Dragon Age: Inquistion - Can Bioware Survive Another Misstep?

[RJ 17]

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)?

You seem to be assuming that just because there was a very vocal outcry against games like DA2 and ME3 that they were disasters...that's not really true. In reality there's just as many people that thought that DA2 and ME3 were great games, and it's not just Bioware fan-boys either. Just because the nay-sayers were shouting with the loudest voice doesn't mean that they represented the majority of people that bought those games - which were commercial successes, I might add.

So yes, I think that Bioware will be fine. Though I can promise you that just like with ME3 and DA2, the "vocal nay-sayers" will be out in full force regardless of how good DA3 turns out to be. It could be the greatest game in the history of RPGs and there's still going to be people raging about it. The threads have already started (this one, for example) which are trying to shoot down the game before it even comes out, and I promise you this site's forum will be swamped with anti-Bioware and anti-DA3 threads as soon as the game comes out and for weeks to follow.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

DA:O and ME:1 were the last BW games I really enjoyed
sure DA:2 and ME:2/3 sold well. But they were seriously not for me, felt far to generic. but i think thats enough to keep EA happy. its all about £$£$£$£$

thing that stung the most, between ME:1 and ME:2, they lost that 80's scifi vibe they seemed to have going on. such a shame, because I f#cking loved it

 

[Billy D Williams]

Its nice to know that well over a year after release we can all find creative ways to spark the exact same discussion about how much we hated the ending of Mass Effect 3.

Anyhow, 90% of the time when gamers talk about not buying product X, Y or Z because of reason A, B or C its bull. Sure, a lot of people might stop buying Bioware games (and I'm sure some people already have) but I don't think Bioware is going anywhere. What I do know is that most of the backlash they have been getting has been way overblown, to the point in where its a genuinely disturbing to me. I mean were all entitled to our opinions but the amount of entitlement/anger that some people have in the gaming community (not saying any names or calling out any groups or individuals) is truly sad sometimes. Nothing wrong with having an opinion, just with using it as justification for killing CEOs and assaulting peoples mothers.

At the end of the day, if DA:I is a great game I think people will finally start to get over the whole Bioware hatred bug that has been going around and if it sucks a lot of people are going to say they wont be buying the next Bioware product and will buy it anyways.

 

[RJ 17]

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)?

You seem to be assuming that just because there was a very vocal outcry against games like DA2 and ME3 that they were disasters...that's not really true. In reality there's just as many people that thought that DA2 and ME3 were great games, and it's not just Bioware fan-boys either. Just because the nay-sayers were shouting with the loudest voice doesn't mean that they represented the majority of people that bought those games - which were commercial successes, I might add.

So yes, I think that Bioware will be fine. Though I can promise you that just like with ME3 and DA2, the "vocal nay-sayers" will be out in full force regardless of how good DA3 turns out to be. It could be the greatest game in the history of RPGs and there's still going to be people raging about it. The threads have already started (this one, for example) which are trying to shoot down the game before it even comes out, and I promise you this site's forum will be swamped with anti-Bioware and anti-DA3 threads as soon as the game comes out and for weeks to follow.

Can you show some stats since you seem to be using the vocal minority card?How do you know the majority liked DA2 or ME3?Did you talk to every single person who bought the games to get their opinion?Just because they were commercial successes means jack shit because of marketing and pre order sales.

No, I haven't spoken with every player that played those games...have you? Can't I just as easily say that you're under the assumption that the vocal minority isn't the case? I do know this: I've talked to a large number of people (including on this site) that said both those games weren't nearly as bad as a lot of people made them out to be.

So yeah, if you wanna say "Gimme some stats", then I'll ask you to do the same: show me the stats that say "The vast majority of players that played DA2 and ME3 hated them."

 

[RJ 17]

I'm not the one who made assumptions without proof,you did and so the onus is on you to prove your claim that people that liked DA2/ME3 were the majority.Unlike some people I don't presume to speak for everybody else,I only speak for myself and so I don't pull the majority/minority card unless there are statistics that prove it.

Check my response again:

In reality there's just as many people that thought that DA2 and ME3 were great games, and it's not just Bioware fan-boys either. Just because the nay-sayers were shouting with the loudest voice doesn't mean that they represented the majority of people that bought those games - which were commercial successes, I might add.

