Re: latest Andromeda news

This is turning out to be a ping pong game, i'm more inclined to believe that we'll have a story DLC but that's just my opinion.

However, now, it seems that everyone is telling that this rumor is fake:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-andromeda-not-getting-single-player-dl/1100-6451345/?ftag=GSS-05-10aaa0a

http://kotaku.com/sources-mass-effect-andromeda-will-not-get-single-pla-1796548159?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

Anyway, i'm giving up on this, it turned out that Andromeda was a big disappointment, after 5 years of development. I do enjoy the game but .... it doesn't have the same feeling the trilogy had. I'm going to leave this at that.

I would love to see a DLC, and hope that Bioware do have free reign to produce one without the parent company attaching an anvil to their legs as they do.  I would also hope that they let them polish and tune the game to iron out the existing issues FIRST before putting even more code in that then furthers issues that have become rather ingrained.

I am more concerned at the moment with how communication occurs between the publisher/devs and the playerbase in an official news/here's whats coming sense, and that any attempts to break through that seem to be met with a stoney silence.

We know Anthem is coming, we know no mention was made of ME:A at E3 in any way.. but as fans of Mass Effect who have likely bought all or most of the titles in the mass effect series, it does make us repeat customers who have/had faith in the product line so we do in a way get a bit troubled when we see reviewers going off half-cok'd and roasting a game before its had chance to have some early issues fixed, and then toasting it the whole way just for reader views.

Could it have happened differently? of course it could, and many of us wish it could have been different, but hindsight is a truly wonderful thing and sometimes you just have to look at what you have have right now and just HOPE that things get resolved.. and thats why we need bioware and ea to do right by its fan base for those who have stood by them through thick.. and thin.

I know Anthem is coming but what am I to do for the next 15 months or so until it hits?

There is very little information coming out about Anthem at the moment, which is understandable but at the same time it can't be the only thing that they communicate about.

I wonder if they understand that gaming is a serious hobby for many that they put a lot of time into and that this is not the way to support that. Information is needed and going months between updates is just so....well, not of this time really.

They seem to want to go big on Anthem and make it a 10 year engagement with dlc and sequels like Destiny is doing. I think that's a good way to approach it but I wonder why they can make a plan like that for Anthem but not Mass Effect.

Or maybe they want to test Anthem and if it works set it up for other franchises as well. I get the feeling they want to get into the business of games that have a more long-term plan and decided on a new IP to do this with so it wouldn't destroy an existing IP if it backfired. I just get this feeling Anthem is a big deal for EAWare and they are hoping it's the platform for their games in the near future.

It is my view, that how Anthem will be received will be of key importance for how BioWare will do business in the future. Therefore we won't get any real news about other IP's like ME and DA until they have released Anthem next year. However, that makes it even more important that they do something now with ME:A in the meantime.

I also wonder how Destiny 2 is going to do. It will be a direct competitor for Anthem I would think but it will come out this year already and will be able to have a more solid game running. So Anthem will have to be pretty amazing all around to compete with that if Destiny 2 is successful. 

At the same time Anthem might open up a much larger fanbase than they've had so far and then the ME and DA crowd will automatically become less important to them. It's all very hard to say at this time, but I can't help but feel that Anthem failing might be better for ME and DA fans than Anthem succeeding.

If I'm wrong about that feeling I invite BioWare to explain to me why I'd be wrong about this...but yeah, they'd have to communicate to do that.

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@EgoMania wrote:

They seem to want to go big on Anthem and make it a 10 year engagement with dlc and sequels like Destiny is doing. I think that's a good way to approach it but I wonder why they can make a plan like that for Anthem but not Mass Effect.

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A while back EA said that they wanted to increase the number of action adventure games because they noticed that they're very successful for Ubisoft (e.g. Assassin's Creed). I think Anthem will fill a void in EA's lineup, making it a smart investment. I don't think BioWare will quit RPGs anytime soon, though (Dragon Age 4 was pretty much confirmed), but it makes sense for them to step back from Mass Effect for a while so they can evaluate what to do with the series.

