BioWare "Falsely Advertised" Mass Effect 3

[sumanoskae]

Jokes on the gamers! Now, we'll get the same exact ending to every fucking game. The safe, happy ending that nobody has grounds to complain about. Thank you, "retakers". Thank you for your entitled douchebaggery.

Yeah, I'm sure this multi-million dollar industry will revolutionize it's business model over this indecent.

They've already stated that they aren't going to change the ending anyway, they're going to "Clarify" it.

But you know what, I WOULD prefer a totally generic ending to this nonsensical dirge, at least if the ending was forgettable (Which is a stupid compliant, because the ending to a story shouldn't function on it's own) I could get passed it. Just appreciate the rest of the game. The ending we got wasn't forgettable, it was much worse, it was damaging. It changes everything about the central conflict of the game, it condemns the characters the bleak, ambiguous fates for no reason other than to make you feel like shit, and then it ends on a sunrise with upbeat techno and tries to tell you things will be okay. It's not just bleak, it's manipulative.

In fact that last statement sums it up pretty well, it serves no purpose other than making you feel like shit. There's no rhyme, no reason, no constancy, just despair.

I WISH it was forgettable.

 

[Mournblade94]

Hey, someone in a position of power who DOESN'T think we are a bunch of whiny entitled douche bags! alright!

Funny enough, the people with legitimate power or reputation, such as Forbes, have been on the side of the Retake movement. It's the people with no power who troll the internet, like Bob, or "game journalists" who have been against it.

That is because magazines like Forbes understand customer's importance to business.

game journalists do not police themselves for quality. they are glorified forum posters who strike a gig. Take movie bob. His last video about American Pie was a glorified forum rant. I hate American Pie. All of them. I agree with bob. But why bring light to review it, if only to inflame those that watch.

The game journalists I think need some kind of count they need to stick with. Really though, their opinions are no more informed than any other internet forum poster.

On this site, most of the game journalists write opinion pieces. Most of them do not know how to compose an unbiased piece.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

I haven't played it yet, but I plan to. I know what the "ending" situation is, though, and I don't exactly care.

Yeah, so they said "it won't be ending A, B, or C." and it ended up being ending A, B, or C. And? For me, Mass Effect is about the 40 hours leading up to the ending (x3 games). I'm not going to let 10 minutes ruin the rest of it for me.

That's my choice, though. If other people have a problem with it, I don't have a problem with them voicing that opinion.

 

[badreaper74]

The only thing I will say about the Mass Effect 3 ending is I understand it. Like most of you i wanted some huge final showdown and several different endings, but after i sat and really thought about it i understand their decision for a couple of reasons.

1. There were to many variables. It's that simple. There were dozens of choices made over three games and trying to track and react to all of these choices would of been a huge investment. They could of done like they did in ME 2 with a few decisions making all the difference, but been there done that.

2. They implement a lot of mini endings wrapping up plot points. You resolved the Geth/ Quarian conflict, you decided what to do with the genophage, and you helped Miranda deal with her farther. these were all story lines carried from previous games that outcomes could be changed on what you did in previous games.

3. Finally and I believe most importantly is it gave everyone a pretty even spot to jump off of. Bioware had previously stated that they plan to develop more games taking place in the Bioware universe and the events of the Reaper Wars would of have been a major piece of the galactic history. By having bascially the same ending it would of given everyone a nice even playing field for Bioware to launch another game.

But after all this crap you gotta wonder if Bioware would ever come back to this franchise. Two excelent games and a stellar third that kinda failed in the final moments and people are suing you for false advertising. If it was up to me, i wouldn't even bother.

 

[Something Amyss]

A five minute edit could have removed these elements, allowing this to be an actual news piece rather than an opinion column. Reporters are allowed to have opinions, of course. But a good reporter keeps it out of the news stories. If you want to write an opinion piece, then do so, but don't label it "News."

Don't expect "news" out of "game journalism," period. It will only lead to heartache.

And this pretty much only happens in the games industry. If a new car is advertised to have a built in GPS, and then DOESN'T, there's going to be hell to pay. If a blender says it has 12 power settings, it had damn well better have 12 power settings. You get the point.

Most game lies don't come down to something that specific, including your example of Peter Molyneux.

Simple fact is this is just another instance of the games industry not being held to the same standards as other industries. This sort of thing needs to stop.

Sadly, they are. Have you ever seen complaints in other fields? People respond with the likes of "lol, you expect honesty?" They get flamed and berated like Retake.

