BioWare Defends Mass Effect 3 Launch-Day DLC

[MercurySteam]

You want to know the best part about this? Even if the DLC was free, chances are that the bonus character won't be nearly as intertesting as the other cast of characters and people will just dismiss him as a minor character. I've seen this song and dance a dozen times, and everybody crying "SCREW YOU EA, IF I DON'T GET BONUS CHARACTER THEN YOU CAN SHOVE IT UP YOUR-", just think about if it will really affect you or not. Yeah, people aren't getting any smarter that's for sure. I' like to see more people giving them the benifit of the doubt.

Remember when Rocksteady released Catwoman as a totally seperate download pack on release day? Why isn't Bioware allowed to do the same?

If Bioware can integrate him as a memeber of the crew who will be just as intersting then I will be impressed. If people just want to sulk about it, then I guess they can just miss out on it. Bioware won't really mind.

 

[Steampunk Viking]

I'm going to chime in here. Casey Hudson isn't saying the Collector's Edition was made just for the loyal fans, but that it was made with loyal fans in mind. To me this says that Bioware have understood many people, especially those new to the series, are likely to go "Extra £30 for the collector's edition? Nah." Let's be realistic here, only hardcore fans (like me) are going to salivate over a lithograph and an art book, I can't see those new to the series having the same reaction.

As sucky as first day DLC is, I do empathise with everyone who isn't getting the Collector's Edition, but gaming companies are starting to take to this practice lately because of... *drum roll* the economy!

Seriously, I checked this up, having day 1 DLC that's made between the game being finished and the game being certified (two entirely different things), working on extra DLC keeps the team working on the game in a job until they have a new project. Now for all those who are either too young to appreciate money or lucky enough to have clung onto your jobs, finding yourself out of work suddenly sucks. If I had the choice of paying an extra £10 to keep the team who's made the greatest game trilogy of all time (my opinion, I don't care if people disagree) in work and making more, or boycotting a game out of spite and damaging the department, I'm handing over my cash.

Honestly guys, look at the bigger picture here. Is your OPTIONAL £10 in cash worth more than someone else's job?

EDIT: P.S. I just want to point out I harbour no love for EA before someone says it.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

This is your face. This is EA d_ckslapping your face. "/slap Mm, yea. That's good. /slap You like that don't you. Now push it around with your..."

Fight the hype, prove that you are humans worthy of respect and not sheeple. Refuse to buy until the final whatever edition comes out. You know, the one with the actual finished product in the box.

Respect yourself. Don't buy this.

The irony is that by using the term "sheeple", you yourself are being a sheep. Why not formulate your own opinion instead of just jumping on a bandwagon?

 

[antipunt]

cynicism mode on:

supply and demand mangs. Supply and demand. They do it cause they -can-

People can complain all they want, won't change a dam thing. Money is made; DLC makes more money. End of the day: Mass Effect 3 will sell like hotcakes regardless. Bioware-1 People - 0

 

[Avatar Roku]

Every comment in this thread:

"WE SHOULD GET THIS EXTRA, COMPLETELY OPTIONAL CONTENT FOR FREE BECAUSE OF REASONS."

The character is in the game. Without having to purchase DLC. You get all his dialogue, interactions with others etc. The only thing the DLC gives you is the option to have him as a squad member.

So they removed the whole point of having him in the game at all just to make a few extra bucks on opening day? This revelation was supposed to dampen my outrage HOW?

Everyone who isn't complaining on general principles is complaining because the Prothean is (presumably) important to the lore. Whether or not he is a squadmate seems irrelevant to that argument when you get the lore from him regardless.

Every comment in this thread:

"WE SHOULD GET THIS EXTRA, COMPLETELY OPTIONAL CONTENT FOR FREE BECAUSE OF REASONS."

The character is in the game. Without having to purchase DLC. You get all his dialogue, interactions with others etc. The only thing the DLC gives you is the option to have him as a squad member.

So they removed the whole point of having him in the game at all just to make a few extra bucks on opening day? This revelation WAs supposed to dampen my outrage HOW?

Because having him as a squad mate more than likely makes sod all impact. Akin to having Zaeed or Kasumi in your squad in ME2. People are confusing the character with the squad mate.

Can we see some offical fucking info or something. The prothean squadmate is relevant in the leaks. Now you're claiming two things;
1. Either the leak was changed so the prothean ISNT relevant
or
2. THe prothean is relevant but his squadplayability isn't.

I want to see some confirmation on either point.

1 is still bad though, but one step at a time.

