Dragon Age: Inquistion - Can Bioware Survive Another Misstep?

[Paragon Fury]

So after reading the info about the new Dragon Age, I was wondering; if Bioware manages to mess up DA:I after everything they learned from DAII, ME3 and SW:TOR online - can they survive? Or will the good will finally run out for them?

Maybe the three near-ruinous outings they've had will have taught them something and they'll hit DA:I completely out of the park. But if we're to err on the side of caution and say they do fail again - you think Bioware will still be around this time next year? Or will EA finally jettison them after sending they finances and shareholders into a panic for the 3rd time while making EA look like the devil (again)?

 

[alphamalet]

I don't know if it will ruin the general public perception of Bioware, but they are already ruined in my eyes. They won't be getting any of my money for Dragon Age: Inquistion, and I highly doubt it will be anywhere near as good as Dragon Age Origins.

Fool me once, Bioware, and shame on you. Fool me twice...

 

[Tragedy's Rebellion]

Implying that DA:O wasn't a cliche after cliche with one-note characters and poorly thought-out combat ;d I still like it though, for some reason. I have no doubt that DA:I will be a completely different game, something that is dumbed down so much as to appeal to as many people as possible. If they didn't know what was wrong with DA2 before they even released it will imply a certain virtuosic example of being stuck deep into their own asses.

I don't really know if they can "survive" another misstep since they are already dead - being swept up into EA's vortex of greed and creative slavery.

 

[Soundwave]

My prediction, is that the game will be fine, and some angry fans will find something arbitrary to complain about anyways. Bioware will still make pretty good money on it, and forums all over the internet will have many arguments about whether or not the arbitrary minor thing is merely offensive, or if it's completely disastrous. Many feelings and butts will be hurt. Maybe somebody will get fired, or an apology will be given and maybe some sort of DLC caving into the vitriolic minority's demands will be produced.

 

[The Madman]

As much as people complain, Mass Effect 3 was a huge success despite its ending and even Dragon Age 2 did alright sales wise. Maybe not the surprise hit that origins was, but it did well enough to warrant continuing the series.

So even if Dragon Age Inquisition were the worst game since Superman 64 Bioware would probably be just fine.

 

[IceForce]

I can confidently say that 90% of the ill will against Bioware is the perfidious work of the Papist Church.

Every Bioware game has been an ode against the devils of Popery. See Mass Effect, with its masterly depiction of the Illusive Man, a good man who's made even better by the fact he murdered a Pope. Or Neverwinter Nights, with its depiction of priests, Popish priests, who turn out to be evil.

This DA game is subtitled Inquistion. I'd wager my legs that the Papist internet brigade's already set eyes on it.

I know I'm probably wasting my time here, and falling for a poe (or worse), but do you have any actual credible evidence to back up anything you're saying here?

 

[evilneko]

I can confidently say that 90% of the ill will against Bioware is the perfidious work of the Papist Church.

Every Bioware game has been an ode against the devils of Popery. See Mass Effect, with its masterly depiction of the Illusive Man, a good man who's made even better by the fact he murdered a Pope. Or Neverwinter Nights, with its depiction of priests, Popish priests, who turn out to be evil.

This DA game is subtitled Inquistion. I'd wager my legs that the Papist internet brigade's already set eyes on it.

I know I'm probably wasting my time here, and falling for a poe (or worse), but do you have any actual credible evidence to back up anything you're saying here?

Nope, he doesn't. All that poster does is inject incomprehensible nonsense into random threads, or failing that, create his own threads of incomprehensible nonsense. He never explains or tries to support his views, and only once or twice has he returned to a thread to post more than once.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

The only misstep from Bioware in my eyes was Dragon Age 2 with it's stupid plot and repetitive environments. I freaking loved Mass Effect 3 and really enjoyed The Old Republic. So yeah, I'm pretty sure they will be ok and I'm optimistic about Inquisition.

 

[IceForce]

Nope, he doesn't. All that poster does is inject incomprehensible nonsense into random threads, or failing that, create his own threads of incomprehensible nonsense. He never explains or tries to support his views, and only once or twice has he returned to a thread to post more than once.

Oh well, he's suspended already, so I guess he won't be around for much longer...

 

[TallanKhan]

I don't think that with Bioware its whether there will be a "killing blow" but more the degree to which the studio is tarnished. Despite what people say Bioware doesn't make bad games even now, but rather they make mediocre games that stand in stark contrast to their better work. Objectivley DA2 was an ok game, probably the least good game bioware has ever made, but still just above average, but for me it was the most dissapointing release of this generation, more so that Duke Nukem Forever, or Aliens: Colonial Marines, simply because my expectations were so much higher for DA2.

Its the quality and dare I say soul that the earlier Bioware titles had that the newer releases lack, that commitment to making a game true to the original idea rather than making something more bland in an attempt to appeal to a wider demographic. If they continue down this route there is unlikely to be a single release that seals their fate and condemns them to the scrap heap, rather, it will be a death by a thousand papercuts, each release erroding the studio's reputation until gradually less and less people purchase the games they produce. Then, as sales shrink EA will cut the budget and lay off staff then finally, one day they will close Bioware's doors forever. And the real tragedy is, by that point, it will have been so long since Bioware had put out a really high quality release, that no one will even care.

And on that happy note boys and girls...

