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Pachter: Riccitiello is the right man to save EA
With all of the bombshells EA dropped last night, some might be questioning whether John Riccitiello is the right man to guide EA into a profitable future. Video game analyst Michael Pachter isn't one of those, however. Pachter thinks that's the kind of person that needs to be in charge at EA and describes Riccitiello as "a bright guy with a ton of experience" and being "sufficiently conscientious to lead the company." It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops from Pachter's end, however, as he criticizes Riccitiello's past strategies for EA and his "desire to balance between future growth and current success." The past strategies Pachter refers to are likely the company's gamble on new IPs, Mirror's Edge and Dead Space. As for us, we like the more gutsy EA. But we also want Mass Effect 2 ...
EA confirms multiplatform Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company sequel
Listen up, fans of slow elevators and shooting everyone in sight. EA's recent financial earnings call divulged information indicating the publisher is readying sequels to BioWare's sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect, and DICE's multiplayer-driven FPS, Battlefield: Bad Company. There isn't that much else to report, other than EA CEO John Riccitiello saying that Mass Effect 2 would be available on "multiple platforms" and Bad Company would be "back on consoles" in Q4 of fiscal year 2010, which translates into normal people speak as sometime between January and March 2010.We'll try to corner more information on these two titles and update as soon as we can.Update: First screen of Bad Company 2 released.
BioWare explains: How awesome are sequels? So awesome!
BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka recently spoke with CVG and respectfully explained the power of sequels, especially in a bad economy. He believes that developers who make great games and have solid reputations will benefit during the hard times, because consumers are "going to focus their dollars" on brands they can trust.Muzyka mentions BioWare is still working on new IPs, but that sequels are a good source of income, and expressed excitement about developing sequels for Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins "in the future." He feels sequels "empower creativity" because the teams have already built one game, and they "know what it means to develop something else in that universe." We can't help but agree with Muzyka: If quality is kept tight, game sequels can often outshine the original.
Bioware to chat about Mass Effect 2 at GDC '09
Ninja-spotted over on the official Game Developers Conference (GDC) website is a listing for one of the production track session that sorta spills the beans on what Bioware has up their sleeves for GDC.Hosted by Biowares's own Dusty Everman and Project Manager Corey Andruko will be the session "The Iterative Level Design Process of Bioware's MASS EFFECT 2." We don't believe that to be a typo, we think they really mean Mass Effect 2. According to the description, the session will focus on the "Mass Effect team's new level-creation process" where attendees will "gain insight into some of the major issues the development team encountered while building Mass Effect at BioWare." Sounds pretty legit. You can bet Mass Effect 2 will be talked about, shown or completely revealed at this year's GDC.[Via Shacknews, Thanks Mads K.]
BioWare to discuss Mass Effect 2 level design at GDC '09
Though the game has yet to be formally announced (much less as part of a trilogy), BioWare's Mass Effect 2 is set to feature in a 60-minute lecture at 2009's Game Developers Conference, due to be held at the end of March in San Francisco. BioWare project manager, Corey Andruko, and lead technical designer Dusty Everman will treat attendees to a discussion of the EA-owned developer's "new level-creation process, which is focused on maximizing iteration for quality while minimizing rework and cost."The duo will also discuss the level design lessons learned from the planet-hopping RPG's development -- and how those have led to improvements in the sequel. We imagine at least some of the talk will be focused on the benefits of disabling the "copy" and "paste" functions on office workstations.[Via Gamezine]
BioWare has 'never confirmed any plans' for Mass Effect 360 exclusivity
"Dude, I totally heard that Mass Effect 2 is going to be an Xbox 360 exclusive. Not only that, but my friend's brother's girlfriend's chiropodist who worked with guy who played a BioWare game with me says that the entire trilogy will be exclusive to Microsoft and will eventually cross over with the Halo and Viva Pinata universes. It's going to be an awesome dose of rad-tacular sweetitude." - Hypothetical Joystiq tipster.While there's no question about the rad-tacular sweetitude that's bound to emanate from BioWare's future entries in the Mass Effect franchise, it's time to hang up on another telephoned rumor -- this one has the unannounced trilogy locked into Xbox 360 exclusivity. According to the eloquently named Australian blog, XboxOZ360-gamer, BioWare bigwig Ray Muzyka told Australian 360 magazine that the RPG developer was committed to bringing the Mass Effect trilogy exclusively to the Xbox 360. Yeah, not so much.Speaking to Joystiq, a BioWare representative deemed the information "incorrect," noting that Muzyka has "never confirmed any plans of Mass Effect exclusivity for the trilogy." So ... there is a trilogy, right?[Via X3F]
Joystiq interview: BioWare's Ray Muzyka talks Mass Effect 2, DLC and his favorite interface
Normally, when we want to talk to Ray Muzyka, General Manger of BioWare, we have to camp outside his palatial mansion and wait for him to get his morning paper. He's pretty spry though, so we can usually get out "When is Mass Effect 2 go--" before he slams the door in our face. But this time, EA actually asked us to pick the good doctor's brain. Here are the results:BioWare has worked in several fantastical settings. How did working in a sci-fi world like Mass Effect differ from some of your earlier titles?That's a great question. The creative inspiration for both fantasy and sci-fi, and contemporary settings for that matter, certainly come from very different sources on different projects – for example, we're inspired by the classic fantasy novels for our fantasy games like Baldur's Gate or Dragon Age, and by classic science fiction films for science fiction IPs like Mass Effect, and by contemporary setting movies and novels for other titles. We're always striving to deliver powerful emotional experiences to our audience.
