Originally posted by ShakyMo I'm not a wow fan And I'm definetly not a diablo 3 fan.
But its unfair to lump blizzard in with ea. Blizzard don't around buying up good games companies and turning them to shit.
Amen. They have the decency, at least, to keep their shit turning powers focused only on themselves. I kid, mostly. I still love most of what Blizzard does. I actually thought SC2 was a blast. I didn't buy D3 simply because I find Torchlight a better game to wait for. The RMT thing sure did give em fits though.
Really, though, this problem finds in fault in you guys. I mean, we, as gamers, have known for a decade or better than EA is seriously just screwing things up for everything. Yet we still feed em cash. We should have buried that company in refused sales years ago. How about you all just stop hoping anything good will ever come of them and keep your money. I haven't bought anything from em in a good while. Matter of fact, these days I only really buy from Bethesda.
Originally posted by ShakyMo I'm not a wow fan And I'm definetly not a diablo 3 fan.
But its unfair to lump blizzard in with ea. Blizzard don't around buying up good games companies and turning them to shit.
Apples to Oranges.
Lump Activision in with EA instead (publisher to publisher). Blizzard was reformed in 2009 to create the company now: Activision-Blizzard. But, as when you sell your soul to any large conglomorate publisher (EA or Activision in this case), quality takes a plunge.
Anyone that played WoW would notice the huge drop in quality around 2009+, as the game became more of a money maker than a fun pasttime for gamers. Cash-shop went in, features were ignored, game became centered around getting new players (dumbing down WoW) while trying to keep existing players happy.
Arguably it worked (more money), or it didn't work (many veterans quit), but since Activision took a seat on the bridge WoW saw for the first time a drop in subscribers. A trend that seems to carry on. 12M players is a thing of the past. The recent expansion saw a jump back to 10 mil accounts, but that won't last - and the number includes free account time, as part of Blizzards standards for calculating "subs".
So, Blizzard doesn't go around buying companies because they are a game company. Activision however will bleed you dry if you get too close. Vivendi (who owns both Blizzard and Activision now) is the head mistress, waiting for clean souls to walk through the door, so she can corrupt them..
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
Looking at: The Repopulation Preordering: None Playing: Random Games
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
This is fantasy. Erikson was fired because there was no more work for him to do at Swotor since there aren't going to be any more expansions and 'stories'. And the reason there will be no more expansions or 'stories' is because the development team, of which he was a senior, customer-facing executive, screwed up the world's surest bet: make an MMO using the SW IP off the back of Bioware's reputation and EA's money.
If Erickson is now saying 'Oh, I left because they wouldn't pay me the money I deserved' then he is as delusional as the time he told us 'Oh, no-one really wants a true flight sim because I don't remember Han and Chewey going about mining, do you?' (of course, this bald hipster douchebag forgot to mention that mining stations and mining ships were in fact crucial element of both Kotors, but that's beside the point). And if hs is ineed going around trying to peddle this bull, then it's symptomatic of his arrogance - and the stupidity he ascribes to us, the people he wanted to buy and play his game. Well, he's all gone, and we're still here.
No, Erickson is out of his ass - like Georg Zoeller who had to leave the industry to pursue 'new opportunities in the Philippines' or Ray Muzyka who is quitting games forever to devote his life to 'speciality beers'. Erickson, like them, has been canned and deservedly so. Any sofwtare or development or games company that ever picks him up is deliberately swallowing a poison pill.
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
This is fantasy. Erikson was fired because there was no more work for him to do at Swotor since there aren't going to be any more expansions and 'stories'. And the reason there will be no more expansions or 'stories' is because the development team, of which he was a senior, customer-facing executive, screwed up the world's surest bet: make an MMO using the SW IP off the back of Bioware's reputation and EA's money.
If Erickson is now saying 'Oh, I left because they wouldn't pay me the money I deserved' then he is as delusional as the time he told us 'Oh, no-one really wants a true flight sim because I don't remember Han and Chewey going about mining, do you?' (of course, this bald hipster douchebag forgot to mention that mining stations and mining ships were in fact crucial element of both Kotors, but that's beside the point). And if hs is ineed going around trying to peddle this bull, then it's symptomatic of his arrogance - and the stupidity he ascribes to us, the people he wanted to buy and play his game. Well, he's all gone, and we're still here.
