The game, Mass Effect 3, has caused a “mass effect”/controversy amongst its consumers. Consider this: If you had 
purchased a game for $59.99 or $79.99 for the digital download version and were told that you had complete control over the game’s outcome by the choices your character made and then actually had no control over the game’s outcome, wouldn’t you be disappointed?! Many gamers have spoken out in online forums, via Facebook and Twitter, leading to the creation of Facebook fanpages in favor of and against the game’s outcome. What caused all of this hype had to do with the marketing of this product. Here are some examples below from their website, http://masseffect.com:
- “Experience the beginning, middle, and end of an emotional story unlike any other, where the decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome”.
- “Along the way, your choices drive powerful outcomes, including relationships with key characters, the fate of entire civilizations, and even radically different ending scenarios.”
One gamer, in particular, who goes by El_Spiko was so upset by all of this that he filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and posted his action online, which created quite a frenzy in the media and the online world.
The issue at stake here is, did Bio Ware falsely advertise? Technically, yes, they did. In the first bullet point, where it states “the decisions you make completely shape your experience”, there is no indecision in that statement. It is an absolute. The next statement is not so absolute. It states “your choices drive powerful outcomes”. A consumer would have to very carefully analyze this statement to come to a conclusion that the game’s outcome is not “wholly” determined by one’s choices. This statement, really though, is very subject to interpretation. Also this is just a small example of their advertising and does not take into account anything that might have been said, as far as their public relations and other advertising campaigns.
The lesson to be learned here is companies should give careful consideration to how they word their advertisements. Otherwise, there could be detrimental effects, especially in the era of social media and online forums. For questions regarding advertising, please see BBB’s Code on Advertising at http://www.bbb.org/us/bbb-code-of-advertising/.
One positive thing that came of this, though, is an online charity, “Retake Mass Effect 3 Child’s Play Charity”, where funds of over $80,000 were raised. Proceeds will go towards providing “video games for the patients at Children’s Hospitals all over the world”. As with any charity, though, it is wise to verify where funds are actually going. Go to www.bbb.org for a charity report!
- http://retakemasseffect.chipin.com/retake-mass-effect-childs-play
- http://r3stats.net/
- http://store.origin.com/store/ea/en_US/custom/pbPage.me3-com/custompageenv.design
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/03/19/fan-makes-ftc-complaint-over-mass-effect-3-ending-but-it-wont-hold-water/
- http://www.bbb.org/blog/2012/03/vote-for-the-ending-do-you-like-what-they-did-with-mass-effect-3/
- http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886
- www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401775,00.asp
- http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/outrage-over-mass-effect-3-ending-reaches-ftc-173411384.html
The article failed to mention the complete lie “and even radically different ending scenarios.” all the endings were identical except for some colored explosions and how the Reapers left earth.
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There’s also the problem that regardless of the ending you choose: synthesis, control, destroy, they *ALL* result in the destruction of the mass relays. This means the destruction of the solar systems housing each relay, and thus the destruction of most/all advanced organic/synthetic life… no-one seems to mention this. Yes the game promises your choices make a difference, but the biggest failure to me is with the ending proper, you always destroy the majority of organic/synthetic life.
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This is wrong, the relays do not destroy the solar systems. You can see this when Shepard is alive in the best ending of the game. The destruction of the relays is meant to propagate whatever signal is being sent from the crucible.
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As per the events of the “Arrival” DLC for Mass Effect 2, the destruction of a mass relay destroys the system in which the relay existed.
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That was an uncontrolled release of all the pent up energy, however. The Crucible releases the energy in a specific manner meant to enact whatever choice you made, not blindly destroy everything in the solar system.
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So much of this is blanket assumption. Arrival DLC showed us one — ONE method of a relay being destroyed. In the same DLC you hold up as PROOF!!!11!1, the people mention /no one really knows/ what will happen if you try to destroy, or overload a mass relay.
So many people just made the wrong assumption and turned into panic-stricken crazies. The multiple endings, the ‘as many as 18′ got dropped a while back. If it ain’t on the case, it doesn’t count.
