BioWare has 'never confirmed any plans' for Mass Effect 360 exclusivity
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jul 22nd 2008 at 6:55PM }
While there's no question about the rad-tacular sweetitude that's bound to emanate from BioWare's future entries in the Mass Effect franchise, it's time to hang up on another telephoned rumor -- this one has the unannounced trilogy locked into Xbox 360 exclusivity. According to the eloquently named Australian blog, XboxOZ360-gamer, BioWare bigwig Ray Muzyka told Australian 360 magazine that the RPG developer was committed to bringing the Mass Effect trilogy exclusively to the Xbox 360. Yeah, not so much.
Speaking to Joystiq, a BioWare representative deemed the information "incorrect," noting that Muzyka has "never confirmed any plans of Mass Effect exclusivity for the trilogy." So ... there is a trilogy, right?
[Via X3F]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Misfit Toy @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:59PM
Platform exclusivity is nice because it doesn't slow things down and allows more resources for one console. This sounds like an excuse to put it on the PS3. I hope this doesn't cross over. Not from a 360 fanboy standpoint, but from a resources standpoint.
Volomon @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:07PM
Technically thats not 100% true, when you convert down from a higher platform to a lower its much easier. However if you do it at a later date you can devote more resources to improving the game where the other console might not have been able to handle it. For instance more content. Less glitches. Ect ect,.
Marty @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:11PM
Er, don't you mean that when you convert it from a lower platform to a higher, it's easier?
Misfit Toy @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:32PM
I'm more concerned with resources because the game isn't done...there's still a second and third installment to be developed.
Haggard @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:09PM
@Marty
No. Because when going to a more powerful platform, you have to invent new particle effects, apply a thick layer of post processing and if you're feeling really busy, make a bunch of new textures.
Going from High to Low, you just turn some of that off and reduce the file quality of your textures.
Marty @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:05AM
I don't agree Haggard. Going to a lesser platform to a higher one is easier in my opinion, because you don't have to worry about the hardware not being able to handle some aspect of the game engine. Having the freedom to add new effects is a good thing, not bad.
The_Punisher @ Jul 22nd 2008 6:59PM
Well why would you deny exclusivity if it actually was?
Multiplatform confirmed. Wii-port with a different titles: Mazz Effeks 4 Kidz
Vault @ Jul 22nd 2008 9:25PM
You forgot "Party Edition".
benjor0x0r @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:00PM
I object to your portrayal of Joystiq tipsters. We don't all have friends.
Also, considering the clusterf*** that was Mass Effect's PC anti-piracy stuff, it doesn't surprise me that they would look to make some sales elsewhere.
Obie @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:00PM
I bought the game for $35 on Amazon, fantastic, epic...despite some technical issues. The more people play the game, the better.
BigD145 @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:25PM
Technical issues? You mean interface issues and lack of anything to do an a planets surface.
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:43PM
Exactly. Who cares about exclusivity. Fix the damn vehicle sections.
Obie @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:44PM
I didn't mind, that. The long load times and random crashes were sucky. I mean, Bioware hasn't even patched the game yet!
xxHughesxx @ Jul 22nd 2008 9:23PM
I got it for about the same price and it was still a rip off. Its like they didnt even think about gameplay until like the last month of development. The shooting frankly sucked, the guns were pitiful both in all senses, variety especially. "Oh look you got a new shotgun, it does 0.001% more damage and looks exactly the same!".
Sure a game that touts a full realistic galaxy sounds great, but all you did was look at the planet, there is a wall of boring text, then every 1/5 you could "survey", wow, press A, thats deep gameplay. Then the ones you can land on had nothing on them but a barren landscape with like 3 features that were so not worth the time.
Tag on to all that the ridiculously bad bio abilities that looked pathetic and felt the same. "Oh look force push! Wait i thought it said "force" it moved that crate all of 1 ft".
Tag on to that the fact that no matter what you said to people they would give the same answer.
Shepard - "Hello, i hate your alien guts and i want you to die"
Alien - "You next mission objective, which is entirely optional as always, is over there"
I tried to be evil but they didnt even try to give me the information in a different way, it was just the same thing except i told them i hated them and they didnt react.
Mass Effect - most overrated game of the last year.
Obie @ Jul 22nd 2008 9:27PM
@Hughes: To each their own I guess. ;)
Imadogg @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:31AM
I bought the game for $60 and it might be my favorite game ever.
Duke @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:38AM
Hughes = hyper critical.
