Saboteur, Dragon Age slated for Q1 '09

EA CEO tells analysts that Pandemic's WWII stealth actioner and BioWare's fantasy RPG won't make the 2008 calendar year.

Yesterday, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello spoke at the William Blair & Company Growth Stock Conference in Chicago. Besides revealing the existence of a new Need for Speed and top-down strategy elements in Godfather 2, the executive also delivered a double shot of less-welcome news. Namely, that two of the top games from EA's recently acquired BioWare and Pandemic studios won't be arriving this year.

When asked by an analyst about which of EA's new intellectual properties would be among its internal top 10 bestsellers for 2008, Riccitiello began listing his picks. "Mercenaries 2, Mirror's Edge, Spore, Dead Space, including subscriptions Warhammer [Online]--but that won't show up in NPD, Battlefield: Bad Company...that'll certainly get in there," he predicted. Then, the executive added "Saboteur and Dragon Age" before quickly tacking on the qualifier, "but those two won't make the calendar year because they're coming in fiscal Q4." EA's fiscal year ends on March 31, 2009, which means that both games will now arrive in the first three months of next year.

Today's revelation will be a blow to those awaiting Saboteur, which had been expected on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime in 2008. First revealed last March, the game aims for a different take on World War II, casting players as a member of the French Resistance using stealthy commando tactics to battle Nazi occupiers. After an early version was shown to the press last year, the game has remained largely in the shadows.

Riccitiello's words were less of a shock to role-playing gamers awaiting Dragon Age, which EA previously announced would arrive before April 1, 2009. The PC game is a completely original IP, unlike BioWare's last Western-fantasy RPG, the Dungeons and Dragons-based Neverwinter Nights (2002). (BioWare farmed out development of its 2006 sequel, Neverwinter Nights 2, to independent RPG studio Obsidian Entertainment.) Currently, the Canadian studio's most public property is the sci-fi RPG Mass Effect, which was recently released on the PC after its 360 debut last year.

68 Comments

  • stinger822

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 12:52 am PT

    I won't be boycotting ME 2 or Dragon Age, sure they might be from the soulless entity known to all as EA, but these games are still being developed by Bioware and thus they demand to be played and shall be.

  • theREALBookdust

    Posted Jun 23, 2008 9:10 am PT

    I don't buy into boycotts, just because EA is a heartless corporate machine doesn't mean that good games don't come out of their doors.

    But what's this about Saboteur being revealed in March? '08? I've known about this game since '07 when Game Informer did an article on it.

  • darkride66

    Posted Jun 23, 2008 8:09 am PT

    Wait. Why is everyone looking forward to this? Aren't we all supposed to be boycotting anything to do with EA? I thought EA was some sort of shambling soulless being that needs to be killed. If that's truly the case, no one should buy Mass Effect 2, to hammer that message home. Personally I think EA is a great company with fantastic, talented people. I always look forward to EA's titles.

  • impar

    Posted Jun 22, 2008 3:13 am PT

    Greetings!

    If it is like Mass Effect, Spore and Alone in the Dark, I will passs.

    They come infected with DRM that only lets you install the game three times .
    http://www.neoseeker.com/news/8256-mass-effects-drm-angering-many/

    EA ruining games.

  • -E-N-E-M-Y-

    Posted Jun 21, 2008 9:11 am PT

    I can wait, Mass Effect 2 will be a great game.

  • Legend-of-Evil

    Posted Jun 20, 2008 9:48 pm PT

    Well, just another game that will destroy any PC gamer who doesn't have the money to update all the time.

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted Jun 20, 2008 2:04 pm PT

    Mass Effect is their most important project for me at the moment, i keenly await it's sequel in the coming years

    Good things come to those who wait people, i'm sure Dragon Age will be awesome

  • whitey_rolls

    Posted Jun 20, 2008 4:06 am PT

    no it says warhammer will be a top seller of 2008, we won't be waiting it will be out OCT/Nov 08 .... atleast if it wants any business.

  • Vash67

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 3:56 pm PT

    Wow, I completely forgot about Saboteur.

  • gr8jedimaster

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    Well I hope Dragon Age will eventually be put on 360 because there's no way I'm upgrading my PC for it.