Furthermore — obtaining the Reaper Heart or Brain lowers the EMS requirement that is needed for Destroy and Control ending respectively.
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i sure there is a difference between a massive asteroid thrown at a mass relay and a signal from the crucible.
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Are you telling me you actually think that the breathing scene in the best ending was after the crucible exploded. He would have had to deal with the giant explosion centered on his position, reentry, crashing into earth with something so large that it would have destroyed Earth if it impacted into it, and you think he still was able to breath after that, I think that scene, more then any other proves the endings were some sort of dream sequence
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If it’s true that the destruction of the relays is just to send the signal, then why does Joker have to run from it? In fact, it was powerful enough that, when it finally caught the Normandy, it did enough damage that they ended up crashing on some mystery planet in another system.
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Either way, there are many reasons why the ending sucks.
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Actually, the explosive destruction of the relays as seen in The Arrival are irrelevant as concerns the death of the galaxy.
All the fleets of the multiple alien species have moved to the Sol system here near Earth. Without a relay to return, all of them are trapped in a system already thin with resources. Slow starvation is the actual end of all the life in our solar system, beginning with the two dextro-protein races that can not eat ANY of our food sources, the quarians and the turians. Not to mention the problem of all those destroyed starships floating around as debris: gonna be one hell of a dangerous “meteor” shower.
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The endings are different in consequence, even without the extended cut. No false advertising there.
Your choices affect what happens in the galaxy. No false advertising there.
I mean… the education system must be failing people really badly these days if they can’t realize the consequences of their actions were displayed throughout the whole game and later inferred in the ending. The consequences of the endings are also very varied, but people are putting it down to colours. It’s quite sad. Bioware overestimated its audience.
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No one is arguing that the consequences weren’t shown throughout the game, but it was all made meaningless at the end. In the end, all it came down to really WAS colors and some slight other differences. That makes it where not even the final choice matters because there is literally no indication of wtf happens. I’m sorry, but BioWare lied to their customers. That’s all there is to it. Insulting people’s intelligence does not help. If you have to resort to insults, your argument is already dead. Considering the minority that believes BioWare is in the right have virtually ALL resorted to insults, you should see why no one is taking you guys seriously.
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And here’s some more quotes/falsehoods,
“Of course you don’t have to play multiplayer, you can choose to play
all the side-quests in single-player and do all that stuff you’ll
still get all the same endings and same information, it’s just a
totally different way of playing” – Mike Gamble
“Yeah, and I’d say much more so, because we have the ability to
build the endings out in a way that we don’t have to worry about
eventually tying them back together somewhere. This story arc is
coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot
more different. At this point we’re taking into account so many
decisions that you’ve made as a player and reflecting a lot of that
stuff. It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,
where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got
ending A, B, or C…..The endings have a lot more sophistication and
variety in them.” – Casey Hudson
“There are many different endings. We wouldn’t do it any other way. How
could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and
then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets? But I can’t
say any more than that…” – Mike Gamble
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“The issue at stake here is, did Bio Ware falsely advertise? Technically, yes, they did.”
And no the endings are not different in any way or form depending on your decisions. I could have played as a paragon and gotten the exact same ending as a renegade as long as my EMS was the same.
The specific choices have no weight in the ending at all. My choices have 0 impact on the actual ending. All that matters is EMS. Honestly, I could have the worst possible army and got same result as if i did a moderate TMS and not did MP and got same result.
How about this? http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10405204/1 Would you like to address all of those?
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Quoted from the article: “Also this is just a small example of their advertising and does not take into account anything that might have been said, as far as their public relations and other advertising campaigns.”
In response to: “The article failed to mention the complete lie “and even radically different ending scenarios.””
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Cedilus, actually you’re wrong, since what you’re refering to are only pre-release statements from BioWare crew members in interviews and webcasts, these are not acually mentioned in the official feature list in the product page as Marjorie is pointing out.
But yes, Bioware false advertised features that weren’t delivered in the final product sold to the customers.