It seems that they want every attention to Anthem even if we have little to no informations on it, even if it a year from release. I get it is the new game, htey want it to be a next big thing, ok we got it but doing it by hurting Andromeda and most importantly the Mass Effect universe? I'm not a expert in maketing or human behavior/emotions and so on, so can't say how fans and comunity will react to what EA/BioWare are doing right now with ME and Anthem, it is my personal point of view, opinion and feelings and  i'm just presuming that from what i see arround the internet and not a lot of people are seeing and feeling the same.

What i see is a beloved universe of games with millions of fans beeing basically "killed" and burried undergroud for who knows for how long because of Anthem, well it might turn out to be a great game, but if the release and success of that game means  the end of Andromeda support and the Mass Effect games for a long future well personaly i will be turn away from that game.

I don't know if EA/BioWare realise what Mass Effect means for tons of people and how they are treating this universe might damage Anthem,we don't need some insider information or rumors just go under every Anthem and ME post/video on every social network or forum and you will see  a lot ofpeople blaming BioWare and most importantly Anthem for what is happening with Andromeda now and Mass Effect games in future and, this are not haters that talk shi. about the game, this are normal fans that are rightfully concerned about the future of ME.

Hurting Andromeda and Mass Effect will only damage Anthem, BioWare need to realize this, if in a few months they will come up and say that Andromeda has been abandoned for all as Mass Effect in general, but they still want us to be focused and hyped about Anthem, even if it turn out to be a good game i'll pass on it concentrate on other awesome titles coming in 2018 and wait for Dragon Age 4 and the next Mass Effect game (hopefuly before we get old��).

On contrary is they keep supporting Andromeda and assure us that Mass Effect in not burried under ground for who knows how much time, i'll be more then happy to try Anthem and support it only if it turns to be a BioWare game with great story and beloved characters and not some Destiny clone with endless farming just to get a better gun, oh and it has to be good in singleplayer and not force you to play in mp.  

My take on this is that those that say there will be no DLC are forgetting how cheap these are to make. You have all the base figures, weapons and so on. So you only need a storyline a few new characters and worlds. That is basically that. 

So what if you can only sell a million copies at a tenner each that's still a lot of money if development cost is only 2-3 mill. Every accountant in the world would say that is a no brainer.

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@jpkarlsen wrote:

My take on this is that those that say there will be no DLC are forgetting how cheap these are to make. You have all the base figures, weapons and so on. So you only need a storyline a few new characters and worlds. That is basically that. 

So what if you can only sell a million copies at a tenner each that's still a lot of money if development cost is only 2-3 mill. Every accountant in the world would say that is a no brainer.

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Yeah, and the source of the rumor is "three guys that are supposedly in the know". Kotaku is just stirring the water is being little better than tabloids at this point.

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@jpkarlsen wrote:

My take on this is that those that say there will be no DLC are forgetting how cheap these are to make. You have all the base figures, weapons and so on. So you only need a storyline a few new characters and worlds. That is basically that. 

So what if you can only sell a million copies at a tenner each that's still a lot of money if development cost is only 2-3 mill. Every accountant in the world would say that is a no brainer.

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And because many of us are aware of this from the start, speculations about ME:A being abondend started in the first place...
Because it is no big deal to release non-story DLCs and much of the production costs for story DLCs are already in the main game. So what you point out is exactly the reason why we all are suspicious.

There is no reason to be silent about ME:A unless there is a decision to be made for whatever reason. And that decision includes downgrading support, delay in favour of some other project or even abandoning it at all. Hopefully that decision is still pending and will result in full support to strengthen the IP for the future!

But fact is there is no commitment from Bioware or EA for much too long time.

Interpreting this as a good omen is loss of reality.

Hope is the driving force to say otherwise ...

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@Phoenixflieger wrote:

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@jpkarlsen wrote:

My take on this is that those that say there will be no DLC are forgetting how cheap these are to make. You have all the base figures, weapons and so on. So you only need a storyline a few new characters and worlds. That is basically that. 

So what if you can only sell a million copies at a tenner each that's still a lot of money if development cost is only 2-3 mill. Every accountant in the world would say that is a no brainer.

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And because many of us are aware of this from the start, speculations about ME:A being abondend started in the first place...
Because it is no big deal to release non-story DLCs and much of the production costs for story DLCs are already in the main game. So what you point out is exactly the reason why we all are suspicious.