By the way, I do support Retake. Not because I am one of them, but because they are one of the most civil consumer movements I've seen in the gaming industry.

In a fandom full of actual, honest-to-god entitled shitheads, Retake has done positive things, such as Child's Play donations. They have made their point creatively with cupcakes. They have made BBB and FTC complaints. They have not, by and large, offered death threats or resorted to histrionics. They're not calling the producers faggots or stalking them. There's been some angry responses, but from a consumer base that's normally dismissed as childish, this has been a strong consumerist movement with positive and thoughtful responses to an actual consumer issue.

I have trouble seeing the problem here.

 

[Darkmantle]

So now we have forbes and the better business bureau. I honestly hope this goes through, just to see/hear moviebob's reaction. It will be awesome.

 

[Tono Makt]

No, they're getting sued for false advertising, not because the ending sucked (even though it did) but because the choices that you had at the ending achieved nothing. Hell, is it even possible to fail mass effect 3? If I rushed through the game and didn't collect war assets, picking the worst choices, I would still beat the reapers.

There wasn't meaningful choices. At all.

Do you REALLY feel they deserved this? Games marketing ALWAYS promises more than the game could deliver. Why is Bioware being singled out?

Eventually some game company would be singled out with an action like this. The bigger the industry, the more easily consumers can communicate with one another, and the more possibilities for recourse make it an inevitability. It just happens to be EA/Bioware because it's close to a perfect storm.

Whether it will have any lasting effect on the industry is the question. If this complaint is actually found to have merit (a big if at this point), and Bioware/EA is found to be guilty of false advertising, then there will be noticeable repercussions. My guess is that the repercussions would come mostly in the topics of exactly what the development side of the game industry will say before a game is released, and in just how ambitious RPG's in particular are allowed to be.

Even if this is not found to have merit, you won't have the developers giving detailed interviews for quite a while. You will see the developers say something like "The ending will be memorable, and will have people talking for quite a while." and they will NOT say "You are not going to have an Ending like X." Nebulous, open ended and open to interpretation answers and statements will be the norm out of concern that they will make a promise they can't keep, and that promise will be specific enough that a legal complaint will have merit.

If this is found to have merit, then you'll have the same reaction, except this time enforced by new contracts for the developers which specifically forbid them from giving detailed answers, or that the answers will need to be vetted through an internal legal department to ensure that legal action can't be taken against them if it turns out to be a statement that is either false, or if they fall short on a specific promise.

My bet? The FTC will dismiss this complaint on the grounds that interviews are not technically advertising, similar to how "colour" is not the same as "color".

 

[Callate]

I don't think anyone goes to the BBB to check out whether a game studio is "on the level" before buying their products.

Still, I'm kind of glad to hear this, if only because it makes the negative feedback that so many people are trying to make Electronic Arts heed a little harder to ignore.

 

[tmande2nd]

I see derp and straw men being beaten up.

Really I dont want a happy ending dudes.
I want one that was not written by a pair of brain damaged dribbling high school dropouts who think that depressing equals deep.

Red Dead Redemption had a GREAT ending despite being dark.
ME3 has a BAD ending even though its dark.

We were told it would not be ending A, B, and C, that it would have changed depending on our choices, and that it would have closure.

It failed in ALL of those regards, and has more plot holes in it than grade 8 fanfiction. Which is actually INSULTING to grade eight fanfiction comparing it to ME3.
If people cant see past their ad money they get from EA, Bioware fan boyism, or artistic integrity I weep for our species.

Its bad no matter how you look at. Matrix 3 bad, the ROOM bad, BATTLEFIELD EARTH bad.

God I cant believe I ever mocked the Witcher games

 

[Xaositect]

Its a little late for this isnt it? I saw the posts circulating on forums directly quoting casey hudson and some of the other design teams blatant falsehoods months ago already.

OH SHIT! I forgot. R-TIZTIK N-TEGRAHTEE.

You see its their right as artists to stick to not doing what they said they would do. I mean how much more artistic can you get than violating your own artistic vision of the game?

But if the fans recognize your work is fucking shit and ask for the same treatment again? FUCK YOU ON ABOUT YOU ENTITLED BIATCHES!?

At the end of the day, you can even ignore the fact that Bioware didnt deliver on what they promised. You can just focus on the fact that its a confusing, disjointed, non-specific, fucking awfully written ending and if you cant accept that fact your just a tasteless moron.