For a complete reference of pre-release statements here’s this link:
http://alizrak.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/the-broken-promises-of-mass-effect-3-spoilers/
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This was a good article but it would have been so much better if it was more in depth and covered more than 2 statements. I think there is a 2 or 3 page Google doc with all the dev quotes up to release that show just how much was not delivered. It can also be found at Bioware’s own social forums here, http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/10056886/1
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I am one of the many people who’ve joined the Retake movement. Plenty has been said on the subject, so I won’t reiterate here, but I want to make sure that those who read this understand that Retake Mass Effect and Child’s Play are 2 separate entIties. I am a supporter of both causes, but the way you’ve worded things here is misleading. Child’s Play is a charity, and Retake started a donation drive where the money went to Child’s Play.
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For further consideration, exhibits A, B, and C:
http://s9.postimage.org/mhn71nknj/abc.png
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Ea has put Bioware down a ridiculous path of false advertising, rushed product-making, cutting in-game content to charge extra and shady marketing tricks.
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I think thats something a lot of people miss. I don’t profess to know if it is down to Bioware or EA, but I’m pretty sure (judging by their other horrific business practices) that it is the publisher who are responsible for a lot of ME3′s shortcomings.
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I’m surprised you didn’t mention these gems.
“It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C…..The endings have a lot more sophistication and variety in them.” -Casey Hudson, director
“[The presence of the Rachni] has huge consequences in Mass Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers.” -Mac Walters, lead writer
“There are many different endings. We wouldn’t do it any other way. How could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets? But I can’t say any more than that…” -Mike Gamble, associate producer
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Please explain to me how this qualifies as ‘radically different ending scenarios‘..?
Because as far as I can tell, they only differ slightly, and mostly only in minor details.
I’m not even going to comment on the issue of player choice, as we all know how that turned out.
Did BioWare make an advertising blunder with those statements? Certainly.
Should they be allowed to fix their mistake? Absolutely.
Are they willing to swallow their pride and do what must be done to resolve this problem? That remains to be seen.. if the Extended Cut DLC is all we ultimately get, then I would have to say ‘no’.
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I believe a lot of the “prelaunch hype” was intended to give an impression that the game would behave in one way [such as being able to have many truely divergent endings] but in the end these things were not delivered on.
I’m not sure if this is “false advertising” by the letter of the law but I do believe it is by the spirit of the law. [More an issue of being deliberatly mislead / deceived ...]
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I just wanted to say I thought your article was right on the money. Over-promising then under-delivering is not unique to the software industry, and any company no matter what the product should be called to account for this kind of behavior.
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I agree, and disagree with some of the points. The quotes used were from writers, or the director, describing the game. They were not actually the advertisements. Because a director wants to hype a game up before it sells (which all directors in movies and games do) doesn’t mean it was 100% a promise and advertisement. I have heard directors for movies quoted as saying it is the greatest movie ever… Are they to be blamed for false advertisement too? Plus, the endings, although similar (some cut scenes were the same), had dramatically different scenarios on how the galaxy and life would be affected afterwards.
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Colin,
You do make a good point about the writers, directors making comments but is not in the advertising. But the nature of some of these comments are not simply “This is the greatest game ever” but more along the lines of “Buy this because this is what you can expect for your money” Also many of these comments are made at public venues where they are acting as representatives and spokespersons of the company in an effort to promote and sell the product.
Mrs. Stephens, its good to see that people like forbes and the BBB are taking notice of this debacle if only to provide objective viewpoints to counteract both the consumer fervor and the company PR spin.
However for many consumers of EA (and other large gaming companies) how this is being handled is the tipping point in a list of greviances.
-EA’s Origin EULA has a clause where they are allowed to data mine your PC for information if you use their product
-The manditory Online passes required to play certain aspects of the game. But these online passes have a hidden expiration date which is not listed anywhere on the pass that comes with the product.
-Selling games with Disk Locked Content forcing people to spend extra money for downloadable pass keys to access content already purchased and on the disk. 35% of the content on Capcom’s Marvel x Tekken is locked in this manner.