Cause I cant possibily imagine how A PROTHEAN the basis for the ENTIRE FIRST GAME (AND SECOND) can have quests that have no impact on the story. confirmation now. some PR sod going off about how 'optional' it is. isn't confirmation.

Don't you think you may be overstating the importance of the Protheans just a tad?

Also:

The prothean character is relevant in the leaks.

Fixed that for you.

I asked you both two things to show me

Is The prothean relevant or not? If not, I want to see something a little more offical than "EA wouldn't do that" (because we know they would)

Is the Prothean relevant to Mass Effect 3? Yes I would imagine so.

Please, continue.

And confirmation that we get all the content/dialogue related to the prothean that is relevant?

If you're talking about the information presented in the leak that's been mentioned I couldn't say. Haven't seen the leak.

We are back at square one then. Aren't we? This dlc is the epitome of how greedy EA games has become.

Edit. How greedy EA games IS.

But the Prothean is in the game regardless or whether or not you buy the DLC. Same as how Liara was in ME2 but wasn't playable without the DLC that you had to pay extra for so I just can't see what the big deal is. It's the exact same thing they done in ME2.

Liara and the prothean aren't equatable. time difference of development and all that. THe problem isn't just that it's a DLC, it's how relevant the character is.

Imagine if they did the Liara thing in me2 but at release date. "don't get to play this less you pay for a dlc of content already on the game" now multiply that. prothean lore is much more essential to the series than fucking liara and her shadow broker shenanigans. "OMG FEROS AHHHHH" please.

To everyone on the opposing side, would it bother you at all if everyone just got the content for the original price? Or the DLC is used to encourage New purchases?

and uuuh... did you PLAN for work on it to start only once the main game was finished bioware?

What relevance does that have? Unless you're suggesting that by merely planning DLC, it should be included in the game at release (or available for free or whatever). You can't be suggesting that though, because that's utterly ridiculous.

They intended the prothean to be apart of the ORIGINAL GAME and NOT A DLC. Seeing as its in the freaking leaks. Then some suit over at ea game was like "oh no lets make this a dlc because the fans will go ape shit for it"
Thats what wrong with it.

They are right about one thing. They got our attention

As has been said, he is in the game regardless, the difference is whether or not he is a squadmate. And before you brush that aside because we get that from the leak, I'd like to point out that you also just cited the leak as evidence.

Seriously, fuck this.

I did not become a gamer so that shit like this could become the industry norm. I remember going out and buying games for my PSX, and getting the complete fucking game.

For anyone not bothered: this is a fucking Prothean. This is a character who is integral to the story and lore of the Mass Effect universe.

Do you honestly, really believe that Bioware only started working on this for the last 3 months? That they finished development on the campaign, then thought to themselves "You know what would be really good to start working on now? Getting a Prothean into the game."

Lore stuff like that isn't (or at least shouldn't) be approached lightly. If Bioware were planning on including a Prothean in the game, you can bet they had that worked out at the earliest stages of development. The very idea that they decided to simply throw in a game-changing bit of lore as a throwaway development idea in the last 3 months is ludicrous. It would be like Valve deciding to develop a bit of DLC explaining the G-Man's origins as a bit of Day 1 DLC for Half Life 3.

This shit should't fly! The number of people willing to bend themselves over and get shafted in the arse simply because it's Mass Effect/Bioware is staggering. People like you are what's ruining gaming for the rest of us. The publishers are looking for every excuse to nickel and dime us to death, and you're willingly allowing them to do it to you. Have some common damn self-respect. You don't need this game. If Bioware have decided to shake you down for your money, don't take it smiling. Stand up for yourself. Tell them that this won't stand. And if it means you have to pass up on ME3, then fair enough. By the sounds of it, passing up on this game will end up saving you a lot of money.

The minute you let publishers get away with this sort of crap, you give them carte blanche to do it again and again. If we allow EA to get away with nickel-and-diming the story and lore of Mass Effect, they'll think they can get away with it in all their other games too. I do not want to be part of an industry where every game requires endless extra payments to unlock the full game. If your parents buy all your games for you then perhaps I can see why you'd be ignorant of the repercussions of such design choices, but speaking as someone working only a little above minimum wage, I simply do not earn enough to be able to buy all the downloadable extras and hacked up chunks of story that developers seem intent on throwing out now. I should not be forced to miss out on key story and game content, simply because I was unable to pay the extra £10-20 that some other, wealthier people were. It creates an industry which inherently favours those with more disposable income, and I don't like the idea of class-politics becoming a part of gaming.

I would like to point one thing out: according to the leak, the character is in the game regardless. The only difference is that the DLC lets him be a squadmate. You get the lore from him regardless.