  • s3NoXeRs3

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 11:11 am PT

    /sigh looks like we gotta wait for warhammer once again. Hopefully this game dosnt turn into huxley and mythica"LoL" But as long as it actually comes out and the game is perfect. I guess i can play wow and AoC a little bit longer.

  • prdroog posted Jun 19, 2008 9:47 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    prdroog

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 9:47 am PT (hide)

    dragon age looks stupid.

  • cooldude03

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 9:26 am PT

    I'm happy to see EA taking risks with new IP's. Some of those titles I've been looking forward to playing. With these talented developers working hard these games should be very successful.

  • greatcarbuncle

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 8:06 am PT

    agreed blackcatf. i'm glad that they're putting quality before an early release, as so many thought they would

  • CCTman

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 8:06 am PT

    I would much rather wait longer for a better finished product than a having an unfinished product rushed to market. As everyone knows that is one of the things EA is known for is rushing titles to market before the Dev is finished. It's kinda why I'm crossing my fingers on Warhammer Online.

  • blackcatf

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 7:46 am PT

    I actually see these delays as a good thing. My biggest concern when EA acquired BioWare was that they would push deadlines in favor of allowing the time-line to shift a little to ensure a quality product.

    That has been a criticism of EA in the past, so it is good to hear that they aren't forcing their acquired game studios to rush a product just to meet the estimated release date and putting another flawed product on the market. That being said, I would still like other companies to ship products to me by the time the say the will when I order them (ARE YOU LISTENING DELL?)

  • jknight5422

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 7:07 am PT

    Pushing a title back is nothing new in the video game business.

  • Agreb91

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 6:53 am PT

    I can wait longer for Mass Effect 2, as long as it stays a very good game like Mass Effect.

  • Pilch_R_eD

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 6:02 am PT

    wow "ctg867 " it seems your just not popular wherever u go, no offense. Anyways, I dont see whats really upsetting here. Delays are the norm to me now, I dont expect anything to be out really untill the developers give a set in stone date and they burst with confidence of that date. Some good things before then anyways, still, Dragon Age FTW!!! ^^

  • syafiqjabar

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 5:12 am PT

    Oh zxssded, nowadays delay can be a good thing. The game is more likely to have less bugs and technical issue. EA delayed Army Of Two and made improvements to it. Granted, it's still not grade A material but in its original form it's much worse. In any case, this is made by Bioware so it's automatically better than any of EA's other internal developer, baring Maxis.

    Also, the apparent commercial success of The Witcher and NWN2 means there now are better prospects for PC-only RPGs.

  • darius_danze

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 3:01 am PT

    Megawizard1

    "Tell me this, darius, do you have any idea what SecuROM is? THAT'S what I'm talking about. Any other improvement is pointless with that god-awful thing buried in it."

    You should have said that then. Thats not an add-on its a security software. Does it suck? Yes. Can you get around it? Yes. It should become far easier to get rid of very soon considering the fact that Universal just lost their supreme court case. According to the Supreme Court you may now create back ups and hack any software in your way to do it. So use this wonderful internet to grab cracks and hacks.

  • adityafunda

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 2:48 am PT

    Screens looks good. whenever it arrives, i expect it to be awesome.

  • zeus_gb

    Posted Jun 19, 2008 2:35 am PT

    As soon as I heard the game called Saboteur I automatically thought of the Durell Software game from 1985 on the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64. Oh I feel old now!

  • viet1125

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 11:43 pm PT

    Sounds good! ... for a new PC

  • thenewau25

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 10:48 pm PT

    yeah i but i hate ea!

  • combatsoldier

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 10:14 pm PT

    i cant wait for this title it looks great. also feel free to check out my union and join. all hardcore gamers are welcome from anywhere and every where. I also cant wait for dead space.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 10:01 pm PT

    I can wait, there are other games I am going to be playing

  • syafiqjabar

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 9:26 pm PT

    Some of you have no idea what Dragon Age is, do you? Bioware was formed on that day long ago to make Dragon Age, the CEOs said as much. It's setting is not bog standard fantasy, but more like The Witcher, most notably the inter-species racism, and even intra-species prejudices. This is not like Fallout 3; this is the same people who made Baldur's Gate 2, KotOR, and NWN. As for EA 'ruining' it, well EA isn't doing that whole Westwood/Origin thing anymore, what with Bioware and EA being no ordinary developers. Fun fact: Someone in charge of EA (can't remeber who), used to head the company that owned Bioware and Pandemic before working for EA. That's why EA ended up buying them; he liked them so much. Trust me, no one messes with celebrity developers like Will Wright and the Bioware Doctors. The fan backlash can be catastrophic.