 

[Drauger]

I really hope we don't have to know the answer for that, being honest I loved DAO, DAII .... ewww.... I would have exchange it for points if I hadn't bought it for pc, anyway I kind of have a good feeling for DA I the fact that morrigan is kind of back, choosing races, and they are actually taking more time to add stuff seems nice, let's cross our fingers.

Yes Bioware have messed up a lot lately, but the games have sold equally , yeah the fan base got mad as hell but hey the still got money and can always blame EA for everything so in the eyes of the fans they can kind of be "the victim", anyway I'm cheering on them to make a comeback.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

It depends how mcuh EA thinks the brand 'Bioware' is worth.

If the answer is 'not very much' then three guesses as to what will happen.

Who knows? with John Riccitiello gone this might not happen, but I wouldn't bet against it.

-snip-

EA have already stopped naming other Devs 'Bioware XXXX' and both Mythic and Victory have dropped the moniker.

Your theory seems very plausible now.

 

[Agayek]

So after reading the info about the new Dragon Age, I was wondering; if Bioware manages to mess up DA:I after everything they learned from DAII, ME3 and SW:TOR online - can they survive? Or will the good will finally run out for them?

Maybe the three near-ruinous outings they've had will have taught them something and they'll hit DA:I completely out of the park. But if we're to err on the side of caution and say they do fail again - you think Bioware will still be around this time next year? Or will EA finally jettison them after sending they finances and shareholders into a panic for the 3rd time while making EA look like the devil (again)?

At the moment, Bioware is one of the few EA-owned studios that is consistently making money with every release. One more bad-to-mediocre release will not be enough to threaten the company's position within EA, simply because of EA's financial situation. They can't afford to close down Bioware and the brand recognition that comes with it.

That said, Bioware's once iron-clad reputation is in tatters and growing steadily worse. More and more people are deciding not to buy their games, specifically because they're made by Bioware. If that keeps up, then yea, they'll be shut down, but it's like someone said earlier in thread. It's not going to be any single game that does it, but a continual string of them.

Inquisition may well mark the point of no return though. That much is certainly possible.

 

[norashepard]

I don't think Bioware's going anywhere.

It has gotten a lot of shit from the "base" gamer crowd for (in my opinion) rather dumb reasons, and because of the RIDICULOUS amount of backlash their stuff keeps getting from these people, I think their opinions are starting to actually fade out, and cease mattering. Obviously they don't like Bioware games anymore, so Bioware is now shifting over to catering to a the new crowd who actually really likes the new stuff.

And from what I can tell, that new fanbase, lured in by the storytelling (which is still peak, regardless of what you think about Mass Effect's ending), is pretty obsessive. I know people who've played the Mass Effect series to completion numerous times and show no signs of stopping, and even a large amount who still play DA2 again every so often. Maybe interestingly, most of these people are women, and HUGE amount are in the LGBT community. Say what you will about their writing, but Bioware does actually try when it comes to both of those groups.

It's all opinion, and while the "gamers" have stated their disinterest, it seems the rest of society still finds something magic about Bioware's games, so they'll keep selling.

 

[sumanoskae]

As much as the ending sucked, Mass Effect 3 was an otherwise masterful work. TOR is about as good MMO's get, speaking as a person that doesn't generally enjoy them; everything they could have gotten right about TOR without deviating from standard MMO design, they got right (Still should have just made a single player Star Wars RPG). DA:II was a mess, but it was a mess that took risks in the pursuit of novel territory and ideas, and I'm convinced that it could have been much better with a longer development cycle or perhaps if it was split into two parts (One core game about Mages and Templars, and an expansion dealing with Qunari, perhaps).

The quality of Inquisition will be less indicative than it's artistic direction, good or bad. I'm more concerned that Bioware will abandon the ideas they presented in DA:II and return to their normal mode or operations. The boiler plate story they usually work with became the source of Mass Effect 3's problems, because the themes of the story were to complex to be presented properly within the simplistic story structure; Everything they couldn't fit into the rest of the game they pour on you at the very end without taking the time to let it sink in or explain it. They even turned around and wrote a better idea for an overarching plot with the Leviathan DLC right afterwards, so I know they can do better than "Those guys are evil (Because we say they are, shut up), go get your friends and curb stomp them".

So I say to Bioware

1: Don't release Inquisition until it's really done.

2: Don't use your previous writing habits as a crutch just to save time.

3: Don't let your artistic inspiration be circumvented by your fear of change or dependency on familiarity; trust that the artists that populate your teams are good enough that they don't need to rely on a formula to succeed.

 

[spartandude]

It will certainly survive another misstep (they're dead to me, but overall they will survive), especially since after this it will likely be Star Wars RPGs coming out and people will flock back to them thinking they will be getting the spiritual successor to KotOR, however if that were to fail then it would be very interesting

 

[stormeris]

Honestly, i couldnt care any less.

In my eyes Bioware is already dead.
I really doubt it'll be any good, just another washed down mess.

 

[Kingjackl]

To be fair, one flawed game, one average MMO, and one great game with a dodgy ending that they at least made an effort to fix does not make a company on the edge of failure. The hardcore RPG purists have been crying foul on these guys since Mass Effect 2, but to people who judge on more than blind principle, Bioware are still a pretty good game company. The recent DLC for DA2 and ME3 has actually shown a lot of improvement.