No, Erickson is out of his ass - like Georg Zoeller who had to leave the industry to pursue 'new opportunities in the Philippines' or Ray Muzyka who is quitting games forever to devote his life to 'speciality beers'. Erickson, like them, has been canned and deservedly so. Any sofwtare or development or games company that ever picks him up is deliberately swallowing a poison pill.
I disagree, EA is full of shit. Daniel did his part on the game, and he did well. Is he at fault for failing at the PvP part of the game? heck no, because he isn't the guy working on that part of the game, he worked on story. It isn't a fantasy that Daniel may say that, its a possibility. I would say its most likely the case and other reasons too.
Looking at: The Repopulation Preordering: None Playing: Random Games
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
This is fantasy. Erikson was fired because there was no more work for him to do at Swotor since there aren't going to be any more expansions and 'stories'. And the reason there will be no more expansions or 'stories' is because the development team, of which he was a senior, customer-facing executive, screwed up the world's surest bet: make an MMO using the SW IP off the back of Bioware's reputation and EA's money.
If Erickson is now saying 'Oh, I left because they wouldn't pay me the money I deserved' then he is as delusional as the time he told us 'Oh, no-one really wants a true flight sim because I don't remember Han and Chewey going about mining, do you?' (of course, this bald hipster douchebag forgot to mention that mining stations and mining ships were in fact crucial element of both Kotors, but that's beside the point). And if hs is ineed going around trying to peddle this bull, then it's symptomatic of his arrogance - and the stupidity he ascribes to us, the people he wanted to buy and play his game. Well, he's all gone, and we're still here.
No, Erickson is out of his ass - like Georg Zoeller who had to leave the industry to pursue 'new opportunities in the Philippines' or Ray Muzyka who is quitting games forever to devote his life to 'speciality beers'. Erickson, like them, has been canned and deservedly so. Any sofwtare or development or games company that ever picks him up is deliberately swallowing a poison pill.
It cracks me up how fanboys see developers. Now while distributors can make crap call's like pushing for DLC and what not, the fact is, Bioware was going bankrupt, EA saved them, gave them a job for 5 more years before they failed with mass effect 3 and then finally put the nail in the coffin with SWTOR, most expensive mmo ever, unfortunately all that money went to b actors and not too content. And no matter how good a writer is(I'm not claiming erickson was a good writer), he cannot write a thousand stories and have them all be good, thats like asking Stephen King to write 20 top selling novels in a year.(hell even stephen king can screw up a story, what was the whole point behind the giant space turtle in IT?)
Bioware had as many flops, as they had hits, but fan's see only the great when trying to think irrationally on a forum, especially when they are trying to explain how EA is responsible for everything from TOR, to Global warming. They flopped harder than ever on their dream of what MMO's should be with TOR, and for that, they are getting canned faster than tuna. EA funded TOR with no constraints, they let them run rampant with no supervision and they got burnt. If anything I hate EA for not doing some market testing of mmo players, and hiring some outside blood to be involved with developement. I've never seen a poll about what should be in mmo's with Voice acting at the top of the list(or even included on the list of options), yet some how it was the fourth pillar that all mmo's where missing?
Funny thing is, every other mmo started to scramble to get voice acting on everything lol
BTW, I haven't seen anything on D Erickson claiming that they wouldn't pay him his money, I think that the poster of that fact is using made up facts to back his assumptions.
Funny thing is, every other mmo started to scramble to get voice acting on everything lol
BTW, I haven't seen anything on D Erickson claiming that they wouldn't pay him his money, I think that the poster of that fact is using made up facts to back his assumptions.
I never said it was a fact, nice assumption . I was just bringing up possibilities in my head, I just said it because its a reason I'd leave for, for more money.
Looking at: The Repopulation Preordering: None Playing: Random Games
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
Oh, I see^ maybe you should edit your post to reflect your "opinion of why he left" cause your post states it as fact. You can add a ...."maybe he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted."
Originally posted by ShakyMo I'm not a wow fan And I'm definetly not a diablo 3 fan.
But its unfair to lump blizzard in with ea. Blizzard don't around buying up good games companies and turning them to shit.
Nope, not Blizzard... Activision is though. Apples to apples.
As for Erickson, lots of people leave MMO companies after a launch. It's standard practice. It even happened with WOW.
