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MS to publish ME2&3

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Vx Chemical

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MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 12, 2007 20:54

The new print issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine has an article on the recent news of BioWare and Pandemic being purchased by Electronic Arts. The article points out that because of the purchase, EA will now own Mass Effect, the recently released sci-fi RPG from developer BioWare that Microsoft published for the Xbox 360. However, according to an unnamed source cited in the article, an agreement has been made for Mass Effect 2 and 3 to both be published by Microsoft as well, with BioWare and EA to be listed as developers rather than publishers. BioWare, EA and Microsoft have yet to officially announce Mass Effect 2 although the sales and critical acclaim have been high so it would seem to be a likely possibility.

i wouldnt mind if it was true!

Torr Total Posts : 554 Reward points : 8100 Joined: Jun 11, 2007 Location: Ann Arbor, MI	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 12, 2007 21:06 I am glad, from what I have heard it is an awesome game. I am waiting for christmas, because as of right now I have no time to play the games I have:COD4(mostly dead), Halo 3(still working on getting everything), Orange Box(Portal down, the rest to go), Gears, and some rehashes COD2+3,Halo1+2, and if I ever get to it Beautiful Katamari.

2pac Total Posts : 1032 Reward points : 6490 Joined: Jan 28, 2006 Location: Los Angeles , CA	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 12, 2007 22:53 Sweet .. It would be stupid for microsoft to let go of the Mass effect franchise ...

Majik

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RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 12, 2007 23:15

ORIGINAL: 2pac

Sweet .. It would be stupid for microsoft to let go of the Mass effect franchise ...

It' s not like they' d have a choice in it either way. If EA wants to publish it and release it multiplatform then that' s what they' ll do. BioWare' s wholly owned IP' s now belong to EA so it' d take some huge exclusivity deal for this to be true. Microsoft would have to pay a shitload of money to keep this 360-only and i' m guessing that if such a deal exists it' s either part and parcel of a pre-existing sequel rights clause in the contract for the original game, ...or it' s a deal between EA and Microsoft that extends to the Games for Windows platform.

It would make sense that Microsoft wants to keep the series 360 exclusive as there' s the Halo gap to fill and Too Human looks like it' s going to fall on it' s face. Mass Effect is just as marketable to the 360 userbase as the Halo franchise, and even though there will be a Halo 4 at some point, Mass Effect would be the obvious choice to fill the void in the interim period.

Ofcourse, if the deal wasn' t on the table before EA secured BioWare, there' s nothing stopping Sony trying their luck.

As it is, i fully expect that like their sequel rights deal with Epic' s Gears of War, Microsoft had a similar stipulation written into their publishing agreement for the first Mass Effect game. BioWare, or rather EA, would have to pay a severe penalty for breaking such an agreement and unlike the RE4 PS2 fiasco where Capcom saw that they would make far more money by releasing a PS2 port than it would cost them to break their exclusivity agreement with Nintendo... i suspect EA doubts the viability of the Mass Effect franchise on PS3.

Evilkiller Total Posts : 660 Reward points : 0 Joined: Mar 25, 2005 Location: Germany	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 00:09 It makes sense, Mass Effect is a big franchise and, afair, it has sold very well (1 million units in 3 weeks), which should be better than any other 360 game but Halo 3 was fared this holiday season.

Vx Chemical Total Posts : 5534 Reward points : 6695 Joined: Sep 09, 2005	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 00:20 In anycase Bioware had enough trouble getting ME to run on the 360, i wouldnt want then working on other versions along side ME2, i hope they will release some downloadable content soon. Replaying on Hard now, enemies are pretty tough to take down!

Chimura

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RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 03:36

Yeah, I' ll rather have em working on clearing the frame rate issues and AI than working on a PS3 version also. Not that I mind if they ever released on PS3, but I tend to go with a franchise on the same platform I have the first game for, unless the other platform' s version is blatantly obvious. Case in point, I am getting Devil May Cry 4 for PS3, since I have all the others on PS2 and I am comfortable with the controller, while I have GRAW and GRAW2 for 360, and if they ever get around to GRAW3, I' ll probably get it 360 also.

Eddie_the_Hated Total Posts : 8015 Reward points : 15335 Joined: Jan 17, 2006 Location: Wayne, MI	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 05:09 and if they ever get around to GRAW3, I' d bet good money they will. < Message edited by eddie_the_hated -- 12 Dec 07 21:09:50 >

Majik Total Posts : 374 Reward points : 0 Joined: Nov 17, 2007	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 05:11 ORIGINAL: Eddie_the_Hated and if they ever get around to GRAW3, I' d bet good money they will. Lets hope they drop Mitchell as was originally planned and focus on a new non-urban campaign.

Vx Chemical Total Posts : 5534 Reward points : 6695 Joined: Sep 09, 2005	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 05:13 Yeha Ghost Recon and Urban doesnt really match well!

Chimura Total Posts : 1123 Reward points : 0 Joined: Nov 13, 2007	RE: MS to publish ME2&3 - Dec 13, 2007 06:35 Some forest combat using GRAWS engine would be pretty cool