Mass Effect 3 - Delayed Until 2012 Quarter 1 and two new screenshots

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Chris Priestly just updated the Mass Effect forums with this news. Here's a quote:
Today we have confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations.” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer Mass Effect series.
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Thanks to rockpopple from the DA2 forums and to DarthCaine from the Mass Effect forums
for pointing to the info on Mass Effect's facebook site.
More information.
 
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Does that mean that EA/Bioware has learned that shipping out unfinished garbage is a bad marketing strategy in the long run?
 
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Since mass effect has not generally been a bug ridden mess I'm hoping the extra time is required because they're actually devoting resources to fleshing out real diverging plot-lines and consequences for past player choices. I hope.
 
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Nothing new it seems Bioware and EA love march. There last couple of games came out that month also. I also expect skyrim will be pushed back along with risen 2. Its the same every year.
 
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I´m going to take this as good news. I got a lot of entertainment out of previous two games and my Shepards would appreciate to see some proper consequences to their actions and generally go out with a bang in the last part.
Hopefully the postponed release means longer development time and not just marketing tactics.
The second screenshot is nifty.
 
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DeepO said:
I´m going to take this as good news. I got a lot of entertainment out of previous two games and my Shepards would appreciate to see some proper consequences to their actions and generally go out with a bang in the last part.
Hopefully the postponed release means longer development time and not just marketing tactics.
The second screenshot is nifty.
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No development team ever would say 'we have 4 more months? sweet, time off!' I'm glad it's delayed. From Bioware, that generally corresponds with a better product. And not an endless series of delays until it's three years later and I don't care anymore.
 
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Couchpotato said:
Nothing new it seems Bioware and EA love march. There last couple of games came out that month also. I also expect skyrim will be pushed back along with risen 2. Its the same every year.
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If they push Skyrim back then they won't have their much publicized 11-11-11 date.
 
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I may be imagining this, but hasn't it become a somewhat less frequent occurence to see major titles being delayed like this?

I seem to recall a time where pretty much ALL major titles got endlessly delayed.

Hmm, maybe it's just me.

In any case, this doesn't really bother me one way or the other. Mass Effect 2 dampened my enthusiasm for the franchise - and though I'd really enjoy a game with a similarly strong atmosphere to the first game, I kinda doubt Bioware can move away from formulaic development enough to create a truly inspired finale.
 
Maybe its because of this news. There making a mass effect mobile of handheld game again.:S


Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3 Getting Handheld or Mobile Versions

year, will be getting handheld and/or mobile versions before the end of next March.

EA's release calendar for the upcoming fiscal year lists Battlefield 3 for a Q3 release (meaning any time between October 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011) on consoles and PC, as expected, in addition to handheld/mobile. The same is also the case for Mass Effect 3, albeit for a Q4 release (January 1, 2012 - March 31, 2012).

Battlefield has never been seen on a non-PC or console platform, so a handheld or mobile version of Battlefield 3 would be a first. Mass Effect, on the other hand, does have iOS game Mass Effect Galaxy (pictured above) under its belt, the series' lone videogame spin-off to date. During a conference call today, EA mentioned the company would be revealing some new details about Mass Effect 3 at E3 including something about "some new ways to play." A handheld/mobile game would certainly fit that description.

Other newsworthy tidbits from Electronic Arts' financial results follow below.

A new game in The Sims series is planned for consoles and handheld/mobile for release during fiscal Q3 (October 1 through December 31).

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and SSX are coming to console and PC during fiscal Q4 (January 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012).

During fiscal year 2011 (April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011), Medal of Honor and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit sold through about 8.5 million units combined.

As for sell in figures (which is how many copies were sold to retailers as opposed to consumers), seven EA games released in fiscal Q4 (January 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011) have sold more than 1 million units; Crysis 2, Dragon Age 2, and Dead Space 2 have sold more than two million units each. Dead Space 2's cumulative sales "are currently 40% higher than sales of the original Dead Space game over a comparable period."

Including digital sales, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has sold in more than 7 million units and FIFA 11 sold in 12 million units. The five million units sold-in mark was surpassed by Medal of Honor, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and Madden NFL 11.

Contrary to some reports which misunderstood what he meant, EA CEO John Riccitiello expects the combined marketing spend of Battlefield 3 and this year's Call of Duty game will exceed $100 million; BF3 alone won't spend that much.

