the_dengle said:
JWeinCom said:
It isn't like this is the first time that a major company made an exceedingly poor decision. EA and Bioware's entire handling of the Mass Effect 3 ending debacle is proof of this. But the idea that EA is making what many, including myself, think is a poor decision is alot more likely than the possibility that EA is making some Wile Coyote type scheme to make a poorly selling game. IF they didn't want to make games for Nintendo, all they have to do is release a statement saying "the Wii U does not coincide with EA's company goals at the moment" and blah blah blah.
And of course, there is the possibility that we're wrong, and this is a decent decision. Maybe they'll make money on this, and they'll get experience working with the Wii U hardware to make future ports easier.
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Maybe it would be easier to convince me that this isn't what they're doing if EA hadn't done it before. This game bears all the markings of an EA intentional flop:
• inferior version of an existing product: check. Even if the trilogy wasn't happening, I haven't found anywhere confirmation, or even a mention, that the Wii U version will be supported with post-release DLC. Sure, it comes with From Ashes packed-in, but will Wii U players ever get to play Leviathan, Omega, or future DLC adventures? We still don't know, but it doesn't sound like they will!
• bad release date: check. last month it was reported to be a launch title for Wii U, but now it doesn't appear on Nintendo's official list of day one games. Pushed back to avoid potentially decent Black Friday sales? Maybe. Maybe it's still a launch title, which just means EA isn't doing a good job of spreading the word, as even Nintendo doesn't know the game's coming out. Again, either way, this release is at best two weeks after that of Mass Effect Trilogy for 360.
• inexperienced development studio: check. Surely EA cares enough about this game, one of their only Wii U games planned for a launch window release, to put a good, respected team on the job? Nope, they're just making a port after all, let's get that Australian team whose entire resume consists of a single Need for Speed port to iOS. What experience! Surely they can come up with some amazing, innovative uses of the GamePad, and make a very high-quality product!
• no advertising: It's early to call this one. But there has been a distinct lack of hype for Mass Effect 3 for Wii U. EA had no presence at Nintendo's conference this past E3 to discuss their game (unlike Ubisoft and Warner Bros), simply dropping the title into the sizzle reel of Wii U games with no explanation. They had no presence at the Wii U press event earlier this month to discuss their game (unlike Activision). I'm pretty sure the only time we've seen ME3 on Wii U was at EA's summer showcase. Maybe there was a demo at the press event, but if there was, I can't find it.
Speaking of the summer showcase, EA spent a fair amount of time there justifying their Wii U games being inferior to the PS360 versions, something no other studio has had the gall to do.
oh yeah --
• bad pricing: seems pretty self-explanatory. it's dumb to ask people to pay full price for a game they can get for much cheaper on a different console. the fact that "they did it to PS3 too" doesn't make it more acceptable.
• bad box art: pretty straightforward, they took the original box art and added... plain text on a long black background reading "special edition." Doesn't it just grab your attention...?
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1. Do you have any evidence that ths is an inferior port? Just because they haven't announced DLC, doesn't mean it's not coming.
2. You do realize that games tend to get pushed back sometimes, don't you? Especially when you're working with new hardware, which tends to be more difficult.
3. New developers have to start somewhere, and what better place than a port? I can personally affirm that Mass Effect 3 is a fine port. I played it at Nintendo's Wii U event, and it's basically identical to the X-Box 360 version. The controls are great, graphics are pretty much identical, framerate is solid, and so on. Touch controls are subtle but work really well.
4. Why yes, yes there was a demo at the press event. As I said, I played it and it was pretty cool. As for a lack of E3 presence, there's a lot of games that had just as little E3 presence. I guess Epic Mickey, Tekken Tag Tournament, Darksiders 2, NBA 2k13, Fifa, Madden, Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing, Ninja Gaiden Razor's Edge, and others are also being sent out to die?
Activision got to go on stage at the press event because they were confirming games that hadn't been confirmed and because Black Ops 2 is kind of a big deal. At E3 Nintendo likely just wanted one third party port on display to show that the Wii U can do those kinds of games. Batman Arkham City probably got the nod because WB interactive is supporting the Wii U with other games. Likewise, Ubisoft is showing VERY strong Wii U support, so it's pretty clear why they got stage time. Not every game got an in depth preview at Nintendo's event, but that doens't mean they're being sent out to die. It just means that time is limited.
Speaking of EA trying to downplay the Wii U, I didn't read every comment from every rep at their summer showcase. I did talk to the head developer for Madden 13 Wii U while I was at Nintendo's press event, and he seemed quite intent on making the project as successful as it could be. I'd assume the guys workiing on other Wii U projects felt the same way.
5. They did it on PS3 too. It may not make it a good or fair business practice, but it goes against any anti-Nintendo conspiracy ideas. Plus it sold pretty well on the PS3. That's what EA tends to do. At least it comes with From Ashes.
6. And the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 featured the same boxart as the X-Box version, with white text on a black background talking about the included DLC. If they thought that the X-Box version had great boxart, why would they try to change it for the Wii Version? They're not trying to attract people who already bought the game.