There is no reason to be silent about ME:A unless there is a decision to be made for whatever reason. And that decision includes downgrading support, delay in favour of some other project or even abandoning it at all. Hopefully that decision is still pending and will result in full support to strengthen the IP for the future!

But fact is there is no commitment from Bioware or EA for much too long time.

Interpreting this as a good omen is loss of reality.

Hope is the driving force to say otherwise ...

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Well, someone over on the unofficial BSN bioware board noted that they probably can't say anything due to SEC and other financial regulations. IOW, it could cost EA/Bioware a crapton of money if someone "slightly official" blabs about this blockbuster DLC that's going to make tons of money.

Looking at how quickly EA/Bioware came out and slammed the fake company for the facebook article hoax, I am just wondering if Kotaku's article is incorrect and kotaku's article is way more widely circulated than that hoax, why is EA/Bioware management not saying anything?  

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Looking at how quickly EA/Bioware came out and slammed the fake company for the facebook article hoax, I am just wondering if Kotaku's article is incorrect and kotaku's article is way more widely circulated than that hoax, why is EA/Bioware management not saying anything?  

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Because he's hiding behind the fig-leaf known as 'reporting'. He isn't saying that he knows the DLC isn't coming out, he's saying that "three guys" told him that and it "fits what he believes".

Totally CYA.

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Looking at how quickly EA/Bioware came out and slammed the fake company for the facebook article hoax, I am just wondering if Kotaku's article is incorrect and kotaku's article is way more widely circulated than that hoax, why is EA/Bioware management not saying anything?  

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They said on Twitter that there are certain things a public company can't disclose.

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Looking at how quickly EA/Bioware came out and slammed the fake company for the facebook article hoax, I am just wondering if Kotaku's article is incorrect and kotaku's article is way more widely circulated than that hoax, why is EA/Bioware management not saying anything?  

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Yeah, they probably didn't even want to react to this but this was such a blatant hoax that they had no choice. And even then, they just  put a couple of comments on twitter. Nothing here on the forums or the main website.

EAWare just have a tendency to stay silent for months until they are ready. It's typical really for big companies. Their customer focus tends to lie around their production process. Of course they make mistakes there but when it comes to the more regular interactions with customers (call it aftersales or customer service), they have no customer focus at all. They just see it as a cost centre instead of an investment in long term relations.

It just seems to me that they haven't quite understood that they can create much stronger relations with their customers as well as increase the customer base because of word-of-mouth advertisement. It's worth to invest in that but they don't. Only when they're more or less forced to.

Nobody will be surprised when people say that the products you sell by themselves are no longer enough and you need good customer support to distinguish yourself as a company. Now BioWare has  had the luxury position of having a bit of a monopoly in what they do. There is no direct competition for Mass Effect or Dragon Age for example because any other Sci-Fi or Fantasy RPG doesn't have what they do with story, companions, romance, etc. They made one MMO and it's the only Star Wars MMO on the market which still has those trade mark elements that BW does.

I  mean as much as I hate what they've done to SWTOR in recent years, I don't have an alternative for it.

So, what does this all mean? It means that BioWare can get away with a lot because they do not have to fear people running away to the competition as much and it means that they mostly can choose when to communicate and focus on their needs rather than the customer needs. Because in the end...angry or not, we'll come back to them when the next game or dlc comes out. Of course some will break away and stay away but a lot of people will still end up giving it another go. There still is an appeal in what they offer and nobody else offers this.

I like their games myself but where last year I was increasing spending on BioWare my response to all this has been to stop spending and now find ways of enjoying the BioWare games while spending the bare minimum amount of money on them. I stopped being a fan and became a customer. And this customer will only invest the bare minimum because from my point of view that's what they are investing in their customer relations. So it makes it a more balanced relation.

You just totally ignored the information that Bioware and EA _CAN'T_ talk about certain things because they are a publically traded company and it can affect their stock. In your mind, it's because they are uncaring and don't want to, not that they can not.

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@arthurh3535 wrote:

You just totally ignored the information that Bioware and EA _CAN'T_ talk about certain things because they are a publically traded company and it can affect their stock. In your mind, it's because they are uncaring and don't want to, not that they can not.

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Where there's a will, there's a way.

But ok, if there really are things they cannot divulge, which is definitely possible, that doesn't mean that they should just not talk at all about anything. They're really just not very involved in their own community as far as I'm concerned.

