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BioWare promises 'content initiatives' to answer Mass Effect 3 questions

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The ending won't be redone, but some "content initiatives" aim to "answer questions" and "provide more clarity" to the game's ending.

If you've managed to stay away from all the Mass Effect 3 controversy in the past weeks, well, I commend you. If not, you surely know that a quite vocal group has been up in arms about the game's ending, demanding that BioWare, the game's developer, somehow give the trilogy's ending a redo.

Well, it doesn't sound like those folks will be getting exactly what they wanted, but BioWare is listening, according to an open letter to Mass Effect fans posted by Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare's co-creator, on the dev's blog.

"The team and I have been thinking hard about how to best address the comments on ME3’s endings from players, while still maintaining the artistic integrity of the game," he wrote. "This is an issue we care about deeply, and we will respond to it in a fair and timely way. We’re already working hard to do that."

Working hard to do, er, what?

"Content initiatives," apparently.

"Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey," he said. "You’ll hear more on this in April."

So there you have it. Those (silly) fans won't be getting the change they're asking for, but BioWare will be providing "more clarity" to the game's ending, likely via downloadable content we'll hear more about next month.

You can check out Muzyka's full letter here.


JonDavila's avatar
Staff article by Jonathan Davila (March 21, 2012)

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bloomer posted March 21, 2012:

Yeesh, that open letter reads like politican speak. It made my skin crawl.
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zippdementia posted March 21, 2012:

I like how Bioware has cleverly taken a gamer complaint and turned it into a way for them to make more money via DLC. I have to commend that. It's a brilliant bit of marketing judo.
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Suskie posted March 21, 2012:

Unfortunately, Zipp, ever since BioWare was bought by EA, DLC has become a major element of their business plan. ME3 even ends with a shameless DLC pitch after the credits. (Something like, "Shepard's story is over, but you can keep his legacy alive by investing in downloadable content!") Having said that, ME2's DLC was generally pretty superb, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with. Conversely, I think it's wonderful that BioWare recently canned all plans for further Dragon Age II content and basically acknowledged that no one gives a crap about that game.

Concerning this news, I'm delighted that Muzyka shares my opinion that artistic license shouldn't be tampered with, but I guess it was inevitable that they'd respond in some way. BioWare has a famously close relationship with their fans and this is by far the biggest outrage they've ever faced.
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zippdementia posted March 23, 2012:

I'm not really against DLC, I actually think it's a great way to keep a game alive after it's out and released. I mean, had they had Chrono Trigger DLC back in the day, I'd be fifty or a hundred dollars less wealthy today. And I really do think it's a great marketing strategy to handle the fans this way. Give them what they want... and charge them for it. It's simple but effective.

My main problem with DLC and patches is that it has given rise to this idea that you can release unfinished or unperfected material onto the market. Bethesda is probably the biggest culprit of this, though I lean towards giving them a break, as they also create the biggest games.

I believe DLC should augment a game or address side quests. It can also be used to address issues that arrise in the fan base after a release, such as in Mass Effect 3. And patches are great for fixing that unusual bug that crops up unexpectedly, but they should not be used as an excuse to do lackaluster beta-testing.

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