-Selling an incomplete product. Capcom’s “Asuras Wrath” is now getting ready to sell content that is advertised as the “True Ending” to the game. So far it looks like they literally took the last few levels of the game, broke it off and are now selling it as premium content.
The Gaming industry has gone from its humble beginnings to a multi-billion dollar industry. Maybe its time for people like you (who are much more experienced in business matters than the majority of us) to take a hard look at the practices and ethics of Gaming companies like EA.
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Given these anti-consumer practices, what sort of remedies would you suggest in order to address EA and Bioware’s wrongdoings?
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To tell you the truth I’m not business savvy in the least. While I as a consumer feel that there was False Advertisement in the promotion of the game, especially by Mr. Hudson, it certanly doesn’t merit any sort of legal action. It’s simply a bad ending. But the followup PR spin to support Bioware and EA is just downright insulting. I can’t think of any other business where its acceptable for a company representative to make public comments like Michael Pachter has about their own consumers.
The truth is I don’t know what sort of remedies would be optimal to resolve some of these larger issues. I imagine the best solution would be some sort of business reform that holds companies like EA to a certain level of responsiblity and fair-practice without stifiling the company’s ability to turn a profit. It shouldn’t be about running EA out of business or having the artists and writers at bioware out on the street because stock prices have plumetted. But sadly I don’t know of any other way.
Me personally I am voting with my wallet and not purchasing any other titles with the EA logo no matter how enticing it is. I don’t know of any other thing to do. It time to evolve from being a pure gamer who will give brand loyalty without question, to a no-nonsense consumer who will only put money to company’s whos product is sound and after careful critique by people with more credibility than the people who call themselves “Journalists and critics” at the common gaming magazines.
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I completely agree with you. I took a short vacation to play this game, and even though the ending was a disappointment, it was still pretty much enjoyable for me. The only legal remedy I can see is to compel EA and Bioware to allow returns of their merchandise, and to be completely honest about it, even that seems like overkill to me.
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Colin, the scenarios are not all that different. In all three scenarios the FTL transit system for the ME universe is destroyed, nullifying much of what you worked to achieve in the game, at best, by ending faster than light travel (on a galactic scale), at worst, according to the games Canon, destroying all life in any star system that contained a Mass Relay. Consider if you will what would happen if America’s bread basket stopped supplying food to the world, and extend that out to – what would happen when colonies all over the galaxy that cannot grow enough food to sustain themselves can no longer get shipments of food? Several colonies visited or discussed during the three games are not ideal for their occupants – freezing to death because of a lack of fuel sounds like a bad way to go (Noveria). Introduction of the primary antagonist in the final moments of the final act of the 3rd game is a great way to blow up your narrative.
In terms of game play mechanics – were told our choices matter through 3 games. But in the end, all that matters is if you did the side quests to get war assets, and if you played multi-player to get a 6000 or higher Estimated Military Strength rating. THAT IS IT… all your choices ceased to matter when you stumbled into the beam of light (blatant halo grav-lift copy). After that, there is no choice up to your ABC(Red, Blue Green) ending which was a blatant rip off of Deus Ex, a game that came out over a decade ago.
This is what happens when Lead Developer and Executive Producer run off to rooms and write the ending on their own without letting their writing staff vet it.
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Actually, Colin is right. From a legal standpoint, the violation of EA and Bioware as a company is false advertising, and at most the legal remedy in my opinion is to give consumers the option to return the game at EA and Bioware’s expense. Given what you said, Stephen, there might be a (slight) case for libel for Casey Hudson’s statements, but I’m inclined to believe that he’s protected by the principle of free speech.
To be clear, Mass Effect had the same impact to me as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, which is high praise indeed since LoTR is one of my favorite books. The lousy ending of Mass Effect 3 to me is akin to littering on sacred ground — it violates my sensibilities, but I would tolerate it for the sake of civility and good manners.