I think there are two other possibilities why BioWare hasn't officially commented on this yet.

1. BioWare has a policy not to respond to rumors. (They stated this on their old forum.)

2. BioWare usually announces DLC a few days before release.

I think if BioWare started commenting on rumors, they would be more easily baited in the future to disclose things they're not ready to share yet.

Based on release dates of past BioWare titles, DLC should be announced sometime this month or possibly August. If they haven't announced anything by September, I think it's a safe bet it's not coming.

I mean, if they teased the quarians up until a month ago with no DLC or sequels planned it just doesn't make any sense.

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Looking at how quickly EA/Bioware came out and slammed the fake company for the facebook article hoax, I am just wondering if Kotaku's article is incorrect and kotaku's article is way more widely circulated than that hoax, why is EA/Bioware management not saying anything?  

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Kotaku is a media report, whereas the Facebook hoax appeared to be a company claiming an affiliation with BioWare. There was a professional obligation to answer that false claim. 

In this type of situation, the 'media' will sort it's self out when the truth is revealed, months or years from now.  It doesn't really matter if the Kotaku article is true or not. We don't have any official BioWare announcement or hype about a DLC - so there isn't one.

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Looking at how quickly EA/Bioware came out and slammed the fake company for the facebook article hoax, I am just wondering if Kotaku's article is incorrect and kotaku's article is way more widely circulated than that hoax, why is EA/Bioware management not saying anything?  

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Considering the track record lately of "The Media"....recent US Presidential election....Brexit....the weather forecasts for about the last 30 years running...why should anyone blindly take their word for anything??  Read them for insight...but always figure they have an agenda too, and while they SHOULD be about truth, more often than not, it is about money or power, and an article about how a popular game franchise is in trouble WILL sell more copies/get more views than one saying while EA mucked up MEA, but they are working on fixing it and expect more money making DLC in the future...

Yeah, they may be right, they may be wrong, but they are getting paid to pontificate about it, and the "truth" is subjective and easily corrected by a well, "EA changed it's mind and they ARE releasing a new DLC," if it does happen...

Another one that I just watched last evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7_tymEuT2k

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Another one that I just watched last evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7_tymEuT2k

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Just more 'reporters' that can't actually research or verify their own story, so they parrot (loudly) Kotaku's rumor.

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@arthurh3535 wrote:

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@VladVonCastein wrote:

Another one that I just watched last evening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7_tymEuT2k

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Just more 'reporters' that can't actually research or verify their own story, so they parrot (loudly) Kotaku's rumor.

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Actually, the YouTuber who posted that video clearly outlines BioWare's track record on releasing DLC content for DragonAge and Mass Effect. He makes the point that BioWare does not promote DLC until it's very close to release. He contrasts those facts with the Kotaku article and his own opinion, so I think you're being too harsh.

I wanted to clarify that I was not bashing credible media or journalism in my previous post, merely pointing out that BioWare is the final word. Unfortunately, someone in this thread has made bias political comments on the profession.

So, they just teased a batarian in MP. WHAT IF THE QUARIANS ARE RELEASED AS MP CHARACTERS? Oh god please don't do this to me.

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@Fred_vdp wrote:

I think there are two other possibilities why BioWare hasn't officially commented on this yet.

1. BioWare has a policy not to respond to rumors. (They stated this on their old forum.)

2. BioWare usually announces DLC a few days before release.

I think if BioWare started commenting on rumors, they would be more easily baited in the future to disclose things they're not ready to share yet.

Based on release dates of past BioWare titles, DLC should be announced sometime this month or possibly August. If they haven't announced anything by September, I think it's a safe bet it's not coming.

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I think Early 2018 would be the point at which I will abandon hope for any DLC. It's entirely possible that BioWare is waiting on the number of units sold to reach a certain level before selling DLC. Considering that the game did not sell as well as expected and the reviews cast a cloud on the game - things need time to settle.

Lower prices on the game as it ages will get it in more hands and increase the potential success of DLC sales.

No matter what any non-official BioWare source says I will not believe that this game was not intended to have DLC content (or a sequel). Part of me believes that some DLC is already mostly finished and awaiting a launch window related to game sales.

There are too many loose ends.