes the game better than Mass Effect!


BOW DOWN TO THE SUPERIOR RPG!

 

[Kross]

Wow, I was expecting the ME series to be Bioware's top seller but still, DAO is a great game.

Yeah, same here. I even said as much earlier today.

Oh well!

 

[arcade109]

Dragon age is good, but I much prefer Mass Effect 2 over it. I started a game twice but drgaon age just doesn't seem to hold my attention. Which is wierd cuz dragons and swords and that kind of stuff is my thing.

 

[RatheMcGrath]

Wow, even when Bioware says going in that not a lot of people are going to like a game, gamers just seem to take it as a challenge.

I very much enjoyed Origins, and I am looking forward to part 2.

 

[Broken Orange]

-snip-

"Dragon Age was an extremely successful title for us - last November it was the single most globally successful title we've put out to date," said Rob Bartel, BioWare's principal designer. "This is one of our two primary IPs in the Edmonton studio in Canada, and then we're working on the Old Republic down in Austen.

-snip-

Austen is spelt Austin, assuming you were talking about Austin, Texas.

OT: I am sure that Being multi-platform had a reason for it selling so well. But good for them making money to make more good games. I just hope that DA:2 will play better on console than the first one.

 

[burgbrand22]

Why does the Escapist and folks here love Dragon Age so much? Does the great sell lie behind marketing's push on the "open ended gameplay" "epic" "good vs evil" "you are the savior" "you get to kill lots of enemies" "lots of customization" "romantic choices" campaign? Like Fallout 3?