Hey, if its okay to insult all the dissenters and claim they are entitled surely the reverse is fine?

Honestly, the most positive thing I can say about the ME3 ending is that it looks like some segments were cut from a single ending or series of endings that had some level of effort put into them and then mashed into one specific ending that had fuck all effort put into it. Or at least consideration.

That is unless the most hopelessly optimistic and desperate fan theory proves true.

Its an awful indictment on the ending when the best thing its spawned is the possibly completely misguided delusion that it all didnt actually happen.

But of course if the endings arent to be changed and not much in the way of addintional content to be added this summer, I cant see it as being true.

Shame some of these imbeciles came out with that bullshit artistic integrity defense, because clearly some fools at Bioware/EA think that horrific ending is actually worth defending on an artistic level, despite the fact that everyone is disappointed at just how brutally it can be eviscerated on an artistic level.

 

[Thammuz]

Fucking finally.

I don't know HOW this has taken so long to get acknowledged.

I knew that there wasn't a lot of legal ground to actually get the FTC complaint off the ground, but seriously, fuck legal ground, ethically and technically speaking we are fucking right.

I'm seriously disappointed in the gaming journalism circlejerk.

Looks like it's back to day 1 pirating if i want to have a good opinion on the entirety of a game from someone that is actually on the side of the consumer.

 

[wooty]

I still cant see what all the kicking and screaming was about. Its was a bad ending, not a serial killer murdering your family while dancing around in your mothers blood drinking his own piss and fucking your favourite pair of shoes while inserting cheese toasties into your computers disk drive with a philips head screwdriver............which was stolen.

Rant over, back to reality.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

The Better Business Bureau

oh this sounds is serious!

of Northern Indiana

Nevermind, its just one person who's opinion really doesn't matter.

 

[carpathic]

BioWare "Falsely Advertised" Mass Effect 3

The Better Business Bureau says that BioWare's promises for Mass Effect 3 do in fact constitute false advertising.

The brouhaha over the end of Child's Play drive [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-3-Xbox-360/dp/B004FYEZMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334158777&sr=8-1]? An FTC complaint? And in case that's not enough, now Majorie Stephens, the director of communications for the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana, has weighed in on the matter with an opinion that's certain to fan the flames even higher: All those complaints about false advertising are valid - technically speaking, anyway.

As Stephens explains on the Mass Effect website [http://www.bbb.org/blog/2012/04/mass-effect-3-is-having-a-mass-effect-on-its-consumers-for-better-or-worse/] promises, among other things, that "the decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome," which as she notes does not leave a lot of room for interpretation. "There is no indecision in that statement. It is an absolute," she wrote. The problem is that based on the flood of virtually identical complaints, it's not actually true.

Stephens' proclamation carries no legal weight but it'll probably make a lot of aggrieved fans feel a little better about the whole thing, or at least give them some sense of validation. She also expressed hope that it might teach advertisers to take a little more care about promising the moon if they can't deliver. "The lesson to be learned here is companies should give careful consideration to how they word their advertisements," she continued. "Otherwise, there could be detrimental effects, especially in the era of social media and online forums."

"Detrimental effects" indeed. Even BioWare's late-to-the-game efforts to smooth the waters [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116661-BioWare-Announces-Post-Ending-DLC-for-Mass-Effect-3-Updated] with the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC that will "clarify" the ending seems to have only made things worse, as fans who want a "better" ending say that mere clarification isn't nearly enough, while those who hoped BioWare would stick to its guns are disappointed that it gave in to the howling. In other words, we can expect this fight to carry on for awhile yet, probably at least until sometime this summer, when the Extended Cut DLC comes out.




Permalink

Wow..so you're not making a pithy joke and insulting a large number of your readers? How novel.

All nastiness aside, I quite appreciate the reading of this article. It is curious to see the lengths to which people are going to try and express their anger over broken promises.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

Jokes on the gamers! Now, we'll get the same exact ending to every fucking game. The safe, happy ending that nobody has grounds to complain about. Thank you, "retakers". Thank you for your entitled douchebaggery.

