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De85 on 29 November 2009
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makingmusic476 said:
De85 said:
deathbleachnarutodbz said:
ROBOTECHHEAVEN said:
mass effect series wont ever come to the ps3 system at all, very simple reason why. m$ wont allow it, m$ has alot invested in the series from the begining and also the series staying on the 360 is part of the contract bioware signed with m$. i think however that a similar type of game will be announced at e3 and released exclusive for the ps3 though.


Unless microsoft bought the right's to the series they really can't do anything really.If bioware want's it on the ps3 they put it on.

Not true at all, there are a variety of possibilities that could ensure ME stays exclusive to the 360 on consoles without MS having to have purchased the IP.  First off, if MS had a contract with Bioware to release exclusively on the 360, EA will have to honor that contract.  Secondly, EA is often derided for being money hungry, I would bet even they have a price at which they will give exclusivity.  MS has very deep pockets.

I predict it was the first scenario, else MS might have tried to acquire Bioware themselvse instead of letting them fall to EA.

Unless they purchased the IP, the best they could've hoped for was some sort of timed exclusivity contract with either Bioware or EA.  Permanent exclusivity contracts would preclude the possibility of Mass Effect being re-released on any future platforms, which would simply be unfair to the owner of the IP.  No studio would accept such a contract.  They might as well just give away the IP if that were the case.

Either Microsoft can bargain for a timed exclusivity contract for 360 (or for 360/PC, in the case of ME2), or they can purchase the full IP, giving them full control over games utilizing the IP, including the games' potential platforms.

As such, it is possible that Mass Effect 1/2 could make there way towards other platforms in the future, much like Mass Effect eventually came to PC.

The bigger question is whether it'll actually happen.  Six months ago I would've said yes, under the assumption that any big third party releases this gen will end up multiplat, but when MGS4 wasn't announced for 360 at E3, I've since taken the stance of, "It could happen, but I'll believe it when I see it."

Any hypothetical agreement could have stipulated that the deal was for the current-gen only, there are more than just the two scenarios that you presented, especially when said agreement might stretch to hundreds of pages.

Look, I'm not trying to offer this as proof of anything, merely another possibilty to be considered.  I think it's at least as reasonable an opinion as believing that Bioware being acquired by EA, or having in-house PS3 guys means automatic confirmation of the series heading to PS3.