Why I am not going to buy Mass Effect 3

[AD-Stu]

At this point, I'm still trusting Bioware not to cut content that is central to the game and hide it behind a DLC wall. Additional cool content, sure, but not vital content. I'm sincerely hoping they don't prove me wrong on that point.

I've already preorded the Collector's Edition so it's not a huge deal for me anyway, but for everyone else there seems to be an awful lot of getting caught up in baseless speculation here.

Case in point: how many people who said "OMGZ multiplayer is a stupid thing to be adding to Mass Effect, it'll be horrible and ruin the game" have since played the demo and publicly admitted that they were wrong in their assumptions?

 

[Zen Toombs]

IF the new character is not integral to the plot (which is possible, even based upon how important the character sounds) then I don't have a problem with the Collector's Edition having bonus content, and I also don't have a problem with Bioware selling that same content to people who didn't buy the Collector's Edition.

However, I do agree that it will be a problem if said character IS integral to the plot.

 

[Tony2077]

its dlc i don't think they'd remove something if it was part of the plot

 

[boag]

In b4 "lol u guyz buznizezz make money!"

Protheans were a big deal from ME1 and onward. If one is gonna show up, he belongs in the series' closing act.

This is sleazy.

Games are art? Businesses like EA sure don't seem to give a shit about the artistic side of things.

I had already decided not to buy ME3. It wasn't an easy decision. This confirms that it was the correct one (for me).

how can they BELONG ion the games closing act when 2 games ago it was given knowledge that they were extinct?

And one game ago it's revealed that they're the hive mind controlled army of a Reaper....

And you killed them all at the end of that game, how do you jump from that to THEY BELONG IN THE CLOSING ACT.

Maybe there was a single Prothean in hiding but keeping an eye on thing through the entire series without nary a word to the one man/woman who's actively trying to stop the Reapers from repeating their cycle of destruction.

Then when the time of the third game rolls around he thinks to himself "Damn....there's some serious shit going down. Guess I'd better get out there so..."

I get the feeling you have no concrete answer that isnt mired in supposition.

Im going to be very nice and give you the reason why the Prothean could be included in the game and why the DLC might very well be cut content, so that when the question presents itself before you, you will have a better anwser than "Because"

Spoiler

The leaked script from a couple of months ago, referenced the Prothean, and a lot of his dialog had him give Shepard precise information about how to stop the reapers from fucking up the Galaxy.

Is this the same prothean from the DLC? there is heavy evidence for it, including the name Ian, if the Prothean from the DLC is Ian, then he is a very direct part of the reason Shepard learns of the MGuffin to control the Repears

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I don't like Launch DLC either, but I'm forced to concede that we aren't entitled to everything they make pre-launch. If they intend something as DLC - an extra character, mission, weapon even...then that pisses me off but I can't blame them. But when it's content that is fucking crucial to the backstory at least, if not the storyline, then I think it's a case of them deliberately taking something out so that we will feel like our game is incomplete without it, and have to buy it. And that not only pisses me off, I think it is actually fucking terrible to do that to players. I think we are entitled to everyhting to do with the main storyline and such incredibly important details of the backstory. And it bothers me because in the future, what's to stop a developer(/publisher I don't f***ing know anymore) from with-holding one character, or part of the storyline, or element of gameplay, in order to sell it seperately? There are any number of games out today where something could easily be taken out, and it would not be missed if we never knew about it, and the game would still sell for the same amount and still be a great game. But if we were then told about this character, or thing, and about its importance, the game would feel incomplete.

For example, imagine if there were no Argonians in Skyrim, and there had never been any in any Elder Scrolls game. No-one would care. It'd be "Oh yep, a bunch of humans, a bunch of elves and cat people". If they then suddenly introduced Argonians, players would be tripping over each other to get them. But if we never knew, no-one would even think of it.

And that's why I hate this, because the only logical progression is that they're going to go further and further until you have to buy crucial parts of the game, like a melee attack, or a race, or the HUD, for extra money on top of what the game should be, because they can.

 

[SajuukKhar]

What they humorously forgot to mention in the video is that

1. The DLC was not CUT from the game because it was never IN the game originally
2. You DO NOT need the DLC to get the best ending in the game
3. The Prothean IS STILL IN THE BASE GAME, all the DLc does is make him abe to join your squad.

I love how people are following the word of a BLATANT liar in some childish attempt to get people to not play the game.

However considering the shit people did to that one bioware employee and that people can find valves hats as a scam only shows how decedent, corrupt, and overly entitled the average gamer is nowadays.

its sickening.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

EA must really enjoy shooting themselves in the foot. Shale, Zaeed, Kasumi and Sebastien were some of my favorite characters in their games; in that they were in my party more often than not. But now its a mother fucking PROTHEAN? Goddamnint, I'll still buy it... but they are not earning any brownie points for it.

This is why EA fails. For them it's about the short term grab-as-much-money-as-we-can gag. If you really want to make bank you need plenty of long-term fans. You don't need to make good games to get long-term fans. But throwing them a bone every once in a while will increase the fans and money you make in the long run.

