@Fred_vdp wrote:
BioWare Edmonton is the only EA studio that makes single player RPGs. As long as there's a market for those, EA won't allow BioWare to transform completely. Anthem is a game they need right now to get a steady income through microtransactions (like Star Wars: The Old Republic). I think they're going to keep that running for as long as possible while continuing to make single player games.
Tell that to Visceral. SWTOR, didn't have those microtransactions at the start and the gambling packs have gotten them into trouble it seems. They still offer them but there are suddenly a lot more direct sale items. Like a LOT. People like myself used to buy a lot of those packs as an investment into the game, to help keep it alive. Seeing that the game didn't get any commitment that way also killed my commitment so I stopped buying them altogether last year.
Edmonton is doing Anthem and it's a 10 year engagement as they see it. EA is already allowing and probably demanding that Bioware transforms. Here's the thing, if Anthem bombs then Bioware might be wiped off the board just like Visceral. Visceral's game is probably also a game that will be a vehicle for microtransactions from what I can tell. If Anthem succeeds, I wonder if EA wants them to go back to their old style single player games at all. I don't think so. I think they will want Bioware to push further in that direction.
I do hope I'm wrong but EA is an investment company that wants to maximize their gains. They don't care about the actual games, just the profit they can turn. I think we'll see what BF2 will bring very soon but I think it's not going to be something I'll enjoy and it will be a sign of things to come rather than an exception to the rule.
The thing is that Anthem may be successful, but it may not be. They thought they were going to change the world with SWTOR in the MMO genre. It failed. And Anthem may follow that same path as well. There are already other games out there like Destiny and now Destiny 2. The problem with copying a game like that and just adding some of your own flavour to it, is that a new game will generally offer less than an existing game. They will have to appeal to the same crowd that plays games like that. They tried exactly that with SWTOR by taking a great IP and adding a thin copy of WoW-style endgame and amenities...very thin. The original stories were good, but the rest was and still is lacking. I actually play it for the old content that was good but if it hadn't been Star Wars I would've abandoned it a long time ago if I'm honest.
So Anthem will be a 3rd person version of Destiny 2 it seems like. I think a lot of people will refer to it as that. It will have to be pretty damn good in all sorts of ways to make it stand out. And agressive pay2win style microtransactions might just be the sort of thing that can sour a lot of people on a game. That's why I am interested in BF2 to see how that works. Personally I don't want it, but I'm just one person. Of course I am the person who decides where my money goes.
If BF2 works and people want this style of microtransactions and spend a couple of hundred bucks a month to stay ahead of the competition, I guess I'll have to conclude I'm getting too old for this stuff.
That's why I like paying for DLC better. I pay for actual content then. Maybe times are changing and I am getting too old. It's not necessarily just a joke but I can think of a lot of other ways to spend that money I suppose.
Well, it's all guessing at the moment, but things are shaping up in a way that makes me worry for the future of games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age and Bioware as a whole. Maybe it's tin foil hat stuff, maybe I'll end up being right about it. I certainly am not gonna put bets on either possibility at this stage.
* I was stupid.