 

[Morbissus]

I'll buy it used... Bioware can have $10 for the DLC.

 

[kurupt87]

He also noted that development on From Ashes did not begin "until well after the main game went into certification," a point Executive Producer Casey Hudson expanded on through Twitter.

"It takes about 3 months from 'content complete' to bug-fix, certify, manufacture, and ship game discs. In that time we work on DLC," he wrote. "DLC has fast cert and no mfg., so if a team works very hard, they can get a DLC done in time to enjoy it with your 1st playthrough on day 1. On #ME3, content creators completed the game in January & moved onto the 'From Ashes' DLC, free w/ the CE or you can buy seperately."

That's bollocks though, the Prothean squadmate was leaked as a "thing" last year.

 

[Steampunk Viking]

*snip*

But yet when it was just a Collector's Edition add on, it was a-ok? That's the bit that makes me laugh about this arguement, people forgot all about it until it was available to buy for everyone.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Ay ya...it's no wonder we've considered ourselves some god's chosen people for two millenia. It's almost like people expect an entire team of content creators to sit on ass while the game is in someone else's hands, patiently awaiting the approval of the consumer to let them make more content.

I'm confused about something else, though, maybe you angry commenters can line something up for me: The full game, at release, which will be enormous, I'm sure, is $60. The CE, a special version of the game designed to have more content, specifically for those that want to pay more, is $80. The DLC alone sits at $10. Where's the issue?

Point of curiosity: This is Bioware's DLC we're talking about here. A fraction of them are actually outstanding (Legacy), but most of them hover around the "It's alright" territory. A fair portion of them were kinda crap. Ten to one says the extra content is going to feature a two or three hour side trip where you get some either a) overpowered loot or b) more useless crap to hawk for cash, alongside some snippety dialogue. Best of luck.

 

[anthony87]

and uuuh... did you PLAN for work on it to start only once the main game was finished bioware?

What relevance does that have? Unless you're suggesting that by merely planning DLC, it should be included in the game at release (or available for free or whatever). You can't be suggesting that though, because that's utterly ridiculous.

They intended the prothean to be apart of the ORIGINAL GAME and NOT A DLC. Seeing as its in the freaking leaks. Then some suit over at ea game was like "oh no lets make this a dlc because the fans will go ape shit for it"
Thats what wrong with it.

They are right about one thing. They got our attention

THE

PROTHEAN

IS

STILL

IN

THE

GAME!

THE

DLC

MAKES

HIM

A

SQUADMATE!

Has there been official confirmation of this? Cause all i've heard are scripts. Which to me is stupid, because of course the lines of a day one dlc will be in the script

The lines of the DLC couldn't be in the script because production on the DLC hadn't begun until after ME3 was completed.

So basically you have no idea how the prothean interacts in the game. The only thing we know (and not absolutely) is that The prothean squadmate was an idea from early november. That was removed because they wanted to squeeze more money out of guillable fans.

I've asked time and time again for confirmation on relevant dialogue and no one has given me evidence. If you are willing to shout "OMG PROTHEAN STILL IN DA GAME" I WANT TO SEE PROOF OF THAT.
Or shall I put it like this


SHOW
ME
THE
EVIDENCE

Haven't got any. Unfortunately all I've got is speculation until I've got the game. Call it a knee-jerk reaction if you will.

Do you have any evidence that the Prothean HAS in fact been removed from the main game?

Hell, maybe we're both wrong and there's more than one Prothean....which wouldn't surprise me to be honest.

 

[Pandabearparade]

"WE SHOULD GET THIS EXTRA, COMPLETELY OPTIONAL CONTENT FOR FREE BECAUSE OF REASONS."

It's a pleasure to see you again, as always, Mr. Strawman.

Seriously, though, all content is 'optional'. The line needs to be drawn somewhere, and content that is complete before the game is released is as good a place to draw the line as anything else.

 

[antipunt]

I don't get it really. Next thing you know, they'll charge you an extra $10 or $5 just to have access to a game's multiplayer instead of needing an online pass. Then in order to play the main character you'll need to pay a few cash otherwise the game is locked down. The companies may say "We've done everything for the game already, but now since we've gotten this new latest DLC going that's pretty important to long committed fans, we'll charge them for this DLC even before the game comes out."

Gosh man. I understand DLC is optional to get and some people feel that you can live without it which is alright.. but why do I need to pay $10 extra just so a Prothean, from a very legendary race or rare for that matter can join my squad? Doesn't make sense.. and the only way to do this is I have to buy the best edition they have, without just buying the game new? Come now, there are better methods you know.. it's just a cash grab sorry to say.