Only a blind person is going to say that with the continued mass exodus that is going on the doctors, Dickerson now the other fellow who did the ai story lines. This is rats jumping the ship, plain and simple. This is not yournormal churn.
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
This is fantasy. Erikson was fired because there was no more work for him to do at Swotor since there aren't going to be any more expansions and 'stories'. And the reason there will be no more expansions or 'stories' is because the development team, of which he was a senior, customer-facing executive, screwed up the world's surest bet: make an MMO using the SW IP off the back of Bioware's reputation and EA's money.
If Erickson is now saying 'Oh, I left because they wouldn't pay me the money I deserved' then he is as delusional as the time he told us 'Oh, no-one really wants a true flight sim because I don't remember Han and Chewey going about mining, do you?' (of course, this bald hipster douchebag forgot to mention that mining stations and mining ships were in fact crucial element of both Kotors, but that's beside the point). And if hs is ineed going around trying to peddle this bull, then it's symptomatic of his arrogance - and the stupidity he ascribes to us, the people he wanted to buy and play his game. Well, he's all gone, and we're still here.
No, Erickson is out of his ass - like Georg Zoeller who had to leave the industry to pursue 'new opportunities in the Philippines' or Ray Muzyka who is quitting games forever to devote his life to 'speciality beers'. Erickson, like them, has been canned and deservedly so. Any sofwtare or development or games company that ever picks him up is deliberately swallowing a poison pill.
It cracks me up how fanboys see developers. Now while distributors can make crap call's like pushing for DLC and what not, the fact is, Bioware was going bankrupt, EA saved them, gave them a job for 5 more years before they failed with mass effect 3 and then finally put the nail in the coffin with SWTOR, most expensive mmo ever, unfortunately all that money went to b actors and not too content. And no matter how good a writer is(I'm not claiming erickson was a good writer), he cannot write a thousand stories and have them all be good, thats like asking Stephen King to write 20 top selling novels in a year.(hell even stephen king can screw up a story, what was the whole point behind the giant space turtle in IT?)
Bioware had as many flops, as they had hits, but fan's see only the great when trying to think irrationally on a forum, especially when they are trying to explain how EA is responsible for everything from TOR, to Global warming. They flopped harder than ever on their dream of what MMO's should be with TOR, and for that, they are getting canned faster than tuna. EA funded TOR with no constraints, they let them run rampant with no supervision and they got burnt. If anything I hate EA for not doing some market testing of mmo players, and hiring some outside blood to be involved with developement. I've never seen a poll about what should be in mmo's with Voice acting at the top of the list(or even included on the list of options), yet some how it was the fourth pillar that all mmo's where missing?
Funny thing is, every other mmo started to scramble to get voice acting on everything lol
BTW, I haven't seen anything on D Erickson claiming that they wouldn't pay him his money, I think that the poster of that fact is using made up facts to back his assumptions.
Do you have any supporting evidence for this, I'd be curious about it? I came across some random forum poster allegations of bankruptcy, but BioWare was stable at the time of the sale, more or less, and nowhere close to bankruptcy. EA shills and viral marketers may be the source of those posts, to make EA look like a savior of games or some nonsense :-)
Competition pre 2007 was fierce, and BioWare wasn't growing or shrinking, just hanging in there, selling their games. A publisher they had distanced themselves from, Interplay, went bakrupt however, is that what you mean?
Unfortunately, Baldur's Gate II and MDK2 were not enough to prop up the struggling Interplay. Despite its capable production, the publisher was undergoing a string of failures and disappointments that would eventually bankrupt the company. BioWare had to move on and leave its flagship series behind for good.
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
This is fantasy. Erikson was fired because there was no more work for him to do at Swotor since there aren't going to be any more expansions and 'stories'. And the reason there will be no more expansions or 'stories' is because the development team, of which he was a senior, customer-facing executive, screwed up the world's surest bet: make an MMO using the SW IP off the back of Bioware's reputation and EA's money.
If Erickson is now saying 'Oh, I left because they wouldn't pay me the money I deserved' then he is as delusional as the time he told us 'Oh, no-one really wants a true flight sim because I don't remember Han and Chewey going about mining, do you?' (of course, this bald hipster douchebag forgot to mention that mining stations and mining ships were in fact crucial element of both Kotors, but that's beside the point). And if hs is ineed going around trying to peddle this bull, then it's symptomatic of his arrogance - and the stupidity he ascribes to us, the people he wanted to buy and play his game. Well, he's all gone, and we're still here.
