How long would it take for EA to ruin Bioware?

EA has a track record of buying long and successful independant studios and then run them into the ground. Does anyone here fear EA will do the same with Bioware after they finish Mass Effect 2?

EA has a track record of buying long and successful independant studios and then run them into the ground. Does anyone here fear EA will do the same with Bioware after they finish Mass Effect 2?

Jd1680a

A couple of years ago I would have said EA would chew them up and spit them out. But now I'm not so sure. For example, DICE were allowed to go forward with Mirror's Edge, and their upcoming BF:Bad Company 2 is looking very good (and I enjoyed Bad Company on console). So, in spite of the recent cutbacks, I think that EA has been trying to make positive changes.

The release of Dragon Age with no SecuROM or activation crap is another good sign, and hopefully other releases will follow suit. Maybe there will be some belt-tightening that might affect future Bioware titles, but I think EA realises that Mass Effect is an important franchise, and they need to give it the proper investment. I will say that I personally found Jade Empire to be a disappointing game, and not up to Bioware's usual standards. They need to retain a focus on quality. And personally, I would like to see them explore new IPs.

EA is doing great things with Bioware...

bioware is genius, ea cant ruin that

EA ruined the previous great franchise when EA was doing great in terms of finance, now days EA knows (*learned) that pushing dev to due date and trying to make unfinished product (to milk it later) is not the right strategy.

When they first bought Bioware, I worried it might get trashed within 3-4 years, but from Mass effect to Dragon Age, they in fact, seem to be doing well.

EA seems to be trying really hard lately to drop the terrible image that they have built up over the years. Look no further than Need for Speed and how desperately they're trying to rebuild that into the great franchise it was.

EA would never be stupid enough to do things like take dedicated servers out of Battlefield 3 or whatever.

EA seems to have responded well to criticisms and kind of turn away from the path of evil they were running down. I don't mind them at all anymore, and they're doing some pretty cool things actually

It's all about the profits of course, but in this case I think they realized that allowing Bioware to make their games with less interference will end up making more money. I'm sure each Bioware game is a bigger investment for them on average, but the success of Mass Effect shows that the bigger investment will make bigger profits in the end. EA will continue to do things the way they used to with some companies, but they need to protect their best assets like Bioware.

Bioware chose EA, not the other way around.

EA has a track record of buying long and successful independant studios and then run them into the ground. Does anyone here fear EA will do the same with Bioware after they finish Mass Effect 2?

Jd1680a

Go to the Dragon Age techincal support forum and see. I've never seen Bioware release as buggy a game as this in the past.