  • Evz0rz

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 9:26 pm PT

    Some new screens of Dragon Age would be a nice way of tiding us over

  • epormada

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 9:18 pm PT

    Bioware should have all the time they need. The fact that someone from EA is even talking to someone at Bioware about when the game will be done is upsetting. I will gladly wait another 3 years for a quality game like the first Mass Effect.

  • shalashaska88

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 8:58 pm PT

    DRAGON AGE!!!

  • Gruug

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 8:41 pm PT

    I don't see anything in the CEO's comments that are earth shattering. Well, maybe the "hype" about Bad Company being a top 10. After playing through the demo, I just don't care for the game. Sure, it has a bit of humor to it and there is some destructable terrian. Big deal. The game play is not particularly stellar. I think Bad Company will end up collecting a lot of dust on people's shelves after they buy it.

  • Megawizard1

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 7:55 pm PT

    Tell me this, darius, do you have any idea what SecuROM is? THAT'S what I'm talking about. Any other improvement is pointless with that god-awful thing buried in it.

  • mashom

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 7:43 pm PT

    hmmmmm....

  • EXODYS

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 7:19 pm PT

    I'm looking forward to Dragon Age :-D

  • darius_danze

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 6:36 pm PT

    Megawizard1

    "I'm talking about the PC version, genius."

    Yes, how dare they improve the GUI and add incredibly useful hotkeys while leaving the core game exactly the same. Damn that evil EA. EA can be blamed for a lot of stupid stuff. Like how they handle sports games, and their general lack of innovation on about 75% of their releases. I do not see how you find fault in an unreleased game and a port that had actual improvements made to it.

    "It's got the same add-on crud attached with the installer, and I highly doubt they're going to remove it."

    I know what you mean. I hate it so much when I can go out and get more content for a game I love. Evil EA strikes again.

  • burnit2earnit

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 6:06 pm PT

    saboteur looks like assassins creed during WWII. looks great. sux it wont come out til next year though

  • K_M82

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 6:00 pm PT

    If anything, this is proof that EA is willing to wait for Bioware/Pandemic to finished the game, and not rush it trough the door. This is a good thing! That means for now, EA stick to it's word about letting Bioware/Pandemic be independent.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 5:38 pm PT

    Awesome release dates

  • Megawizard1

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 5:24 pm PT

    "May I borrow your time machine and whatever you are smoking.
    EA bought Bioware after Mass Effects release"

    I'm talking about the PC version, genius.

    "and Spore isn't being released until September so I wouldn't cancel that pre-order just yet."

    It's got the same add-on crud attached with the installer, and I highly doubt they're going to remove it.


    And I fully agree with NA3D.

  • NA3D

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 5:18 pm PT

    BioWare offically poisoned by EA. Coming next, the death of BioWare like what EA does to many of it's companies after they buy them out.

  • ShotGunBunny

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 5:05 pm PT

    Honestly, I really want Dragon Age to be the new Baldur's Gate. But something tells me that ain't gonna happen.
    I give it as much chance as Fallout 3 actually having something in common with 1 and 2.

  • akiwak

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 4:55 pm PT

    They look like interesting games. Here's hoping they are good....

  • Tripwolf

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 4:34 pm PT

    Dragonage is going to be amazing. I can't wait.

  • high344

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 3:58 pm PT

    hardly can wait Dragon Age

    "Western-fantasy RPG" the NWN??? that's a unique point of view IMHO

  • Dill-Man

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 3:51 pm PT

    Saboteur looks cool, don't know much about Dragon Age though

  • -Sauron-

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 3:39 pm PT

    Well, Im waitin for this game

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