EA buys Bioware

[Niten_Ryu]

What is Bioware these days anyway ?

 

I haven't followed Bioware that much lately but it feels like company is betting heavily on Mass Effect series and that unknown MMoG. Mass Effect might be the next Halo and that MMoG might be the next World of Warcraft but chances to fail are huge. Especially with MMoGs. Dragon Age might as well be vaporware and even if it turns out to be very good, it's still niche PC game and that doesn't create enough profit these days for any larger company.

 

This takeover don't really move me one way or the other. Maybe if this would have happen around year 2000 or earlier, I might have been upset about this. Bioware, as most of the successful game development houses, had already moved away from "traditioal" PC gaming and more towards multiplatform and streamlined gaming experience. Good doctors finally got payed big time and they should run away as fast as possible and never look back. Thanks for the Baldur's Gate series, KotOR and NWN 3rd expansion.

Edited October 15, 2007 by Niten_Ryu

[Volourn]

"Mass Effect might be the next Halo and that MMoG might be the next World of Warcraft but chances to fail are huge."

 

You don't need Halo, and WOW type numbers to be successful.

 

There is no reason to believe the gobblygook of DA being 'vapourware'/ That's nonsensical talk. As for what BIO is, theya re like they always are - a game company. The only difference now is that they are a game company just bought by another company. 8shrug*

[Hurlshort]

Actually I think Mass Effect is expected to be near Oblivion-numbers in order to be successful.

[Volourn]

Expected by who? Those who think BIO is bigger than they actually are? Even KOTOR which is absed on one of the most popular IPs ever sold about 3 mil copies combined. I expect ME to be around 1 mil copies sold. 2 mil max. Anymore is wishful thinking, imo.

[Meshugger]

EA have actually made great games, Clive Barker's Undying was excellent back in 2001. Sadly, the game sold max 200 000 copies and wasn't deemed as profitable franchise, and the dev team got sacked. My point is, i do not see Bioware doing anything more daring in the future, since it doesn't fit in EA's model of profitability. Especially since they expect an return of investment so early.

 

We might have Bioware suprising us with something special in the future, but while the chance of that happening was pretty low in the past, it seems next to impossible in the future. Especially since EA claimed that Bioware made excellent 'Action-Adventure'-games.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I've played a few EA Games.

 

Third Age was an amazing RPG, literrally LOADS of fun and slick graphics. Their sport games are good, and whether they don't change much over a few years doesn't affect that. CnC Generals was a nice RTS, but a terrible CnC game.

 

Battlefield 1942 and BF Vietnam were terrible. In fact, most (or all) of these Battlefield/Battlefront games are terrible.

[Hurlshort]

Battlefield 1942 and BF Vietnam were terrible. In fact, most (or all) of these Battlefield/Battlefront games are terrible.

 

It could be that you just don't like that type of game. Or maybe anything you don't like is terrible, my apologies.

 

BF1942, BF2, and BF2142 are three of the best games I've ever played.

[Tale]

I love 2142. Absolutely love it. It's the game that got me to break off my EA boycott. Good thing, too, because I also enjoy C&C 3.

 

2142 has tons of room for improvement, though. Too bad it won't ever see the changes it really needs. Wish I could blame EA for that, but it seems that not too many companies actually give the kind of support online games need for long term play. Obsidian, Bioware, and VALVe being exceptions.

Edited October 15, 2007 by Tale

[Jimmy Shears]

actually, the most obvious reason for doing so is 'cause if ea didn't do so, somebody else probably would have. to put in a way that the locals can better understand, just as d&d franchise gots more value when sold exclusive to game devlopers, so does NFL. is also a far more efficient and streamlined relationship from NFL pov. only gotta deal with a single developer. the ea deal with NFL is the norm rather than the exception.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

That may be true as well, but if buying exclusivity rights wouldn't be profitable for anyone, EA wouldn't have to worry about the competition doing it either. Nobody would do it. And the only way for exclusivity rights to turn a profit for one company is if it brings new players in or keeps current players from leaving. If it wasn't profitable to buy exclusivity rights, EA would actually presumably be happy that the competition wasted their money.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Hmmm... or maybe I hate BF1942 because I can't play online for some stupid reason or another.

 

Still, it feels very rushed.

[Gorth]

Battlefield 1942 and BF Vietnam were terrible. In fact, most (or all) of these Battlefield/Battlefront games are terrible.

 

It could be that you just don't like that type of game. Or maybe anything you don't like is terrible, my apologies.

 

BF1942, BF2, and BF2142 are three of the best games I've ever played.

I got BF1942 and the first expansion (Road to Rome) as well as BF Vietnam. I love both of them and never really understood what the general dislike of BF Vietnam is about :sad:

 

I tried my little brothers BF2 once and didn't like it. Never tried BF2142, something about it being online play only if I remember correctly.

 

I might dislike the rumoured internal workings of EA and what they have done to some development studios in the past (I miss Origin), but I do like some of their games. Without EA, I would never have gotten the Obsidian games in the first place, as they are the distributors (of the Kotor games) in New Zealand.

[Checkpoint]

Yikes! This is bad news, right? Even though there is the odd exception, EA doesn't exactly scream quality (RP) games to me. Were Bioware working on anything anyway?

[Noceur]

Does anyone know what this'll mean for further NWN2 expansions and support?

[Pidesco]

Err... nothing?

[SteveThaiBinh]

Does anyone know what this'll mean for further NWN2 expansions and support?

It won't have any impact, I would imagine. NWN2 is developed by Obsidian and published by Atari. Neither Bioware nor EA have anything to do with it.