No, Erickson is out of his ass - like Georg Zoeller who had to leave the industry to pursue 'new opportunities in the Philippines' or Ray Muzyka who is quitting games forever to devote his life to 'speciality beers'. Erickson, like them, has been canned and deservedly so. Any sofwtare or development or games company that ever picks him up is deliberately swallowing a poison pill.
It cracks me up how fanboys see developers. Now while distributors can make crap call's like pushing for DLC and what not, the fact is, Bioware was going bankrupt, EA saved them, gave them a job for 5 more years before they failed with mass effect 3 and then finally put the nail in the coffin with SWTOR, most expensive mmo ever, unfortunately all that money went to b actors and not too content. And no matter how good a writer is(I'm not claiming erickson was a good writer), he cannot write a thousand stories and have them all be good, thats like asking Stephen King to write 20 top selling novels in a year.(hell even stephen king can screw up a story, what was the whole point behind the giant space turtle in IT?)
Bioware had as many flops, as they had hits, but fan's see only the great when trying to think irrationally on a forum, especially when they are trying to explain how EA is responsible for everything from TOR, to Global warming. They flopped harder than ever on their dream of what MMO's should be with TOR, and for that, they are getting canned faster than tuna. EA funded TOR with no constraints, they let them run rampant with no supervision and they got burnt. If anything I hate EA for not doing some market testing of mmo players, and hiring some outside blood to be involved with developement. I've never seen a poll about what should be in mmo's with Voice acting at the top of the list(or even included on the list of options), yet some how it was the fourth pillar that all mmo's where missing?
Funny thing is, every other mmo started to scramble to get voice acting on everything lol
BTW, I haven't seen anything on D Erickson claiming that they wouldn't pay him his money, I think that the poster of that fact is using made up facts to back his assumptions.
The flops came after EA was involved. Whether it was EA's retraining of employees to take shortcuts, their micromanaging annoyances, or just tramatized BioWare employees losing morale, who knows why. When I think of EA I see a nightmare job from Office Space, where each employee has multiple bosses. Nothing gets done in any speedy fashion, because every small activity and decision requires 20 signatures.
Nothing really new, and nothing astounding to be gleamed from any of this, but it's just an inference of what gamers see, and why your pro-EA endorsement post doesn't jive with what others noticed.
What you are forgetting is LA and bioware deal announced at october 2007 after 13 days later EA bought bioware http://www.lucasarts.com/company/release/news20071030.html .Deal had been already made before EA bought bioware ,probably SW MMO licence was main reason to buy bioware by EA .
Bioware had rejected F2p plans from EA while you blame everything for ea (they felt as strong as that than had power the whatever they want , look my old posts for links if you want links ) ,Ea is not the first to blame for swtor but bioware .
swtor is not going to make it through free to play that much is clear now.
Lol, aye, i have to agree with that, especially since patch 1.4 fecked up the game and the so called patch fix 1.4b was ment to fix issues but infact made them alot more unfriendly and added alot more bugs into the game. I have 2mths account time left and then thats it. I will check out the F2P option but thats as far as i will be going, and like lewis has stated, i do not feel as if it will survive the F2P option anyways.
Do you blame them? These people are artists and creators, being under the thumb of EA has killed their freedom of what they can and cannot do.
They sealed their own fate when they sold out to EA. Now their hands are tied when they make anything cause they have to answer to EA and their fans hate them.
What you are forgetting is LA and bioware deal announced at october 2007 after 13 days later EA bought bioware http://www.lucasarts.com/company/release/news20071030.html .Deal had been already made before EA bought bioware ,probably SW MMO licence was main reason to buy bioware by EA .
Bioware had rejected F2p plans from EA while you blame everything for ea (they felt as strong as that than had power the whatever they want , look my old posts for links if you want links ) ,Ea is not the first to blame for swtor but bioware .
Bioware costed ea 700m ( cost to buy bioware ) + 500m to spend to buy back shares + swtor game cost - game sells since accusation.
