A new BioWare MMO... Mass Effect Online?

[RoninaThorstone]

Afaik, SWTOR for example lost plenty of money, even after "great" initial sales. I don't know how the others rank\

AoC lost a far greater % of their players post launch since their game didn't even work (like... legit did not work at launch. You think swtor was buggy? Ha. funny). If you were around for AoC, you thought swtor did pretty well.
Aion went from 8 million to like 1 million. I wasn't participating in that game at that time, so I don't even understand how that happened.
WAR was DOA. Most people saw that coming when they scrapped a whole bunch of classes right before launch. (thanks ea)

[SirRobin]

I just can't see how BioWare Austin making another MMO could end up anywhere but in another disaster.

[iggie]

Great another title which EA/BW will block me from playing

[Skiritai]

Guess I wasn't very clear on what I wanted to discuss in this topic. I know EA and BW making another MMO, specifically if it would be with an existing franchise, would not be popular with a lot of people.

What I meant to discuss was, since we basically got confirmation BW and EA are working on another MMO,

BioWare is now the studio that will lead the charge for EA MMORPGs in the future, ones that aren't just Star Wars but other IPs as well.

what could this be?
To me, based on what we know today, Mass Effect would be the most logical decision they could make. Not necessarily a popular one.

Also, the abbreviation MMO doesn't right away mean it'll involve grouping up with people killing giant monsters as in WoW, SW:TOR.
What BioWare Montreal accomplished with ME3 and its multiplayer was really unexpected, and if they greatly built upon it like frogger237 mentioned, it might already be considered an MMO. It is also the Montreal studio that is now exclusively in charge of ME4, not Austin.

Anyway, it could also be their new IP. Or C&C Generals 2. Could even be Dragon Age in a more distant future, but that seems unlikely (they actually said a DA MMO would be inevitable a few years ago, and they also said that about ME. This was before SW:TOR though).

What do you think...?

[SirRobin]

Great another title which EA/BW will block me from playing

Better than another EA/Mythic title, which might charge your account fourteen hundred dollars.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Do you mind rephrasing that? Is that a question?

I don't know much of the story if it would be enough to warrent a MMORPG.

[Buu]

And thanks to the current success of TOR, BioWare is now the studio that will lead the charge for EA MMORPGs in the future, ones that aren't just Star Wars but other IPs as well.

Wait, what? Success????? Last time I checked EA said that Battlefield was holding their finances while TOR was draining their money.
In their own earnings call.

[SirRobin]

What do you think...?

I think its just some guy desperately trying to figure out how to keep his job. If we consider all the other claims that we've heard from BioWare Austin that turned out to be, "exaggerations," to put it nicely, over the last year or two? Well, its hardly like we should take him seriously.

[RoninaThorstone]

I don't know much of the story if it would be enough to warrent a MMORPG.

Oh. Tots.

We learned with the EC that the relays were damaged rather than destroyed.
They could make an MMO about taking back the galaxy, rebuilding civilization, rebuilding alliances, everything. A lot of opportunity for sand box elements.
They could make each sector into an expansion ect.

Would be good... If it were made by people who could do it.

They should just let the koreans make the engine.

---------- Post added 2013-04-01 at 09:37 PM ----------

Wait, what? Success????? Last time I checked EA said that Battlefield was holding their finances while TOR was draining their money.
In their own earnings call.

Um. No.
That is not accurate.

Tor is making them money, just not as much as they had hoped.

[unholytestament]

What I meant to discuss was, since we basically got confirmation BW and EA are working on another MMO,

That's not confirmation they are working on another MMO.

[Yuanrang]

Mass Effect, as a concept, would have made a great MMO game.

Now that they have established Mass Effect as a very solid, rich and loved series of RPGs, however, I think it would absolutely decimate the franchise because we all know the MMO can not live up to expectations or the fanbase's hopes, not to mention that a fresh MMO will not really be able to combat established MMOs in a good manner to attract new players.

[Buu]

Um. No.
That is not accurate.

Tor is making them money, not just as much as they had hoped.

Making less money than it consumes. OK, keep thinking it's not accurate....

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Oh. Tots.

We learned with the EC that the relays were damaged rather than destroyed.
They could make an MMO about taking back the galaxy, rebuilding civilization, rebuilding alliances, everything. A lot of opportunity for sand box elements.
They could make each sector into an expansion ect.

Would be good... If it were made by people who could do it.

They should just let the koreans make the engine.

Then my opinion stands. Be nice for a MMORPG if it wasn't EA behind it.

[SirRobin]

Making less money than it consumes. OK, keep thinking it's not accurate....

I do think TOR is running in the black. I don't see EA hesitating to ship server maintenance to Shanghai, and closing BioWare Austin completely, if it wasn't. However, I doubt its making anywhere near as much as EA wants it to make.

[RoninaThorstone]

Making less money than it consumes. OK, keep thinking it's not accurate....

Swtor needed 500k subscribers to be profitable. (Before the mass layoff post 1.2. Now it has a much lower cost of operation)
Swtor, at it's lowest, was still above 500k. Exact wording was "dipped just below 1 million" "well above 500k".
Since then it has gained subscribers and 2 million new f2pers. There was also an interesting poll showing a disturbingly large amount of players not only using the CM but using it a LOT.

So yeah. You are wrong.

[SirRobin]

Yeah, with all the big names gone on top of all the others laid off? I just can't see TOR costing a whole bunch to keep the servers on anymore. Hell, EA still has Warhammer Online running and you know there has got to be hardly anyone left playing that game.

[Buu]

I do think TOR is running in the black. I don't see EA hesitating to ship server maintenance to Shanghai, and closing BioWare Austin completely, if it wasn't. However, I doubt its making anywhere near as much as EA wants it to make.

Nah, Bioware is in a VERY VERY WEIRD place. Their budget keep shrinking every week. They rotate people between teams, because they can't keep full dev team for every IP up 100% of the time. They even don't have a professional QA anymore. Instead everyone with free time "test" the games.

But since Riccitiello spent YEARS in his plan of acquiring Bioware, making even a front company to force the sale, after a temporary step-down from EA command, it appear that he can not bury Bioware without compromising his position. FOR NOW.
As all he need is to have a hit, so people can look at the other side while he brings Bioware to the farm.

[PBitt]

Does everything have to be an MMO? If this is true, I will offer my free services and tell them right now that it's not going to be worth their time, same goes for about 90% of all MMOs out there. People keep making these crappy things they try to call MMOs that don't offer anything new but an IP that hasn't been an IP yet. They have to actually bring something new to the table whilst handling the basics properly which most can't do, including BioWare.

[Deleted]

I just can't see how BioWare Austin making another MMO could end up anywhere but in another disaster.

Maybe they actually recognized, that swtor wasn't as good as it could have been.
Maybe the new CEO (or whoever is in charge with those descions at EA) let them actually finish the game.
Maybe they learned from their mistakes and try to save the last bits of the good reputation they once had.
And maybe ...meh, who am I kidding anyways?

[Adam Jensen]

If ME4 is an MMORPG, I'll need about a week's worth of emo music and large tub of ice cream.

Please, don't let it be so.

I'd rather see ME come to an end, then an MMO released.