For instance: take Alan Wake: American Nightmare. It easily could've been just the arcade mode of the game for $15 or they could've split the game into 2 parts and charged you for both or they could've charged $20 or $30 for it - but they didn't. They charged the price of any generic xbla game and delivered more than most companies would. THAT'S the thing - I'm more than sure that most companies would charge as much as they could while delivering as little as possible. But not Remedy. If I already didn't love Remedy for Max Payne Alan Wake: American Nightmare would've brought me onboard the Remedy fan train.

Even if they run the next Alan Wake into the ground and the game after that is really half-assed and silly I'd still be looking forward to their next game. The thing with EA (and thus Bioware) is that they keep pushing their luck with all the DLC that really should have been included in the game, the DRM and other bullshit that after ME3 I'm going to be very cautious about the next Bioware game. I've been a Bioware fan ever since Baldur's Gate but all this extra, unnecessary BS and Dragon Age 2 and the fact that many of the leads are leaving Bioware has shaken my loyalty to Bioware. They could probably buy all of that back if they bought themselves from EA (like what Bungie did to Microsoft) and just produced and created their own stuff.

tl;dr: Sure, I'll buy it and any other bs DLC EA asks from ME3 but after this game I don't think I'm going to be excited for anymore Bioware products. Unless they are an RPG about Vikings, of course.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

What they humorously forgot to mention in the video is that

1. The DLC was not CUT from the game because it was never IN the game originally
2. You DO NOT need the DLC to get the best ending in the game
3. The Prothean IS STILL IN THE BASE GAME, all the DLc does is make him abe to join your squad.


I love how people are following the word of a BLATANT liar in some childish attempt to get people to not play the game.

Self entitlement is a huge problem in the gaming community nowadays.

kind of makes me want to punch a badger.

 

[godofslack]

It's pretty simple. Non-cosmetic DLC should NEVER be launch day DLC. It means that content was removed. Okay, maybe not removed but, it could just as easily be the vanilla game. Whether it's relevant or not isn't important, it means that someone who buys the game on launch will not receive all the story content at launch.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Self entitlement is a huge problem in the gaming community nowadays.

kind of makes me want punch a badger.

Yes it is.

I love how people thing "content developed alongside the game" ="content cut from the game on purpose in order to sell it to you".

Its both laughable and saddening that people can act that way.

It's pretty simple. Non-cosmetic DLC should NEVER be launch day DLC. It means that content was removed. Okay, maybe not removed but, it could just as easily be the vanilla game. Whether it's relevant or not isn't important, it means that someone who buys the game on launch will not receive all the story content at launch.

No it DOESNT mean it could have been in the vanilla game becuase devlopment of the DLC could easily have continued AFTER the game went gold in order to get it printed and shipped on time.

I don't know if people purposefully forget that there is a period of two months before the games release that isnt being used to make the game but insted being used to print/ship the games and that's when development of DLC is done or they simply have no idea about how games are made.

 

[WinkyTheGreat]

The reveal for the collector's edition stated that there would be a bonus mission and character months ago. Now we know what it is. You don't have to buy it. Just like you didn't have to buy any of the other DLC that was tacked onto Mass Effect 2. It's extra content that has no effect on the main story (with a couple of exceptions). Remember Kasumi and Zaaed? They added 2 extra missions and some extra skills, but not much beyond that. They had no real dialogue that wasn't involved in their recruitment or loyalty missions, I doubt the Prothean will be much different.

What they humorously forgot to mention in the video is that

1. The DLC was not CUT from the game because it was never IN the game originally
2. You DO NOT need the DLC to get the best ending in the game
3. The Prothean IS STILL IN THE BASE GAME, all the DLc does is make him abe to join your squad.


I love how people are following the word of a BLATANT liar in some childish attempt to get people to not play the game.

Self entitlement is a huge problem in the gaming community nowadays.

kind of makes me want to punch a badger.

Agreed, but don't harm a noble badger. They've don't nothing to deserve it.

 

[Darkfiretiger]

I understand how some people feel, but I have the N7 edition preordered and if bioware say that the prothian DLC was started after ME3 was finished then I'm willing to beleive them.

 

[LGC Pominator]

What they humorously forgot to mention in the video is that

1. The DLC was not CUT from the game because it was never IN the game originally
2. You DO NOT need the DLC to get the best ending in the game
3. The Prothean IS STILL IN THE BASE GAME, all the DLc does is make him abe to join your squad.


I love how people are following the word of a BLATANT liar in some childish attempt to get people to not play the game.

You seem to be forgetting the audience that you are talking to here, presupposition of entitlement is pretty much par for the course with a lot of people on this forum, and a lot of them are incredibly dramatic about it.
To be honest it isn't really an issue, the game will sell well regardless, the people shouting about things that they don't like generally make up a small proportion of people, and the simple fact that they are incredibly loud about it produces the illusion that there are more of them than there really are, it's why people like Jack Thompson, Rick Santorum, Leland Yee, The Westboro baptist church etc have been able to get their message so well publicised, if you hate something and make tons of noise about it, then you appear to represent the majority.