Aye, but there was no mention of an MMO before BioWare was sold (your first post). I'd believe the MMO part was tacked on at the last minute to compliment Kotor 3 (4,5,6,7,8), as per EA's wills to generate money to compete with Activision, Blizzard, and WoW.
Because .. .. post EA sale, shortly after your first post, MMO is now a buzz word.
EA buying BioWare/Pandemic for $860M
October 11, 2007
In a conference call with analysts after the announcement, EA executives shed some light on the motivation behind the deal. Besides the impeccable pedigree of both studios, Riccitiello said that the "acquisition fills out a gap in [EA's] genre lineup," specifically the role-playing and action adventure markets. The executive also cited BioWare's forthcoming MMORPG as a huge opportunity for "further expansion into the MMO space."
EA is quick to start suddenly talking about a new MMO, whereas BioWare never said a word. That was 2 years before the actual formal announcement of a new Star Wars MMO.
I'm not sure what you mean by take a look at Uhwops posts. I like them. Are we on the same page?
Aye, but there was no mention of an MMO before BioWare was sold (your first post). I'd believe the MMO part was tacked on at the last minute to compliment Kotor 3 (4,5,6,7,8), as per EA's wills to generate money to compete with Activision, Blizzard, and WoW.
Originally posted by Souldrainer Originally posted by ShakyMo I'm not a wow fan And I'm definetly not a diablo 3 fan. But its unfair to lump blizzard in with ea. Blizzard don't around buying up good games companies and turning them to shit.
Nope, not Blizzard... Activision is though. Apples to apples.
As for Erickson, lots of people leave MMO companies after a launch. It's standard practice. It even happened with WOW.
Take note that some of them has been with Bioware since 1995.
Originally posted by Sevenstar61 SWG 2.0 is not coming... Get used to it:)PS. Lots of people like SWTOR, me included. The pessimism around the game sure taking it's toll though.PS2. And as nothing interests you in SWTOR I have no interest in anything GW2 delivers. We all like different things. Lets all get along /grin
I think you are the only fan left on this site
I doubt he's the only fan left ;-) I agree though that the number of posters seen in the SWTOR forumsection who as good as only seem to hang out and post in the SWTOR section of the mmorpg.com site and only to bash the game is weirdly high. People keep saying how the game and the company it belongs to is dead and how people have lost interest and moved on - yet, they can't seem to move on from a game they dislike and declared dead. For a dead or disliked game, it still holds most of their interest in MMO's, it's kinda ironic actually :-)
Originally posted by ShakyMo I'm not a wow fan And I'm definetly not a diablo 3 fan. But its unfair to lump blizzard in with ea. Blizzard don't around buying up good games companies and turning them to shit.
Nope, not Blizzard... Activision is though. Apples to apples.
As for Erickson, lots of people leave MMO companies after a launch. It's standard practice. It even happened with WOW.
Take note that some of them has been with Bioware since 1995.
This is not normal churn, you got the Doctors who founded the company they are gone, Dickerson gone, the guy who did the AI story lines out. It might be normal for low level devs to leave but when you got the Guys who founded the company get out then a lot of the major devs leave there is nothing normal about this. This is either a mass exodus or a mass layoff/firing. Not sure at this point if these folks are being let go or if they are leaving on their own. Something is up, and we are not getting the real story. If I were a sub to game now I would be very worried. As in investor if I were reading this I would be doing a short sale as quick as I could.
Originally posted by smh_alot Heh. If people really think that SWTOR or BW will be gone soon like within a year or so, they should bet some serious money on it. But I think none will do that, bc deep down they know it's more wishful thinking than a realistic belief that those'll cease to exist anytime soon.
It's a bad bet on your part, because BioWare is already gone. EA bought BioWare in 2007. BioWare has lost all it's core personell that actually separated BioWare from what people used to remember (mostly recently, but some notables in the past 2 years). All the vacancies are now filled with EA employees.
Taking bets that BioWare will be gone soon? lol get with the program, BioWare is already gone.
I will def take your bet that BW is currently gone and no longer exists.
The Roman Empire existed as a name in the West for over a century after it had ceased really existing. When the last "emperor" in the West was deposed, there was nothing Roman left about the Roman Empire.
Bioware exists in name as a company. But the things and the people with vision that made Bioware what it was? yeah, those things are gone. So yes, Bioware will continue to exist as a name within the EA borg. Westwood existed 5 years after it had been acquired by EA, even though everyone knew the company that had a commanding share of the PC market was gone.