Mass Effect 2 set to be a 360 timed exclusive [update]
Update: Our initial understanding of the article may have been a bit off and led to a mild misunderstanding. After re-analyzing the CVG interview, we now believe that the timed exclusive nature is referring to the 360 version becoming a PC version a few months later with no mention of Mass Effect 2 headed to the PS3. Sorry for the confusion folks.Semi-confirming industry analysts' predictions, BioWare senior manager Matt Atwood told CVG that Mass Effect 2 will more than likely be a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360. When talking about the Mass Effect trilogy and how it'll be released, Atwood revealed that he believes "we'll be Xbox 360 exclusive for at least a short period of time." Atwood goes on to say that they've "had a great relationship with Microsoft and done very well", but that they are still working out specifics regarding future Mass Effect releases. Later in the interview, it was also revealed that BioWare plans on releasing Mass Effect 2 onto the PC similar to how Mass Effect will be releasing to the PC platform this May saying that "you'll see a PC version not too far away."With the next-gen wars heating up and BioWare getting gobbled up by EA, we're more than happy with an Xbox 360 timed exclusive release as a straight up exclusive 360 release was starting to look unlikely. We just hope BioWare stays on top of their game and doesn't let multiple platform releases mess with their nearly perfect formula.[Via Joystiq, thanks Roberto Simancas]
BioWare: Mass Effect 2 likely a timed Xbox 360 exclusive, PC version confirmed [updated]
When EA snapped up BioWare, common wisdom was that the game's main attractions would be ported to any system that would have them. But it seems that (for now, at least) that doesn't hold true for space opera Mass Effect. As BioWare senior manager Matt Atwood told CVG, "I believe we'll be Xbox 360 exclusive for at least a short period of time. We're still working out the details on that, but we've had a great relationship with Microsoft and done very well." There's plenty of wiggle room here, of course, because there's no telling how long a "short period" is. But it's not like we blame them. Heck, if we had a game company, we'd promise Microsoft a "short period" of exclusivity on everything. That way, when we inevitably had to delay the PS3 version to make it work, we'd make some free coin on the deal. Everybody wins! ... Well, we'd win.Update: Atwood continued to elaborate with Videogamer.com, confirming a PC version, saying "We haven't announced plans for timing on Mass Effect 2, period, so at this point we're not really ready to talk about it, but because we've got a really great PC fan base we think it's really important to deliver the PC experience as quickly as possible."
Pachter: Mass Effect could hit PS3
Appearing on the latest episode of Bonus Round, games industry analyst Michael Pachter stated that BioWare would likely be porting Mass Effect to PS3 now that the company is under the dominion of Electronic Arts. Pachter's comments came in response to whether or not many recent changes of ownership for 360 friendly developers -- like the independence of Bungie, the Activision's acquisition of Bizarre Creations, etc -- would result in said developers moving to cross-platform development. Pachter stated that EA would definitely be leveraging BioWare on multiple platforms, saying that Mass Effect 2 is a PS3 shoo-in, further elaborating, "I wouldn't be shocked if Mass Effect 1 came to PS3." According to Pachter, cross-platform development will be a must for former 360 developers from an economic standpoint. Of course, this is obvious when considering future releases, but with Mass Effect already released -- and published by Microsoft, no less -- we're anxious to see if Pachter is right.