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How do you know for a fact what happened? do you work for Bioware? no?
then stop lying to everybody. Until we have definitive proof coming from an employee within Bioware of how thw writing process went the STFU AND STOP LYING!!!
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I’ll try to be as civil as possible with regards to this. I am not looking at this from a story point of view, I am looking at this from a business practices issue.
Should Bioware be accused of bad business practice for writing a lousy ending? I think not, and I think I was clear in my missive. I make no comment about the internal workings of EA and Bioware, and I respect the civil liberties of their non-PR-related employees, including their right to say whatever they want about their game.
On the issue of false advertising, you do not need to know anything internal about a company to know if they advertised wrongly — all you need to look at are their product packaging, their advertisements, their marketing collaterals, and the product itself. So, since I bought my game, I am free to make judgements as a consumer whether EA and Bioware treated me well as a consumer or not.
In fact, not only is it my legal right, it is my duty to my fellow consumers to hold EA & Bioware into account so that me and my fellow consumers won’t get taken advantaged by the market power of large companies. This attitude is what makes cars, pharmaceuticals and common household products better, safer and cheaper over the years. Why can’t this attitude be the same for video games? And anyone who says otherwise is an enemy of ordinary consumers everywhere.
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Sorry for my bad english, it is not my first language.
I see “puffery” remarks about Bioware pre-release claims all the time. User Colin up above me says “. I have heard directors for movies quoted as saying it is the greatest movie ever… Are they to be blamed for false advertisement too?” Similar concept may appear. But what we have here are claims such as “It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings [...] where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C” and instead you get a game with a A, B, or C ending. Or “there will be 16 completely different endings” and everybody had a hard time recognizing barely 6, because they are so similar to each other that a communal effort by hundreds of users was needed.
If that movie director promised “there will be a love scene where you will be able to see [insert your favourite and yet to see naked actor/actress] in the nude” and you dont see anything similar to a love scene and all the skin you can see is an ankle, well i think there would be room for something more than a groan, because for that fan and many fans like him/her that claim was all the reason to buy the ticket and see the movie.
What is worse is that the ending was the final part of a more than 100 hour journey every player has done first person, taking choices, going personal. You cant fall on the ending because you automatically affect all the previous job. The very claims about the endings were the most enticing for the players that went as far as preordering the game and spending million of dollars, trusting the company would live up to their promises and deliver, and are those that still hurt the most.
There is a very long list of unkept pre release claims by Bioware spokemen, you can find some of them here :http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/995487-mass-effect-3/62267857
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Indoctrination theory. Now can’t we all just get along?
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A list of quotes from PRESS STATEMENTS designed around ADVERTISING Mass Effect 3:
“Don’t expect to win the loyalty of the galaxy by simply completing a series of fetch quests” – Casey Hudson
“… part of what you’re trying to do is save the universe so you can live in it. That’s part of the promise, I think, for any great IP. It has to be a world worth saving… I think Mass Effect has that quality to it. If you get rid of the Reapers and win that, wouldn’t it be amazing to just live on the Citadel or just take a ship to Omega? That makes sense.” – Casey Hudson
“There are many different endings. We wouldn’t do it any other way. How could you go through all three campaigns playing as your Shepard and then be forced into a bespoke ending that everyone gets?” – Mike Gamble
“It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C…..The endings have a lot more sophistication and variety in them.” – Casey Hudson
“[The presence of the Rachni] has huge consequences in Mass Effect 3. Even just in the final battle with the Reapers.” – Mac Walters
“And, to be honest, you [the fans] are crafting your Mass Effect story as much as we are anyway.” – Mike Gamble
“Because a lot of these plot threads are concluding and because it’s being brought to a finale, since you were a part of architecting how they got to how they were, you will definitely sense how they close was because of the decisions you made and because of the decisions you didn’t make” – Mike Gamble
“Fans want to make sure that they see things resolved, they want to get some closure, a great ending. I think they’re going to get that.” – Casey Hudson
“The whole idea of Mass Effect 3 is resolving all of the biggest questions, about the Protheons and the Reapers, and being in the driver’s seat to end the galaxy and all of these big plot lines, to decide what civilizations are going to live or die: All of these things are answered in Mass Effect 3.” – Casey Hudson
“There is a huge set of consequences that start stacking up as you approach the end-game. And even in terms of the ending itself, it continues to break down to some very large decisions. So it’s not like a classic game ending where everything is linear and you make a choice between a few things – it really does layer in many, many different choices, up to the final moments, where it’s going to be different for everyone who plays it.” – Casey Hudson
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To be fair, I haven’t played the game (I played through the first portion of Mass Effect 1 it got stale for me), and I don’t know what the ending was and didn’t keep up with the advertising. But from what I know about the issue:
1. To analyse marketing hype (whoever writes it) word for word like this is a bit crazy. Unless there was a lot of discussion after the advertising material was released but before the game was released that Bioware/EA never corrected, this is nitpicking, and unreasonable to argue against.