It looks like Bioware should of stuck to single RPG games made for Xbox's.. TOR was an hope and a dream that they could take their console game knowledge and make it a MMO.. From where I sat, they fell short.. The game felt too much like a single player game with a lame end game grind.. It might be OK with others, but not with me.. Since Danny was the big cheese, and put his signature on the product, he has to take responsibilty on what happen..
Originally posted by DeaconX Although BioWare was pretty far into developing what is unfortunately a pretty medicore mmorpg in most respects (at least in my opinion) EA seems to have pretty much gutted another developer.
they should just restart there company and never join with the likes of ea again
Comments
Amen. They have the decency, at least, to keep their shit turning powers focused only on themselves. I kid, mostly. I still love most of what Blizzard does. I actually thought SC2 was a blast. I didn't buy D3 simply because I find Torchlight a better game to wait for. The RMT thing sure did give em fits though.
Really, though, this problem finds in fault in you guys. I mean, we, as gamers, have known for a decade or better than EA is seriously just screwing things up for everything. Yet we still feed em cash. We should have buried that company in refused sales years ago. How about you all just stop hoping anything good will ever come of them and keep your money. I haven't bought anything from em in a good while. Matter of fact, these days I only really buy from Bethesda.
Apples to Oranges.
Lump Activision in with EA instead (publisher to publisher). Blizzard was reformed in 2009 to create the company now: Activision-Blizzard. But, as when you sell your soul to any large conglomorate publisher (EA or Activision in this case), quality takes a plunge.
Anyone that played WoW would notice the huge drop in quality around 2009+, as the game became more of a money maker than a fun pasttime for gamers. Cash-shop went in, features were ignored, game became centered around getting new players (dumbing down WoW) while trying to keep existing players happy.
Arguably it worked (more money), or it didn't work (many veterans quit), but since Activision took a seat on the bridge WoW saw for the first time a drop in subscribers. A trend that seems to carry on. 12M players is a thing of the past. The recent expansion saw a jump back to 10 mil accounts, but that won't last - and the number includes free account time, as part of Blizzards standards for calculating "subs".
So, Blizzard doesn't go around buying companies because they are a game company. Activision however will bleed you dry if you get too close. Vivendi (who owns both Blizzard and Activision now) is the head mistress, waiting for clean souls to walk through the door, so she can corrupt them..
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
We are talking about daniel erickson leaving bioware.......he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted. He is starting fresh and new to make more money and EA wants to be cheap and not pay the guy more. I don't blame him.
Also Bioware doesn't exist anymore, the studio is filled with EA workers. They mine as well put everything with a EA logo only. They destroy every company they buy and ruin them and devourer them. Bioware is as good as dead. End of Discussion.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
This is fantasy. Erikson was fired because there was no more work for him to do at Swotor since there aren't going to be any more expansions and 'stories'. And the reason there will be no more expansions or 'stories' is because the development team, of which he was a senior, customer-facing executive, screwed up the world's surest bet: make an MMO using the SW IP off the back of Bioware's reputation and EA's money.
If Erickson is now saying 'Oh, I left because they wouldn't pay me the money I deserved' then he is as delusional as the time he told us 'Oh, no-one really wants a true flight sim because I don't remember Han and Chewey going about mining, do you?' (of course, this bald hipster douchebag forgot to mention that mining stations and mining ships were in fact crucial element of both Kotors, but that's beside the point). And if hs is ineed going around trying to peddle this bull, then it's symptomatic of his arrogance - and the stupidity he ascribes to us, the people he wanted to buy and play his game. Well, he's all gone, and we're still here.
No, Erickson is out of his ass - like Georg Zoeller who had to leave the industry to pursue 'new opportunities in the Philippines' or Ray Muzyka who is quitting games forever to devote his life to 'speciality beers'. Erickson, like them, has been canned and deservedly so. Any sofwtare or development or games company that ever picks him up is deliberately swallowing a poison pill.
Tbe Repopulation will be what SWTOR shouldve been.
