EA owns Mass Effect ... so, what now?

Same here because when you plan for a trilogy that large and you sign a publisher like Microsoft it is logical to assume the deal is locked in.

Oh noes! A joke! Call the authorities!

i thought you were the authorities ....

Well, RPGs are basically algebra with graphics, so I'm thinking Brain Age: Mass Effect Edition will be a huge success.

because we like them

Your a bit off, Mass Effect isn't even in the same genre. What's the similarity? They all have guns?

They're all games...Oh, that's right Sony fanboys don't quite understand that word...

Portal (which is the highlight of orange box as far as I'm concerned) is not at all like Mass Effect or anything else really other than nabtacular drop.

whatever wins

DUDE diud u even read the article. Bioware OWNS Mass Effect. And since EA bought out Bioware that means that EA now OWNS Mass Effect. Read before u post dude.

are you just making this up or do you have actual proof because from what it sounds like Mass Effect 2 and 3 are up in air regarding their exclusivity.

Out of curiousity, how does one PUBLISH 90% of a game? Unless that was a DLC crack but you don't seem sharp enough for that.

Do you even know how the publisher/developer relationship works? Allow me to explain. A publisher, for the most part, finances the title, but that's in much more established houses. Lower tier houses finance themselves. Anywho, a publisher dictates X amount of game done by X day. That's why you hear about multiple crunch times during development cycles. Essentially the progress made queues the next check for the workers. The publisher, in turn, has rights on a ton of the money made from the game. If a studio has a high enough revenue to fund the game themselves, they'll opt instead for a "cut" rather than deadline based paychecks. This is why many studios do not pay their overtime, because it's simply out of the budget. The overtime put in is to get that financing check.

Now, the publisher holds the publishing rights only to a game unless the franchise was sold directly. This is something that hardly EVER happens. The biggest example off the top of my head being Halo, but lesser examples would be Starfox.

Bioware holds the property on Mass Effect. Period. Microsoft owns a cut of the money in exchange for financing and distributing it. Hell of a deal if it has legs. So with EA buying out Bioware, EA bought out Mass Effect.

Publishing rights for the original Mass Effect remains with Microsoft. In other words, now that EA signs the check, if EA says put it on PS3, it will be put on PS3. EA is a terrible force to tempt into just getting rid of you by remaining strong and trying to retain your independance. I had some friends at DICE who can confirm that.

I was about to say the same thing. You can't really partially publish a game. You can partially develop it.

Expect delays.

The problem is that MS is the publisher for the first Mass Effect game. It would be kind of weird for Mass Effect 2 to come out on the PS3 when number 1 never did.

My guess is that EA will try to squeeze some exclusivity money out of MS if the first one is a success. That, or maybe they will change the title so that PS3 owners don't know they are getting a sequel.

Yeah. Bioware is dead.

RIP Bioware.

What? Seriously? This was brought up in a conference call with investors after the world's largest video game publisher purchased one of the world' best developers who are making one of the world's most sought after IPs. Yeah, really stretching incredulity here.

This is EA your talking about.

Sense is not a quality that they have.

OH.

I forgot. Thanks for that.

I honestly have no idea what I was thinking.

MS owned Bungie who owned Halo. MS is *publishing* Mass Effect. They *do not* own the property.

See here: http://www.bioware.com/bioware_info/about/

"In October 2005, BioWare announced Mass Effect™, a science fiction action RPG for Xbox 360. Mass Effect will be based on another new, BioWare-owned IP."

Dude did you not read the above article. IT is a Bioware IP. Not a MS IP. That means that Mass Effect is now owned by EA since they bought out Bioware. Read before you post stupid shit like this.
If EA has anthing to do with it they will make Mass Effect multi platform. This generation the only exclusives are going to be First party dveloped in house titles. Not 3rd parties.

really? why?

as long as games are multiplatform, MS retains the significant price and install base advantage, making them the primary SKU.

PS3 needs exclusives now, not 360.



.

Because this generation just started and 3 of MSs biggest developers are most likely going to be doing multiplatform games instead of developing exclusively for MS.

The PS3 exclusives are starting to come out now and the lineup is extremely strong in 2008. The 360 has jack shit for 2008 compared to PS3.

The price advantage is about to decrease by $100 or more depending on region.

And unless the 360 beats the PS3 in NA this holiday by a gigantic margin the install base advantage is going to start to decrease thanks to Europe + Japan.

you're right this xmas will tell a lot.

like you said, PS3's lineup is strong in 2008. with all the bundles and pricecuts aimed at this holiday, it's going to be very interesting to see if people buy consoles for the current game lineup and features, or those promised future.

now's the most crucial time for sony marketing (and their fanboys) to be on their A game.


.

So EA is going to publish a game made by what to this point has been a consistent GOTY-candidate developer on an IP in desperate need of a shot in the arm...

It is in quantum superstate. It may collapse to win or fail.