2. I have to wonder to all the people who got so sour over the game, was it really SO bad that you want to do harm to the people who made it and the first two games? My understanding is that you guys found large parts of the game to adore. It shouldn’t be discounted here.
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Avatar,
The word-for-word analysis from fans is typically a reaction to the excuses the fans have been given. If you look at the article, the author notes that analyzing both statements, only one is conclusive, but both seem to say the same thing on the surface. So when a fan is told “sentence X doesn’t say what you’re talking about”, in order to justify feeling misled (which the fans surely were), they point to ‘sentence Y’, which states the importance of choice in the ending in a far more unequivocal manner.
As a fan myself, I’ve stayed out of the controversy, but still felt quite let down by the ending. The problem with any “Hero’s Journey” style of series is that the entire story ultimately revolves around a single confrontation. In this case, the confrontation wasn’t handled well, and thus is a huge flaw in the overall story. That said, I’m still able to enjoy the game, although it had more problems than just the ending. A larger problem is that it’s quite obvious that BioWare wasn’t given the necessary resources to do the series (and all of its characters) justice.
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They lied. This is not a grey area open for interpretation. In fact, EA/Bioware ALWAYS lies.
This time, they clearly said there wouldn’t be A, B, C, endings, that there would be so many endings we shouldn’t think of them in terms of the usual kind of video game ending, the implication being that they would have outcomes to suit the variety of choices people made through the trilogy. And here we are with the same ending with three assorted colors. They lied. Stop trying to give them the benefit of the doubt or see the positives in EA from this.
By the way, BBB, EA has been doing tons of shady stuff apparently you haven’t picked up on, such as using government websites in the UK as part of their marketing campaign, which is illegal. It’s about time you upgrade their rating to an F minus minus. They are a pure malignant tumor and parasite on the gaming industry.
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Sony provided an absolute. The original PS3 absolutely included the ability to install Linux. The BBB decided it wasn’t false advertising when it was removed years later. So if Mass effect had meaningful choices and a well liked ending but then removed it in a few years, the BBB would have no issue with it? The BBB is increasingly pathetic and irrelevant.
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“If you had purchased a game for $59.99 or $79.99 for the digital download version”
Correction: the MSRP of a home console game is $59.99. Anything higher should be considered a “deluxe” or “collector’s edition” version, not a digital version on its own.
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It clearly failed you.
“It’s not even in any way like the traditional game endings,
where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got
ending A, B, or C…..The endings have a lot more sophistication and
variety in them.”
Try to spin that, I dare you.
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No, because even if that lame-ass, CYA gets endorsed by EA, the endings are all still more or less the same.
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John the great sucks Quad and is very stupid with that said so does Casey Hudson.
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@ Inu
Always trust for a fanboy to cover up a plothole.
There is nothing backing up that what you said at all and you are desperately just trying to defend your “abusive partner”.
