I do think Bioware is going to become MMORPG-oriented. They already have the KOTOR MMO nearing launch, and I think there's a good chance we'll see a Mass Effect MMO in the future as well. Just my opinion of course, but this is what I see happening.

Vari3ty

Kotor MMO + ME MMO, that would mean competing with themselves.

Like the DS? Why not a 3DS?

LovePotionNo9

I think it has something to do with the 3D putting too much focus on the top screen which makes it more difficult to create the kind of touch based games that was a substantial part of the DS appeal.

This is why I hesitate to buy games when they first come out. Because publishers/developers purposefully take content out of the original versions & sell them as DLC to see what they get away with, then make another version of the same game for retail, & include the DLC along with it!

Just like with these games:

Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition.
Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition.
The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition.
Grand Theft Auto 4: Lost & Damned (on a disc).
Red Dead Redemption: Game of the Year Edition.

I can go on & on. Now you see why I constantly say that practices like DLC are bad for gaming & are a complete scam to milk more people out of money, & why I don't buy DLC for any game being out. Everyone needs to wake up & stop supporting such practices like DRM, DLC, Online passes/Season passes, etc. If more & more people were to stop supporting these practices, then the publishers/developers will stop doing it!

garland51

Anti DLC people take the content removal thing way out of proportion. how is it a scam?

is good as a sellling standpoint but as a consumer the company just got payed for something you don't know what it is so if they don't feel like making a serious effort on this (the case as the first DLC of GeoW3) then they have the money and you're not satisfied, and that DLC could be the most random of things, in this case the first DLC is already on disc (the maps, characters, and horde stuff) and the first map pack for GeoW2 had 4 maps.doubalfa

You have to consider that the DLC will also be sold seperately. So in the interest of maximizing profit, and avoiding bad publicity it should be worthwhile content.

It's not like they are forcing anyone into buying season passes.

An example of a lame season pass? Gears of war 3 season pass, the first DLC is content that is already on the game disc (maps and all) also they tell you get the online pass and get a discount to the 4 future DLC but they never tell you what those DLCs are going to be, so you are blindly buying something you don't know just for a discount? Also store and preorder bonuses are lame, for example with Arkham city, you can only get the Robin character if you preordered the game, a week ago I wasn't sure if I was going to get the game so I didn't preorder it.doubalfa

Blindly buying into it is why you get a discount. It's mutually benefitial, and only worth considering for people who are way into that game. Who would most likely buy it all anyway.

I can't really think of a single instance where preorder content has added anything to my game experience.

To rip tons more money off of gullible people that still stick up for awful practices like DLC, Online & Season Passes.garland51

DLC: On disc DLC is bad , but not proper DLC

Season Passes: Discount for consumers, and assured sales for upcoming DLC for the publisher. I don't see a problem here.

Online passes: This one is actually awful.

I kinda hate the term "dumbed down".

What alot of people fail to realize is that the videogame industry is a business. Super duper hardcore games is a small niche, and isn't worth catering to for the most prominent publishers. There is a reason why COD sells 20 gazillion copies, and Namco jumped up and down when Dark souls reached the 500k mark.

People here are also quick to dismiss the positive aspects of the modern game design mentality.

I am with the TC completely on this. I hate DLC, online passes, and all the other crap that used to be part of the game you purchased just a few years ago.

Shenmue_Jehuty

Online passes, sure, but not DLC. Sure there have been examples of DLC that should have come with the game like on disc DLC. Then there are gamers that unreasonably extrapolate that to all DLC. There is a sense of entitlement there that i don't really understand.

I'm currently playing darksiders & DA:O , and i'll start playing Batman:AC when it is released here on friday.

LA Noire is the only game I've bought this year, and that was disappointing. What's going on? I know we have BF3, MW3, and AC coming up but where are the original action adventure games that made gaming what it is today? IMO, there's way too much fantasy stuff around and not enough games like Unchartered 2, RDR (not Zombie dlc, obv.), GTA, andeven Mass Effect, atleast the Mass Effect plot is placed in a feasible context. 30-50 year old gamersneed more interesting games than magic-this and zombie-that.

Rant concluded. I would like to buy more games than 2-3 a year, itamazes me that the industry seems to only care for big shooters and zombies.

gavin78

Shooters are where the money is unfortunately, and zombie game aren't nearly as prevalent. People just grow tired of them more easily.

UC2,RDR,GTA,ME. It's not strange that games that are very high quality, and vast in scope don't come around every other day when you had to use the same developer for two games on a list with four.

I don't have a problem with magic. It's nice to throw a fireball every once in a while, and some games use magic in interesting ways. I can usually ignore it in most of the games with magic that i play. Biotics in ME are basically magic, but it's easy to dismiss that since it doesn't follow the standard elemental pattern.

I've not been all that impressed with games released this year with the exception of portal 2, and the witcher 2. It would be nice to see more action adventure games. Even if i'm unsure if the adventure games i imagine are the kind you are after.