Mythic & BioWare merge

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
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Not sure what this will mean for the future of Mythic...

But it looks like Mythic itself likely won't be coming up with any "new" projects any time soon, if at all. But it does put a hell of a lot of potential talent in the direction of the new Star Wars MMO that BioWare is working on.

Today we have important news to share with the community. EA is restructuring its RPG and MMO games development into a new group that includes both Mythic and BioWare. This newly formed team will be led by Ray Muzyka, co-founder and General Manager of BioWare. With this change, Ray becomes Group General Manager of the new RPG/MMO studio group. BioWare?s other co-founder, Greg Zeschuk will become Group Creative Officer for the new RPG/MMO studio group. Rob Denton will step up as General Manager of Mythic and report to Ray. BioWare?s studios remain unchanged and continue to report to Ray.

Mark Jacobs, current General Manager of Mythic will leave EA on June 23, 2009. We thank Mark for his contributions at Mythic and wish him the very best going forward. Mark played a major part in the success of Mythic with his contribution as General Manager and Lead Designer of WAR.

Mythic retains a strong team led by Rob who co-founded Mythic in 1995. Rob played a critical role in the development of Dark Age of Camelot. In his previous role as COO, he was responsible for all day-to-day management of the studio including all development, operations and support.

Please join us in celebrating the union of these two award-winning studios.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
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Yep, it looks like EA is going all-in on Star Wars. Now there are satellite Bioware offices in Austin, Montreal, and Fairfax...
 

Ultralight

Senior member
Jul 11, 2004
990
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Originally posted by: Kalmah
Yikes... EA just please don't screw Bioware up.

If this happens it will be a first. EA is anti-matter because everything it touches gets disintegrated all the way to sub-atomic particles. It will be interesting to see how fairs Bioware in the next two years and where Muzyka and Zeschuk will be.
 

drebo

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2006
7,035
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I can't say I'm surprised. WAR was a flop, not because it was a fundamentally bad game (it wasn't, necessarily...though it was a complete clone of WoW), but because they REALLY screwed up the launch. Artificially restricting server population and bringing too many servers online is what wrecked it. When you need to offer server transfers to boost population on servers a month after the game goes live, you screwed something up.

DAoC got wrecked, too. Unfortunately, this probably kills the possibility of an "Origins" ruleset server.
 

Gothgar

Lifer
Sep 1, 2004
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yeah I saw this... weird


I was thinking of going back and giving WAR another try... what killed it was how grindy it felt after level 30
 

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
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Another product line I will not be buying.
I stopped buying anything connected with EA 6 months ago.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
145
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www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: Modelworks
Another product line I will not be buying.
I stopped buying anything connected with EA 6 months ago.

Well... then you wouldn't have been buying either anyway for quite some time.
 
Oct 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: Kalmah
Yikes... EA just please don't screw Bioware up.

My thoughts exactly. Bioware is one of the few remaining decent PC gaming companies and they seem to have the Dungeons and Dragons license. It will be a disaster if their next Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's Gate successor gets demolished with all sorts of awful DRM and consolization.
 

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
16,240
7
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Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: Modelworks
Another product line I will not be buying.
I stopped buying anything connected with EA 6 months ago.

Well... then you wouldn't have been buying either anyway for quite some time.

Last EA product I bought was Warhammer online. After seeing EA mishandle that and then the way they handled other things in the past couple months, I decided they don't deserve my support.
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,939
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Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper
Originally posted by: Kalmah
Yikes... EA just please don't screw Bioware up.

My thoughts exactly. Bioware is one of the few remaining decent PC gaming companies and they seem to have the Dungeons and Dragons license. It will be a disaster if their next Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's Gate successor gets demolished with all sorts of awful DRM and consolization.

The Bioware who made Mass Effect and got someone to port the Xbox 360 version to PC for them?
The Bioware who outsourced KotoR 2 to Obsidian who ended up not being able to complete it and it was a bit buggy?
The Bioware who outsourced NWN to Obsidian (again)?