It’s sort of a sick relationship, the one between BiowarEA and it’s subjects…
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The sad thing is that ME3 is honestly 98% of a perfect game, I was so close to giving ME my title of best franchise of all time, finally overtaking MGS in my books and then the last 10 mins happened. I’m a firm believer in the Indoctrination Theory and if it turns out to be the true ending I might reconsider, but the ending really did ruin what was almost a perfect game, still a damn good game though and worth checking out for the first 98%.
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Any chance there’ll be an article questioning DLC in what most know as “DownLoadable Content” and the far more deceptive “Disk-Locked Content” now being added into games recently? Most recently and a quite notorious offender would be Capcom and their “Street Figther X Tekken” game. Around the launch of the game, crackers found ALL “Downloadable” extra characters AND Costumes ON DISC, in playable format. Capcom’s worked Youtube quite a bit to remove these videos, but there’s plenty of evidence showing their so-called “PS Vita exclusive” characters, alternate costumes, and Gem Booster Packs fully usable WITHOUT buying the so-called “downloadable” content. In other words, Capcom is selling users *nothing* but an unlock key for these items. As is, there’s 30$ of supposed “DLC” being sold on PSN and XBL, with MUCH more being “added” later… though again, ALL the content is essentially in-game already.
This sort of practice is atrocious. This is akin to being sold a house only to find the attic and basement sealed off… then being told later to pay to access said spaces.
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I understand that Shepard dies at the end however I think they could have done a lot more than different coloured explosions. I think where Bioware went wrong was to have EA publish their game. EA always has a knack and are notorious for wrecking games that become famous as well as finding ways to rip people off.
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First of all with the perfect ending he does NOT die… different colored explosions? Did you even play the game or are you just reading what the OTHER idiots are typing… Yea Bioware went wrong when the COMPANY THAT OWNS THEM PUBLISHED THEIR GAME! Sweet Jesus I stumbled onto the biggest retard gathering in recent memory. Let me tear apart the argument that the ending was not different based on choices… THE WHOLE FUCKING GAME OF MASS EFFECT 3 WAS THE ENDING! EVERYTHING FROM THE PAST 2 GAMES CAME INTO THE 3RD GAME! Multiple endings!!!! Quarians die? destroy the geth? rachni queen? Wrex alive? JUST BECAUSE THE END OF THE GAME DOESNT SHOW YOU A CUTSCENE COMPILING YOUR DECISIONS DOESNT MEAN THEY ARENT THERE!!! GOD you people are DUMB!
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I hope all of you idiots reported EVERY Lionhead game then… Seriously talk about hype and broken promises?? Its RIGHT THERE! The problem with all of you is that you are so simple you cannot comprehend anything but a literal ending. Your favorite movies are Batman and 2Fast 2Furious. Let me guess… YOU HATED THE ENDING OF LOST BECAUSE IN THE END THEY JUST SIT IN A GODDAMN CHURCH!?!?!?! lol at simpletons.
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Oh and one last thing about the BBB… You know how that entity stays around? You buy yourself good reviews. if you get a negative touch you are allowed to “reach out to customers to have negative notes removed” Or you can become a member of the BBB and not have bad ratings if you pay them… Seems legit to me. /sarcasm
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Dear Reader: You are right about one thing: Businesses do have the chance (are allowed to reach out to customers) to try to come to an amicable agreement with their customer(s), whether they are or are not Accredited with the BBB. BBB is unbiased and objective and works for the best resolution possible.
Our staff is caring, knowledgeable and outstanding when it comes to serving our community and doing what is right. Have you used our services before? You might be very pleasantly surprised. We have the best interest of the consumer and business in mind when we come to work every day.
Thank you for your comment.
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I understand that most likely the BBB has wonderful people that work hard at what they do there. I do not want to insult any individuals with what I posted. However I have used your services. I have a local retail shop in my small town and I received a negative complaint from a competitor trying to make me look bad. I had proof and gave this to the BBB so they could have the comment removed. I was told that if I do not pay to be a member I cannot have negative things removed… but if I paid my membership they would remove it immediately and upgrade my score. I was appalled by that and thus my hatred for the practices at the BBB.
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Thanks for the comment
How exactly is the BBB funded?
