So the past few weeks I was a bit fed up with the whole Bioware/EA Mass Effect 3 business models, now that I have beaten ME3 and gone back to Skyrim, I saw the post on Nexus about 1.5 beta patch (I'm a few days late I know XD). When I first heard Beth saying they might consider doing free updates to the game that adds new gameplay features, I thought no way big companies nowadays would do that anymore. So whether or not they will follow through or not, I am very happy I have spent money on this game, despite the fact that I've been ranting how TES is getting dumb down every game and crap like that. I am really glad Beth seem to still have a bit of gamer inside them and have yet gone the day 1 DLC / ridiculous marketing route. For that I thank you, I feel us RPG gamers (both hardcoe & softcoe) can still expect great titles from the future.

Just want to get this out of my system , I was going to rant about how AAA games this generation been terrible , but I think people would like to read positive more, I'll do the ranting in the Bioware forums.

I've never played the Mass Effect franchise. Are the fans upset with the new installment?

I agree, Bethesda seems especially passionate about their work, and as developers, they are more relatable to video gamers than most, possibly all, companies at the moment. Congratulations, Bethesda!

I won't speak for the fanbase, but there are people who are pissed that EA/Bioware lied and cut content from the game and release them as collector's edition bonus. If you want it but don't have the special edtions you need to pay for it.

Lol, typical EA. EA look, acts, smells, like a commercial bank. Same sneaky business practices.

Bahaha. EA pulled a Black Dye DLC on Mass Effect 3.

I'm happy to know Bethesda wouldn't do something that low.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/kotaku/2011/03/horsearmoroblivion.jpg?

I'm kidding, Bethesda has learned from experience.

There were fans who were upset that inventory management was basically removed from Mass Effect 2. Sheesh people were pissed that Modern Warfare 2 didn't have dedicated servers on PC. Most fans of major games are incredibly fickle and quick to turn at the slightest hint of change.

As for Mass Effect 3 I've heard it has problems and honestly the Bioware model of developing has become overly redundant.


No publisher will be worse in my eyes than Activision. They pretty much ran Tony Hawk and Call of Duty into the ground.

xD Horse armor will never be as bad as Black Dye DLC.

Ha! Tony Hawk... long time ago i played them games

Yes. While I don't like all the dumbing down to appeal to a wider audience, Bethesda really deserve credit for continuing to support the modding community, and for not treating DLC as a means to milk every last penny out of the game.

The state of the mainstream RPG is very sad and it makes me roll my eyes everytime I see something like oh this can be in the if you pay for the "extra feature" EA is the leech of the gaming industry, then we got companies that think its ok to release bugged games and patch them later that mentality is annoying, Bethesda is guilty of this as well , I am glad Bethesda still gives the modding community their dos and I am glad Bethesda releases mainly quality DLC pack I just hope Bethesda keeps their word about releasing expansion pack like DLC for Skyrim.

EA is blah. Their customer service is awful, there forums are worse. I loved ME 1 + 2, but I can see EA cutting content and asking for $, it's what they do with all games, look @ Madden Ultimate Team, a Game Mode in Madden, which last year you could earn coins an open packs for free, and this year you have to pay 7 bucks PER PACK to compete.

I expect Bethesda to get paid, but I hope they don't go about it in the same grimey dishonest ways EA does.

As long as they continue to patch the game, I don't mind buggy releases, especially open world games. I was pissed at Beth for not patch FO3 enough and then releasing patches only to add acheviements for DLCs. Of course there are companies that release the game in such a state that is either unplayable or missing features. Sword of the stars 2 is a great example, which is unacceptable.

From what i have heard a few of the series making decisions do not really come to the forefront and the end is a bit of a slap stick affair.Mind you i am just going by second hand information but it seems a few people are not happy about it it seems Bioware May have bungled another game.I'm still going to buy it and judge it for myself.

Not to mention what they have done to WOW.... Nothing but gimmicks, mount and pet buying, nickel and dimeing everything you do... These are things Blizzard orginally said they would not do but Activision has run that, not only into the ground, but to the earths core.

Aside from that, I really like that Bethesda continues to not only allow mods to their games, but gives us the tools to do so for free, which is leaps and bounds ahead of what nearly all other companies do. They have their flaws, but they are still much better than other RPG companies out there.

Oh gawd don't remind me of ME3. I'm still getting over the shock of its horrible ending.

Wow is it that bad i can't wait to play it now lol.

CDProjekt is another good company they give you Free DLC,with the upcoming Xbox version there will be new content which on the same day of release will be free to PC users to download.If that was EA Bioware whatever they call themselves they would make PC users pay for that.

I think we got lucky Bethesda did horse armor before gimmicks like this were acceptable and fans outraged if they did it for fallout 3 instead of oblivion I believe they would be selling ususeless dlc's to us like crazy

Main reason why I prefer Bethesda over other companies and why I spend my time on their forums is because they seem like they have actual blood running trough their veins instead of cash.
Even though I complain a lot, I do it only because I actually care about the game and want it to improve (and there are only few games which make me feel that way).

Also, note to all those people who reply to complains with 'accept it for what it is, or don't play it if you don't like it'; those are words of people who actually DON'T care about the game and that kind of people automatically loses any kind of credibility when discussing about it!

I agree that Bethesda is commendable in the way they allow fans and modders to use their software and that they focus more on delivering a large and complete product in one package rather than a base set with expansions.

But this approach with expansions and content isn't something new to game publishing. Looking back at the old tabletop strategy boardgame and roleplaying game industry, almost all products where published like this. Take games workshop as an example and how they approached the publishing of their warhammer games, always a base kit and then loads of essential expansions. As a consumer I am not outraged that EA/Bioware chooses such a publishing model, but it is very nice of Bethesda to be more generous with their property and give us more in one package.

This happened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRRpGlmtws8

DLC issues, bad as they are, barely register to me as far as "the state of RPGs" go. The main thing I worry about is everything becoming Diablo or Gauntlet. Those can be fun, but they're just action rpgs or hack n slash games. And many RPGs slowly follow suit. Skyrim is no exception. And the previous year had big franchises turning in that direction. Final Fantasy, Dragon Age.. If you are going to go in that direction, at least put some effort into it, make it hard at least. Demon/Dark Souls does it well.

I'll play ME3 when it hits the bargin bin. I'll start with ME1 this summer, and probably get to ME3 by summer 2013.