1) Bioware might make decent games which come out on PC, but their recent games have all been available on Xbox/360, and some were even ported FROM it, so they are by no means a PC company IMO.
2) They might make some good games, but their staying power seems to be limited. They do seem to enjoy farming out sequel work to other people (which may not necessarily be bad, Obsidian have by no means been terrible, but their products have lacked finish).

EA owning Bioware might bean more Bioware sequels to Bioware games, rather than 3rd party dev sequels, and Bioware are already a seemingly console focused dev, so that won't change much. They already outsourced some games, so effectively outsourcing KotoR MMO potentially to Mythic won't be anything new.

All the disasters people forsee hitting Bioware aren't necessarily going to have much to EA, since Bioware are already on the edge of diong those things anyway.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,189
184
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Originally posted by: Lonyo
Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper
Originally posted by: Kalmah
Yikes... EA just please don't screw Bioware up.

My thoughts exactly. Bioware is one of the few remaining decent PC gaming companies and they seem to have the Dungeons and Dragons license. It will be a disaster if their next Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's Gate successor gets demolished with all sorts of awful DRM and consolization.

The Bioware who made Mass Effect and got someone to port the Xbox 360 version to PC for them?
The Bioware who outsourced KotoR 2 to Obsidian who ended up not being able to complete it and it was a bit buggy?
The Bioware who outsourced NWN to Obsidian (again)?

1) Bioware might make decent games which come out on PC, but their recent games have all been available on Xbox/360, and some were even ported FROM it, so they are by no means a PC company IMO.
2) They might make some good games, but their staying power seems to be limited. They do seem to enjoy farming out sequel work to other people (which may not necessarily be bad, Obsidian have by no means been terrible, but their products have lacked finish).

EA owning Bioware might bean more Bioware sequels to Bioware games, rather than 3rd party dev sequels, and Bioware are already a seemingly console focused dev, so that won't change much. They already outsourced some games, so effectively outsourcing KotoR MMO potentially to Mythic won't be anything new.

All the disasters people forsee hitting Bioware aren't necessarily going to have much to EA, since Bioware are already on the edge of diong those things anyway.

What makes most PC gamers say that BioWare is a "PC developer" is due to only two franchises, Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, but other than that they've been making their games for consoles first and then ported them (or someone else did it for them) on the PC, but at least it's still one of the rare development company to not screw up their PC ports as much as others can, and their games are still top-quality compared to others even if they were made for consoles (Mass Effect and KOTOR are the best examples I can think of). I still remember MDK2, I had it on the Dreamcast, I don't know if it was a PC game ported to the DC or the other way around, but it was months before BGII was released, so their relationship with the console market is certainly not new.
 

CottonRabbit

Golden Member
Apr 28, 2005
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Originally posted by: Lonyo

1) Bioware might make decent games which come out on PC, but their recent games have all been available on Xbox/360, and some were even ported FROM it, so they are by no means a PC company IMO.

Exactly, even Dragon Age: Origins, the supposed spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, got delayed half a year on PC just so that they could launch it simultaneously with the console versions. I wouldn't be surprised at all if ME2 comes out for PC >6 months after the 360 launch just like the original.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
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Originally posted by: Udgnim
meh I really hope Bioware doesn't get screwed up
Why are you folks thinking this?

EA is letting Bio *take over* other studios it owns. The more of EA gets reshaped in Bio's image the better.
 

Reckoner

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
10,851
1
81
At least Jacobs is out, but don't forget, this isn't the same Mythic team that created the old-school DAoC. It's the one that created the flop known as Warhammer.
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,458
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Originally posted by: Reckoner
At least Jacobs is out, but don't forget, this isn't the same Mythic team that created the old-school DAoC. It's the one that created the flop known as Warhammer.