[Noceur]

I just wasn't sure about who owned the franchise, so to speak. Not the D&D franchise, the NWN franchise.

[Xard]

Battlefield 1942 and BF Vietnam were terrible. In fact, most (or all) of these Battlefield/Battlefront games are terrible.

 

It could be that you just don't like that type of game. Or maybe anything you don't like is terrible, my apologies.

 

BF1942, BF2, and BF2142 are three of the best games I've ever played.

 

BF2 has worst hitboxes EVER. Check out some youtube video's for proof. I never liked BF2/2142, but 1942 is one of my all time favorite games.

 

I recommend Quake Wars Hurlshot. It's very similar to BF2. Heck, it could be called "Battlefield: Quake Wars" but it is in all possible ways improvement over Battlefields.

 

Besids, Lapland map is awesome

[Tale]

I just wasn't sure about who owned the franchise, so to speak. Not the D&D franchise, the NWN franchise.

Wizards of the Coast owns all things D&D. The license to develop NWN, however, was granted to Atari.

[aries101]

Some analysts think that John Riccitiello did give too much money for Bioware & Pandemic. And indeed he might have done so. He paid Bioeware and Pandemic nearly a million US dollars pr. developer. He must be convinced that they are worth this kind of money.

 

According to several webpages, EA has said that they think this money would be earned back in 2010 or 2011. They plan to have the two companies release 2-4 games (or more?) comined for the years 2008-2012 (or so). They also plan to earn 300 millions US dollars on Bioware & Pandemic in the fiscal year 2009 and 2010. It can of course be done, but not without

rushing projects, releasing mediocre games and such things, I fear. But we can always hope that Bioware & Pandemic will sell so many games that even is satisfied with their market share of the rpg market.

 

As for NWN2 and expansions, Wizards of the Coast own the D&D license. However, Hassenfeldt Brothers aka Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast. Hasbro has given the D&D license to Atari in order for Atari to make computer role playing games (or crpgs).

[J.E. Sawyer]

BF2 has worst hitboxes EVER. Check out some youtube video's for proof. I never liked BF2/2142, but 1942 is one of my all time favorite games.

 

I recommend Quake Wars Hurlshot. It's very similar to BF2. Heck, it could be called "Battlefield: Quake Wars" but it is in all possible ways improvement over Battlefields.

 

Besids, Lapland map is awesome

ET:QW shouldn't even be compared to the BF games, but to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. I thought W:ET was a lot better than BF1942.

[Hurlshort]

BF2 has worst hitboxes EVER. Check out some youtube video's for proof. I never liked BF2/2142, but 1942 is one of my all time favorite games.

 

I recommend Quake Wars Hurlshot. It's very similar to BF2. Heck, it could be called "Battlefield: Quake Wars" but it is in all possible ways improvement over Battlefields.

 

Besids, Lapland map is awesome

ET:QW shouldn't even be compared to the BF games, but to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. I thought W:ET was a lot better than BF1942.

 

I played the Quake Wars demo, and it seems much faster than the BF series to me. I should give it another go, but I'm the kind of player who likes to find a good sniping spot and pick players off one by one. I find that's incredibly hard to do in many of the faster paced shooters.

[aries101]

Here's a link to one of the analysists I was talking about earlier:

 

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=c...1&Itemid=59

 

I hope EA gets their investment back...

[Xard]

BF2 has worst hitboxes EVER. Check out some youtube video's for proof. I never liked BF2/2142, but 1942 is one of my all time favorite games.

 

I recommend Quake Wars Hurlshot. It's very similar to BF2. Heck, it could be called "Battlefield: Quake Wars" but it is in all possible ways improvement over Battlefields.

 

Besids, Lapland map is awesome

ET:QW shouldn't even be compared to the BF games, but to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. I thought W:ET was a lot better than BF1942.

 

True. Basically ET:QW is Enemy Territory 2, but UI is very similar to BF2 and since that is propably most popular team based online shooter around it's against what I should compare QW.

 

Hurlshot, you'll love playing as strogg Infiltrator awesome sniper and bunch of weird goodies. Especially flying third eye camera is great. Find some good hiding place near enemy spawn (preferably one you aren't easily vulnerable ie. some cliff that is practically unaccessible minus strogg's Icarus jetpack ). Then you just fly with the camera near bunch of enemies and blow it up. At least one kill is guaranteed. Repeat until bored

 

QW is in every way superior to BF's. Best online shooter I've played in long time.

[alanschu]

BF2 has worst hitboxes EVER. Check out some youtube video's for proof. I never liked BF2/2142, but 1942 is one of my all time favorite games.

 

I recommend Quake Wars Hurlshot. It's very similar to BF2. Heck, it could be called "Battlefield: Quake Wars" but it is in all possible ways improvement over Battlefields.

 

Besids, Lapland map is awesome

ET:QW shouldn't even be compared to the BF games, but to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. I thought W:ET was a lot better than BF1942.

 

I played the Quake Wars demo, and it seems much faster than the BF series to me. I should give it another go, but I'm the kind of player who likes to find a good sniping spot and pick players off one by one. I find that's incredibly hard to do in many of the faster paced shooters.

 

I vaguely remember you sniping me a few times in BF2!

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Vietnam actually manages to be fun in singleplayer though, since you have those rigged F4 phantoms and occasionally you'll get up to 12 kills with a single mortar shot in tight corridors.

 

But it's just 1942 with Vietnam era weapons and vehicles... ok plus undrivable helicopters.