I disagree, EA is full of shit. Daniel did his part on the game, and he did well. Is he at fault for failing at the PvP part of the game? heck no, because he isn't the guy working on that part of the game, he worked on story. It isn't a fantasy that Daniel may say that, its a possibility. I would say its most likely the case and other reasons too.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
It cracks me up how fanboys see developers. Now while distributors can make crap call's like pushing for DLC and what not, the fact is, Bioware was going bankrupt, EA saved them, gave them a job for 5 more years before they failed with mass effect 3 and then finally put the nail in the coffin with SWTOR, most expensive mmo ever, unfortunately all that money went to b actors and not too content. And no matter how good a writer is(I'm not claiming erickson was a good writer), he cannot write a thousand stories and have them all be good, thats like asking Stephen King to write 20 top selling novels in a year.(hell even stephen king can screw up a story, what was the whole point behind the giant space turtle in IT?)
Bioware had as many flops, as they had hits, but fan's see only the great when trying to think irrationally on a forum, especially when they are trying to explain how EA is responsible for everything from TOR, to Global warming. They flopped harder than ever on their dream of what MMO's should be with TOR, and for that, they are getting canned faster than tuna. EA funded TOR with no constraints, they let them run rampant with no supervision and they got burnt. If anything I hate EA for not doing some market testing of mmo players, and hiring some outside blood to be involved with developement. I've never seen a poll about what should be in mmo's with Voice acting at the top of the list(or even included on the list of options), yet some how it was the fourth pillar that all mmo's where missing?
Funny thing is, every other mmo started to scramble to get voice acting on everything lol
BTW, I haven't seen anything on D Erickson claiming that they wouldn't pay him his money, I think that the poster of that fact is using made up facts to back his assumptions.
I never said it was a fact, nice assumption
. I was just bringing up possibilities in my head, I just said it because its a reason I'd leave for, for more money.
Looking at: The Repopulation
Preordering: None
Playing: Random Games
Oh, I see^ maybe you should edit your post to reflect your "opinion of why he left" cause your post states it as fact. You can add a ...."maybe he left because EA didn't pay him the money he wanted."
Nope, not Blizzard... Activision is though. Apples to apples.
As for Erickson, lots of people leave MMO companies after a launch. It's standard practice. It even happened with WOW.
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Only a blind person is going to say that with the continued mass exodus that is going on the doctors, Dickerson now the other fellow who did the ai story lines. This is rats jumping the ship, plain and simple. This is not yournormal churn.
Do you have any supporting evidence for this, I'd be curious about it? I came across some random forum poster allegations of bankruptcy, but BioWare was stable at the time of the sale, more or less, and nowhere close to bankruptcy. EA shills and viral marketers may be the source of those posts, to make EA look like a savior of games or some nonsense :-)
Competition pre 2007 was fierce, and BioWare wasn't growing or shrinking, just hanging in there, selling their games. A publisher they had distanced themselves from, Interplay, went bakrupt however, is that what you mean?
http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/22/ign-presents-the-history-of-bioware?page=2
Unfortunately, Baldur's Gate II and MDK2 were not enough to prop up the struggling Interplay. Despite its capable production, the publisher was undergoing a string of failures and disappointments that would eventually bankrupt the company. BioWare had to move on and leave its flagship series behind for good.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
The flops came after EA was involved. Whether it was EA's retraining of employees to take shortcuts, their micromanaging annoyances, or just tramatized BioWare employees losing morale, who knows why. When I think of EA I see a nightmare job from Office Space, where each employee has multiple bosses. Nothing gets done in any speedy fashion, because every small activity and decision requires 20 signatures.
If BioWare wasn't sold, SWTOR may have been KOTOR 3, according to various rumors, including an "unofficial" announcement of KOTOR 3 in 2005 (http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?t=150149). The new SWTOR MMO wasn't officially announced until a year after EA bought BioWare (http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/21/star-wars-the-old-republic-first-details?page=1). EA is money hungry, so I could totally see them wanting a MMO that would "more than compete with WoW" (Ray Muzyka) (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/306437/bioware-old-republic-will-more-than-compete-with-world-of-warcraft/). You can claim BioWare was making these statements, but lets be serious, they were saying them on behalf of EA, as they were instructed to do in order to keep their jobs (or for Ray to take a gamble, and rise up the corporate ladder). Every action post 2007, when BioWare was sold to EA, can't be taken seriously, and is subject to corruption.
