Mass Effect in 2010?

[mrstickball]

Darth Tigris said:

Thanks for typing the above.  Some create their own realities, I suppose, with selective reasonings.

Anyway, I really hoped to see ME II this year.  Its still my favorite gaming experience this gen.  But if it gets pushed to Q1 next year, then it could be pushed to Q4 very easily (see release window of ME).  That makes me sadder.

Plus, Bioware hoped to get the trilogy finished during this gen.  In all honesty, it is what works best IMO, finishing a gaming trilogy during one gen.  With a tentative expectation for a new console during holiday 2012, that makes an ME III release coming when a new console is introduced.  That could hold back its sales appeal, as it could be perceived as "last gen" if new console fervor is high at the time.  Dunno ...

I'll admit that if Mass Effect isn't a Q4 title in 2009, it deals Microsoft's 360 a big blow, as ME2 should easily be a 2m seller, if not more. Personally, it's my most-anticipated title in 2009/2010, and only a handful of titles are anywhere close to it.

However, we'll have to see what happens with the vague ME2 launch date. Although ME1 did experience delays (it was supposed to launch in March 2007, but got pushed to November), I don't think that ME2 would be as delayed since it's using the same engine, AFAIK, which should allow for an easier product to produce.

If it does come out in early 2010, producing the ME trilogy this gen is still do-able. That would put ME2's cycle being just at 26 months, or allowing ME3 to be the 360's last hurrah around mid to late 2012. I envision the idea that BioWare will seek to produce the title for the 360 as the last title, and put out a joint Xbox720/PS3 compilation of the Mass Effect series, with all 3 games on one BR-DVD. This way, it's win-win for EA: They support the last uber-game on the 360 with lower competition, but still get to rake in ME profits on the next-gen Xbox system + get PS3 owners into the fold with a true multi-plat, simultaneous launch of a Mass Effect Trilogy BR-DVD.

And yes, it's entirely selective reasoning and cherry picking when we talk about what will move hardware. Although it's agreeable there are diminishing returns on each new sequel on the same system, you can't negate the fact that a blockbuster series can move consoles. I'd imagine if GTAV launched on the PS3/360, it would move a decent number of consoles, given the pedigree of the title.