They did this too with Dead Space 2 but it involved a DLC containing another standpoint in the story which was important. EA seems to rip people off and I fear Bioware is starting to agree with EA's tactics but now I am rambling on. I apologize v_v.

Actually you bring up a good point that I only now realized.

I remember when DLC 'first' came out. It was in the form of costume packs I think, and other little 'icing on the cake' type things. I didn't even notice the sneaky conversion from 'optional fun packs' to 'things that you will actually feel like you are missing out on regarding the game as a whole package'.

 

[Aggieknight]

Just something to throw out here...but didn't they delay this game three months?

So in essence, they delayed the game 3 months that it didn't need to be, then used the time to add release day DLC.

That's bloody brilliant.

Honestly, I'm not upset about this. As CE content, I'm totally cool with extra stuff for CE purchasers (I'm one...had it reserved forever). This is a lot less painful to me than release day DLC for everyone boxed in the game.

Still...I would have rather had the game over the holidays without this prothean dude than waited till now and gotten him for free.

 

[Nurb]

Bioware stopped being credible or supportable the moment they were bought by EA. They didn't pull any of this bullshit before EA.

And your damn right we're entitled, we're entitled to the same content developed for a full priced game regardless of the version we buy. Since when did "Loyal customers" who've come to expect a certain quality become "Entitled gamers" because we don't accept more and more chunks of a game developed before release being wetheld and sold back to us to exploit a purchase of a more expensive version, especially when it's essential story aspects?

 

[Orks da best]

What's up with the use of "gamer entitlement" at every bioware thread now?

Everyone that disagree with the way bioware does business now are angry gamers with "gamer entitlement? Is that a new buzzword or what?

Yes. That and "Bioware is telling the truth". I'd sooner bite off my thumb than believe a word that comes out of the Bioware's PR team. Their entire job is lie to the consumer.

AND HERE IS ZEEL. ALL BOW BEFORE YOUR NEW OVERLORD AND BASK IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. ALL HAIL ZEEL. ALL HAIL ZEEL.

But seriously, nobody is going to boycott this thing. Boycotts for video games have NEVER worked. People will ***** and moan, then go buy the game and forget why they bitched and moaned in the first place.

one: your avatar just seems to say the spirit of your post for some reason lol.

Second: its mass effect 3, a boycotter of this will need to have some serious willpower, which like 1% have... lol

 

[Flailing Escapist]

... I am okay with this.

 

[Orks da best]

I was going to complain.

But then I remembered I still haven't bought any DLC for any of the Mass effects.

Do not have Mass Effect 3.

And honestly am okay with my options being presented to me early.

So yeah.

I'm okay with this.

Someone? with sense? Oh praise be to Gork and Mork, there a few people have sense in this thread, but most are the "grr ea is evil, valve is good" mindset, entitled little buggers.

 

[Dr. Crawver]

I draw the line right here. You do not get to remove ESSENTIAL FUCKING content just to ship more fucking collector editions.

Added on content. Not cut content.

Something extra for people who buy the CE and available to buy if you didn't.

Not really I mean, story wise, a living breathing prothean is a HUGE deal. I mean wow a living being from a race that was wiped out 50,000 years ago but managed to help give you a fighting chance.

That seems pretty fucking critical to me.

I imagine just a few years down the road, right before the final cutscene of a game that would give you your ending an EA window will pop up and it will go, to see the final scene you'll need our Deluxe Ending DLC pack! It encludes an extra ending to the game! It's added content! (and the non DLC ending is just a cut to black "Game Over" screen without it.)

I know I'm going to sound very hipster on this...but I really enjoy not buying AAA titles anymore. They just nickel and dime us more, they become part of these heartless ginormous publishers like EA or Activision. Better to buy Indie and save yourself the heart ache of getting fucked on DLC.

that ending change you mentioned there sounds a lot like the broken steel dlc for fallout, but I think it saves itself as it fixes something that made no sense, instead of forcing money out of you

 

[Mauso88]

EA have realised that there powerhouse status on gaming is coming to an end, and they are milking every fan for every penny they can. For too long EA have had shoddy business practices and used popular titles(FIFA, Madden etc.) to screw people out of their hard-earned money. They are also the biggest endorser of, ''Used game are evilllllllllll'' mentality. They are soulless, unethical and downright greedy.

Just to remind people, EA also supported SOPA, so just think about that for a second.

 

[poiuppx]

Zeel's fervor over this has affected the mind of at least one consumer; I now want to buy the game and the DLC. Make of that what you will.