Regarding EA's very recent acquisition of Flight Control and Real Racing developer Firemint, it's been said that the developer may have cost as much as $100 million. EA says the price paid is actually "vastly lower" than what's being reported, though it avoided providing a specific figure.
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Or because EA wanted Bioware to add or change the game. Here is EA's response.

When asked about the delay, EA boss John Riccitiello said, "Essentially, step by step, [BioWare is] adjusting some of the gameplay mechanics and some of the features that you'll see at E3 that can put this into a genre equivalent of shooter-meets-RPG, and essentially address a far larger market opportunity than Mass Effect 1 did and Mass Effect 2 began to approach."

… So what does that mean? Well, mentioning that Mass Effect 2 was closer to what EA's targeting would seem to indicate more of an emphasis on action. But if the company's looking for "a larger market opportunity" a multiplayer component seems a surefire way to achieve that.
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Doesn't sound good to me how much more can it be streamlined to appeal to more people. You would think after DA2 they would of learned something maybe they did. Brand loyalty allows you to sell crap and they will love it.
 
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Couchpotato said:
Doesn't sound good to me how much more can it be streamlined to appeal to more people. You would think after DA2 they would of learned something maybe they did. Brand loyalty allows you to sell crap and they will love it.
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More awesome buttons, so. :(
A lot of cut scenes, including a lot of romance and sex scenes, QTAs, some action with lazers, an epic ending giving us the hint that there will be a MMO spin-off, and that's it. Hey! It's ME3 and it can be even worst than DA2.
 
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Motoki said:
If they push Skyrim back then they won't have their much publicized 11-11-11 date.
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Bethesda keep saying they are "extremely confident" of that release date. It would be silly for them to have announced without being sure.
 
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jhwisner said:
Since mass effect has not generally been a bug ridden mess I'm hoping the extra time is required because they're actually devoting resources to fleshing out real diverging plot-lines and consequences for past player choices. I hope.
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Or working on Star Wars: TOR.
 
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Couchpotato's post made me shudder. ME3 does not sound like it will be my sort of game, doesn't even sound like it is a game that would be covered by RPGWatch.

Maybe Casey Hudson's statement "ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations" is right because my expectations are at a -1.
 
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Last I heard they said they were adding more RPG mechanics back into the game, though maybe EA has stopped them from doing that. In any case being a shooter doesn't make it a bad game. I loved ME2.
 
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DoctorNarrative said:
Last I heard they said they were adding more RPG mechanics back into the game, though maybe EA has stopped them from doing that. In any case being a shooter doesn't make it a bad game. I loved ME2.
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This. I really, really like ME2 and I hope I get a similar experience with ME3.
 
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DoctorNarrative said:
Last I heard they said they were adding more RPG mechanics back into the game, though maybe EA has stopped them from doing that. In any case being a shooter doesn't make it a bad game. I loved ME2.
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The BSN is already imploding.
 
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Eventually Bioware games wont even fall into rpg category .
 
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Couchpotato's post have me bit worried, though (links?). If true, it seems that EA, and Bioware, do not seem to have learned any lessons from the release and the sales of DA: Origins. It also seems that ME3 could be more of a shooter than an rpg; John Riccitiello needs to re-think how much a Bioware actually will sell. A Bioware game is not a Call of Duty game, it is an rpg. However, if John Riccitiello would like to see how a succesfull shooter-meets-rpg can be done, he should take a trip to the developers of Stalker and also to the developers of Deus Ex. I've only played a bit of STALKER, but I have to admit that this game is fun to play and succesfully briges the gap between the rpg mechanincs, the shooter gameplay and the exploration mode found in rpgs as well.

Also, someone really needs to tell JR that the average gamer today is about 36-40 years old, have been playing games on the pc or the console for at least 10 years, or more - and that anout 40-50% of gamers these days are women. Just to say that adults and grown-ups want more complex storylines than just go here, shoot this...

Not all shooters are like this, and I do believe even Call of Duty has a good story, although, thinly veiled...
 
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Just search joystick or use Google there are plenty of articles with the same information.
I'm to lazy to find the links again. Just remember Bioware's motto every sequel has to different they cant rest on there laurels. Now I remember back in the day Bioware said they would never do sequels now I know why.
 
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