EA: Mass Effect 3 to be dumbed down

[Bateluer]

http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=23527

One of the complaints I and many others had with Mass Effect 2 was the streamlining or removal of many RPG features that were seen in its predecessor. Don't get me wrong, ME2 is still a great game, but you'd think they'd be satisfied with its success -- after all, it was almost universally lauded by critics and sold 2 million copies in the first week. Apparently they weren't, as Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has stated to investors that the final game in the trilogy is being further simplified to appeal to an even broader audience:

"One of the things that Ray Muzyuka and the team up in Edmonton have done is essentially step-by-step adjust the gameplay mechanics and some of the features that you'll see at E3 to put this in a genre equivalent to shooter-meets-RPG," he said, "and essentially address a much larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 began to approach.

"We're huge believers in the IP and are purposefully shifting it to address a larger market opportunity."

Bah. At least The Witcher 2 will be good.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I thought they were making it more RPG-ish while still keeping what made ME2 such an improvement over ME1.

 

[Liet]

Wow. That corporate speak makes me want to piss in his face.

How insulting.

 

[Farmer]

Long gone are the days of Baldur's Gate and KOTOR. ME does not even compare to those games.

 

[Mem]

I'm not surprised being DA2 was also dumbed down ,it seems anything EA touches is ruined in some way.

 

[Red Hawk]

Stop being paranoid. Christina Norman, gameplay designer for ME3, tweeted on no uncertain terms that they are improving both the RPG gameplay and the shooter gameplay.

 

[mindcycle]

EA wants to appeal to a broader market? no way..

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Wtf man. They finally get a hit game and they have to change it? It's not going to sell as many copies as CoD because a lot of kiddies can't appreciate the stuff in ME that's not shooting aliens. It's an amazing, thought-provoking series, and that is its downfall.

 

[spaceman]

idc itll be a day 1 purchase for me

 

[KaOTiK]

sigh

 

[dpodblood]

I'll wait and see how it turns out before making any pre-judgements. I thought ME2 was perfect. I hope they don't change the mechanics too much.

 

[Dekasa]

Bah, ME2 was already bad enough. A good game, but not a worthy successor to the first. I'll play the third in a few years just to finish the story.

 

[CVSiN]

sigh.. EA could and would ruin a wet dream..

 

[Soccerman06]

Could have sworn I read this months ago in a similar article, doesnt surprise me at all.

 

[Udgnim]

pretty sad to see EA ruining Bioware

still have Valve and Blizzard at least

 

[Red Storm]

Wow, they don't even try to mask the fact that they're going to simplify it. D:

 

[gothamhunter]

I don't see anything in there saying it'll be dumbed down or simplified. To me it sounds like they're trying to better bridge the gap between FPS and RPG. Ya'll need to calm down.

Btw, ME2 ftw.

 

[Barfo]

I wish John Riccitiello was raped by a pack of wild gorillas.

 

[Red Storm]

I don't see anything in there saying it'll be dumbed down or simplified. To me it sounds like they're trying to better bridge the gap between FPS and RPG. Ya'll need to calm down.

Btw, ME2 ftw.

Do you not realize what "address a much larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 began to approach" means?

 

[Red Hawk]

Do you not know what "improving both the RPG elements and shooter elements" means?

 

[Phobic9]

pretty sad to see EA ruining Bioware

still have Valve and Blizzard at least

Until EA buys them too :sneaky:

I wish I could say "yeah right" but things change quick in the gaming industry.

I'll agree that it's sad seeing EA swallow up BioWare more and more.

 

[Rakewell]

It is important to remember, folks, that Riccitiello is really speaking to investors, not gamers.

It's still going to be a good game. For Christ-sake, you can't dumb down ME3 anymore than what ME2 was.

 

[Red Hawk]

Well Activision already owns Blizzard, so I don't think EA can touch them. Valve...I think they are maybe the only developer that without fail always puts quality ahead of money (Half Life 2 Episode 3 better be damn epic...)

 

[Red Storm]

Do you not know what "improving both the RPG elements and shooter elements" means?

Show me one sequel where the devs don't say "We're improving the game." :\

When the publishers themselves are making remarks about reaching out to a more general audience, that's all the proof you need.

 

[Red Hawk]

Show me one sequel where the devs don't say "We're improving the game." :\

When the publishers themselves are making remarks about the game reaching out to a more general audience, that's all the proof you need.

Making remarks to investors, as Rakewell pointed out. He's putting his best foot forward to say that the game will sell well. Show me one sequel where the executives didn't say the game will sell better.