I never said "the majority of people liked it", I said "there's just as many people that thought that DA2 and ME3 were great games." How can I say this? Because of the mixed responses that I have gotten. I haven't read through this entire thread, but I'd imagine it's a mixed bag in these comments as well. So no, I can't prove the majority of people liked it, nor did I say that the ones that didn't like it were a vocal minority, but rather that they where the ones shouting the loudest.

I'd suggest reading someone's post a bit more carefully the next time you feel like trying to jump all over their comment.

Edit: And the bit about being commercial successes doesn't go towards people liking them, I didn't mean it to. However it applied more to the topic at hand of "Will Bioware survive?" As long as their games keep selling, they will.

 

[CountryMike]

BioWare are already working on a new Star Wars game (as are DICE & Visceral). So, yes, Bioware will still be around next year.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm not the one who made assumptions without proof,you did and so the onus is on you to prove your claim that people that liked DA2/ME3 were the majority.Unlike some people I don't presume to speak for everybody else,I only speak for myself and so I don't pull the majority/minority card unless there are statistics that prove it.

Check my response again:

In reality there's just as many people that thought that DA2 and ME3 were great games, and it's not just Bioware fan-boys either. Just because the nay-sayers were shouting with the loudest voice doesn't mean that they represented the majority of people that bought those games - which were commercial successes, I might add.

I never said "the majority of people liked it", I said "there's just as many people that thought that DA2 and ME3 were great games." How can I say this? Because of the mixed responses that I have gotten. I haven't read through this entire thread, but I'd imagine it's a mixed bag in these comments as well. So no, I can't prove the majority of people liked it, nor did I say that the ones that didn't like it were a vocal minority, but rather that they where the ones shouting the loudest.

I'd suggest reading someone's post a bit more carefully the next time you feel like trying to jump all over their comment.

Edit: And the bit about being commercial successes doesn't go towards people liking them, I didn't mean it to. However it applied more to the topic at hand of "Will Bioware survive?" As long as their games keep selling, they will.

You seemed to imply the "naysayers" were a minority when based on previous PR disasters suggested otherwise.Sorry if I read your post differently.

It happens. In truth I specifically avoided the term "vocal minority" because I knew that someone like you would contest it and I'd have no way of backing up my claim. As I said: from the people that I've personally discussed the games with, the reception really was a pretty mixed bag with plenty of people saying that those games rank among the most sinister crimes committed in the history of mankind while there's still plenty of other people who say "Come on guys, they weren't THAT bad" and going on to say that despite the faults they still really enjoyed the games.

I just used the term "vocal nay-sayers" because that's how I perceived it. It's easy to go out and rip a game to shreds, not so easy to try to prove to people that a game is fun despite clear flaws that you fully admit to noticing as well. That's why I think "defenders" of the games didn't come out as often as "attackers", they likely knew no matter what they said they'd get labeled as being "fanboys" and have everyone jumping down their throat. In some cases it's best to just keep your opinion to yourself so you don't have to deal with all the headache that comes from expressing it.

 

[Space commando 75]

Always a laugh to see people who still believe anything belongs to EA is going to be a success. Bioware been dead since Ea bought them.

The only question I really want answered is why Morrigan is back even after they said her story was over after witch hunt. Then again Bioware lie list is so long now I wouldn't believe them if they told me the date.

 

[pearcinator]

Fuck yas all! Bioware won't die. They will continue to put out awesome games! I only LIKED Dragon Age: Origins so I didn't buy DA2. MMO's are a time and money sink so I didn't buy TOR (even though I would have enjoyed it). I LOVED all Mass Effect games and KOTOR is my #3 favourite game of all time (behind the N64 Zeldas).

I will buy Mass Effect 4

I will buy their new IP (if it looks interesting)

I will probably buy DA: Inquisition (cos it looks pretty cool)

You can't stop me! Bioware FTW!

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I'm more gamepaly focused and did not care for the watering down effect of ME2,ME3 and DA2. If they make DA:I more like DA:O only more maps, more enchantments,ect and deeper RTS/CARPG controls I am in. Make it more like DA2 forget it.

 

[Substitute Troll]

What did they learn from these "failures"?