Nothing really new, and nothing astounding to be gleamed from any of this, but it's just an inference of what gamers see, and why your pro-EA endorsement post doesn't jive with what others noticed.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
What you are forgetting is LA and bioware deal announced at october 2007 after 13 days later EA bought bioware http://www.lucasarts.com/company/release/news20071030.html .Deal had been already made before EA bought bioware ,probably SW MMO licence was main reason to buy bioware by EA .
Bioware had rejected F2p plans from EA while you blame everything for ea (they felt as strong as that than had power the whatever they want , look my old posts for links if you want links ) ,Ea is not the first to blame for swtor but bioware .
Take a look to uhwops comment http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/view/forums/thread/366610/page/2 it is basicly a compoany use same template for everything or. one trick pony .
Bioware costed ea 700m ( cost to buy bioware ) + 500m to spend to buy back shares + swtor game cost - game sells since accusation.
Lol, aye, i have to agree with that, especially since patch 1.4 fecked up the game and the so called patch fix 1.4b was ment to fix issues but infact made them alot more unfriendly and added alot more bugs into the game. I have 2mths account time left and then thats it. I will check out the F2P option but thats as far as i will be going, and like lewis has stated, i do not feel as if it will survive the F2P option anyways.
Do you blame them? These people are artists and creators, being under the thumb of EA has killed their freedom of what they can and cannot do.
They sealed their own fate when they sold out to EA. Now their hands are tied when they make anything cause they have to answer to EA and their fans hate them.
When I wake up, the real nightmare begins
Aye, but there was no mention of an MMO before BioWare was sold (your first post). I'd believe the MMO part was tacked on at the last minute to compliment Kotor 3 (4,5,6,7,8), as per EA's wills to generate money to compete with Activision, Blizzard, and WoW.
Because .. .. post EA sale, shortly after your first post, MMO is now a buzz word.
EA buying BioWare/Pandemic for $860M
October 11, 2007
In a conference call with analysts after the announcement, EA executives shed some light on the motivation behind the deal. Besides the impeccable pedigree of both studios, Riccitiello said that the "acquisition fills out a gap in [EA's] genre lineup," specifically the role-playing and action adventure markets. The executive also cited BioWare's forthcoming MMORPG as a huge opportunity for "further expansion into the MMO space."
http://www.gamespot.com/news/ea-buying-bioware-pandemic-for-860m-6180818
EA is quick to start suddenly talking about a new MMO, whereas BioWare never said a word. That was 2 years before the actual formal announcement of a new Star Wars MMO.
I'm not sure what you mean by take a look at Uhwops posts. I like them. Are we on the same page?
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
As for Erickson, lots of people leave MMO companies after a launch. It's standard practice. It even happened with WOW.
Take note that some of them has been with Bioware since 1995.
I think you are the only fan left on this site
"You are all going to poop yourselves." BillMurphy
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone."
I think you are the only fan left on this site
I doubt he's the only fan left ;-) I agree though that the number of posters seen in the SWTOR forumsection who as good as only seem to hang out and post in the SWTOR section of the mmorpg.com site and only to bash the game is weirdly high. People keep saying how the game and the company it belongs to is dead and how people have lost interest and moved on - yet, they can't seem to move on from a game they dislike and declared dead. For a dead or disliked game, it still holds most of their interest in MMO's, it's kinda ironic actually :-)This is not normal churn, you got the Doctors who founded the company they are gone, Dickerson gone, the guy who did the AI story lines out. It might be normal for low level devs to leave but when you got the Guys who founded the company get out then a lot of the major devs leave there is nothing normal about this. This is either a mass exodus or a mass layoff/firing. Not sure at this point if these folks are being let go or if they are leaving on their own. Something is up, and we are not getting the real story. If I were a sub to game now I would be very worried. As in investor if I were reading this I would be doing a short sale as quick as I could.
The Roman Empire existed as a name in the West for over a century after it had ceased really existing. When the last "emperor" in the West was deposed, there was nothing Roman left about the Roman Empire.
Bioware exists in name as a company. But the things and the people with vision that made Bioware what it was? yeah, those things are gone. So yes, Bioware will continue to exist as a name within the EA borg. Westwood existed 5 years after it had been acquired by EA, even though everyone knew the company that had a commanding share of the PC market was gone.
they should just restart there company and never join with the likes of ea again