I fully support Khuutra on whatsoever he might say in this thread concerning Mass Effect 3.

Besides, there are movies who got alternate endings released, mostly due to backslash for not following source material, like I Am Legend. And Mass Effect and Bioware as a whole is as close as a game can get to partly having userbase as source material, so...

I can even give specific examples of this. Bioware made Tali a romance interest in ME2 purely out of demand from fans. Same with Garrus. Ashley's look was changed due to fan feedback. RPG elements were added due to fan feedback. Stages were opened up due to fan feedback. Variety was added due to fan feedback. No stages or elements repeat due to fan feedback. Tali was re-added as a squad member in ME3 due to fan feedback. So much of this game has been directly shaped by fans, and that's not at all a problem. 

I absolutely agree with Khuutra. It's OK to cave. There's nothing wrong with admitting your project is bigger than one writer with a Neon Genesis Evangelion obsession. Lots of pieces of fiction throughout history have done the same. Novels change endings, characters are brought back from the dead, DVDs and Blu-rays ship with alternate endings, movies are re-released and changed.

No, they aren't REQUIRED to listen to the fans, but it in no way compromises the value of their work to do so. Also, the FFVII example is insanely wrong. Everyone loved the impact of Aerith's death, and many many scenes in Mass Effect have that sort of impact and some involve the deaths of dearly beloved characters. That's not the problem. This isn't something so petty as all that. This is a devaluation of the decisions of hundreds of hours of gameplay.

This isn't the root of the complaint of the ending about Mass Effect 3, your understanding of the situation is surface-level at best. This is more about how the endings, plural because there are three, are hugely unsatisfying for various reasons.

My god the game ended how the developers wanted it to end. Video game fans will start a petition over anything.

EDIT: I agree with Levine

The developers have said that this is a collaborative project with the fans, and they want the fans to be happy. There is nothing wrong with BioWare choosing to cater to the fans.

As good as that is, please edit it into a hyperlink so as not to spoil people in the thread.

Yes.

I agree, and this is pretty much the bottom line to me. I simply can't wrap my mind around the other side's point of view. Nor do I really understand the downside to doing what the vast majority of users have said they want. I was told as a child that part of maturing is admitting your errors and correcting them if you can. When did that change?

In any case, Levine's point is probably moot, depending on what exactly "game content initiatives" means.

No matter what they do to amend the ending the original will still exist and have the most memorable impact.

Do you ever see film makers changing a movie's ending? Yes, heard about the "I Am Legend" bitchfest? People love to complain and will keep on doing so.