DA 2: People didn't like the restrictions and short cuts. They did like some aspects of the combat though. From this game, Bioware should have learned to increase responsiveness and crispness in the combat, and not use one fucking dungeon for all dungeons. They should also tighten up the dialogue so it's actually the same as the text the player sees.

SWTOR: Swtor was shit because, A: It's not nearly as engaging as KotOR was and it's a mediocre MMO at best, KotOR 2 was miles better in writing. B: The free to play mode was crap. What the should learn? Don't fuck with my Revan, Bioware.

ME3: It was expertly done. The amount of polish and teary moments in this game is insane. The combat is miles better than the previous installments. The ending was a plane crash IF THAT PLANE WAS THE FUCKING TITANIC. What should they have learned? FFS Bioware, make the ending worthy of the rest of the game. Also keep Casey Hudson away from my game.

If they do all this, I don't think the game will be bad.

And to anyone who's all "OH they've already lost my money herp derp." Get a grip. Just read the reviews and then decide, there's no point being a fundie.

 

[OpticalJunction]

They can and will survive but more because they don't have a lot of solid competition, apart from bethesda and cdprojeckt red there aren't that many good western RPG developers. That being said, da2 wasn't that bad, only quite different from the original. I believe inquisition will be great and will benefit from the extra development time.

What could've killed the studio was the flop of SWTOR, and that didn't. What might kill it next is ME4 flopping AND inquisition flopping, then EA would seriously look at the budget and decide maybe bioware isn't worth all the money they're throwing at it. Wouldn't be surprised to see bioware get its own humble bundle before that point, though.

 

[llubtoille]

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.

pretty much, DA2 still sold ~1mil units simply due to day one(ish) sales,
many official reviews gave it high scores, so it wasn't until the masses had finished the game that negative customer reviews began - at which point sales dwindled massively.
since it had an... 18month? dev time (compared to DA:O being at least 5 years) I imagine they still turned a good profit despite only 40% the overall sales.

I'd guess ToR would be their only financial flop, but I've not seen any figures that say one way or the other to confirm.
So DA:I? they'll probably be alright.

 

[Frozengale]

Honestly I considered DA 2 a step up in almost every single way. It was rushed, and it felt like it, but thought it was still a great game. Haven't played ME3 so I don't understand all the hate. ME2 is still one of my favorite games though. SW:TOR doesn't seem to be that bad. I'm just kinda tired of MMO's at the moment but one of my best friends seems to enjoy it. So yeah, if they have more "missteps" like DA 2 then I'd be all for that. BRING ON THE MISSTEPS.

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

Bioware really gets way too much flak lately, the only real disappointment was ME3 ending, and that's about it. So in the grand scheme of things if they continue to create games with engaging stories and characters that's all that matters.

Except if they start doing FPS's, then well............. I really hope they don't.

 

[Lictor Face]

Oh please....stop all those threads....
Yes, the ending of ME3 was kinda crap, so what? Neverwinter Nights 1 was so boring I didnt even get to finish the first level!
And with its millions of sales, I am sure EA was furious....
Also, DA 2 wasnt that bad. At least it wasnt as generic as DA1´s gather-all-the-allies-again-story. Also, I hope they dont go back to the stupid MMORPG-fighting system of DA1 in Inquisition!
People should stop to expect another Baldurs Gate 2 and just have fun playing their games!
Plus, there are companies which are doing great under EA, like DICE or Criterion.

The only thing I am afraid of is that EA keeps slapping the name "Bioware" on stuff to make it look better, like the new C&C.

..........If you didn't even finish the first area of Neverwinter Nights, you frankly have no right you condemn it OR disparage Baldur's Gate 2.


Also. DA2 wasn't that* bad*. But it was a veritable turd when compared to his primogenitor DA:O.

Also, what? DA combat being bad? Oh dear. Its people like you who cause the retrograding of nice complex games into streamlined mediocrities like DA2.



Also, Bioware would probably survive fouling up DA inquisition. BUT I dare say it would be the first of possibly many nails in the coffin for Bioware. The massive disappointment and nerdrage caused by DA2 was a tsunami, very frankly, I am losing my hope in Bioware RPGs and am looking to alternative franchises like the Witcher and things like Shadowrun.

The possibility of a Mass Effect 4 pretty much cemented my perspective of Bioware. As grey, corporation spawn. ( DAMMIT EA )