I wonder if the merge will kill off the next UO expansion. There needs to be a a completely new UO game.
 

imaheadcase

Diamond Member
May 9, 2005
3,850
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DAOC was the best game I ever played that was multiplayer. Warhammer had so much potential, but Mythic/EA squandered the gift. Unlike DAOC, warhammer listened to bad advice of a few people, even when everyone else was telling them otherwise. So created the epic loss that was Warhammer.

What killed DAOC, killed warhammer 10x faster. It was/is going the exact same route that DAOC did.."free expansion" pack turns out to be a curse..soon followed by death of expansion after expansion. Soon RvR is nothing (most like it is now).

 
Oct 30, 2004
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Lonyo, thanks for pointing all of that out. It will be a shame if Bioware botches and consolizes Dragon Age.
 

Skott

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2005
5,730
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MJ might have co founded Mythic and helped create DAoC but he's also the same guy that ruined it. Fans of that MMO will know what I'm talking about. His medling ruined that game. When EA bought out Mythic we all knew that EA wouldnt put up with too much failure from MJ and Mythic. EA has a known habit of sacking those that can't produce or fail on a regular basis. I'm not surprised that MJ was let go. I don't think anyone is really. Personally, I'm glad of it. He should have left Mythic a long time ago. If WAR has problems I'd say it has more to do with MJ and Mythic than EA themselves. I'm no fanboi of EA but I think in this situation MJ had more to do with WAR's problems than EA people did. Maybe now they can fix things but I'm thinking the damage is done and people won't forget that and that will envariably hurt the future of WAR.
 

Fingolfin269

Lifer
Feb 28, 2003
17,948
31
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Originally posted by: WhipperSnapper

Lonyo, thanks for pointing all of that out. It will be a shame if Bioware botches and consolizes Dragon Age.

They are putting it out on consoles though. Unless I completely misread something awhile back.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
145
106
www.neftastic.com
Originally posted by: Wreckem
Originally posted by: Reckoner
At least Jacobs is out, but don't forget, this isn't the same Mythic team that created the old-school DAoC. It's the one that created the flop known as Warhammer.

I wonder if the merge will kill off the next UO expansion. There needs to be a a completely new UO game.

Unfortunately, you will NEVER see another Ultima game as long as the rights to the franchise rest with both Richard Garriott and EA. Little bit 'o history: When Garriott "left" (was asked to leave) Origin after Ultima IX, the rights to the Ultima franchise still was owned by Garriott. However, I assume for royalties' sake, he agreed to leave the current franchise with EA/Origin, but with the clause that neither he nor EA may make another franchise Ultima title without explicit permission of the other party. Hence, Garriott basically ensured that there would be no more Ultima anythings from EA, but it also meant that Garriott wouldn't be able to produce a new Ultima game with a different publisher.

Hence, Tabula Rasa was born. :( And died. :(
 

Gothgar

Lifer
Sep 1, 2004
13,463
1
0
Originally posted by: SunnyD
Originally posted by: Wreckem
Originally posted by: Reckoner
At least Jacobs is out, but don't forget, this isn't the same Mythic team that created the old-school DAoC. It's the one that created the flop known as Warhammer.

I wonder if the merge will kill off the next UO expansion. There needs to be a a completely new UO game.

Unfortunately, you will NEVER see another Ultima game as long as the rights to the franchise rest with both Richard Garriott and EA. Little bit 'o history: When Garriott "left" (was asked to leave) Origin after Ultima IX, the rights to the Ultima franchise still was owned by Garriott. However, I assume for royalties' sake, he agreed to leave the current franchise with EA/Origin, but with the clause that neither he nor EA may make another franchise Ultima title without explicit permission of the other party. Hence, Garriott basically ensured that there would be no more Ultima anythings from EA, but it also meant that Garriott wouldn't be able to produce a new Ultima game with a different publisher.

Hence, Tabula Rasa was born. :( And died. :(


you forgot "and sucked terribly"