I played the game being mean and replayed it being nice - the change in attitude does make for plenty of changes in the events. The main story stays the same, but how you get to the end, and how many people you have to fight, does get effected. (If you are nice, sometimes the target person will walk away. If you are mean they will go for a gun.)
aMac @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:01PM
Jokes about EA aside, this was obvious enough. The question is, does it ever cross the console boundary and stop being 'exclusive' to the 360 and PC?
Misfit Toy @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:05PM
Wasn't the first game published by Microsoft Studios? Doesn't that give them some sort of ownership, at least over the first game? If so, why would anyone buy part 2 and 3 on the PS3 when they couldn't have part 1?
Questions...questions...
Volomon @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:09PM
Totally depends on the contract and rights signed over. They most likely received a "timed" exclusive contract for the publishing rights.
Volomon @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:11PM
Well it totally depends on the contract, just because someone publishes your game does not mean it their property. In most cases the publisher provides funds and in return gain some of the rights over the product. However since Bioware is a very successful company its HIGHLY unlikely they gave over the property rights. Also the contract might have stated a timed exclusive in exchange for taking over the costs of distributing the game.
Snowblind @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:23PM
That is the way Microsoft tend to handle their published games though, although they only own the TITLE. There's nothing to stop a slightly upgraded game being ported to another system, under a different name, ala Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
Snowblind @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:07PM
Microsoft published the original, so there's no chance of it going anywhere, and I was under the impression that they'd be publishing both the sequels as well?
I don't see the Mass Effect series going anywhere. KotOR and Jade Empire on the other hand...
Phantom @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:14PM
MS doesn't have to publish Mass Effect 2 . I don't really care tho , it's not a 360 exclusive , I can just get it for PC(maybe I should buy a Sony laptop just to piss of MS lol) , only Sony and Nintendo have exclusives .
playwhutyalike @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:23PM
Yeah, get yourself a shitty, over-priced Sony laptop. That will show Microsoft.
Misfit Toy @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:37PM
Actually, I own a Sony Vaio and as a former Network Administrator and someone was in charge of buying hardware for his job, I've found the Vaios to be very dependable. Moreso than a number of other brands. You want to talk about overpriced and junk...but an Alienware. I did. Motherboard died a month after I got it, and they had it for repairs for a whole month! Meanwhile the CEO of the company had an IBM...had it sent and returned in three freaking days! Yeah...and that wasn't the last time the Alienware had a problem.
To comment on the other statement about buying a Sony computer to piss off Microsoft. I don't think they care...not with you running Windows Vista on it and all ;-)
Obie @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:59PM
Yeah don't knock the VIAO, it's the best laptop I owned thus far.
Marty @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:10PM
If Microsoft had a deal for exclusivity, then it should stick, but we'll see. I'd think MS would *want* to keep their mitts on it.
And I know it sounds lame and fanboy-ish to say that you hope a game doesn't go multi-platform, but we're getting to the point where the consoles are so similar in their base functionality that the only thing that really justifies the purpose of buying one over the other is the exclusive titles, and that's why I hate to see titles like this go.
Well, that and the fact that it'll take another year of dev time to get the game running on PS3.
unboring @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:59PM
but its easier to get a game on a lower powered console to port to a more powerful console, it should be easier?
and the time for 3rd party exclusives is over, development costs are two high on AAA titles, mass effect will pull a FFVIII and Bioshock, timed exclusives is pretty much all you can expect. Even as a PS3 fanboy I am not totally sure that MGS4 will remain exclusive a year from now.
Sony is smart because they have spent a more then a decade developing the largest and most developed first party franchises and developers of the big 3. Sony has more first party exclusives coming from either of their competitors and those are the only games you can say will be exclusive for sure. They understand that their money and time is best spent in developing these amazing gems and making them the must have titles they deserve to be.
2008 is the year of the PS3 and like 2009.
Marty @ Jul 23rd 2008 11:08AM
Oh please - don't start with this "year of the PS3" thing again. One game, MGS4, does not make it the year of anything. Sony's stock is actually down about 7 dollars since the release of that game, and it's likely to go lower still. That's not a good sign for anyone.
How can you tell me that 3rd party exclusives are over with when both systems virtually depend on them? The devs behind LBP and MGS4 are not owned by anyone - and yet without titles like these, you'd be hard-pressed to justify your purchase.
What a load of crap.
Markez (MKWii 4339-2878-5120) @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:13PM
Cmon, make with a sequel or some new DLC. Is Bring Down The Sky going to be the ONLY DLC? What gives.
What's a chiropodist anyways...
ChooChooCharlie @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:21PM
It's a doctor that specializes in treating the back of the foot.
You usually need a referral.
