"Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on..."
- Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'"
The FUTURE of Mass Effect? Get it? 'Cause the game takes place in the future? Man, I'm good. Also note the Sopranos allusion in my song choice, in the vein of WTF endings. Layers, people. Layers!
Mass Effect 3 isn't over yet - the melodrama over the ending continues, and there is still C to be DLed. But the Shepard trilogy is probably over and done as far as core games go. ME3 juggled about a hundred story variables and I'm sure BioWare's programmers will be grateful to finally let them drop and roll under a couch somewhere. Still, the series remains commercially strong and a MetaCritic monster - there's no way BioWare puts it out to stud, especially with Electronic Arts holding the leash.
So now what?
New Action/RPG Series: The safest bet, of course. Start a new trilogy and see where it goes. There are some issues, of course - chief among them the ending of ME3, which has some serious consequences canon-wise - but what the hell, it's science fiction, and The Reapers only strike every 50,000 years. Push the series forward a few centuries as an excuse to update the art and help sweep story detritus under the rug. (Of course, Liara might live to be a 1,000...) Place it in a new galaxy so all the old politics are long forgotten - human, turian, and quarian colonists, living together and getting into wacky hijinx!
Krogan: "I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!"
Quarian: "Put the lid back on! You let germs in that destroy my weak immune system!"
*Krogan headbutts Quarian and kills him; crowd laughs.*
Who wouldn't want to play that?
If people are getting tired of the BioWare formula - magnetic human hero leading a band of misfits against the evil horde - this would be a good opportunity to shake things up. Instead of a default hero, let players choose their race/gender/etc. and branch out a little. Playing as a Krogan in ME3 multiplayer is VERY entertaining, for example. And imagine the romance angles you could pursue as, say, a Turian? Trying to find a gal with just the sort of mandibles you like? Finding your Quarian gal a full body condom a la 'The Naked Gun?' Good times!
BioWare crafted a great universe with races, features, and science that people really enjoy. They'd be nuts not to make further use of it. Hey, speaking of which...
The Mass Effect MMORPG: Seemed like a no-brainer at one point. BioWare didn't have an MMO, ME already laid a universe out with distinct jobs and races... what's not to like? Of course, The Old Republic pretty much deep-sixes this idea, as B-Dub isn't likely going to spend the immense time and resources they'd need to compete with their own product. I think ME is a better fit than Star Wars for an MMO - the races are more distinct and Star Wars has a boring super-job in the Jedi - but obviously, the SW brand is a juggernaut you can't say no to.
An ME Multiplayer Shooter Thingie: ME3's multiplayer isn't just a nifty "bonus feature;" it's clearly a way for B-Dub/E.A. to test the water for the franchise's viability as a sort of Call Of Duty for smart people. "C'mon, you finicky hardcore gamers! We know you won't touch Battlefield with a ten-foot pole, but this here's a shooter for people that actually like to read stuff!" I'd call it a success so far - while limited in scope, the co-op looks and plays well and hasn't dropped me once. Teammates are staggeringly helpful for the most part, and making it co-op based scares off a lot of the shrieking jackals that make a lot of on-line games so insufferable.
E.A.'s stake in this is obvious: working over the beloved map pack/DLC market for a gaming segment they haven't really gotten their talons into yet. For BioWare, there's probably some excitement about a project that doesn't cling so closely to their shopworn formulas. Hemingway is one of America's most celebrated authors, but the man loved a good fistfight or drunken nurse - BioWare might enjoy something simpler to work on, too, even if their oldest fans will cry blood and crap bricks.
The Saga Continues: Some of the BioWare team told players to keep their ME3 saves... you know, just in case. I can't possibly imagine BioWare making an ME4 (or some continuation of the current story) after such an exhausting ordeal, but I guess ya never know. At this point, each player's save data is so different that programming a follow-up would require a human brain designed by M.C. Escher. Maybe B-Dub could use that save data in a passive way (a Liara cameo in a new trilogy, or some such), but they couldn't possibly keep this story thread up? Could they? Do you REALLY wanna go through this again, BioWare?
If they go with the multiplayer game, I say do it this generation. Otherwise, I'd wait for the next one to make save transferring easier. But then again, it's not my gazillion dollars in play.
Hell, green-light a Charlie's Angels thing with Liara, Tali, and EDI. (With Mordin as Charlie, just because.) Just keep the series alive somehow - gaming would be a lot more boring without it.