Either way, come payday, Imma pick up ME3, and so are many MANY other people, and we shall play multiplayer and engage in jolly cooperation! PRAISE THE SUN!

 

[godofslack]

3. The Prothean IS STILL IN THE BASE GAME, all the DLc does is make him abe to join your squad

Source? because I've been listening to Totalbiscuit for years and when he's long he removes his videos and recants his arguments with an apology. If you can prove that I'm sure he'll be more than willing to remove the video.

As a rule of thumb I trust someone who I know has a strict code of ethics rather than some random on the internet.

 

[Tony2077]

i like how some people are acting like its the end of the world

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY

here listen to this

 

[RaikuFA]

Do you know why I'M not getting Mass Effect 3? Because the 360 I bought just for ME3 deleted my saves just after I finished playing ME1 and ME2. Oh, no, they didn't delete them, they were still there, the fucking console just refused to recognize they were there.

So fuck that. I'm not playing two goddamn games AGAIN. Because that wasn't the first time I played them, oh no. I played those same games over and over and over on my PC. Every time I had to reboot my computer or get a new one, I played both again. But no more. Fuck you, Microsoft. You ruined something I was really excited for.

I'm the same way with Half Life 2, every time I get near the end my comp save gets deleted or my console red rings

 

[dobahci]

This. I respect not one of these bullshit whiny boycotts because of this, and man is it ever tiring nowadays. Every time SOMETHING happens, it's just negativity all around. The "pirating it," thing, and the "I'll get it used instead so no one, not even the devs, get my money" utterly gall me. Nice one, bro, way to make sure the right people get fucked. Way to show you're not gonna take it and will not stand for any bullshit by...buying the game.

If you're taking a stand, mean it. Inconvenience yourself all the way or you might as well give them your money now, since you will later anyway cause you simply could not go without blue bitchin' sex in space to stand by your beliefs. As far as I'm concerned, you either send the message home, or be a pussy. Your call.

I might be missing something, but I don't think the point of a boycott is to inconvenience yourself or prove that you aren't a pussy. The point is to ensure that the company in question doesn't get your money. Piracy does that while still ensuring you don't miss out on the game. Where's the problem? It sounds like an ideal solution to me.

Why should a gamer have to inconvenience himself to make a statement anyway? If we protest every company that is run by pricks, then we'll basically end up finding a new hobby, because pretty much the entire mainstream game industry is prick-dominated nowadays, and finding a company that DOESN'T use invasive DRM or milk their customers out of every little cent with day-of-release DLC and rushed sequels is more the exception than the rule. And unfortunately there are precious few ways we can influence this.

How can you really get a company to change their ways? Even if you do manage to organize some kind of full-scale boycott, you're still only going to impact a tiny fraction of the sales expected for the game, and the company you were trying to boycott is still going to make enough money off of it to buy your entire town and rename it to Butthurtville. And there's NOTHING you can do about it. You can send them emails saying that they really ought to treat their customers with more respect, and they'll just say, "Sorry, I can't hear you over the whooshing sound of my moneyfountain."

Every time a company gets taken to task for DRM that rapes your computer upon install or for taking advantage of paying customers in some way or another, they come out with some press release with a bunch of bullshit and excuse-making, but you never see any changes made. Why should you inconvenience yourself for them when it's not even going to make the company change the shitty policies that made you boycott them in the first place?

 

[boag]

What they humorously forgot to mention in the video is that

1. The DLC was not CUT from the game because it was never IN the game originally
2. You DO NOT need the DLC to get the best ending in the game
3. The Prothean IS STILL IN THE BASE GAME, all the DLc does is make him abe to join your squad.

I love how people are following the word of a BLATANT liar in some childish attempt to get people to not play the game.

However considering the shit people did to that one bioware employee and that people can find valves hats as a scam only shows how decedent, corrupt, and overly entitled the average gamer is nowadays.

its sickening.

your point number 3 is the missing information I have been looking for.

It makes sense now, since in the leaked scripts he was very pivotal to the main quest, but making him optional on the joining is forgivable, its not really a needed character.

Wholeheartedly agree about your point that people have been acting like entitled victims.

 

[godofslack]

Self entitlement is a huge problem in the gaming community nowadays.

kind of makes me want punch a badger.

Yes it is.

I love how people thing "content developed alongside the game" ="content cut from the game on purpose in order to sell it to you".

Its both laughable and saddening that people can act that way.

It's pretty simple. Non-cosmetic DLC should NEVER be launch day DLC. It means that content was removed. Okay, maybe not removed but, it could just as easily be the vanilla game. Whether it's relevant or not isn't important, it means that someone who buys the game on launch will not receive all the story content at launch.

No it DOESNT mean it could have been in the vanilla game becuase devlopment of the DLC could easily have continued AFTER the game went gold in order to get it printed and shipped on time.

I don't know if people purposefully forget that there is a period of two months before the games release that isnt being used to make the game but insted being used to print/ship the games and that's when development of DLC is done or they simply have no idea about how games are made.

Bull shit http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/325/index/8006985/1 7 months ago.