Mycroft Holmes said:
I agree. Actually when you think about it, you don't really need any squad members at all to win the game. Imo they should charge 10$ for every squad member because they aren't really necessary, its just 'cool' to have them. And they can just add an NPC helmsman with no personality, I mean its cool and all to have Joker and EDE, but really they aren't necessary to the game at all. If you really want joker back you can just pay a 5$ fee, 'cus its just not necessary content. Voice actors also cost money, and the game can get its plot across pretty well in text. I think you should have to pay a 1$ to each voice actor before the audio turns on.
It is like Zaeed or Kasumi in ME2. Were they necessary? No. Were they cool to take along? Yes.
Having no squad members is over exaggeration and really, really stupid. I hope I don't need to tell you why. There is a big difference between locking out half the game, and not giving free access to some optional Easter Egg bonus character.
Hell, your complaint would even make sense if it was a returning squad character - like your Joker example. Joker is a character we have had in the previous games, with us the whole time. With a returning character, there is the expectation they will come for free - especially when the game is heavily story based, including that character quite often.
In comparison, we know zip about the Prothean, if it weren't announced and was cut from production we wouldn't know nor care about the 'disappearance' of it (As opposed to the people who will spam for news on their favourite squad members they do know), the impact of it being a squadmate on the game will be minimal at best.
What do you actually know about this Prothean that makes him
so essential to the story.
Well? I'm waiting.
The answer is pretty much nothing.
He is a Prothean. Big Whoop. Yeah, its cool for the fans of the series. Does that mean that the Prothean being a squadmate is 100% required for you to finish the game? No. It does not. The game was designed, then the Prothean Squad mate DLC would have been designed to go with the game, whilst not being vital to the story - as the story has already been told.
And don't get me started on the whole taking out voice actors and such. A stupid comparison if there ever was one.
A lot of people here are overreacting to some fan service being given to the fans. I still stand by what I've said. It won't be necessary, but it will be a cool add on. Until the game is released, we won't know for sure, but there is little reason to believe it will be more than a cool little add on other than paranoia.