If the BBB does you wrong , who do you complain to? The Even Better Business Bureau?
It’s a scam a minute in America.
Fraud and deception the business model.
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Thankfully my Xbox 360 was stolen in 2005 and I never bought another console. Now, I don’t have to be mad about some game (series) costing me $350+ to complete; just to have no ending like firefly.
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I think while this article fails to acknowledge the fact that we are talking about a game not a movie or any other passive media.
The matter of the fact is simply that a video game incorporates user interactivity and no matter what you choices were this part of the game didn’t change. At all. In other words gameplay wise there was no effect whatsoever on your choices and gameplay defines a game not if one light is different colored or one line of dialog was different.
The best example of the complete ignorance of major decisions were the Rachni,
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I am not looking at this from a story point of view, I am looking at this from a business practices issue.
Should Bioware be accused of bad business practice for writing a lousy ending? I think not. I make no comment about the internal workings of EA and Bioware, and I respect their artistic license, including their right to say whatever they want about their game.
On the issue of false advertising, you do not need to know anything confidential or internal about a company to know if they advertised wrongly — all you need to look at are their product packaging, their advertisements, their marketing collaterals, and the product itself. So, since I bought my game, I am free to make judgements as a consumer whether EA and Bioware treated me well as a consumer or not.
In fact, not only is it my legal right, it is my duty to my fellow consumers to hold EA & Bioware into account so that me and my fellow consumers won’t get taken advantaged by the market power of large companies. This attitude is what makes cars, pharmaceuticals and common household products better, safer and cheaper over the years. Why can’t this attitude be the same for video games? And anyone who says otherwise is an enemy of ordinary consumers everywhere.
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Yet another person who buys into that nonsense and has to have everything spelled out for them. Otherwise they scream plot hole.
If you don’t understand how a controlled energy release is different from ramming an asteroid into a fully charge up relay, you really should just stay away from sci-fi.
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“Im Commander Shepard, and a Vorcha could have wrote a better ending for me”
CMD. Michelle Shepard/ Alliance Navy
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Really Fable Sucks, and John the Great is that the best you got. Its gonna thake alot more than insults and whining to get us Mass Effect fans to stop. We aint gonna lay down out of pity like that girls you guys took to prom.
Holding the Line
CMD. Michelle Shepard/ Alliance Navy/ SR2 Normandy COMMANDING
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Quoted from the article: “Also this is just a small example of their advertising and does not take into account anything that might have been said, as far as their public relations and other advertising campaigns.”
In response to: “The article failed to mention the complete lie “and even radically different ending scenarios.””
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Nerds really care about their video game gay sex dialogue trees, don’t they? I saw a YouTube of this game, it was fucking hilarious. Everything about it seemed designed by and for the most awkward nerds. I think it’s also hilarious when nerds get angry about their video games. I guess a Gamestop check doesn’t stretch very far.
Welp, back to my comic books, body pillow, and windowed computer case with glowing neon water cooling.
P.S. Kill all nerds.
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This article is all fine and good, but what is NOT stated here is this:
WHAT, if anything, is the BBB DOING about it??? You are supposed to be a watchdog agency, looking out for consumers and STOPPING this type of practice. Has the BBB launched any lawsuits? Have they attempted to file charges for false/misleading advertising. You are saying that we are correct that Bio Ware DID “falsely advertise”, we all knew that BEFORE the BBB confirmed it. NOW, however, that it has been confirmed, WHAT is the BBB doing about it????
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The BBB can’t actually do anything… you do know this right? They are not a government agency with a judiciary power. The best thing they can do is testify in small claims court, and even then they can’t force any action. Only thing they can do is redflag them on their website and database so everyone knows.
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i hated mass effect 3 untill the ending
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“If you had purchased a game for $59.99 or $79.99 for the digital download version and were told that you had complete control over the game’s outcome by the choices your character made and then actually had no control over the game’s outcome, wouldn’t you be disappointed?!”
Right from the second sentence, the author of this blog post demonstrates that she has no clue what she’s talking about.
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