Dell @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:14PM
I also assume it will be a timed exclusive. Just as Mass Effect was eventually ported to pc (that was a port, right?) it'll likely come out on 360 first and move to the other consoles after a (quite likely contractually agreed) period of time. That's cool. As long as the red tape doesn't slow down game production, i'm happy.
Then again, Mass Effect 1 hasn't been announced for PS3, has it? Maybe they're all going to PC.
Haggard @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:13PM
Yeah it was a port.. could do with a couple of patches though.
|MaguS| @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:14PM
MS published the original prior to EA buying Bioware. The contract that MS signed with Bioware probably lost all meaning once EA came into the picture. Publishers can change all the time, remember EA published the PC version of the game.
MS Published Vampire Rain which is now coming to the PS3 with a subtitle and a new publisher. EA could do the same with Mass Effect.
Another example is Age of Empires for the DS...
Magetto @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:19PM
I would think EA would have to honor any sort contract that Bioware had made any with Microsoft.
Snowblind @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:30PM
Indeed they would, none of their past argreements are changed. Just as EA has nothing to do with the development of Sonic Chronicles, it's purely between Bioware and Sega.
mcatrage @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:16PM
Xbox 360 and Windows only is still a Microsoft exclusive.
ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:22PM
Exactly...the sony fanboys don't seem to get that.
A 360 exclusive is a game that cannot be played on a psTRIPLE.
PC does NOT equal ps3
I'm not sure how much more clearer I can make that.
Haggard @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:17PM
Besides, PC gaming doesn't tend to compete with the hardcore consoles. Most people who are into PC gaming on a serious level will usually only buy consoles for games that would not work on PC, e.g. Guitar Hero and Rock Band in my case.
But what annoyed me a while back was the news that MS were dropping their efforts on the Games for Windows brand because, and this is near enough to a quote, they wanted PC gamers specifically in Germany and the nordic countries to buy the 360 versions of games, hence why PC ports of games like Mass Effect and Gears are delayed by several months.
"Yeah, we made a brand to try and unify PC gaming. What's that? You want to buy a PC game? Buy it on the 360 first and then we'll talk."
SeriousKriss @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:18AM
"Microsoft exclusive" doesn't make sense. Microsoft had nothing to do with the PC version of the game since EA published it. Microsoft didn't get any money from the PC version sales. Mass Effect isn't "exclusive" since it is available on two different platforms.
Tridus @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:37PM
Except they keep calling it a "360" exclusive. Once its on something that isn't a 360 (like a PC), its no longer a 360 exclusive, since exclusive means "just here", and not "anywhere but Sony."
You can call it a "Microsoft platform exclusive" and technically be right. People rarely do that though.
Triforceowner @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:19PM
That picture has seen more puns than any should ever see.
ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:21PM
I think MS published the game and made the deal with Bioware to bring this game to the 360 with the intention of it being a 360 exclusive.
If that changes then BioWare is full of crap.
Killjebus @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:30PM
Awwwww, there there my little pricess of jackassery...even when it comes (EA will want as much $ as possible) to PS3, it will still be playable on the 360 so relax your panties and put away the Kleenex box.
Like Jack Trentton said, 3rd party exclusives are a thing of the past unless you pay for them. MS chooses to pay for other companies games, Sony chooses to pay for thier OWN games.
na na na naaaaaa na
PS3 is better and yooooooouuuuuu know it.
ThePerfectCompanion @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:38PM
Lol you sony fanboys can jump on this rumor all you want.
IF it comes true then I'll care. For now I'm treating it as wishful sony fanboy thinking.
Buty hey do you really equate Mass Effect with Final Fantasy XIII?
Yeah I didn't think killjebus. LMAO. Frankly even if Mass Effect 2 is multiplat it's nothing but a hillabeans when compared to the devastating damage that FFXIII becoming multiplat does to sony.
360 is far better than the ps3 any day of the week.
Misfit Toy @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:41PM
Haha...wow. The nah-nah statement. You must really be asking for a virtual fanboy punch in the face huh?
Killjebus @ Jul 22nd 2008 7:44PM
EA would put this game out on etch-a-scetch if they thought it would make them more money.
unboring @ Jul 22nd 2008 8:00PM
there are no more 3rd party exclusives, microsoft has little first party development and its one of their biggest weaknesses. Timed exclusives can be bought but just like Bioshock Mass Effect will jump to multiplat, just like FFVIII.
when you say " I don't know how much clearer I can make it" you make it sound like you know something.
Vcize @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:27AM
"I don't know how much clearer I can make it"
You could start by figuring out how roman numerals work.