This isn't unexpected from the writers of series and this isn't a new phenomenon. When you get into a long series either it's made perfectly clear that you're getting into something that's uncommon or it's not and they'll have to go with the "happy" ending later. It's perfectly reasonably for any "one-shot" whether it be a movie, game or book to have a "twisted" ending because as watchers/players/readers we've only put a comparatively small amount of time into that one-shot. When people put a large amount of time in with a character or a group of characters the writers are setting themselves up to fail if they don't deliver a "happy" end. A happy ending in Mass Effect wouldn't have meant that Shepard lived or single-handedly fought of the Reapers with his fist, everyone could have died and it still could've been a "happy ending".

The ending they used for ME3 would've been fine in a number of different places. It wouldn't have caused a fuss if it had even been at the end of ME1. But when you make/ take over a series certain things are expected from you, like closure and such. Time (should) = gratification. If anything hopefully other companies will look at the shitstorm that ME3 produced and it'll remind them what they need to do as writers.

 

[Darkmantle]

I still cant see what all the kicking and screaming was about. Its was a bad ending, not a serial killer murdering your family while dancing around in your mothers blood drinking his own piss and fucking your favourite pair of shoes while inserting cheese toasties into your computers disk drive with a philips head screwdriver............which was stolen.

Rant over, back to reality.

this was most definitely a case of "straw that broke the camels back" looking at this as a singular incident, it may seem like non-sense, but when you check out bioware/EA 's track record lately (DA2), and all the other controversies that ME3 sparked (prothean DLC, tali stock photo) the ending being shit is what set off the powder keg.

basically EA kept playing with fire by abusing their fans, now they are getting burned for every past grievance, using the ME3 ending as a focal point.

 

[Karadalis]

Say... is this the first time someone went to the BBB because of hype (wich is false advertising only with a nicer word for it)?

Because if it is, it would also be the first time the BBB or someone of the BBB ever had to comment on false advertisement in video games.


Every other industry had to go through this, it just happens to be the first time the video game industry gets told off for false advertising because its such a young industry.

Well i hope this will actually have an impact on the whole "hype" that plagues so many modern games.

The gaming industry has to learn this lesson just like any other type of industry out there.

 

[Amaror]

Most game lies don't come down to something that specific, including your example of Peter Molyneux.

Well this time, the lies were really really specific, which is the reason people are pissed off.

 

[Incomer]

This is getting way out of hand. You don't sue people for making a bad movie sequels why should ME3 be any different. And if you do sue people for a bad film then F you dude, you are the reason why we can't have any nice things.

And honestly I'm wondering how will they talk me into thinking that ending which we were given has any meaning. On the other hand I'd be probably happy with some vlogs about their thought process while they were making it (coke orgy would be crash my dreams so hard ).

Was it bad? Yeah it was pretty god damn terrible but it didn't cause major outbreak of cancer or something, stop freaking out >_<

Did you read the article? It's false advertising.

If movie was called Harry Potter and the Wizard's Spitbucket, and the movie was about a vietnam veteran in a nursery home, you'd also get sued for false advertising.

Or a car claimed to be a 2011 model being actually from 2001.

So you are telling me that you din't have awesome ME experience that got screwed over by the ending? Because I've wonderful time all the way up until the very end. Honestly I was pretty happy with the lift because TIM ending seemed sucky (the actual ending somehow managed to top that). But there are some minor changes to the ending that are relevant to some stupid numbers and almost alike (stress on almost) that should make any decent lawyer satisfied and for the rest of you... those who are legit, wait for the free DLC maybe they do have some reasonable explanation and for the pirates.. well... yaaaarrrrrrr you shouldn't have seen the ending anyway mateyyy

 

[LetalisK]

The endings were shit and I support Bioware getting verbally conflagrated for putting in such a half-assed ending. That's a right and responsibility we have as consumers. But there is a blurry line to be crossed and it's where the government starts getting involved and/or fining developers for not living up to hype, even their own. As consumers we are entitled to our opinions and to voice them VERY loudly both verbally and financially if we so wish and use that as a means to try to persuade Bioware to change things. But if we start using the law to enforce our creative will on other companies, we must be extremely careful. If it can be shown that outright lies and deception were thrown out to fool consumers for a buck, then take action. But you have to also realize that this is an industry(along with pretty much every other entertainment industry) where over the top hype is the norm and often times advertised features have to be cut because of money/time or the development team or publishers dropped the ball. Do we punish these cases too? How do you differentiate between these two without a formal investigation? I'm erring on the side that the ME3's ending was an all too common case of the developer getting pressure from the publisher to meet deadlines instead of pushing them back and the ending suffered because of it. Is that worthy of legally punishing Bioware?

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